Declare Your In (ner) dependence Day

Here in America July 4th is also known as Independence Day, marking our independence from England, nearly 250 years ago.

Christians ought to have a day of independence as well; the day (or night) when we received our independence from the devil and doing things his way. A time when we remember our deliverance from spiritual darkness and being placed into the kingdom of God, through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Going from living for the devil to living for God means being dependent on Him for all we need in this life: health, provision in every area-including financial and material supply-and guidance.

Guidance from God implies doing things His way rather than our own. It means being dependent on Him rather than on ourselves. It means giving God our best, expecting His part to make the difference in every situation, large or small. Inner dependence.

Inner dependence is simply depending on the living God, Who’s living in you, to supply every need, to put you over in life. It’s cooperating with God to see victory over even the most challenging circumstances in life, knowing that nothing is too difficult-or insignificant-for God to handle on our behalf.

Why wait for July 4th to celebrate your independence?  Every day can be a day of inner dependence on God, through His Word, enabling you to win over every situation life presents you.

It’s time to declare your own in (ner) dependence on God.

When It’s Good to be Behind

Being behind carries a negative connotation of something happening that’s not good, such as any or all of the following: Behind in paying bills; behind in school; behind in getting ready for _______

You can add your own to this list, but you get the picture. Being behind is never a positive in today’s world. Or is it? Could there be an instance when it’s actually good to be behind?

The Bible, in Proverbs 3:5-6, tells us to trust in God with all of our heart, rather than our own (human reasoning). In all of our ways we are to acknowledge-recognize-God, and He will direct us.

No doubt every Christian wants God to lead, but how often do we either get so far ahead of God that we wonder where God went or get so far behind that “catching” up seems fruitless?

God’s way is for us to trust Him with not only His Plan for our lives, but each step along the way. Trusting Him with how to get to the destination is just as-if not more-important than knowing what God has for each of us.

If we’re out in front of God, we might not notice when He turns off the “road” we think He should still be on. Conversely, we could be so far behind Him that we missed seeing the “turn” He just made. 

God’s best is that we let Him lead, following close enough behind where we can see where He’s going. This is when it’s good to be behind. This is when there’s no chance of being left behind.

© Hubert Gardner Ministries 2018-2024

What Time is Now?

Not what time is it now but, what time is now? Does “now” have a time? If so, what is it?

According to the Bible, faith is always now. There’s nothing past or future about faith. Jesus Himself said that when we pray for something (Mark 11:24) we are to believe that we receive the answer when we pray-then we’ll receive it in the future, whatever it is that we simply believed that we received when we prayed.

Once you receive the answer (i.e. finances, healing, job) you can stop believing-you’ll know it. You’ll have the finances in your hands, healing verified in your body; you’ll be working at your job. But faith is always now, never later, as is the case with hope.

As someone has said, there’s no such thing as later-on faith.

There are times when I’m tempted to look too much to the future. How long will it be until_______________? This recently happened, where I started to think about how many hours until my work week was over. To help keep my focus on the moment, the following phrase came to me: “now o’clock.” That, to me, was from God, spoken to my heart by His Holy Spirit.

God certainly cares about the future, but our focus is to be where we are right now, for what we say and do now creates our future. Focusing on now o’clock has helped me to major on right now, forgetting the past and trusting the future to God.

If, like me, you’ve been tempted to look too much to the future-or past-perhaps now o’clock will help your focus to be on your now.

What time is now? Day or night, it’s always now o’clock.

© Hubert Gardner Ministries 2018-2024

Why Wait Until Midnight?

Why Wait ‘til Midnight?

Living on this earth means having to face real problems. At times the situation you’re facing may seem hopeless. You’re not alone.

In the Bible, the book of Acts, chapter 16 we see Paul and Silas unjustly thrown into a Philippian jail. The “crime"? For being used of God to deliver a young woman from demonic bondage.

Beaten, with their feet in stocks, Paul and Silas were facing  imprisonment or, worse, death. Not a time for campfire songs, including “Kum-Ba-Yah" (Come by here).

Both Paul and Silas began to do something in their midnight hour: pray and sing praises to God. While they were doing something seemingly insignificant, God sent the answer.

Things we can learn from Paul and Silas’s experience:

1. Never underestimate the power of prayer. No, it’s not the only thing to do but, in Paul and Silas’s case, what else could they do?  No Bible, no sermons on what to do when unjustly jailed, no internet. It pays to know how to pray.

2.  Singing praises to God is an act of faith, not a feeling. There’s something about singing praises that just works.

3. Praying and singing praises to God opened the door for something good to happen to Paul and Silas. In their case the prison doors were opened and the bands of all were loosed.

Your situation may not be unjust imprisonment, but just as real. It was literally midnight for Paul and Silas. Your situation may seem like a midnight to you-dark and bleak. But God hasn’t changed.

Even though He knows, tell God what’s going on. Remind Him of his promises, then begin to praise God for His goodness, His mercy, His mighty power to deliver you from that situation. Singing praises to God opens the door for Him to work on your behalf.

Midnight situations are the exception, not the norm. Since prayer and praise work all the time, why wait until midnight to praise God? After all, prayer is neither seasonal nor situational. It’s when things are going well that it’s easier to pray, praise, and spend more time in the presence of God, without outside pressures.

© Hubert Gardner Ministries 2018-2024

Does God Have an Ego?

God is, well, God. All-mighty, all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present, and all- loving. All at the same time. So, the question arises: Does God have an ego? Stop and think about this: human beings with wealth, power, and influences far less than God's have enormous egos. To be able to do whatever you want, go wherever you want and have it all can be heady stuff for those with billions, even those who are "mere" mega millionaires.

So, is God an egomaniac? Does He see Himself as better-and better off-than all of us put together? If so then, on that basis alone, God has an ego that's out of this world. Literally.

But if God, Who never changes, has an ego, then it's constant-the same yesterday, today, and forever. Ego has to do with self-worth, self-importance, self-identity. Since God knows exactly Who He is, the size of whatever ego God has isn't going to ever change.

Human ego is dependent upon affirmation from others, from external circumstances. God desires our attention, praise, and worship to Him. But any failure on our part to do so won't change God a bit.

We must recognize that being in God's presence is as much for our benefit as it is for His. God doesn't need our praise and adoration to boost His ego. Being in God's presence to praise, magnify, and worship Him caused God, as recorded in the Bible, to do things for lives which didn't happen any other way.  Chains were loosed (Acts 12:5-7),  prisons were opened (Acts 16:25,26), and God gave specific plans (Acts 13:2). He's still doing this today.

If God has an ego, it's certainly not like ours, subject to being inflated-or deflated for that matter. His is constant, because God knows (and is secure in) Who He is at all times. Like God, we can and should be secure in who we are, in Christ, at all times.

We can and should be wholly independent of needing the affirmation of others to bolster our ego. By renewing our minds to think like God (to think in line with the New Testament) our egos will become more like God's: constant, settled, unchanging.

The kind of ego worth working for and demonstrating to the lost-and most Christians.

© Hubert Gardner Ministries 2018-2024

God's Cousins

Trying to figure God out is a waste of time, energy, and resources. God has no beginning nor end. Hebrews 11:6 says that those who come to God must first believe that He is-that He exists. I don't claim for one moment to know how, but I believe it to be true. Throughout the New Testament there are numerous references to God as Father: the Father of Jesus; the Father of those who have become His children, through confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, out of a believing heart.

But what about all of God's family? Some teach that Mary, who gave birth to Jesus, is the mother of God. If that be true, then who is God's father? Does God, then, have brothers, sisters, in-laws, out-laws (just kidding), or grandchildren? Does God have cousins?

The truth is that, although singularly used to give birth to Jesus, Mary isn't the mother of God; she was the mother of Jesus's humanity, not His deity. Jesus existed in heaven long before He ever came to the earth as both God and man (John 1:1,2,14).

God has, in fact, no mother, father, siblings, or other such relatives, including cousins. However, God has a family. This greatest of families is made up of those human beings who, as I stated earlier, have openly confessed (declared to be true) Jesus as their Lord, out of a believing heart (spirit), according to Romans 10:9,10.

In short, God has lots of children-hopefully billions of them. Many have gone on to  Heaven; the rest are still here on Earth (Ephesians 3:14,15). God's family knows no color, language, or socio-economic restrictions. Salvation is of the heart, not the pocketbook.

No, God doesn't have cousins, just a growing family of children from around the world who make up what the Bible calls the Church, the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22,23; Colossians 1:24). If you're one of those children then you are my brother or sister, in Christ. We may differ on some things, but I love you with the unconditional love of God.

If you're not yet part of the greatest family of all go to our website, hubertgardner.org,, where you'll find a page to receive Christ for yourself, becoming part of God's family.

Then I'll get to love another member of His family- without sending Christmas cards.

© Hubert Gardner Ministries 2018-2024

God's New Year's Resolutions

With a new year many have already made New Year's resolutions. Ranging from dieting to meeting new friends, resolutions represent change. Regardless of how many New Year's resolutions are actually kept, some are adamant about this year's batch of resolutions because.....people want to change. But, what about God? Does He have any New Year's resolutions for this-or any-year? If so, what are they?

The truth is that God doesn't make New Year resolutions for this-or any other-year. The reason why is that resolutions are about change, and God never changes (Malachi 3:6).  Since God is always the same, you can count on Him to be the same this year as last-or any year for that matter. God is the same right now as He was whenever the beginning began, the coming of Jesus, or a minute ago. My friend, that's good news.

Not only is God the same (Hebrews 13:8), but He's always willing to help us change to be more like Him. To not want to change is to be satisfied with the present situation. I don't know about you, but I want to change, because I need to. I'm not nearly satisfied with where I'm at in my walk with God, are you?

While I'm changing this year I invite you to do the same. Even if you've already written down New Year's resolutions, ask God to show you that area or areas needing changing. God might surprise you by pointing out an area that seems insignificant, yet making that change may bring success to the rest of your life. Nothing's too small for God's help.

I can do this-we can do this. And watch God have His way with the results.

Happy New Year, to each of you following my posts. It's going to be a year like no other.

What's Your Christmas Theology?

Depending on where you are at this moment, it's either Christmas Eve or actually Christmas. It's the day where the birth of Jesus is celebrated by millions around the world. Even those who don't believe in the birth of Jesus rejoice, because of potential income derived from retail sales of everything from food to family pictures, from the functional to the frivolous. Getting something on sale is all the justification some need for purchasing that item that comes with buyer's remorse, sometimes after the bill arrives. But what about all the Christmas music being played? Stores, stations, and sidewalks sound forth songs of the season. Songs which have become Christmas "staples" include: Silent Night,  Away in a Manger, The First Noel, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and O Holy Night-my favorite-to name but a few.

With any song, words are important. Such is certainly the case with each Christmas song, some which date back over 200 years. While I enjoy most Christmas carols, I respectfully disagree with many lyrics which I hear and/or have sung as part of group caroling.

The following are parts of songs which are clearly out of line with the Bible:

Away in a Manger: "No crib for a bed" makes Joseph out to be poor, which he, as a carpenter, certainly wasn't.  Paying yearly taxes made for lots of rooms being used, resulting in Joseph having a stable being used for lodging.  As a carpenter, he made a good living, resulting in him prospering. The hotels of the day were simply booked full.

We Three Kings: Who says there were only three kings? There could have been dozens for all we know. Perhaps the song mentions three due to gold, frankincense, and myrrh (three items) being brought. It's not ours to speculate on how many kings there were, but rather to let our focus be on the birth of Jesus.

What Child is This: The child Jesus isn't the same as baby Jesus. Manger scenes show kings bowing before Jesus, laid in a manger. In truth, the kings found the child Jesus at around two years old. It took them that long to make the journey from the Far East to where Jesus lived. This helps to explain why King Herod ordered all male children, aged two and under, to be killed-not just all male babies.

The First Noel: "was to certain poor shepherds..." Who says the shepherds were poor? This carol also refers to "...a cold winter's night." Jesus wasn't born on December 25th; it's the day set aside to celebrate His birth. In reality Jesus was born when it was warmer.

While I could go on and on, suffice to say that Christmas carols ought not be relied upon for biblical accuracy. Enjoy them, for sure. Go caroling, sing your favorite carols in church and home, and really enjoy celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world.

Just base your faith on what the Bible actually says, rather than "Christmas Theology."

Merry Christmas, everyone.