God has given me a word to share today that is not written for the unwise or the fool. It is written to those of you who want to go to the next level in learning truth and who have the desire to actually do what we have been called to do as the body of Christ. The writer of Hebrews explained the person who cannot receive this word and those who can when they wrote Hebrews 5:12-14. “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
Whichever person you are will determine whether or not you will be able to understand what I am about to share. I am not here to tickle the ears of the hearer with the devotions I write nor am I here to please man. My life is dedicated to pleasing only one and His name is Jesus Christ! And I know that He is pleased when I speak His truth boldly before man. So I am not ashamed of this Gospel of Jesus Christ and I will not cower in sharing it just because there are some who will not receive it. God’s people have to mature into right minded believers who understand their righteousness in God through Jesus Christ and who operate as one in the mindset of Jesus Christ! If we are going to make an impact in this world with the message of God’s love, grace, peace, and the abundant life He has promised to all who believe; we have to become doers of the Word and not hearers only!
So let’s begin. Read what is written in Luke 5:27-32. “After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Jesus never had, doesn’t have, and never will have, a problem with the “sinner”! To Him it is a non-issue! But to most Christians, the “sinner” poses a real problem! They judge people by what their eyes have seen or their ears have heard and they determine how they will respond to people based on facts, not truth! The facts may show a life being lived in sin or a lifestyle that amplifies sin and this causes great distress among the people in the body of Christ! It happened in Jesus’ day as we see in this passage of Scripture and many other passages and it continues to happen today in the modern day church.
If we are going to profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ then we need to operate in the mindset of Jesus Christ! We can no longer operate from a humanistic mindset that judges people with our human reasoning the way the scribes and Pharisees did. We need to be mature and do what Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” We all need to ask ourselves if our senses have been exercised to discern or are they so sensitive to what our eyes see and our ears hear in the natural that we lack discernment and judge people with our natural senses.
It is a spirit of fear and lack of discernment that causes people to fixate on the “sinner” and cast judgment like the scribes and Pharisees did. We were not given a spirit of fear! We were given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind! A spirit of fear cowers at the sight of the sinner! It trembles at the thought of sin! It shrinks back at the sound of sin crouching at the door! It cringes in the presence of a person who commits a sin! And it causes us to shy away from approaching the unbeliever! In other words it makes us ineffective to carry forth the Gospel of grace and the love of Jesus Christ! Fear is the sin of unbelief in the finished work of the Cross!
On the other hand the person who accepts the operation of the Holy Spirit in their lives will not operate in a spirit of fear. The Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind is at peace at the sight of a sinner! It stands firm on the solid rock of Jesus Christ when sin is present! When sin crouches at the door it tells the devil he is a liar and it blocks the passageway to the mind with the Word of God! In the presence of a person committing a sin, it is NOT afraid or threatened! It empowers us to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ forward no matter where we are, what we see, or what we hear! The Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind operates in a mindset of discernment and does not judge people based on facts! It judges based on truth and that truth is that Jesus came to seek and save the lost and He is not afraid of the sinner and sin has no power because He died once and for all for all sin! As John 3:17 says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
The Spirit we have been given understands this truth and it is our responsibility to accept it over the facts that present themselves before us each and every day! We can no longer operate in a spirit of unbelief that is rooted in a spirit of fear, focusing on sin or the “sinner”! Jesus needs us, His disciples, to believe Him and to walk in a righteousness consciousness that is not moved by what we see or hear! He said we would be able to do what He did and even more, but unless we come to a full knowledge of what it means to be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus we will never be able to fulfill our purpose as His body! Let us come to the full knowledge of who we are in Christ Jesus and let us operate in the Spirit that has been given to us so He can lead us to minister His Gospel to the lost!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Rejoice In The Night Seasons Of Life And Magnify The Lord!
“I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.” Psalm 16:7-9
Have you ever gotten up on the wrong side of the bed when it just seemed like there was a heavy cloud over you and you wanted to crawl back under the covers and go back to sleep? There is nothing like that feeling of heaviness! I have experienced this many times during this journey of faith because I knew that the day would be filled with trials and tribulation due to the many setbacks we have experienced during this season of transition. On days like this I have to spend a lot of time in prayer and meditation and allow the Spirit of God to renew my mind so I can enter the day in a mindset of victory!
When I awoke this morning the circumstances in my life were no different and that spirit of heaviness began to come over me and then the voice of the Lord spoke to me and told me to begin speaking blessing and praises from my mouth. It took everything within me to obey! But as I made the decision to obey I opened my mouth and said, “You oh Lord are great and greatly to be praised! You oh Lord are my deliverer and the lifter of my head! You are my strong tower and my fortress of refuge! In You I put my trust; for You and You alone are faithful! Magnify the Lord oh my soul and set His Word before you; for His Word is power! Your Word oh Lord is life giving, strength building, and from it I have abundance in ALL things! Nothing compares to You oh Lord; for You alone are worthy to be praised!”
As I spoke these words there was a war going on in my soul because I am very weary from the battle we are in. My life is in a night season that isn’t displaying any sign of the dawn on the horizon. Therefore my flesh is weak from the battle wounds of trial! But I have come to understand that my strength for today and my hope for tomorrow come from setting the Lord and His Word always before me and magnifying him with a joyful expression of praise each and every day!
His Word has already given me counsel and it says that all my needs are met in Him! All His promises are yes and amen! All my days are to be days that display the splendor of my King! Everything that pertains to life and godliness I have received from my Savior! Nothing can destroy me for I put my hope in Christ alone! The victory belongs to me because I trust in Him! The counsel of His Word is stored up in my heart and it is in this night season where my heart instructs me to hold fast to the promises of God and wait patiently on Him!
Therefore my heart is glad and it instructs me to rejoice in the Lord and magnify His name! In Him there is no shadow of turning so as my heart and mind are fixed on following Him through the darkest hours of this night season; I am steadfast in my faith and cannot be moved from the Rock of my salvation! Jesus Christ alone can understand my pain, my fears, my worries, and my doubts for on the Cross He bore the intensity of my affliction! My heart reminds me that my Savior is not one who does not understand all that I have suffered! It reminds me that I am no longer bound to the yoke of this world and I no longer have to bear the weight of this burden; for Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light. And I am bound to Him!
It is when I am obedient to set the Lord and His Word before me each morning where I am empowered in my spirit man to hang on to hope; believing by faith that it is just a matter of time before the victory will manifest in the physical realm! And it is through this conscious act of obedience where my flesh finds rest in that hope and the Spirit of God moves in and dispels the spirit of heaviness that had been trying to overtake me! There is no other way to bring the flesh into the submissive place of rest because our flesh is always at war with our spirit man. Our flesh wants its own way and it wants to act out, but when we make the decision to set the Lord before us each morning and fix our eyes on Him while praising Him with our mouths; our flesh is placed under submission to the Spirit!
Our praises pierce the darkness and drive out the spirit of heaviness! As we magnify the Lord, the enormity of problems shrink and we gain a new prospective! When we peer into the Word of God our eyes are fixed on His truth and we are not moved by what we see happening in the physical realm! As we glorify the Lord for His faithfulness, our minds are renewed to the truth that He will be faithful again! In God there are no night seasons for He is light and when He enters in, the darkness disappears! Rejoice today and sing forth praises from your mouth. Glorify the Lord and lift up His name in all the earth! Stand firm on His promises and let your heart instruct you with the Word of God that is treasured up in it! For His Word is life and it will deliver you from this night season of trial! Believe it! Claim it! Walk in it! And you shall see the day of deliverance break forth on the horizon!
Have you ever gotten up on the wrong side of the bed when it just seemed like there was a heavy cloud over you and you wanted to crawl back under the covers and go back to sleep? There is nothing like that feeling of heaviness! I have experienced this many times during this journey of faith because I knew that the day would be filled with trials and tribulation due to the many setbacks we have experienced during this season of transition. On days like this I have to spend a lot of time in prayer and meditation and allow the Spirit of God to renew my mind so I can enter the day in a mindset of victory!
When I awoke this morning the circumstances in my life were no different and that spirit of heaviness began to come over me and then the voice of the Lord spoke to me and told me to begin speaking blessing and praises from my mouth. It took everything within me to obey! But as I made the decision to obey I opened my mouth and said, “You oh Lord are great and greatly to be praised! You oh Lord are my deliverer and the lifter of my head! You are my strong tower and my fortress of refuge! In You I put my trust; for You and You alone are faithful! Magnify the Lord oh my soul and set His Word before you; for His Word is power! Your Word oh Lord is life giving, strength building, and from it I have abundance in ALL things! Nothing compares to You oh Lord; for You alone are worthy to be praised!”
As I spoke these words there was a war going on in my soul because I am very weary from the battle we are in. My life is in a night season that isn’t displaying any sign of the dawn on the horizon. Therefore my flesh is weak from the battle wounds of trial! But I have come to understand that my strength for today and my hope for tomorrow come from setting the Lord and His Word always before me and magnifying him with a joyful expression of praise each and every day!
His Word has already given me counsel and it says that all my needs are met in Him! All His promises are yes and amen! All my days are to be days that display the splendor of my King! Everything that pertains to life and godliness I have received from my Savior! Nothing can destroy me for I put my hope in Christ alone! The victory belongs to me because I trust in Him! The counsel of His Word is stored up in my heart and it is in this night season where my heart instructs me to hold fast to the promises of God and wait patiently on Him!
Therefore my heart is glad and it instructs me to rejoice in the Lord and magnify His name! In Him there is no shadow of turning so as my heart and mind are fixed on following Him through the darkest hours of this night season; I am steadfast in my faith and cannot be moved from the Rock of my salvation! Jesus Christ alone can understand my pain, my fears, my worries, and my doubts for on the Cross He bore the intensity of my affliction! My heart reminds me that my Savior is not one who does not understand all that I have suffered! It reminds me that I am no longer bound to the yoke of this world and I no longer have to bear the weight of this burden; for Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light. And I am bound to Him!
It is when I am obedient to set the Lord and His Word before me each morning where I am empowered in my spirit man to hang on to hope; believing by faith that it is just a matter of time before the victory will manifest in the physical realm! And it is through this conscious act of obedience where my flesh finds rest in that hope and the Spirit of God moves in and dispels the spirit of heaviness that had been trying to overtake me! There is no other way to bring the flesh into the submissive place of rest because our flesh is always at war with our spirit man. Our flesh wants its own way and it wants to act out, but when we make the decision to set the Lord before us each morning and fix our eyes on Him while praising Him with our mouths; our flesh is placed under submission to the Spirit!
Our praises pierce the darkness and drive out the spirit of heaviness! As we magnify the Lord, the enormity of problems shrink and we gain a new prospective! When we peer into the Word of God our eyes are fixed on His truth and we are not moved by what we see happening in the physical realm! As we glorify the Lord for His faithfulness, our minds are renewed to the truth that He will be faithful again! In God there are no night seasons for He is light and when He enters in, the darkness disappears! Rejoice today and sing forth praises from your mouth. Glorify the Lord and lift up His name in all the earth! Stand firm on His promises and let your heart instruct you with the Word of God that is treasured up in it! For His Word is life and it will deliver you from this night season of trial! Believe it! Claim it! Walk in it! And you shall see the day of deliverance break forth on the horizon!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Don’t Give Up! God Will Deliver You, Honor You, And Satisfy You!
“Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:9-16
What are you struggling with today? What trial are you walking through? How overwhelmed are you with the season you are in? Have you said to yourself that you want to give up because it seems too much to bear? Have you been crying out for the Lord to show you the light at the end of the tunnel? Does it seem like no one around you truly understands your pain and they appear to be annoyed when you try to share your heart with them? Does it feel like the walls are closing in around you and you feel trapped?
Don’t give up for the Lord Your God is with you and He has given His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways! They are bearing you up in their hands and protecting you! God is strengthening you as you make Him your dwelling place! Sit quietly with Him and listen to His voice, for He is telling you to be still and trust in him! He is preparing a passageway of deliverance for you and you need to discern His voice so you will follow His leading. In those times of quietness call out to Him boldly with your requests for He is listening and He will answer you.
You are not alone! He is with you in your time of trouble! He is working on your behalf to perform his Word and wants you to shout a victory cry of praise that brings glory to His name! For the enemy is already defeated and God wants us to demonstrate that defeat to the world! God delights in delivering His people from trouble and as we exalt Him in the midst of it and make Him our refuge; He strengthens us in the battle! No weapon formed against you can prosper and every tongue that rises up against you; you shall condemn!
Don’t let the devil lie to you and tell you there is no way out! He is a liar and the father of all lies! He only prowls around like a roaring lion but his power to overtake you and defeat you was stripped away through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! The Bible promises that your days shall be like the days of heaven on the earth and that means that you can experience total victory while you are still on this planet! Believe it and do not doubt in your heart or mind for as Jesus is in heaven so are we in this world! Hold tight to the promises of God and when you are tempted to give in or give up; remind yourself that the Lord God is faithful and remind the devil that he is defeated.
If people around you speak words of doubt, disbelief, or despair; walk away from them and put up a boundary of protection for you and your family. Don’t allow them to speak into your life! You have the right to choose who speaks into your life and it is important to surround yourself with people who believe in God, believe in you, and use their words to build you up and encourage you. The Bible says that people can be taken captive by the devil to do his will and his will is to steal, kill, and destroy. Therefore we know that oftentimes he plays out his strategy of attack through people and a lot of times it is the people closest to us who become weapons of destruction.
These attacks oftentimes come through our own family members but that is why it is important to remember that Jesus said our true family members are those people who do the will of the Father. The Father’s will is to build up, encourage, and strengthen one another. So if someone is speaking negatively and bringing judgment, condemnation, confusion, or doubt through their words; they are not operating in the Spirit of the Father or doing His will.
You will make it through this time of trial! So don’t give up! Lift your eyes up towards the heavens and know that your help comes from the maker of the heavens and the earth. With a word the earth and all that is in it was formed and through that same word your circumstance will turn around and you will be delivered from this time of trouble! The lord is looking for a people to honor and satisfy and those people are the ones who make Him their refuge and dwelling place, who believe Him and cry out to Him, who glorify Him and magnify Him with their words and actions! Stand strong in the Lord today and the power of His might! Sing praises to the King of Kings and speak of His great and mighty love for you! Let the peace of Christ rule your heart and mind and look expectantly forward to the day of your deliverance! It is coming! Hallelujah in Jesus name the victory is ours! Amen
What are you struggling with today? What trial are you walking through? How overwhelmed are you with the season you are in? Have you said to yourself that you want to give up because it seems too much to bear? Have you been crying out for the Lord to show you the light at the end of the tunnel? Does it seem like no one around you truly understands your pain and they appear to be annoyed when you try to share your heart with them? Does it feel like the walls are closing in around you and you feel trapped?
Don’t give up for the Lord Your God is with you and He has given His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways! They are bearing you up in their hands and protecting you! God is strengthening you as you make Him your dwelling place! Sit quietly with Him and listen to His voice, for He is telling you to be still and trust in him! He is preparing a passageway of deliverance for you and you need to discern His voice so you will follow His leading. In those times of quietness call out to Him boldly with your requests for He is listening and He will answer you.
You are not alone! He is with you in your time of trouble! He is working on your behalf to perform his Word and wants you to shout a victory cry of praise that brings glory to His name! For the enemy is already defeated and God wants us to demonstrate that defeat to the world! God delights in delivering His people from trouble and as we exalt Him in the midst of it and make Him our refuge; He strengthens us in the battle! No weapon formed against you can prosper and every tongue that rises up against you; you shall condemn!
Don’t let the devil lie to you and tell you there is no way out! He is a liar and the father of all lies! He only prowls around like a roaring lion but his power to overtake you and defeat you was stripped away through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! The Bible promises that your days shall be like the days of heaven on the earth and that means that you can experience total victory while you are still on this planet! Believe it and do not doubt in your heart or mind for as Jesus is in heaven so are we in this world! Hold tight to the promises of God and when you are tempted to give in or give up; remind yourself that the Lord God is faithful and remind the devil that he is defeated.
If people around you speak words of doubt, disbelief, or despair; walk away from them and put up a boundary of protection for you and your family. Don’t allow them to speak into your life! You have the right to choose who speaks into your life and it is important to surround yourself with people who believe in God, believe in you, and use their words to build you up and encourage you. The Bible says that people can be taken captive by the devil to do his will and his will is to steal, kill, and destroy. Therefore we know that oftentimes he plays out his strategy of attack through people and a lot of times it is the people closest to us who become weapons of destruction.
These attacks oftentimes come through our own family members but that is why it is important to remember that Jesus said our true family members are those people who do the will of the Father. The Father’s will is to build up, encourage, and strengthen one another. So if someone is speaking negatively and bringing judgment, condemnation, confusion, or doubt through their words; they are not operating in the Spirit of the Father or doing His will.
You will make it through this time of trial! So don’t give up! Lift your eyes up towards the heavens and know that your help comes from the maker of the heavens and the earth. With a word the earth and all that is in it was formed and through that same word your circumstance will turn around and you will be delivered from this time of trouble! The lord is looking for a people to honor and satisfy and those people are the ones who make Him their refuge and dwelling place, who believe Him and cry out to Him, who glorify Him and magnify Him with their words and actions! Stand strong in the Lord today and the power of His might! Sing praises to the King of Kings and speak of His great and mighty love for you! Let the peace of Christ rule your heart and mind and look expectantly forward to the day of your deliverance! It is coming! Hallelujah in Jesus name the victory is ours! Amen
Saturday, July 24, 2010
The Importance Of Having The Word Treasured Up In Your Heart! (Part Two of Two)
I want to encourage you to read today’s devotion out loud in a strong voice so its message can penetrate your heart and mind! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. If you want the Word to become effective in your life speak it out loud! Believe it by faith! Stand firm on it until your reality catches up with it!
“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success. Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9 AMP
As I ended Day 176 I spoke of the things that I could not be doing right now if the Word of God was not treasured up in my heart because I would be bound up in my own knowledge and relying on humanistic strength to fight this supernatural battle! This week the Lord has reminded me of the many great battles that He instructed His people to fight once they entered the Promised Land. I am sure that Joshua brought to remembrance God’s spoken Word many times when leading the people into battle. And I am sure he spent time meditating on it before he engaged in the battles because he understood the importance of walking in the strength of the Lord. He had witnessed what happened when the people walked in their own strength or in their knowledge and when they turned their eyes away from the leading of the Lord.
I understand the Children of Israel more than I would like to admit because I have done the very same thing at different times during this journey of faith. I have found myself moving in a direction of independence and self reliance and away from the Lord’s leading only to be moved by the Spirit back to a place of dependence as He reminds me of the Word that is treasured up in my heart. And it has been His Words of promise that have given me the strength to stand strong in the midst of this battle! He continues to remind me that as His disciple I move from faith to faith, from victory to victory. That doesn’t mean my life will be absent of troubles or battles! On the contrary Jesus said that in this world we will have many troubles, but to take heart because He has overcome the world! But what it does mean is that I have an assurance that with every battle we are facing right now we will be able to give a victory shout of praise to the Lord when He delivers us out of it!
He cannot fail! He cannot lie! His Word is true and it says that we are more than conquerors! We are the head and not the tail! We are above and not beneath! We have all we need for life and godliness! We are strong in Him and the power of His might! As He is in Heaven so are we in the earth! He is not sick, broke, burdened, homeless, abandoned, depressed, helpless, forsaken, or alone! No! Our God is whole, healed, strong, victorious, empowered, exalted, and glorified! Therefore we have an assurance that He is at work in the midst of our reality and He is working on our behalf to perform His Word in our circumstance!
I don’t know what you are facing in life right now but don’t let the devil lie to you! As a new creation in Jesus Christ you are a VICTOR not a victim! You are a CONQUEROR, not the conquered! If you are feeling overwhelmed in the midst of your circumstance; get the Word of God in your heart and meditate on it! Commit it to memory and let it have its perfect work in your heart and mind! IT WORKS and it is the only thing that can MAKE YOU STRONG, VIGOROUS, AND COURAGEOUS! Listen to what Paul told the church in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “And we also [especially] thank God continually for this, that when you received the message of God [which you heard] from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the Word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its superhuman power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on it].”
We are in a supernatural battle against a defeated enemy who has lied to us and made us believe that we are without hope and doomed to failure! He has no power except for the power we give him so it is our responsibility to remind him of his defeat by standing firm on the Word of God! But if that Word is not in our hearts and minds, he will gain a foothold that will eventually turn into a stronghold, and then it will become a strangle hold! The superhuman power to overcome in every circumstance comes from the Word of God working in our lives! There is NO other power in heaven or on earth that is able to put the works of the devil to death!
Our human reasoning can’t do it! Our striving in our own strength can’t do it! Our human wisdom or knowledge can’t do it! NO! The Word of God is sharper than a two edged sword! It is mighty in the tearing down of strongholds! It is the light in the darkness that illuminates the path to victory! It should be the first and only authority in our lives! John 1:5 says, “And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].” In order to walk in a mindset of victory we have to believe God’s Word over what our eyes see or our ears hear! We have to bind ourselves to it and not separate ourselves from it! Read it! Believe it! Claim it! Walk in it! And we will see the day of deliverance in the house of the Lord! Amen!
“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success. Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9 AMP
As I ended Day 176 I spoke of the things that I could not be doing right now if the Word of God was not treasured up in my heart because I would be bound up in my own knowledge and relying on humanistic strength to fight this supernatural battle! This week the Lord has reminded me of the many great battles that He instructed His people to fight once they entered the Promised Land. I am sure that Joshua brought to remembrance God’s spoken Word many times when leading the people into battle. And I am sure he spent time meditating on it before he engaged in the battles because he understood the importance of walking in the strength of the Lord. He had witnessed what happened when the people walked in their own strength or in their knowledge and when they turned their eyes away from the leading of the Lord.
I understand the Children of Israel more than I would like to admit because I have done the very same thing at different times during this journey of faith. I have found myself moving in a direction of independence and self reliance and away from the Lord’s leading only to be moved by the Spirit back to a place of dependence as He reminds me of the Word that is treasured up in my heart. And it has been His Words of promise that have given me the strength to stand strong in the midst of this battle! He continues to remind me that as His disciple I move from faith to faith, from victory to victory. That doesn’t mean my life will be absent of troubles or battles! On the contrary Jesus said that in this world we will have many troubles, but to take heart because He has overcome the world! But what it does mean is that I have an assurance that with every battle we are facing right now we will be able to give a victory shout of praise to the Lord when He delivers us out of it!
He cannot fail! He cannot lie! His Word is true and it says that we are more than conquerors! We are the head and not the tail! We are above and not beneath! We have all we need for life and godliness! We are strong in Him and the power of His might! As He is in Heaven so are we in the earth! He is not sick, broke, burdened, homeless, abandoned, depressed, helpless, forsaken, or alone! No! Our God is whole, healed, strong, victorious, empowered, exalted, and glorified! Therefore we have an assurance that He is at work in the midst of our reality and He is working on our behalf to perform His Word in our circumstance!
I don’t know what you are facing in life right now but don’t let the devil lie to you! As a new creation in Jesus Christ you are a VICTOR not a victim! You are a CONQUEROR, not the conquered! If you are feeling overwhelmed in the midst of your circumstance; get the Word of God in your heart and meditate on it! Commit it to memory and let it have its perfect work in your heart and mind! IT WORKS and it is the only thing that can MAKE YOU STRONG, VIGOROUS, AND COURAGEOUS! Listen to what Paul told the church in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “And we also [especially] thank God continually for this, that when you received the message of God [which you heard] from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the Word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe [exercising its superhuman power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on it].”
We are in a supernatural battle against a defeated enemy who has lied to us and made us believe that we are without hope and doomed to failure! He has no power except for the power we give him so it is our responsibility to remind him of his defeat by standing firm on the Word of God! But if that Word is not in our hearts and minds, he will gain a foothold that will eventually turn into a stronghold, and then it will become a strangle hold! The superhuman power to overcome in every circumstance comes from the Word of God working in our lives! There is NO other power in heaven or on earth that is able to put the works of the devil to death!
Our human reasoning can’t do it! Our striving in our own strength can’t do it! Our human wisdom or knowledge can’t do it! NO! The Word of God is sharper than a two edged sword! It is mighty in the tearing down of strongholds! It is the light in the darkness that illuminates the path to victory! It should be the first and only authority in our lives! John 1:5 says, “And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].” In order to walk in a mindset of victory we have to believe God’s Word over what our eyes see or our ears hear! We have to bind ourselves to it and not separate ourselves from it! Read it! Believe it! Claim it! Walk in it! And we will see the day of deliverance in the house of the Lord! Amen!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The Importance Of Having The Word Treasured Up In Your Heart! (Part One of Two)
“How shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed and keeping watch [on himself] according to Your word [conforming his life to it]. With my whole heart have I sought You, inquiring for and of You and yearning for You; Oh, let me not wander or step aside [either in ignorance or willfully] from Your commandments. Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord; teach me Your statutes. With my lips have I declared and recounted all the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts and have respect to Your ways [the paths of life marked out by Your law]. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live; and I will observe Your word [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it]. Psalm 119:9-17 AMP
I am currently in a season of trial where I have discovered the importance of having God’s Word treasured up in my heart so I do not sin against Him or against people. With each passing day, as we wait on the Lord to perform His Word in our situation, my mind is bombarded with many words. I have to battle my own voice of doubt and fear, the enemy’s words of accusation and condemnation, and other people’s words of disbelief or questioning. I have to call to remembrance the Word of God that is laid up (treasured up) in my heart! I have to meditate on it daily in order to live these days of trial in a peaceful mindset. Some days I succeed and some days I fail, but every day God is faithful to restore my hope; as I renew my mind to His Words of truth! I can’t remember a time in my life where I was more grateful that I took the time, during the quiet seasons of life, to commit the Word of God to memory because His Words are what are sustaining me right now.
We moved to St. Louis, in faith, knowing that God has called us here to plant the church and resource center and to minister Christ’s hope and healing to the hurting people of the St. Louis region. I have shared in recent devotions how God miraculously opened the door to get us here by providing jobs and housing for us, through a friend. What I have not shared is that both of those fell apart shortly after our arrival and now we are in a hotel waiting on God to open up another door for provision in those areas of need. Can you even imagine what these past few weeks have been like for us as we have lived in limbo? Let me just say that it hasn’t been easy! But God has been faithful and every day as we call His Words of Truth to remembrance; we are built up and encouraged in our faith and our every need for daily provision has been met.
This has been a time when I have desperately longed to hear words of encouragement from human voices only to find myself at the end of the day without very many words of encouragement being spoken. At times I have waited to hear my phone ring but I have to say this hasn’t happened very often during the past few weeks. In fact my phone barely rings these days! I do have a couple of faithful friends who I have shared my pain with and they make sure to call me a few times a week to lift me up and encourage me. But what I have discovered during this time of trial is there really is only one man who ever walked the face of the earth whose voice I need to hear right now and His name is Jesus Christ! But I can only hear His voice because I have committed the sound of it to memory from conversations we have had in the past when I read the Bible and spent time meditating on it!
I cannot even imagine how I would be getting through this time of trial if I didn’t have the Word of God committed to memory and treasured up in my heart! I can tell you that I would be sinning big time if this was the case! For instance I have battled thoughts of anger as I have felt abandoned and I have been tempted to sin but I remember God’s Word that came through Paul, “When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down.” (Ephesians 4:26) And all anger goes and I am filled with peace. I have been tempted to worry when the daily provision for tomorrow didn’t seem possible but I remember Jesus’ words, “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:33-34) And tomorrow’s provision arrives just in time.
I have been shaky in my emotions at times, felt unstable, and been tempted to doubt; but I remember Jesus’ words, “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25) And I am strengthened to stand firm on the rock of Jesus Christ and His Words of promise! I have been tempted to judge people but I remember Jesus’ words, “Judge not [neither pronouncing judgment nor subjecting to censure], and you will not be judged; do not condemn and pronounce guilty, and you will not be condemned and pronounced guilty; acquit and forgive and release (give up resentment, let it drop), and you will be acquitted and forgiven and released.” (Luke 6:37) And my heart becomes softened to the needs of others and I am filled with the love of Christ.
If I did not have the Word of God treasured up in my heart I would not be able to live in faith and believe for the things God has promised! I would not be able to minister each day to the people God is bringing into our lives. I would not be able to speak in the churches each week who are having us in to preach. I would not be able to encourage my husband or my kids. I would not be able to experience incredible joy in the little things we do each day with the kids. I would not be able to pray in faith and stand firm on God’s promises. I would be left to my own devices and full of fear, bitterness, resentment, disbelief, and confusion! In other words I would be a mess! But I am not a mess because I have the Word of God treasured up in my heart and I call those words to remembrance each and every day! And I know it is just a matter of time before my reality catches up with the truth of God’s Word! To be continued......
I am currently in a season of trial where I have discovered the importance of having God’s Word treasured up in my heart so I do not sin against Him or against people. With each passing day, as we wait on the Lord to perform His Word in our situation, my mind is bombarded with many words. I have to battle my own voice of doubt and fear, the enemy’s words of accusation and condemnation, and other people’s words of disbelief or questioning. I have to call to remembrance the Word of God that is laid up (treasured up) in my heart! I have to meditate on it daily in order to live these days of trial in a peaceful mindset. Some days I succeed and some days I fail, but every day God is faithful to restore my hope; as I renew my mind to His Words of truth! I can’t remember a time in my life where I was more grateful that I took the time, during the quiet seasons of life, to commit the Word of God to memory because His Words are what are sustaining me right now.
We moved to St. Louis, in faith, knowing that God has called us here to plant the church and resource center and to minister Christ’s hope and healing to the hurting people of the St. Louis region. I have shared in recent devotions how God miraculously opened the door to get us here by providing jobs and housing for us, through a friend. What I have not shared is that both of those fell apart shortly after our arrival and now we are in a hotel waiting on God to open up another door for provision in those areas of need. Can you even imagine what these past few weeks have been like for us as we have lived in limbo? Let me just say that it hasn’t been easy! But God has been faithful and every day as we call His Words of Truth to remembrance; we are built up and encouraged in our faith and our every need for daily provision has been met.
This has been a time when I have desperately longed to hear words of encouragement from human voices only to find myself at the end of the day without very many words of encouragement being spoken. At times I have waited to hear my phone ring but I have to say this hasn’t happened very often during the past few weeks. In fact my phone barely rings these days! I do have a couple of faithful friends who I have shared my pain with and they make sure to call me a few times a week to lift me up and encourage me. But what I have discovered during this time of trial is there really is only one man who ever walked the face of the earth whose voice I need to hear right now and His name is Jesus Christ! But I can only hear His voice because I have committed the sound of it to memory from conversations we have had in the past when I read the Bible and spent time meditating on it!
I cannot even imagine how I would be getting through this time of trial if I didn’t have the Word of God committed to memory and treasured up in my heart! I can tell you that I would be sinning big time if this was the case! For instance I have battled thoughts of anger as I have felt abandoned and I have been tempted to sin but I remember God’s Word that came through Paul, “When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down.” (Ephesians 4:26) And all anger goes and I am filled with peace. I have been tempted to worry when the daily provision for tomorrow didn’t seem possible but I remember Jesus’ words, “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:33-34) And tomorrow’s provision arrives just in time.
I have been shaky in my emotions at times, felt unstable, and been tempted to doubt; but I remember Jesus’ words, “So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25) And I am strengthened to stand firm on the rock of Jesus Christ and His Words of promise! I have been tempted to judge people but I remember Jesus’ words, “Judge not [neither pronouncing judgment nor subjecting to censure], and you will not be judged; do not condemn and pronounce guilty, and you will not be condemned and pronounced guilty; acquit and forgive and release (give up resentment, let it drop), and you will be acquitted and forgiven and released.” (Luke 6:37) And my heart becomes softened to the needs of others and I am filled with the love of Christ.
If I did not have the Word of God treasured up in my heart I would not be able to live in faith and believe for the things God has promised! I would not be able to minister each day to the people God is bringing into our lives. I would not be able to speak in the churches each week who are having us in to preach. I would not be able to encourage my husband or my kids. I would not be able to experience incredible joy in the little things we do each day with the kids. I would not be able to pray in faith and stand firm on God’s promises. I would be left to my own devices and full of fear, bitterness, resentment, disbelief, and confusion! In other words I would be a mess! But I am not a mess because I have the Word of God treasured up in my heart and I call those words to remembrance each and every day! And I know it is just a matter of time before my reality catches up with the truth of God’s Word! To be continued......
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Being Willing To Fulfill Your Role In God’s Plan Of Provision!
“A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.” 2 Kings 4:1-7 NKJ
This passage gives us a great picture of God’s desire for His people working together to meet one another’s needs. Elisha, the widow, and the neighbors had to fulfill their calling in this situation in order for the widow’s needs to be met. And in reading the widows response to Elisha in this passage you can sense the amount of pressure she was under and the pain she was experiencing with the threat of her sons being taken into slavery; due to her inability to pay her debts. And if any of the people in this story would have ignored and disobeyed God’s voice; her worst nightmare would have come true. But they didn’t and the result of their choice to listen and obey gives us a wonderful pattern of success to follow.
All of us know what financial pressure feels like and many of us have, at one time or another, have dodged phone calls from creditors wanting to be paid. I have personally experienced this and the anxiety it produces is almost too much to bear at times! Maybe you too have been in, or are in, a time of financial hardship and can identify with the kind of pressure the widow was experiencing in this story. While no one is going to take our children into slavery if we can’t pay our debts; we do experience other devastating losses as a result of financial hardship.
If you are in a financial crisis, I want to encourage you today and let you know that God is your provider and He is faithful! But I also want you to know how important it is to seek Him for the way He wants to meet your financial needs. Sometimes He will give you a creative idea that will produce income. Sometimes He will prompt someone to help. He may open up a door that leads to a second job. And sometimes He tells us to make our need known and ask the people around us for help, just like Elisha instructed the widow to do. We never know the way He will meet our needs but we can be assured He will! But it is our responsibility to seek Him for direction because only He knows the path that leads to our provision.
In this passage God gave the widow instructions through Elisha. He said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.” Can you imagine what must have been going through her mind at the time? Think about it for a minute. She is grieving the loss of her husband, facing the loss of her sons to slavery, and experiencing feelings of hopelessness due to her financial hardship. And Elisha instructs her to go to neighbors and ask for help. And not just a little help; he told her to ask for a lot of help. We know this because he said, “do not gather just a few.” But with everything she was experiencing she obeyed his command. When she did God was not only faithful to meet her immediate need but He exceeded it; even to the point of providing enough provision for her and her sons to live on for the rest of their lives after they sold the oil in the jars!
I am sure it was difficult for each person in this story to fulfill their purpose but as they did; God was faithful. For Elisha He had to be willing and obedient to be the voice of hope, encouragement, and instruction. For the woman she had to be willing to receive the encouragement, and she had to be willing to listen to the voice of instruction. For the neighbors they had to be willing to listen as she made her need known and then be willing to meet it; even without the promise of a return for their investment. But as they were willing and obedient, God was faithful to perform that which He had promised!
So my question for all of us today is what role is God asking us to walk in at this time in life and are we willing to be obedient? Are you like Elisha and called to be the voice of hope and instruction for a friend who is struggling financially and are you willing to encourage them in the way the Lord leads you to give instruction? Are you the widow who has a need? Or are you the neighbor who can meet the need of someone who is suffering from financial hardship? We have to remember that every role in the body of Christ is vital and important and when we walk in our roles God blesses every one of us. But with each role comes the responsibility to be willing and obedient to the voice of God.
Today I want us to spend time praying and asking God to reveal His desire for us as His disciples and to be willing to submit to that desire. If we will do this on a daily basis we will experience the fulfillment of God’s promises in our own lives and we will see the fulfillment of God’s promises manifest in the lives of the people around us. During different seasons of life we will all be given the opportunity to walk in each of these roles. If we are willing today to walk in the role we find ourselves in, then when our seasons change and we find ourselves in a different role; we will be prepared to walk in the next role as well. One role is not greater than another! They are all equally important for the building up of the body of Christ! The most important thing for us to do is to be willing and obedient to walk in the role God has instructed us to fulfill.
This passage gives us a great picture of God’s desire for His people working together to meet one another’s needs. Elisha, the widow, and the neighbors had to fulfill their calling in this situation in order for the widow’s needs to be met. And in reading the widows response to Elisha in this passage you can sense the amount of pressure she was under and the pain she was experiencing with the threat of her sons being taken into slavery; due to her inability to pay her debts. And if any of the people in this story would have ignored and disobeyed God’s voice; her worst nightmare would have come true. But they didn’t and the result of their choice to listen and obey gives us a wonderful pattern of success to follow.
All of us know what financial pressure feels like and many of us have, at one time or another, have dodged phone calls from creditors wanting to be paid. I have personally experienced this and the anxiety it produces is almost too much to bear at times! Maybe you too have been in, or are in, a time of financial hardship and can identify with the kind of pressure the widow was experiencing in this story. While no one is going to take our children into slavery if we can’t pay our debts; we do experience other devastating losses as a result of financial hardship.
If you are in a financial crisis, I want to encourage you today and let you know that God is your provider and He is faithful! But I also want you to know how important it is to seek Him for the way He wants to meet your financial needs. Sometimes He will give you a creative idea that will produce income. Sometimes He will prompt someone to help. He may open up a door that leads to a second job. And sometimes He tells us to make our need known and ask the people around us for help, just like Elisha instructed the widow to do. We never know the way He will meet our needs but we can be assured He will! But it is our responsibility to seek Him for direction because only He knows the path that leads to our provision.
In this passage God gave the widow instructions through Elisha. He said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.” Can you imagine what must have been going through her mind at the time? Think about it for a minute. She is grieving the loss of her husband, facing the loss of her sons to slavery, and experiencing feelings of hopelessness due to her financial hardship. And Elisha instructs her to go to neighbors and ask for help. And not just a little help; he told her to ask for a lot of help. We know this because he said, “do not gather just a few.” But with everything she was experiencing she obeyed his command. When she did God was not only faithful to meet her immediate need but He exceeded it; even to the point of providing enough provision for her and her sons to live on for the rest of their lives after they sold the oil in the jars!
I am sure it was difficult for each person in this story to fulfill their purpose but as they did; God was faithful. For Elisha He had to be willing and obedient to be the voice of hope, encouragement, and instruction. For the woman she had to be willing to receive the encouragement, and she had to be willing to listen to the voice of instruction. For the neighbors they had to be willing to listen as she made her need known and then be willing to meet it; even without the promise of a return for their investment. But as they were willing and obedient, God was faithful to perform that which He had promised!
So my question for all of us today is what role is God asking us to walk in at this time in life and are we willing to be obedient? Are you like Elisha and called to be the voice of hope and instruction for a friend who is struggling financially and are you willing to encourage them in the way the Lord leads you to give instruction? Are you the widow who has a need? Or are you the neighbor who can meet the need of someone who is suffering from financial hardship? We have to remember that every role in the body of Christ is vital and important and when we walk in our roles God blesses every one of us. But with each role comes the responsibility to be willing and obedient to the voice of God.
Today I want us to spend time praying and asking God to reveal His desire for us as His disciples and to be willing to submit to that desire. If we will do this on a daily basis we will experience the fulfillment of God’s promises in our own lives and we will see the fulfillment of God’s promises manifest in the lives of the people around us. During different seasons of life we will all be given the opportunity to walk in each of these roles. If we are willing today to walk in the role we find ourselves in, then when our seasons change and we find ourselves in a different role; we will be prepared to walk in the next role as well. One role is not greater than another! They are all equally important for the building up of the body of Christ! The most important thing for us to do is to be willing and obedient to walk in the role God has instructed us to fulfill.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Why Worry, God Is Faithful!
“So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34 AMP
“He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). To him who overcomes (conquers), I will give to eat of the manna that is hidden, and I will give him a white stone with a new name engraved on the stone, which no one knows or understands except he who receives it.” Revelation 2:17 AMP
I am going to be completely vulnerable with you today as I share this message from the heart. I understand that we all struggle with anxiousness and worry at times. When things don’t look like they are going to work out or when obstacles appear out of nowhere and look like they are blocking us from proceeding on the path God has prepared for us; it is easy to succumb to anxiety and worry. I have just walked through a season where I have to admit I felt the sting of anxiety and worry. I am not completely out of this season because things in my life still appear to be shaky, but I have drawn strength from these verses and they have helped me keep my feet solidly planted on the Word of God as my source, my provision, my protection, and my shield.
During this season I have come to understand that the devil only wins in this area when we give up and give in to the anxiety and worry, but he remains in a submissive stance of defeat when we deny him the right to rule our hearts and minds. Like the children of Israel we are discovering what it means to have our daily manna provided for us by the Lord, and what it means to trust and rely on Him to be faithful. Each day we wake up to the manna God is providing for us and each day we eat of it. But unlike the children of Israel we do not have our eyes fixed on the physical manna as our source of nourishment. The daily manna was for them and is for us, a means to an end and that end is living in abundance, in the Promised Land.
It was never God’s intention for them or for any of us to only live on the daily manna for a lifetime. It was His provided provision for a season of transition. But if our vision of this truth is limited due to anxiousness and worry we will not be able to believe Him for the greater source of manna, the hidden manna; which is set aside for those who overcome and conquer. Our minds will be filled with images of a depleting supply of manna which will lead us to wonder if God is even going to show up tomorrow and provide it once again. We become weak in our faith and begin to grumble against God, and we turn our eyes back towards Egypt and ask God to take us back to the place that was familiar and comfortable.
In order for us to overcome in this area two things have to happen in our hearts and minds. First we have to believe by faith that what God has promised, He will perform, and secondly we have to believe that we are the inheritors of that promise. If we doubt these truths we set ourselves up to give in to the temptation to be anxious and worrisome when things don’t look like they are working out or when obstacles appear in our path. We have to understand that the moment we said yes to a relationship with Jesus Christ we were given a new name and that name has an irrevocable promise attached to it, which is the promise of an abundant life in heaven and on earth because of the shed blood of Jesus at the Cross!
We are no longer wandering in the desert of transition trying to please God by our works of righteousness in order to enter the Promised Land of abundance. We are under the New Covenant where we are the righteousness of God and it is our faith in this truth that pleases Him. The desert places of transition are no longer a proving ground of our obedience and belief; they are God’s proving ground of His faithfulness and provision. And when we understand this and believe it, He gives us the hidden manna, which is the revelation of Himself manifested in the resurrected power of Jesus working in and through us to provide for our physical, emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual needs.
Jesus Christ alone is our source of help in our times of trouble. Jesus Christ alone is our source of hope in our times of doubt. Jesus Christ alone is our source of peace in times of worry and anxiousness. Jesus Christ alone is our daily bread! There is no other source that can satisfy. So what we are learning and I hope you will learn too is that all are needs are met in Him and all abundance in the Promised Land in heaven and on earth is ours! It is no longer a matter of if we will receive it. It is only a matter of time and as we wait on Him in our times of transition He is faithful to provide for us each day!
“He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). To him who overcomes (conquers), I will give to eat of the manna that is hidden, and I will give him a white stone with a new name engraved on the stone, which no one knows or understands except he who receives it.” Revelation 2:17 AMP
I am going to be completely vulnerable with you today as I share this message from the heart. I understand that we all struggle with anxiousness and worry at times. When things don’t look like they are going to work out or when obstacles appear out of nowhere and look like they are blocking us from proceeding on the path God has prepared for us; it is easy to succumb to anxiety and worry. I have just walked through a season where I have to admit I felt the sting of anxiety and worry. I am not completely out of this season because things in my life still appear to be shaky, but I have drawn strength from these verses and they have helped me keep my feet solidly planted on the Word of God as my source, my provision, my protection, and my shield.
During this season I have come to understand that the devil only wins in this area when we give up and give in to the anxiety and worry, but he remains in a submissive stance of defeat when we deny him the right to rule our hearts and minds. Like the children of Israel we are discovering what it means to have our daily manna provided for us by the Lord, and what it means to trust and rely on Him to be faithful. Each day we wake up to the manna God is providing for us and each day we eat of it. But unlike the children of Israel we do not have our eyes fixed on the physical manna as our source of nourishment. The daily manna was for them and is for us, a means to an end and that end is living in abundance, in the Promised Land.
It was never God’s intention for them or for any of us to only live on the daily manna for a lifetime. It was His provided provision for a season of transition. But if our vision of this truth is limited due to anxiousness and worry we will not be able to believe Him for the greater source of manna, the hidden manna; which is set aside for those who overcome and conquer. Our minds will be filled with images of a depleting supply of manna which will lead us to wonder if God is even going to show up tomorrow and provide it once again. We become weak in our faith and begin to grumble against God, and we turn our eyes back towards Egypt and ask God to take us back to the place that was familiar and comfortable.
In order for us to overcome in this area two things have to happen in our hearts and minds. First we have to believe by faith that what God has promised, He will perform, and secondly we have to believe that we are the inheritors of that promise. If we doubt these truths we set ourselves up to give in to the temptation to be anxious and worrisome when things don’t look like they are working out or when obstacles appear in our path. We have to understand that the moment we said yes to a relationship with Jesus Christ we were given a new name and that name has an irrevocable promise attached to it, which is the promise of an abundant life in heaven and on earth because of the shed blood of Jesus at the Cross!
We are no longer wandering in the desert of transition trying to please God by our works of righteousness in order to enter the Promised Land of abundance. We are under the New Covenant where we are the righteousness of God and it is our faith in this truth that pleases Him. The desert places of transition are no longer a proving ground of our obedience and belief; they are God’s proving ground of His faithfulness and provision. And when we understand this and believe it, He gives us the hidden manna, which is the revelation of Himself manifested in the resurrected power of Jesus working in and through us to provide for our physical, emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual needs.
Jesus Christ alone is our source of help in our times of trouble. Jesus Christ alone is our source of hope in our times of doubt. Jesus Christ alone is our source of peace in times of worry and anxiousness. Jesus Christ alone is our daily bread! There is no other source that can satisfy. So what we are learning and I hope you will learn too is that all are needs are met in Him and all abundance in the Promised Land in heaven and on earth is ours! It is no longer a matter of if we will receive it. It is only a matter of time and as we wait on Him in our times of transition He is faithful to provide for us each day!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Do Not Cast Away Your Confidence While Waiting For Your Harvest!
“But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:” Hebrews 10:32-36 NKJ
I am sure you would agree that the most difficult time to find the strength to endure is after suffering from a long season of drought or trial in your life, but that is exactly what the writer of Hebrews is calling us to do in this passage. He urges us to recall the former days, the days when we were filled with zeal for Christ and nothing could stand up against our faith, or destroy our hope! The days our hearts were drawn near to God and our minds were fixed on His promises! The days we counted it pure joy to suffer trials for the sake of the Gospel! Those former days where our earthly mindset was fixed on the heavenly reward and we didn’t let seasons of drought or times of trial distract us on our journey of faith!
It is in recalling what Christ did for us on the day of our salvation and embracing His resurrection life that lives on the inside of us where the strength to endure and our confidence to stand, comes from! It is not a self imposed strength of will, for no long term strength comes from our own efforts! It is not in adhering to a religious list of dead works for that only leads to complete exhaustion! No, it only comes from the center of our being, Christ in us, the hope of glory; where we are strengthened and where true confidence comes from!
But as we see in this passage we have a responsibility to remind ourselves of the former days and we have the command to not cast away our confidence! I can attest to the fact that these are two of the hardest things to do when you are in a drought season or a time of trial, but when we make the conscious decision to do these things; we are once again filled with faith and hope! When I do this my mind is filled with images of the times God has been faithful to me and it empowers me to believe that He will be faithful this time as well. My heart is filled with hope and I envision the day when I will see Jesus face to face and receive my true reward for standing strong in the faith!
When the devil or my own mind try to convince me that times are only going to get worse or that I will lose all strength and eventually succumb to the pressure to give up; I fight against those thoughts by renewing my mind in the Word. I give my mind and heart the command to submit to the will of God and to say, let God be true and every man a liar! (Romans 3:4) I rebuke the thoughts of hopelessness and remind myself of the hope I have in Christ and of His resurrection power that is operating on the inside of me! (Galatians 2:20)
When fear rises up, when my flesh is weak, I allow the love of God to envelop me and remind myself that in Christ I have a great reward both in heaven and here on the earth, for as He is so am I in this world. (1 John 4:17-18) I fix my mind on things above and not on the earthly season of drought or time of trial. (Colossians 3:2-4) Sometimes I can encourage myself in the Lord the way David did and experience renewal and other times I have to enlist the help of close friends to hold up my weakened arms like Aaron and Hur did for Moses. (Exodus 17:12) We have just been through one of these times and if it hadn’t been for the body of Christ supporting me through it, I may have succumbed to the pressure to give in and give up. But as I called out for help and the body of Christ responded I was strengthened and renewed in my inner man.
We all have times in life where we will have to execute the instructions given to us in Hebrews 10:32 -36 but God is faithful and He will not abandon us as we do it. He will bring to remembrance the former days and remind us of His faithfulness. He will give us the endurance and strength we need to overcome. And He will renew our confidence and remind us of our great reward that awaits us in glory. He is the faithful Father who gives good gifts to His children! Nothing can compare to His love for us! His desire is to see us walk in the fullness of the life of Christ that lives, and moves, and has His being in us and to see us believe Him for the things He has promised! His will is for His children to accept their inheritance in Him and to live the abundant life He has given us in Christ, not just when we get to heaven, but while we are still on this earth!
I am sure you would agree that the most difficult time to find the strength to endure is after suffering from a long season of drought or trial in your life, but that is exactly what the writer of Hebrews is calling us to do in this passage. He urges us to recall the former days, the days when we were filled with zeal for Christ and nothing could stand up against our faith, or destroy our hope! The days our hearts were drawn near to God and our minds were fixed on His promises! The days we counted it pure joy to suffer trials for the sake of the Gospel! Those former days where our earthly mindset was fixed on the heavenly reward and we didn’t let seasons of drought or times of trial distract us on our journey of faith!
It is in recalling what Christ did for us on the day of our salvation and embracing His resurrection life that lives on the inside of us where the strength to endure and our confidence to stand, comes from! It is not a self imposed strength of will, for no long term strength comes from our own efforts! It is not in adhering to a religious list of dead works for that only leads to complete exhaustion! No, it only comes from the center of our being, Christ in us, the hope of glory; where we are strengthened and where true confidence comes from!
But as we see in this passage we have a responsibility to remind ourselves of the former days and we have the command to not cast away our confidence! I can attest to the fact that these are two of the hardest things to do when you are in a drought season or a time of trial, but when we make the conscious decision to do these things; we are once again filled with faith and hope! When I do this my mind is filled with images of the times God has been faithful to me and it empowers me to believe that He will be faithful this time as well. My heart is filled with hope and I envision the day when I will see Jesus face to face and receive my true reward for standing strong in the faith!
When the devil or my own mind try to convince me that times are only going to get worse or that I will lose all strength and eventually succumb to the pressure to give up; I fight against those thoughts by renewing my mind in the Word. I give my mind and heart the command to submit to the will of God and to say, let God be true and every man a liar! (Romans 3:4) I rebuke the thoughts of hopelessness and remind myself of the hope I have in Christ and of His resurrection power that is operating on the inside of me! (Galatians 2:20)
When fear rises up, when my flesh is weak, I allow the love of God to envelop me and remind myself that in Christ I have a great reward both in heaven and here on the earth, for as He is so am I in this world. (1 John 4:17-18) I fix my mind on things above and not on the earthly season of drought or time of trial. (Colossians 3:2-4) Sometimes I can encourage myself in the Lord the way David did and experience renewal and other times I have to enlist the help of close friends to hold up my weakened arms like Aaron and Hur did for Moses. (Exodus 17:12) We have just been through one of these times and if it hadn’t been for the body of Christ supporting me through it, I may have succumbed to the pressure to give in and give up. But as I called out for help and the body of Christ responded I was strengthened and renewed in my inner man.
We all have times in life where we will have to execute the instructions given to us in Hebrews 10:32 -36 but God is faithful and He will not abandon us as we do it. He will bring to remembrance the former days and remind us of His faithfulness. He will give us the endurance and strength we need to overcome. And He will renew our confidence and remind us of our great reward that awaits us in glory. He is the faithful Father who gives good gifts to His children! Nothing can compare to His love for us! His desire is to see us walk in the fullness of the life of Christ that lives, and moves, and has His being in us and to see us believe Him for the things He has promised! His will is for His children to accept their inheritance in Him and to live the abundant life He has given us in Christ, not just when we get to heaven, but while we are still on this earth!
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