Pastor Mitch Live

The Lord My Shepherd

2012-01-21T10:11:00.001-05:00

I am leaving today on a two week missions trip. For security reasons I will not be able to post while away, and I can give little information here. I am trusting God to minister LIFE through us during this trip. Thank you for your prayers for our safety. Feel free to look through the past weeks of my blogs and be encouraged. I'll post again either February 4th or 5th, and will try to prior to this as security permits. May our Shepherd Lord hold you in the palm of His hand!

The Lord My Shepherd

The Lord is myshepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leadsme beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths ofrighteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of theshadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Yourstaff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of myenemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness andmercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house ofthe Lord Forever (Psalm 23).

The Father sees us as sheep, and He has the role of ashepherd in our lives. Here are some practical truths about sheep and shepherdsthat apply to our relationship with the Lord.

A shepherd knows hissheep by name and the sheep train themselves to know the shepherd’s voice.Sheep are helpless to defend themselves against enemies, and easily wander intodanger.

The Father makes us tolie down in green pastures. A good shepherd will give his sheep the bestfood, and will lead them for miles to the greenest, most lush pastures. Goodfood means a healthy flock. Life is sustained by water, and the shepherd alwayslooks for an abundant source near the grazing field. The Father is Jehovah Jireh to us. He provides us witheverything we need to live in blessing. He’s always looking for the best supplyfor all of our needs!

The Father restoresour souls. A shepherd looks after each sheep, and seeks to make it feelsecure and cared for. The Father wants to minister to us and heal the emotionalwounds that life brings. The Father as our shepherd restores our soul. He leadsus to partake of the engrafted Word that will renew our minds and release painfrom our emotions (James 1:21). He will lead us away from the activities of theflesh that rob us of peace and inward rest, and He urges us to spend time withHim so that He can brush away our fears with His comforting Word.

The Lord our shepherd iswith us in times of danger. The valley of the shadow of death is a gulleyon the side of a mountain that the shepherd and sheep must pass through to getback home. Animals of prey watch from the surrounding hills for sheep thatstray. The shepherd has a rod to defend the sheep from the prey. On the otherend of the rod is a hooked end that the shepherd uses to grab the sheep by theneck when they are about to leave the fold. Sheep feel secure from danger aslong as they know the shepherd is nearby to defend them.

The Father prepares atable before us in front of our enemies. A shepherd will look for a flatplace in a field where the sheep can lay down, eat lush grass, and rest. As thesheep eat and rest, the shepherd is ever watching for the prey that seeks toharm his sheep. The sheep eat and rest in security as long as they can look upand see their shepherd.

The Father anoints ourhead with oil. A Shepherd will anoint his sheep on a hot, dry day. Oilsoothes the parched skin and brings refreshment in arid eastern countries.Wounds from brier scratches or snakes bites are cared for by being dressed withoil. The Father ever seeks to bring healing, health and restoration to ourparched lives.

Our cup runs over.It’s one thing to have a full supply, but it’s quite another to have so muchthat your cup runs over! That’s what our shepherd desires for us as His sheep.He wants us to have more than enough!

His goodness and mercyare extended to us every day of our lives. His mercies are new everymorning! Blessing chases us every day! Allow the Lord to be your shepherdtoday. Listen for His voice. Watch for the guidance He brings through His Wordto you. Expect Him to nurture you and care for you spiritually, emotionally,mentally, and physically. He is a goodshepherd!

No Fear

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For God did not giveus a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawningfear), but He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm andwell-balanced mind and discipline and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7 –Amplified).

A fear based life is an unsettled life. What’s going tohappen in my future, in my home, in my travels, in my body, in my finances? Afaith based life expects God to act in every circumstance and situation thatlife brings.

A fear based life is based on feelings and circumstances. Afaith based life is a life that is lived by the Word! What God says settleseverything to the faith based life. A calmness, a rest, a hope, a security, andgreat joy accompany the faith based life. Depression, gloom, irritability,dread, hopelessness, and tiredness accompany the fear based life.

Make the switch today to be a person who lives by faith andnot by fear based sight! Each day will become an adventure as you and theFather go through the day talking with one another, strategizing with His Wordabout the details of what you’re doing. Faith based living does not consultwith the flesh, circumstances or opinion. Thussays the Lord rules the faith based life.

Fear attracts satanic activity, and draws a person intodifficulty. The fear of man brings asnare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe (Proverbs 29:25). Jobascribed his troubles to his fear that opened the door for the enemy to attackhim. For the thing I greatly feared hascome upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me (Job 3:25).

Don’t allow fear to rule your life. Fill yourself with theWord. Ask yourself what the Word says about every area of life. Refuse fear andthe emotional baggage it brings. Lift your hands, praise God, and declare theLordship of His Word over your life! Speak the Word and run fear out of yourlife today!

The Life Changing Word

2012-01-19T08:57:00.002-05:00

It is the Spirit who gives life; the fleshprofits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life(John 6:63).

The Word contains God’s very life and nature. Feeding on theWord is not like reading Shakespeare or classic literature. These contain nopower to change. But God’s Word is thepower of God unto salvation for spirit, soul, and body (Romans 1:16-17).

Time in the Word is time spent in the presence of theFather. And just as you take your car into the mechanics shop for a tune up, sothe Word tunes us up spiritually. It rids us of the habits and attitudes thathold us back. It makes adjustments in all areas of life; our home, our businesslife, our private world, and has to power to break engrained habits of conduct.

The Word provides spiritual nutrition so that we grow intothe likeness of Christ. The Word is spirit food. Keep your spirit richly fedwith this manna from heaven.

One Word of caution though. Just reading the Word with nopurpose to change or act will do no good. Spiritual growth will be stifled, andpersonal progress will not be realized. It becomes self-evident over a periodof time whether or not we are submitting ourselves to the Lordship of Jesusthrough the Lordship of the Word.

Notice again James 1:22-25 (NIV): Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what itsays. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a manwho looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away andimmediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into theperfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting whathe has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does.

The author of Hebrews likewise gives us this warning:Hebrews 5:12-14 (NIV).

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, youneed someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again.You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant,is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is forthe mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish goodfrom evil.

Be sure to feed on the Word daily with the attitude ofacting on what you read. Be determined to change any action, word, attitude,motive, or conduct that disagrees with the Word. Keep a sensitive ear to theHoly Spirit by consciously asking yourself what the Word says about what you’redoing throughout the day.

If you’ll practice this for 21 to 28 days, you’ll begin toform a habit of walking intimately with your Father. This time next year,you’ll not be the same person!

Pray in the Spirit!

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For he who speaksin a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him;however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries (1 Corinthians 14:2)

For if I pray in atongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful (1 Corinthians14:14). For who among men knows thethoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no oneknows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:11 -NIV). Now He who searches the heartsknows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for thesaints according to the will of God (Romans 8:27).

So many Spirit-Filled believers underestimate the powerof praying in the spirit every day. With the baptism with the Holy Spirit, theFather has given us an ability to pray for things ahead of time. When we prayin tongues, we are praying out the perfect will of God for our lives.

It is not necessary to know what you’re praying about intongues for it to be effective. That’s what keeps many believers from spendingmore time praying this way. Your mind will tell you’re that you’re wasting yourtime while you’re praying in the spirit. And many times the benefits are notimmediately recognizable.

Often, I have thoughts come to me, or a reoccurringimpression deep inside about things I need to do or things I need to change.These impressions come about because I pray in the spirit daily, allowingspirit to pray about what mind doesn’t know that needs prayer.

If you pray in the spirit daily, you’ll find that thingsin your life are already prayed about before they come up. I have things happenin relating to people regularly that I knew would occur simply because I prayin the spirit and it’s prayed our well in advance.

I have a habit of planning ahead and not doing thingssuddenly with natural things. Now, since I’ve learned the value of praying intongues, I know that I must also pray daily in the spirit to prepare for mytomorrows.

Don’t allow Satan or religious tradition to talk you outof using this valuable prayer tool of praying in tongues. Satan’s kingdom sohates this that he’ll do all kinds of things to convince you not to take thetime. Don’t listen to him. Begin today to set aside time to pray in tongues. Itwill become your most productive time. Your life will change.

Spirit Power

2012-01-17T08:19:00.000-05:00

Therefore, dearbrothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful natureurges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if throughthe power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, youwill live (Romans 8:12-13).

I was not able as a teenage to control the desires of myflesh until I received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. I had the desire to dothe right thing. But day after day I was waylaid by the flesh, the world, andthe devil. With the baptism with the Holy Spirit several things occurred.

First, spiritual things took on a new dimension ofimportance. Instead of having to think about how my spiritual life related tomy work, my friends, my family, my inner life, I found an almost automaticconnection. The job of the Holy Spirit is to make Jesus real and manifest tothe believer. When He comes in the baptism with the Spirit, He in fullness doesHis job, if allowed.

Second, The Bible become a book I craved. I wanted toread it a lot. Then, I noticed that what I read would come back up in mythought life over and over. I found later that the Holy Spirit will remind youof the Word you read and store in your thoughts (John 14:26). When my fleshrose up, I found scripture would rise up too. And with the scripture cameconviction. Then things that enticed me just weren’t as enticing anymore.

Thirdly, I prayed in tongues every day. I found that astrength would buoy up inside me when I prayed in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:4;Jude 20). My spirit was receiving a Divine charge! When temptation knocked, itseemed that a power beyond my own kept me from yielding. The times I did yieldI was most miserable and I repented immediately. Sin had lost its grip.

If you will allow Him control, the Holy Spirit will leadyou right into intimacy with Jesus. Let your walls down. He loves you. Some ofus won’t let anyone close because others have harmed us in some way in ourpast. Don’t allow the fear of intimacy to keep you from this wonderful person,the Holy Spirit.

If allowed, the Holy Spirit will lead you into a deeperexperience in the Word. Then, He will talk to you about adjustments you need tomake to follow the Word more closely in your personal life. He will tell youwho to befriend, and who to keep at a distance because of their lifestyle. Hewill speak to you throughout your day, and pull to the Word. He will keep watchand guard you when the world, the flesh, or the devil rise up.

The key is spending time with the Father and Jesusthrough the Word and in prayer. If you do, the Holy Spirit will help you put todeath the negative habits of your flesh!

Praise is Powerful

2012-01-16T09:33:00.000-05:00

But You are holy, OYou Who dwell in the holy place where the praises of Israel are offered (Psalm 22:3– Amplified).

Believers have several weapons at their disposal as theyfight the good fight of faith. They have the Word of God, the name of Jesus,the blood of Jesus, and praise and worship!

The Father watches over His Word to make it good as the sword of the Spirit comes out of ourmouth from our hearts in faith (Jeremiah 1:12). Demonic forces tremble when thecommand of faith is given in the Name ofJesus (Philippians 2: 9-11)! And we overcome Satan forces by the blood of the lamb and the word of ourtestimony (Revelation 12:11).

But of all the weapons in our arsenal, perhaps praise is thestrongest. When praise is offered, God Almighty shows up in the atmosphere! Theweightiness of God, the power of who He is, manifests when praise is uttered.The power of God’s kingdom is aroused when our praise and worship areexpressed.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were praising and worship soloudly that the other prisoners heard them as they were held in chains in thedark prison. Instead of the atmosphere of the prison invading them, theydecided to invade that atmosphere of darkness with the presence of God! Andtheir chains fell off, the prison doors were opened, and they were set free!God responded to their praise, shaking the ground under their feet, and shakingthe unbelief around them that threatened their lives!

During battle, the Israelites were instructed to put Judah(praise) in the forefront of the combat They would sing, for the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever! Israel’senemies would be defeated time after time by an unseen host of angels as Israel foughtwith the weapons of a new type of spiritualwarfare, praise and worship!

God has not changed. He still responds to praise by pouringout the weightiness of His presence, causing unseen enemies to flee. Don’tcower down to circumstances today. Pull out that weapon of praise, and allowthe Lord to fight your battles. The battle is the Lord’s. The victory is oursto enjoy!

Don't Get Too Busy

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He gives power tothe tired and worn out, and strength to the weak. Even the youths shall beexhausted, and the young men will all give up. But they that wait upon the Lordshall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; theyshall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:29-31-Living Bible) For the law of the Spiritof life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death(Romans 8:2).

Strong fellowship with God brings light into your dailylife. The stronger the fellowship, the stronger t he light. It’s the law of theSpirit of life in Christ Jesus that sets us free from the law of sin and death.

Time spent in the presence of the Father waiting inprayer lifts us out of the mundane flesh into a place where we experience theinheritance the Father has for us as saints.

We’re to live in thelaw of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. This frees us from the law ofsin and death. Just as the laws of aerodynamics and the laws of lift and thrustwork together to override the effects of the law of gravity; causing a largeaircraft weighing hundreds of tons to sail into the air, so the law of thespirit of life in Christ Jesus will free us from the habits and weights thatkeep us from God’s highest and best.

Someone has said that an acronym for BUSY could be Being Under Satan’s Yolk. Satan wants to nickel and dimeyour time today so that you have little time to spend where it matters most; inGod’s presence in the Word and in fellowship with Him in prayer.

If you decide to put God first in your day, Satan can’tattack you with busy! You’ve already prepared yourself for anything that comesthat day by being strengthened in His presence.

Take time with your Father today. He wants to hear you.He wants to speak to you. He wants to minister His peace and His calm to you.He has the answer for every issue of life. His power in you is greater than anyforce or opposition you face today.

Take time to dwell with Him in that secret place offellowship today. It will show on you!

The Meditations of My Heart

2012-01-13T05:14:00.002-05:00

Let the words of mymouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, mystrength and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).

The Hebrew word for meditation here is higgayown and means to meditate, mutter, roar, speak, study, talk,or to utter. The Hebrew word gives reference to a murmuring sound.

The Father wants us to think and ponder things that willcause us to flow with His purposes to bless us with the best He has in thislife. The words be acceptable in theabove text are from the Hebrew word ratsownand means to delight or to satisfy.It delights the Father when our inward meditations agree with Him! And here’swhy.

We are already blessedwith all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Allthings that pertain to life and godliness already belong to us by faith. Thatis, all things necessary to sustain us both spiritually and materially havealready been provided! (2 Peter 1:3-4). When our meditations, our self talk,the things that we really believe that make us what we are agree with theFather, it delights Him because we receive in life exactly what we believe! Andwhen we agree with Him it gives Him permission to bless us.

All lack of agreement with the Father produces unmet need.He wants to help us in every area of life, but He’s hindered when we fail toagree with Him internally.

Proverbs tells us to keep our hearts with all diligence,because the things that we have in life flow out of it (Proverbs 4:23). Wereceive in life exactly what we believe in our hearts (our inward thoughts, ourself-talk) about ourselves. Jesus said allthings are possible to him who believes. He said as you have believed, so be it done to you, and He said according to your faith let it be done toyou (Mark 9:23; Matthew 8:13; Matthew 9:29).

When our inward belief system agrees with the Father, theimpossible becomes possible, the limits are removed, and we change! Our needsare met, the chains are removed, and we grow into the person we were created tobe when we choose to meditate and think on the word!

Begin today to make His word your constant meditation.You’ll then be challenged by the Father to change wrong beliefs, and your lifeand circumstances will change from glory to glory!

You Become What You Think

2012-01-12T09:12:00.002-05:00

Foras he thinks in his heart, so is he… (Proverbs 23:7).

Our thoughts determine the course of life.So we must be careful with what we allow ourselves to think about. Here’s agreat question to ask. Would I want the last twenty four hours of my thoughtsto manifest in my life? If not, then I need to change what I’m thinking!

Jesus said in Matthew 12:35, A good man out of the good treasure of hisheart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringsforth evil things. A good man manifests in his lifestyle what he meditateson within, and likewise the meditationsof an evil man manifests in his lifestyle.

Satanknows how powerful our thoughts are and continually seeks to invade them. Wemust choose to keep our thoughts on godly things, and not allow them to dwellon fleshly things.

Noticethe admonitions from the New Testament we have encouraging us to watch ourthought life: Be transformed by therenewing of your mind (Romans 12:2); Berenewed in the spirit of your mind (Ephesians 4:23); Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth(Colossians 3:2); Gird up the loins ofyour mind (1 Peter 1:13); Pull downstrongholds and cast down vain reasonings, and every high thing that exaltsitself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought tothe obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5); Whatever is true, honest just pure lovely, of good report, virtuous,and praiseworthy – think on these things (Philippians 4:8); We don’t allow Satan to take advantage ofus, for we are not ignorant of his devices [Greek – noemata –schemings of themind, or mind games] (2 Corinthians 2:11);Be sober, be vigilant [Be free from mental intoxicants, be mentallyalert and on guard] (1 Peter 5:8)

Hereare some quotes I’ve gathered over the years that will encourage you to controlyour thought life:

A mind, like a home,is furnished by its owner, so if one’s life is cold and bare he can blame nonebut himself. You have a chance to select from some pretty elegant furnishings(Louis L’Amour).

Make not your thoughtsyour prison (Anonymous).

The qualityof our lives is closely related to the quality of our thinking (Gary Collins).

You can’t keep a birdfrom flying over your head. But you can keep him from building a nest in yourhair (Kenneth Hagin).

A man’s life will beas the character of his thoughts. If he thinks evil, he will be evil. If hethinks holy, he will be holy; His outward life will be as his inner impulse is(John G. Lake).

You live the way youthink – so what the mind feeds upon becomes the most influential force in yourlife (Tim Lahaye).

The devil knows that if he can capture yourthought life, he has one a might

victory over you…I comeacross people everywhere I go who are held bound by deceptive conditions andthese conditions have come about simply because they have allowed the devil tomake their minds the place of his

stronghold (Smith Wigglesworth).

You cannot have spiritual power without purity of mind (LesterSumrall).

Sanctification is having the mind of Christ, and all the mind of Christ(John Wesley).

The soul must be conquered before the spirit can be free (LesterSumrall).

Guard your thought life today!

Spirit, Soul, and Body

2012-01-11T09:21:00.002-05:00

Now may the God ofpeace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, andbody be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1Thessalonians 5:23).

A close, overcoming walk with God begins by knowing how you“tick.” Here’s a simple overview that helps me.

I am a spiritbeing, I possess a soul, and I live in a physical body. The real, eternal part me is spirit. God is aSpirit. I am made in His image as an eternal spirit.

My conscience is the voice of my spirit. My conscience mustbe trained in the Word of God and obeyed implicitly. If I train my consciencein the Word, it can become the primary way God leads me. I call a trainedconscience the “inward witness.” I must instantly obey the Word that I know,and never violate my conscience. When I violate my conscience, I am allowing mymind and my body to usurp that first place that my spirit should hold in mylife.

I, as a spirit being, possess a soul. My soul is made up ofthree parts; mind, emotion, and will. The dominant part of my soul is my will.With my will, I can direct my mind and my emotions to obey my spirit through myconscience.

My mind and emotions are like tag team wrestlers. They worktogether to seek to rule my life. They play on one another, my mind alerting myemotions, and then both of them working together to get me to respond to lifethe way I did before Jesus redeemed me.

My mind is very keen and seeks to dominate my life. Itthinks it knows how best to protect me. It has this fight or flight mechanismbuilt in and seeks to protect me from what it perceives as harm. I must retrainmy mind to listen to my conscience, the voice of my spirit. My mind must becontinually renewed with God’s Word, or it will revert back to old ways ofresponding.

In my soul there is a residue of sinful thoughts, emotions,responses, and motives left over from my beforeChrist days. It can make think something is real when it really isn’t. Mysoul is clever and frequently seeks to undermine the rule of my spirit. I mustbe very cautious and careful to keep my soul submitted to God’s Word and to myre-born human spirit.

My body is the part of me that will perish in 80 or 90 yearsor so of living on earth. It is my earth suit that I must have to live on thisplanet. I must never let it dominate my spirit or my soul. My body easilyresponds to earthly things and has an appetite for anything to which it isexposed. I must control my body and keep it disciplined so that my spirit canmanifest through it. I must use my body as an instrument of righteous and godlyliving, and must not use it in a selfish way.

The Father can help me build up my spirit through the Wordand then through prayer, particularly praying in the spirit or in othertongues. The Father can help me keep my mind and my motions submitted to myspirit through His Word. And He can help me keep my body under strictdiscipline. He wants my whole spirit, soul, and body to flow with Him!

The Battlefield of the Mind

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If then you wereraised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sittingat the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on theearth (Colossians 3:1-2).

Spiritual battles are won or lost in the battlefield of themind. Spiritual warfare is not out in the atmosphere somewhere. It’s betweenyour ears! Satan knows that whatever rules your thoughts will eventuallymanifest in your life. Things that you meditate on get down into your underlyingthoughts, into your spirit, and from there they rule your life.

We are encouraged to think on things above because thoughtsrule conduct. We’re to imitate God. The only way to do that is to think likeGod. We have the mind of Christ. He’s given us the ability to think like Him!

Most believers allow their thoughts to meander all over theplace. Throughout the day by thought association, events, people, smells, and athousand things we come in contact with tag thoughts from the past in a millisecond. These thoughts mushroom ifnot controlled and can stir up the oldman and can create much doubt and fear. Don’t let the ticker tape parade in your mind continue!

I learned years ago that thoughts must be purposelychallenged and redirected. The mind has a mindof its own! It will lead you where you don’t want to go if you allow it tobe in charge. Take the reigns of your mind today by forcing yourself to turnaway from the negatives that creep into your thoughts.

The only way thoughts can be changed is for them to bereplaced. Years ago I wrote Philippians 4:8 on a note card and kept it with me.Ever so often I would pull it our and read true,honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, praiseworthy. If my current thoughtlife did not agree with these words, then I made myself think on a scripture. Iwould choose a scripture a day and write it down, seeking to memorize it. Then,when I found my thoughts racing down the wrong path, I would bring them to ahalt by forcing myself to think on a scripture.

It worked! And instead of my natural mind and my fickleemotions ruling me, I learned that the Holy Spirit through my spirit could ruleme. When He’s in charge love, joy, and peace rule your life.

You begin to live in sync with heaven, and every day becomesan adventure with the Father. Yes, tests and trials still come, but with everychallenge you have an inward content knowing that all things work together forgood to them who love God, and are living in His purposes! Keep your mind andyou’ll win every battle!

Today, don’t just seekthings above as the beginning verse states, but force your thoughts to think things above! This will clean yourlife up, keep the enemy away, and draw you close to the Father and Jesus momentby moment!

The Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Word

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Acting on the Word brings God into the details of your dailylife. Then said the Lord to me, You haveseen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it(Jeremiah 1:12- Amplified). Acting on the Word causes God to watch over youractions! He pays attentions and gets involved when you act like His Word isimportant to you!

The Holy Spirit is attracted to the Word. He’s called theSpirit of Truth (John 14:17). When we show our love for Jesus by walking inobedience to the Word, the Holy Spirit is pleased!

The Holy Spirit takes the Word that we feed on in ourpersonal times and reminds us of what we’ve heard. His major ambition is tohelp us act, think, respond, love, speak, and live like Jesus does. As He is, so are we in this world (1John 4:17). Be imitators of God (Ephesians5:1).

That’s why it’s so important to adhere to the Word. Wherethe Word is esteemed, the Holy Spirit manifests to bring it to pass. He sent His Word and healed them, anddelivered them from their destructions. For healing to manifest, it’simportant to say what God says and as much as possible, act like you’re healedby believing you receive. This brings the Holy Spirit into the situation withyour body. He is the one who materializes the healing that Jesus purchased forus 2000 years ago. But if the Spirit ofHim who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from thedead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells inyou (Romans 8:11).

Acting on the Word brings you into realm of the limitlessGod who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think!

Take time today to meditate on the Word. Speak the Word.Intertwine the Word into your work, your family, and your leisure. Becomeconscious of what the Word says about what you’re involved in today. If you do,and act and speak in line with the Word, then the Holy Spirit will aid you withHis ability, and the Father will watch over you and do amazing things. Magnifythe Word!

Free from Deception

2012-01-07T09:16:00.000-05:00

In our postmodern culture, we have the same personalideology as the culture in Israelduring the time of the Judges. Everyperson did what was right in his own eyes.

As Christians, we’re admonished not to be of the world(Romans 12:2). That is, we’re not to be swayed by the attitudes and actions ofunbelievers. And instead of doing what we feellike doing any given moment, we’re to obey the Word! Our blessing in God is inobedience! What some folk don’t realize is that if we refuse to obey the Word,we’re turning a deaf ear to the Spirit of God!

We’re entering into the time period just prior to the returnof Jesus spoken of in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and found in Revelation 6-19. It’s atime of great challenge and difficulty. To navigate successfully through thistime, it’s important for us to be people of the Word!

Notice1 Timothy 4:1-2 (Amplified): But the HolySpirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turnaway from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits anddoctrines that demons teach, through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liarswhose consciences are seared (cauterized).

Thenalso notice 2 Timothy 4: 3-4(God’s Word translation): A time will come when people will not listen to accurate teachings.Instead, they will follow their own desires and surround themselves withteachers who tell them what they want to hear. People will refuse to listen tothe truth and turn to myths.

Demonic forces are working today to separate people from truth. Theyseek to twist truth to turn people from the path of right living. Here’s theway to stay with the Spirit of God, and to stay safely in the protection andcare that the Father has for you during this time. It’s real simple! Obey theWord!

The verses above reveal that doctrines of demons will urge people toturn away from the faith, and only hear what pleases them. So, when I hear thetruth of the Word, but the Word disagrees with what I feel like doing or wantto do at the moment, and I ignore the Word and act on my feelings, I actuallyopen myself up to demonic deception!

As a pastor, I’ve had the unfortunate experience of having people sitin front of me in my office and tell me that adultery for them is ok, that fornication, for them for the moment, is ok; that lying, in this situation and for the moment, is ok; and the list goes onand on!

Here’s the bottom line: Any believer that decides to ignore the Wordand do what he or she knows is wrong, defies conscience and opens themselves upto demonic deception! Don’t do that!

If God says love your neighbor as yourself, then love your neighbor as yourself! If God says, be angry and do not sin, then be angry and do not sin. If God says,don’t gossip and say bad things aboutyour fellow worker, then don’t gossip and say bad things about your fellowworker. If God says, don’t lust, thenturn your eyes away!

The Father’s protection, favor, and care in this hour will be withthose who choose to love Him by obeyingHis Word! Don’t compromise the Father’s care in this time with looseliving; doing what is right in your owneyes. Defy your own thoughts and feelings and obey the Word! That’s whereyou will find the blessing, protection, and favor of the Father today!

Enter Your Closet

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But thou, when thouprayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thyFather which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall rewardthee openly (Matthew 6:6).

The Father wants us to share our heart with Him. He wants tobe our burden bearer. Casting all yourcare upon Him, for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). Heart fellowship was the reasonHe created us. It’s the reason He redeemed us.

Jesus said that when we pray, we’re to go into our mostprivate room, he called it a closet. This is a place of intimacy. The Greekword here could be translated bedchamber. This is a place where a husband andwife share intimate moments. Life comes from that sharing.

The Father wants to be intimate with us. He wants us toshare our secret thoughts with Him. Life will come out of those moments.

I want to encourage you to take time to develop intimacywith the Father in your closet, your bedchamber. Find a place that isundisturbed, and just begin to talk to Him about the concerns of your life.

I’m going to leaveyou today with Psalm 139: 1-18. The Father has used this passage to reveal tome how tenderly He thinks of me. Allow it to minister to you:

Psalm 139:1-18 (God’sWord Translation)

O Lord, you haveexamined me, and you know me. You alone know when I sit down and when I get up.You read my thoughts from far away. You watch me when I travel and when I rest.You are familiar with all my ways. Even before there is a single word on mytongue, you know all about it, Lord. You are all around me—in front of me andin back of me. You lay your hand on me. Such knowledge is beyond my grasp. Itis so high I cannot reach it. Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?Where can I run to get away from you? If I go up to heaven, you are there. If Imake my bed in hell, you are there. If I climb upward on the rays of themorning sun or land on the most distant shore of the sea where the sun sets,even there your hand would guide me and your right hand would hold on to me. IfI say, "Let the darkness hide me and let the light around me turn intonight," even the darkness is not too dark for you. Night is as bright asday. Darkness and light are the same to you. You alone created my inner being.You knitted me together inside my mother. I will give thanks to you because Ihave been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and mysoul is fully aware of this. My bones were not hidden from you when I was beingmade in secret, when I was being skillfully woven in an underground workshop.Your eyes saw me when I was only a fetus. Every day of my life was recorded inyour book before one of them had taken place. How precious are your thoughtsconcerning me, O God! How vast in number they are! If I try to count them,there would be more of them than there are grains of sand. When I wake up, I amstill with you.

Finding Intimacy

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Thou art worthy, OLord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things,and for thy pleasure they are and were created (Revelation 4:11).

The Father created us for His pleasure. He created man sothat He could have someone with which He could enjoy rich fellowship. We arecreated to bring Him pleasure. He has brought us into relationship with Himthrough the New Birth. And once the relationship is established, He longs forintimate fellowship with you.

Sometimes there are roadblocks to personal fellowship. Aperson raised in a harsh family environment where their thought and opinionswere not welcomed or valued will at first struggle to have an intimatefellowship wit the Lord. Some people are just naturally inclined to holdthemselves back, and not share their heart with others.

This deeper level of communication with the Lord must bedeveloped. It takes time to break habits of holding yourself back. The firstkey to having deep, rich fellowship with the Lord is knowing that He loves you,accepts you, and forgives and cleanses you from sin.

You are righteous in His presence. When you confess your sin, it is as thoughyou have never done wrong! As a righteous person in Christ, you have the samestanding before the Father that Jesus has! The Father unconditionally loves andaccepts you! Because He does, He has an open ear to listen to you andunderstands everything you think and feel.

The next step to rich fellowship with the Father is to forceyourself to go there! Go to a private place and begin to share your heartsecrets with Him. Tell Him everything; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Holdnothing from Him. At first, this is uncomfortable if your experiences havecaused you to hold yourself back from others. But you’ll find that the momentyou get real with the Father, His love and joy will rise up in you by the HolySpirit. This is the beginning of your close communion and fellowship with Him.

As a new believer and a young man in my late teens, I wouldgo to my room and read my Bible for a period of time. Then, I would begin topray, and I found myself for the first expressing to the Father my deepestheart thoughts.

At first I was afraid that He would be upset with me as Iwas so honest. I shared motives, thoughts, fears, questions, longings, andwrong desires. I found that when I did this, the Father did not judge me, yetHe held me to the standard of the Word. And by the Holy Spirit He would speakto me and comfort me. He would encourage me to trust Him to change me.

In time, it became easier and easier to bear my heart toHim. He became a place of refuge when I felt emotional pain, or when thepressures of life seemed too much to bear. He is the kindest, mostunderstanding person you will ever know.

The Father is a refuge from the storms of life. In Hisshadow you will find protection from the harshness of life. If you’ll give Himyour heart life and open yourself up to Him, He will become an ever presentstrength and will sustain your mind and emotions in every challenge lifebrings. He will be the vine and you will be the branch. His life will pour intoyou as you unreservedly give Him your heart.

Come with me on thisjourney of intimacy with the Father. He’s longing for your fellowship today.Let the walls down!

Maintaining Fellowship

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That which we haveseen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us;and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (1John 1:3) God is faithful, by whom youwere called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1Corinthians 1:9).

Fellowship is the mother of faith. Faith grows in theclimate of rich, deep fellowship with the Father. Faith shrivels whenfellowship is compromised.

Relationship is a result of birth or covenant, butfellowship is only by choice.

Fellowship is a sharing together, a communion. It’s twopeople coming together with a mutual interest and a part to play in thatinterest.

Fellowship must be fostered on purpose. I’ve found that manybelievers lack the rich fellowship with the Father that produces strong faith.Out upbringing and home life in our younger years has a lot to do with how weprocess our relationship and fellowship with the Lord. If in our home life, wewere not welcomed to bear our hearts, but felt forces to keep our opinions toourselves, then fellowship from the heart will be a challenge to overcome evenin our relationship with the Father.

When we sin, our fellowship is broken. The joy thatstrengthens us leaves. Peace is replaced by a troubled uneasiness. For fellowshipto be renewed, sin must be confessed. Ifwe confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and tocleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). To confess means to samethe same thing. It means to agree with. When I confess my sin, I agree with Godthat the thing I did that broke fellowship was wrong. I change my mind orrepent of the activity and make a choice not to do it again.

The weakness of my flesh may take me there again, but a righteous man fall seven times, and risesagain (Proverbs 24:16). Confess the sin the moment you commit it, and thenrenounce it before the Father, and tell Him that you believe you receive theinner strength to overcome this thing. Thank Him in faith for removing thisthing from your life. Confess sin the moment it occurs is the key to remainingin constant fellowship with the Father.

Notice that if you do one thing; confess your sin, that theFather does four things in return! He will be faithful to you, just or fair toyou, He will forgive your sin, and will cleanse you from unrighteousness.Cleansing from unrighteousness means that if you’ll confess what you know youdid wrong, there is an automatic cleansing from those sins committed inignorance, or because you didn’t know that particular thing was wrong. This isimportant for the new believer who may not understand the will of God in all oflife’s causes. James 4:17 reads:Therefore,to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Once sin is confessed, joy and peace return, and fellowshipis fully restored. Be careful today to remain in constant fellowship with theFather. Don’t let a moment go by without deep, rich fellowship with Him.Tomorrow, I’ll discuss how to begin a close fellowship with the Father if yourpersonal predisposition is to hold back.

Called to Fellowship

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God is faithful, bywhom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord(1 Corinthians 1:9).

We have relationship by birth and fellowship by will. Being birthed into your family does not meanthat the family members fellowship together. Fellowship is on purpose. We arecalled to fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Too many have the relationship withthe Lord, but lack the sweet, intimate fellowship that He so longs to have withall of His children.

Fellowship is a heart sharing. It’s two people with commonsgoals and interests connecting at the heart level. Fellowship is the mother offaith. Strong faith comes from deep, intimate fellowship. Weak faith comes froma lack of personal intimacy with the Lord.

Intimate fellowship with the Lord is possible becausethrough the New Birth, He has made us righteous! Righteousness is the abilityto stand before God as though sin, fear, condemnation, or inferiority had everbeen a part of your life! Righteousness produces boldness (Proverbs 28:1). The work of righteousness will be peace, andthe effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever (Isaiah32:17). Once you renew your mind and know that your Father loves you even whenyou fail, you’ll be able to enter into fellowship with Him.

Fellowship produces light in your life. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light(Psalm 36:9). It gives you the ability to see clearly the issues in your lifeand around you. The will of God becomes clear and focused.

Fellowship produces joy. Forthe kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, butrighteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). These things I have spoken to you, that Myjoy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11). You will show me the path of life; in yourpresence is fullness of joy; at your right hand pleasures forevermore(Psalm 16:11). Joy makes Christianity attractive. It brings with it evangelism.

E.W. Kenyon says that fellowshipin its fullness is the joy life with the throttle wide open on a downgrade.(1)

Fellowship produces freedom from deception. Truth becomesclear and error apparent when fellowship is strong (see 1 John 2:20, 27). Richfellowship will keep you clear of the false doctrine spoken by the clever withwrong motives.

Fellowship produces strong faith. As we enter the dangeroustime period before us that precedes the rapture of the church, fellowship willbe our anchor in the storm. We’ll know how to act in every circumstance. TheFather will guide us through the turbulent waters and protect us as we dwell in the shadow of the Almighty!

If you lack fervent joy, if the Word seems dry and lifeless,if you seem gullible to every new wind of doctrine blowing by, if it seems thatyour faith is weak, check up on your fellowship with the Father. He longs for you to share your heart lifewith Him. In tomorrow’s post, I’ll talk about how to find rich, deep fellowshipwith the Father.

(1)In His Presence by E.W.Kenyon (1969,Kenyon Gospel Publishing Society, Inc),p.89.

Be a Doer of the Word

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Being a doer of the Word causes the Father to begin to workin your life. You see, He watches over His Word to bring it to pass. All ofheaven is back of His Word. When you take the Word seriously, it gives theFather permission to work on your behalf.

All spiritual failure can be traced back to neglect of theWord. To hear and not practice is like looking at yourself in the mirror andforgetting the image of what you saw. The Word gives you the image of how theFather really sees you. This perfect lawof liberty will cut the cords of the past and set a course for your futurethat lines up with the Father’s will. But you must act.

For us to turn a deaf ear to what the Father has spoken byfailure to act is to thumb our nose at the cross and resurrection of Jesus.Doing the Word makes the New Covenant real in your life. Being a doer of theWord clears the fog from the un-renewed mind and shines light on the pathway oflife.

To refuse to act on the Word is to walk in darkness. TheFather must back away when we choose to hear and not obey. Blessings arepromised to those who act on the Word. Ifyou are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land (Isaiah1:19). Failure to act brings the curse as the Father is forced by our inactionto back away. But if you refuse andrebel, you shall be devoured by the sword"; for the mouth of the Lord hasspoken (Isaiah 1:20).

The following is a very sobering scripture. It shows theresults if we stubbornly choose to cling to our own thoughts and ways andneglect to act on the Word.

Be the person who is blessed by the Father today by choosingto act on the Word at all times!

Because I have calledand you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because youdisdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laughat your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comeslike a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress andanguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; theywill seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

Because they hatedknowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of mycounsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit oftheir own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For theturning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools willdestroy them; but whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure,without fear of evil (Proverbs 1:24-33).

Act on the Word in 2012

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Therefore whoeverhears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man whobuilt his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and thewinds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded onthe rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them,will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the raindescended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and itfell. And great was its fall (Matthew 7:24-27).

In the coming year, it will be more important than ever tobe a doer of the Word. Tests, trials, calamity, turmoil, and social unrest willcontinue to increase. Those who navigate these turbulent waters will act on theWord in the face of adversity.

Heaven and earth willpass away, but My words will by no means pass away (Matthew 24:35). So shall My word be that goes forth from Mymouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please,And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:11). The grass withers, the flower fades, butthe word of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8). Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89).

The Word brings a calm, a certainty, a boldness, a courage,and a hope to every encounter of life. Acting on the Word in the midst ofadversity removes the spirit of fear and worry, and releases the ability of Godin the circumstance you face.

A person who has decided ahead of time to be a doer of theWord will be able to win life’s fight! Acting on the Word makes you aconqueror. Acting on the Word brings with it the attitude that you and Godcannot be defeated.

Acting on the Word brings stability to the emotions duringhard places. Instead of the yo-yo of ups and downs, the person who acts on theWord lives above emotional unrest. The person who acts on the Word speaks theWord and ignores emotions that seek to pull them down into sense realm living!

Being a doer of the Word will has a calming effect on themind. You will keep him in perfect peace,Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3). TheFather has given us a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy1:7). When the negative report comes, the person who acts on the Wordimmediately balances the report with what the Word says about them and thenspeaks the Word out loud to defeat the negative thoughts.

If you have not yet done so, choose today to be a doer ofthe Word. Choose the Word as your final authority and consultant in everyexperience of life. If you do, you’ll be building your life on a foundation ofrock and not shifting sand. Neglecting the Word, refusing to act on it, bringscalamity and harm. It opens the door to the adversary to steal, kill anddestroy. Acting on the Word brings God into the situation and assures yoursuccess. Act on the Word this year!

Forget and Press On

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Brothers, I do not consider myself yet tohave taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind andstraining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize forwhich God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14-NIV).

Noneof us will arrive at Christian perfection in this life, but it should be ourgoal! We should be changing from glory to glory as the years pass. If we’re notchanging, we’re not growing, for growth demandschange.

Paulmentions in verse 13 that he did onething. Too many times we have so many life pursuits that we become a “jack ofall trades and master of none.” If my one life ambition is to become likeJesus, it will temper my hour, my day, my week, and my year! Some things shouldbe left undone if they do not add to my growth in Christ. Growing in Christ ina healthy way includes daily time meditating in the Word, in prayer, withspouse and children, in service to others, and in personal rest and leisure.Burnout is not progress.

As weenter a new year we should follow Paul’s admonition to forget those things which are behind. If you look back, you maystumble. Satan is master of bringing to remembrance our misdeeds and failures.The Father never reminds of past confessed sins; I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,and remembers your sins no more (Isaiah 43:25 – NIV). His Spirit urges uson toward the mark of becoming like Jesus. He lifts us up and faces us forward,not backwards! For though a righteous manfalls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity(Proverbs 24:16).

Likewise,we can’t live on yesterday’s or last year’s experience with God. We must chooseeach day to remain in close fellowship with Him by abiding in the Word andletting the Word abide in us.

Paulmentions pressing on in verse14. This denotes great exertion. I’vebeen running for 28 years now, and when you run long distances, you hit the wall, or reach a point where youfeel like you just can’t go any further. But if you just press on a littlemore, you find a second wind, or a new strength, and the run becomes mucheasier. Salvation is a free gift to us. But each level of spirituality reachwill cost you self-denial in a thousand ways. We must press on more thanaverage if we want to give our best to the Father.

As we approach 2011, let’s forget the pastand decide to give the Father our all. The prize awaiting us is eternal!

Righteousness by Faith

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Knowing that a man isnot justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even wehave believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christand not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall bejustified (Galatians 2:16).

We are right with God, not because of what we do, butbecause of what He did for us! We are notsaved by grace to live by works.

Early in my Christian experience I learneda valuable lesson about trusting the grace of God in my life. Being a hardworker, I had a subtle belief buried deep within my soul that I must work to beaccepted. As a young boy, I received affirmation mainly when I accomplishedsomething. I carried this habit into my adult life.

As I began to walk with God, the familiar call of guilt andinferiority pulled me back into a worksrighteousness instead of a faithrighteousness. I begin to read my Bible to be right with God instead of forspiritual nourishment. I would pray, not for fellowship, but to calm aoverbearing conscience. I would fast a few meals, not to wait on God as much asto please Him.

The Lord graciously revealed to me during that season thatHe loved me, and that Jesus had already done everything necessary to make meright with Him. He showed me that I must take all of my inferiority to Him, andthat there was nothing more I could do to become righteous. Jesus paid my sindebt. Jesus cancelled my past, and gave me His standing before the Father.

The Lord showed me that my righteousness was like filthyrags and that I could never do enough to be right with Him. I must accept byfaith that He loves me, that He has forgiven and forgotten my past, and that Iam now secure in Christ. My human efforts could never match what Jesus hasalready done to make me right with Him.

Stop struggling in self-effort to be right with God! Acceptthe fact that the blood of Jesus gives you a righteousness that makes closefellowship possible. When you sin, confess what you did before the Father andask for His grace to enable you to overcome the weakness of the flesh. We’re not saved by grace to live by works!

How to Forgive

2011-12-29T10:26:00.000-05:00

And whenever you standpraying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in orderthat your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your own failings andshortcomings and let them drop. But if you do not forgive, neither will yourFather in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings (Mark 11:25-26 -Amplified).

One of the requirements for answered prayer is that we walkin forgiveness. Faith is a heart thing. And our relationship with our Father isa heart thing. When we choose to hold on to offense, hardness is producedwithin. That hardness shut others out, and keeps the Father out too!

All of us encounter challenges with others. It’s just partof being human living in a fallen world. When someone commits an offensetowards us, Jesus said that we must letit drop, leave it, and let it go. Forgiveness is not an option. It is acommand!

Forgiveness is not a feeling or emotion. It will eventuallyproduce a feeling, but it does not start with a good feeling. Forgiveness is anaction we take that will change emotions. Many people want the feeling firstbefore they forgive, but it just doesn’t work that way.

I’ve found that there are at least three steps toforgiveness, based on the way God forgives us. We are to forgive even as God in Christ forgave us (Ephesians4:32).

When God forgives us, He chooses not to bring the offense upto us again! When God forgives us, He chooses to forgive and forget. Their sins and their lawless deeds I will rememberno more (Hebrews 10:17). When we forgive others, we must choose not tomention the offense again! IF you keep reminding a person of their offensetowards you, forgiveness has not yet been given!

When God forgives us, He chooses to forget and tell no oneelse about it! So when we forgive even asGod forgave us in Christ, we choose to mention it no more to the person we’reforgiving, and we choose to tell no one else about it!

When God forgives us, He chooses to remember the offense nomore. It does not come back to God’s mind again. He has the ability tocompletely forget. I will remember nomore. We don’t have that ability. We easily remember offenses, and theflesh desires to hold on to them. We must choose to refuse the negative thoughtsthat come about a person who has committed an offense against us.

When I am forgiving a person, and the thoughts of what theydid come back, I choose to replace the thoughts of what they did with prayerfor them. I find that I must be consistent with this process. Thoughts can bestubborn! When I choose to think onlywholesome thoughts about the person I’m forgiving, and refuse to think on thenegative, I am creating a process that will eventually release negativeemotions from me.

Understand that emotions change with thoughts. Thoughts fuelemotions. If I change my thoughts about a person, the emotions will eventuallychange toward them too. This is an important principle to understand.

Most people think they haven’t forgiven until they feel the forgiveness. But it works theother way around! Forgive first! Choose to go before the Father and as an actof faith release all ill will, wrong thoughts, and wrong motives towards aperson.

Then do what the Father does. Don’t bring the offense up tothem again, and don’t bring it up to others. And then, when the offense comesup in your own mind, pray for the person. Eventually, the emotions will change.This takes time and the length of time is determined by the degree of theoffense.

Make a decision to forgive even as Christ forgave you today.

Act in Faith

2011-12-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

For whatever is bornof God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith (1 John 5:4).

As we approach the difficult time prior to Jesus’ returnmentioned in scripture (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21), it’s more important thanever for us to keep our faith built up. Our faith is given to us by the Fatherthe moment we are born again (Ephesians 2:8), and is built up by hearing,meditating on, and practicing the Word (Romans 10:17).

Faith believes and acts on the Word and acts like God hasdone and is doing everything He promised in His Word. Jesus told us to havefaith in God (Mark 11:22). He told us to speak to the mountain and command itto be removed. If we believe and not allow doubt in our heart, it would move (Mark11:23). He then tells us to believe thatwe receive what we pray for the moment we pray (Mark 11:24). He said that if wedo this we would have the answer to our request.

Take Jesus literally and act on His Word. Believe that youreceive the answer the moment that you pray. Find scriptures that promise youwhat you are asking for or believing for. If it’s healing that you need, thenfind scripture on healing and meditate on them.

Faith pleases the Father (Hebrews 11:6). It pleases Him whenyou act on the Word in defiance of feelings and circumstances. Jesus showedThomas the scars on His body and urged him to believe. But then He called thoseblessed that do not see and yet stillbelieve (See John 20)!

Take the Father at His Word today and exercise your faith inevery area of your life and in every endeavor. Replace the tendency to worrywith the prayer of faith! He has promised to answer prayer. He watches over HisWord to make it good (Jeremiah 1:12). His Word never returns void to Him. He saidit would accomplish what it was sent to do! (See Isaiah 55:11).

All things are possible with God, and all things arepossible to Him who believes (Matthew 19:6; Mark 9:23). Expect God’s best foryour life and walk decide to walk by faith. It gives the Father great pleasurefor you to trust Him!

Your Thermostat

2011-12-27T08:26:00.000-05:00

Death and life are inthe power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit (Proverbs18:21).

The thermostat on the wall in your home is set tocontinually monitor the temperature. The thermostat constantly calls for acertain temperature and works ceaselessly toward that goal.

You also have a built in thermostat. It’s your mouth! Andright now it is bringing into your life what you’ve set it on! You and I arecalling things into our lives with the words of our mouth every day! Whateveryou allow yourself to verbalize and believe is what is coming into your future.Don’t confess what you don’t want because one day it will show up!

Words are powerful. God creates with them. And in a largeway, you create in your world what you have with your words. Don’t use themlightly. Fill your words with faith and confidence in God. Rid yourself of the habit of talking aboutnegative and unseemly things.

Fill your words each day with healing, blessing, favor,abundance, success, boldness, compassion, love, and courage. You may feel noneof these things, but if you’ll set your thermostat there, and keep it working, littleby little your personal life temperature will begin to agree with yourthermostat. It’s a never ending principle from the time you’re born until theday you go to be with Jesus (See James 3:1-6).

Words can move mountains, heal disease, mend relationships,produce abundance, cancel fear and doubt, bring the presence of the Father, andsoothe the spirit and soul. Fill your words today with what know the Fatherwants in your life. Let your words agree with God’s word.

Start today where you are. Don’t brood over the past. Get upand fight the fight of faith! You’re a winner! A conqueror! You are theFather’s favored one! Talk the way you believe, not the way you feel. Speak theanswer, not the problem today. Keep your thermostat set on victory!

Use What's Been Given to You

2011-12-26T09:40:00.002-05:00

Behold, I give you theauthority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of theenemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you (Luke 10:19).

As a believer, you are a person with authority and the devilknows it! The original authority to care for the earth that God gave Adam hasbeen handed back to you! Jesus came back from death with the keys of hell anddeath (Revelation 1:18). Keys represent authority.

Just before Jesus left the earth to be seated at the righthand of the Father He gave His authority as the New Creation man back to thechurch (Matthew 28: 18-19). You now have the same authority that Jesus had whenHe walked the earth! You are seated in a place of authority called heavenlyplaces in Christ (Ephesians 2:6). Your position of authority is far above all principality, power, might,and dominion (Ephesians 1: 21). Satanicpower is under your feet!

Satan’s knows that you have authority. He plays a game ofbluff with you. He tells you that you’re defeated; that you’ll never amount toanything; that nothing that God has promised will ever come to pass in yourlife; that you’ll be sick and broke all your life; that God doesn’t care; andthat you should go ahead and throw in the towel and give up. He’s an accuser.And He’s a liar (John 8:44)!

Many believers buy into Satan’s lies and quit fighting thefight of faith. They perish for refusing to act on the Word! Make a decisiontoday to resist the devil and his lies. Throw off from yourself the blanket ofunbelief that keeps you down! Act on the Word today! Take the sword of theSpirit and go to work. Speak God’s Word over your life, your family, your body,your finances, and your circumstances. Declare that your past sins had beenremoved, your present is blessed, and your future is bright. Use your Jesusgiven authority today and command Satan to take his hands off of you and thosearound you. You have the authority to bind and loose (Matthew 18:18).

The Father is waiting today for you to act. He has done allHe will ever do about blessing your life. All things are yours (1 Corinthians3: 21-22).! But all is lost if you fail to act! The Father has faith in you,that you’ll rise to the position that He’s placed you in. A position of favor,of blessing, of honor, and of responsibility!

Make the Father’s heart glad today by using the authorityHe’s given you. He’s counting on you to carry out His plans!

Follow the Word First

2011-12-24T07:36:00.002-05:00

And Moses was not ableto enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and theglory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up fromabove the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all theirjourneys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till theday that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle byday, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel,throughout all their journeys (Exodus 40:35-38).

Old Testament saints did not have the Holy Spirit living inthem and guiding them as we do today. They had a cloud over the tabernacle thatthey followed by day and a fire over it by night. The tabernacle was where thepresence of God remained. The cloud and the fire reminded them that they werenot to go alone or just go as they pleased. They must wait and follow God’sdirection by day with the cloud and at night by the fire.

Today, we are the tabernacle! We are where the presencedwells. In our spirit dwells the Spirit of God. And we are to be led by theSpirit from the inside. The Holy Spirit guides us first of all through the Wordand them through the witness of our human spirit as the Holy Spirit bearswitness with the Word.

I see so many today that are making choices to do thing thatdirectly contradict the Word! And then they say that the Lord led them to go that direction. It isabsolute deception to do something that contradicts the Word. Some say, well, I have peace about it, and I goingthis way anyway! Any peace that youhave to do something that contradicts the Word is a false peace! It’s adeception! This kind of peace is an emotional satisfaction that is separatefrom the peace that comes through obedience to the Word. To be led by the HolySpirit means first of all to obey God’s Word. Obedience to the Word producespeace in our spirit. The moment we disobey the Word, we leave the Holy Spiritbehind and follow our own way and lose the peace of God within.

Colossians 3:15 tells us to let the peace of God rule us as we make decisions. But the peace of Godmust be preceded by obedience to the Word or the peace is a false peace!

Our cloud by day and fire by night is the witness of ourhuman spirit to the Word and to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in obedienceto the Word! Let’s determine today to be people of the Word!

The Center of Everything

2011-12-23T09:03:00.003-05:00

He is the image of theinvisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things werecreated that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible,whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things werecreated through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him allthings consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is thebeginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have thepreeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness shoulddwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things onearth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross(Colossians 1:15-20).

Jesus Christ is the center of all that God has and is onearth and universe wide. He is beforeall things and in Him all things consist and are held together. History isreally His story!

Jesus looms larger than any problem you face today. He isthe answer to every difficulty. He is to us the wisdom of God; He gives us theability to stand before the Father boldly without sin; He removes bad habitsfrom our souls and bodies by His Spirit through the Word; He has completelybought us back from Satan’s legal dominion and has given us authority overSatan and his demon in The Name!

Begin and end your day with the Son of God. He is the Alphaand Omega. He will give you wisdom to face every obligation as a conqueror ifyou’ll submit moment by moment to His Lordship. Confess your failures if yousin today. His blood will cleanse you and bring back into sweet fellowship withthe Father. Being separated from Him brings weakness. Walking with Him bringsstrength and vitality to spirit, soul, and body.

Let Jesus be the center of all that you think, say, and dotoday. In Him we live and move and haveour being!

The Integrity of the Word

2011-12-22T08:48:00.002-05:00

So shall My word bethat goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shallaccomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it(Isaiah 55:11).

The Word is God speaking to us. Spending time in the Word isspending time with the Father. In his book, New Creation Realities E.W. Kenyonwrites: Our attitude towards the Worddetermines the place that God holds in our daily life. Treating the Word asthough it were a common book is the reason for much spiritual failure.

Many people have more confidence in the word of man thanthey do in the Word of God! But God’s Word is more sure and steadfast than therising of the sun tomorrow morning!

Our world is constantly changing day after day. Culturalstandards change like the wind. The latest trends change from season to season.But the Word is fixed, established and stable! Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89).The grass withers, the flower fades, but theword of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8).

Obedience to the Word is obedience to the Father.Disobedience to the Word is disobedience to the Father. Ignoring the Word and refusingto make daily decisions that are in line with it is pride. And pride goes beforedestruction and a haughty spirit before a fall!

God’s Word will be fulfilled in your life today, either inobedience, or in disobedience. A life built on sand (a person who hears theword and refuses to live by it) will be destroyed by the difficulties lifebrings (See Matthew 7). But for a person who puts the flesh under and obeys theWord when it not convenient, the blessings of God will sooner or latermanifest:

My son, do not forgetmy law, But let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long lifeand peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind themaround your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor andhigh esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart,and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, andHe shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord anddepart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones(Proverbs 3:1-8)

Faith Expectations

2011-12-21T08:47:00.002-05:00

For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:24).

As we get closer to the end of the age, it’s more important than ever to walk by faith. Our faith will catapult us over the gloom, depression and fear that is slowly creeping into the fabric of our culture. Faith overcomes the world!

Walking by faith is believing, acting, and speaking like the Word of God is true right now, even though it seems like it’s not! Remember that God always sees the end from the beginning. Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He changed Abram’s name (exalted father) to Abraham (father of a multitude). Though childless and old, God saw him with more kids than he could count!

Your faith will put you over today. In the face of contradiction, act on the Word. Thank God for the healing while the pain racks your body and the negative report remains unchanged. Believe that you receive before there is any physical change whatsoever.

Thank God for the money you need in the face of lack. God will always honor His Word when acted upon. Praise and worship the Father now, before there is any evidence of the answer! Thank Him just the way you would if the money were already in your hand!

In whatever circumstance you find yourself today, cooperate with God by walking by faith! Don’t just exist. Live life to the fullest with faith! God will not fail you. You’re already blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). You faith is pulling into your life the answer to your need. Expect God to do what He said! He always watches over His Word to make it good (Jeremiah 1:12).

When we get to heaven, we’ll have eternity to talk about all the things the Father did for us in answer to our faith! Walk by faith today! Expect God’s best. Walk in joy and peace! He never fails!

Praying for the Wayward Believer

2011-12-20T08:59:00.002-05:00

Weall know believers who have for some reason fallen away in their walk with God.They have become as Paul said “shipwrecked” in the faith. In some way theworld, the flesh, and the devil have made inroads into their faith life, andthey are away from God and out of fellowship.

Ihave found James 4:5 to be a real key in praying for these prodigal sons and daughters of God. Listen to it in these varioustranslations: Or do you think that theScripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?”(NKJV) Or do you think Scripture sayswithout reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?(NIV) Or, do you think that the scripturesays in an empty manner and to no purpose, The Spirit [Holy Spirit] who hasbeen caused to make His permanent home in us has a passionate desire [tocontrol us] to the point of envy [of any control indwelling sin may have overus]? (Wuest) Do you think theScripture means nothing that says, "The Spirit that God made to live in uswants us for himself alone"? (New Century Version)

Whenwe are born again, the Holy Spirit becomes a jealous lover! He wants no personor thing to take our focus off of Jesus and the Father. He becomes intenselyjealous whenever Jesus and the Father’s place are taken by another.

NoticeJames 4:4 in the Amplified: You are likeunfaithful wives having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking yourmarriage vow to God! Do you not know that being the world's friend is beingGod's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes his stand asan enemy of God.

Themost miserable people on earth are not happygo lucky sinners. The most miserable people are those who have walked withGod and have fallen into sin. Their every action is a grief to the Holy Spirit.He is jealous to win them back to the Father.

Inpraying for a wayward believer, pray for the jealous yearning of the HolySpirit to rise up within them every day.Pray for God’s jealous love to draw them back to the Father every wakingmoment. Pray that they will have no rest or peace until they are back infellowship.

Yearsago I had a friend who attended the same Bible school as I did, and attended mychurch. In fact, we worked together for a while on the church staff ascustodians. After he completed school,he found another job and I lost contact with him. I saw him one day whilerunning some errands, and there was my friend, cursing, blowing cigarette smokein my face, and telling me of his sinful escapades. I affirmed my care for himand encouraged him to come back to the Lord.

I hadsuch a burden for him after I left his presence. I cried out to God for myfriend to come back to Jesus, and I prayed for this jealous lover to draw himback to the Father. I prayed that he would find no rest or comfort until hecame back to the Father in repentance. I prayed for the jealous lover to drawhim every day, and I prayed that the Father would send believers across hispath of life daily to encourage him to come back to Jesus.

Sometime later I received a phone call from my wayward friend. He had come back toGod and had cleaned his life up. He had been set free from the deception of theenemy.

Takesome time today to pray for the jealous lover to rise up in those that you knowwho have fallen away from God. He will draw them back to Himself as you giveyourself to praying in faith for them.

How to Pray for Believers

2011-12-19T08:47:00.001-05:00

I have three specific prayers from the Apostle Paul that Iuse as I pray for fellow believers. You may sometimes hear a person pray, Lord bless so and so. And the truth isthat God has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly placesin Christ! What we really need is tobecome aware of what has already been provided for us in Christ!

Here’s the first prayer in Ephesians: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give toyou the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes ofyour understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of Hiscalling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, andwhat is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, accordingto the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Himfrom the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, farabove all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that isnamed, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put allthings under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:17-23).

This is a prayer that the Father will open our spiritualeyes to truth, and that we will see who we are and what we have in Christ.

Here’s the second prayer Paul prayed for believers: For this reason I bow my knees to theFather of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earthis named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to bestrengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ maydwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded inlove, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width andlength and depth and height — to know the love of Christ which passesknowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians3:14-19).

This is a prayer for the love of God to be stirred up in abeliever’s life. This produces spiritual strength! There is no real spiritual growth without growth inlove.

Here’s the third prayer Paul prayed for believers: For this reason we also, since the day weheard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled withthe knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that youmay walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every goodwork and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for allpatience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who hasqualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light(Colossians 1:9-12).

This is a prayer for the believer to filled with the wisdomof God through the Word. Walking worthyof the Lord from the Greek literally means that a person’s life carries the same weight as Jesus’ life. That is, they have the same impact onothers as Jesus has on us! That’s powerful!

Let me encourage you to start praying these prayers for yourfellow believer and for yourself! As you pray them in faith, you’ll seeresults!

Self-Control

2011-12-17T10:27:00.000-05:00

One of the fruit of the spirit that the Father has placedwithin us is self-control. In this age of looseness and excess, we have theability to curb every human appetite. Someone has said that true freedom only exists in restraint.

The highway of freedom has two ditches on either side. Inone ditch is legalism, the excess of rigid and stringent laws and demands tocurb behavior. In the other ditch is unbridled excessive living where any andeverything is ok. A person who chooses to live without restraint willeventually become a slave to what he allows in excess. Ask the alcoholic, thedrug addict, the gambler, or the sex addict how their life is going after a fewyears of unbridled living.

Every believer has to deal with excesses in the variousareas of living. We must learn to exercise self-control in our entire being;spirit, soul, and body.

Our spirit lives must be guarded from excess. You’veperhaps been around a person who is so heavenly minded that they are not easyto be around and are not practical enough to be effective. We must learn to benaturally spiritual, with our feet firmly on the ground while pursuing God inthe balance of work, family, relationships, and church life.

We must be self-controlled in our mental life. Ourspirits through the word should rule our conduct. Giving the word right of wayis giving the human spirit right of way in life. The mind will seek to lead youinto paths of pat living every day. If you go there, it will cost you yourpeace and joy in the Lord. Learn to control your thoughts and not allow them tocontrol you. I do this by meditating on a scripture when I have idle mentaltime.

Emotions can dominate unless you restrain them. Emotionsin a healthy person are a result of thoughts. When you’ve feeling down or blue,check up on what you’ve been thinking about. Thoughts fuel emotions. To change emotion, redirect your thoughts. WhenI was young my emotions ruled me. Life was a roller coaster. I learned to valuethe word over feelings and to force my mind away from negative things byconsciously choosing to think on scripture instead of the negative event frompast or present.

The will must also be harnessed. Stubbornness isexpensive. It costs in relationships, work, family, and in your relationshipwith the Father. We must choose to daily take up our cross, yielding our willand our bodies to the Father.

It goes without saying that the appetites of the bodymust be restrained and controlled. Negative physical habits are a challenge to break, and your body isconstantly tempted to excess by the world and the devil, and by previousindulgences in your life before you were born again.

Deal sternly with your body and refuse to be its slave!Control it or it will control you! Fasting is a great aid in controlling theflesh. Keep the mind free of vice and filled with the word is really the bestway to control the flesh, since thoughts, both conscious and subconscious, rulelife.

The Father has placed the seed of self-control in yourspirit. Self-contol is God strength, God ability. By faith, humble yourselfbefore the Father today, and ask for self-control in your areas of excess inlife. He stands ready and waiting for your permission!

I’ll leave you today with several translations of 1 Corinthians 9:27, where Paul mentioned hischallenge with his own flesh:

But [like a boxer]I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it,for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining toit, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved andrejected as a counterfeit] (Amplified). Iam my body’s sternest master, for fear that when I have preached to others Ishould myself be disqualified (J.B. Phillips). But I discipline my body and make it serve me, so that, while I ampreaching to others, I myself may not be disqualified (Berkeley). But I keep on beating and bruising my bodyand making it my slave, so that I, after I have summoned others to the race,may not myself become unfit to run (Williams). Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it todo what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise I fear that after enlistingothers for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to standaside (Living). But I hit hard andstraight at my own body and lead it off into slavery, lest possibly, after Ihave been a herald to others, I should myself be rejected (Weymouth). But Ibeat my body black and blue and make it my abject slave lest somehow, when I havepreached to others, I myself should be disqualified [from further Christianservice] (Wuest).

The Coming Persecution

2011-12-16T04:58:00.001-05:00

Beloved, do notbelieve every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; becausemany false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spiritof God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh isof God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come inthe flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which youhave heard was coming, and is now already in the world (1 John 4:1-3).

The spirit of anti-Christ is already busy on earth today. Itmanifests as a spirit of religious tolerance and religious inclusiveness. Theidea is that all religions lead to the same God. It is rapidly gaining groundin the social and political discourse and ideology in our nation. It alreadydominates Europe. And the elites of our nationand the educational institutions are now under its’ diabolical control.

In the period to come, believers in Jesus will be more andmore persecuted, labeled as extremists and castigated from the public socialdialogue as harboring a belief that segregates, divides, and demeans. The ideais that all religions are good and that we must not speak against any of them,nor should we seek to proselytize anyone from another system of belief.

The idea of tolerance and inclusiveness is in force in the workplace, and is already the norm in public schools and incolleges and universities. It’s the reason for the push for Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. It’s the reason that ahundred years of traditional Christmas songs and displays are being sidelineswhen the public refuses to protest.

We’re entering a dark period culminating in a severeworldwide test from Almighty God mentioned in the book of Revelation and byJesus Christ in His Olivet discourse in Matthew 24. And it’s coming fast; perhaps faster than we think.

I want to give you the promises of God for the persecuted.These promises will guide you in the days to come and will give you boldnessand strength to stand undeterred in confrontation with this anti-Christ spiritas it works through people.

Blessed are you whenthey revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falselyfor My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward inheaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matt5:11-12). Blessed are you when men hateyou, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,For the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeedyour reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to theprophets (Luke 6:22-23). If you arecensured and suffer abuse because you bear the name of Christ, blessed are you— happy, fortunate, to be envied, with life-joy, and satisfaction in God'sfavor and salvation, regardless of your outward condition, because the Spiritof glory, the Spirit of God, is resting upon you. On their part He isblasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or any sort ofcriminal, or as a mischief-maker (a meddler) in the affairs of others[infringing on their rights]. But if one is ill-treated and suffers as aChristian which he is contemptuously called, let him not be ashamed, but giveglory to God that he is deemed worthy to suffer in this name (1 Peter4:14-16 - Amplified). Yes, and all whodesire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Tim 3:12).

The Lamp of the Lord

2011-12-15T08:43:00.002-05:00

The spirit of a man isthe lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart (Proverbs20:27).

When you need direction, don’t look to circumstances or evento your thoughts and feelings. You must go much deeper than that. Look to yourhuman spirit.

The Holy Spirit dwells in your spirit, not in your mind. Inyour spirit is the needed direction for every area of life.

As a pastor, I look to my human spirit for direction andguidance. I usually know intuitively many things about people and about outdirection in ministry.

Information comes to us from our spirit in the form of a“nudge,” an inner witness, an intuition, or we sometimes call it a “gutfeeling” or a “hunch.” This witness could also be referred to as conscience.This is deeper than logical thought. Thisis the Holy Spirit bearing witness in our human spirit (Romans 8:16).

If you want to make good choices and decisions, learn tolisten to this inward witness. Throughout the years of my life, I’ve learned todepend on this inward witness for guidance, and it has never once led me thewrong way! All that we are doing in our ministry today is the results ofleaning on and trusting this inward witness to have the final say in mydecision making processes.

To become sensitive to your spirit and to this inwardwitness, you must take time to meditate the word. Meditation will cause you tobecome keen in spiritual perception. Take some time regularly to get quiet withthe Lord and muse in the Word. If you do, He will begin to bear witness aboutthings to your human spirit.

Praying in the spirit, in other tongues, is an excellent wayto become spiritually sensitive. Taking time daily to pray in the spirit willalso help keep you spiritually sharp. Then, when decisions must be made, youcan look to your spirit for this inner sense, this inner knowing, this witness, and you’ll be perceptive enoughto pick up a yes or a know, or a just wait a bit. It’s wise not to make decisions in haste, but totake time and wait until you’re sure about a matter before you act.

I suggest that you read Kenneth Hagin’s book How You Can Be Led By The Spirit of God ifyou haven’t. This is probably the best book I’ve ever read on the subject ofbeing led by the Spirit and following the inward witness.

The Father wants us to be successful in all of life’sendeavors. And we will be if we learn to follow and obey the inward witness. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,these are sons of God (Romans 8:14). Allow the lamp of the Lord to burn brightly in your life today!

Don't Coast!

2011-12-14T08:51:00.000-05:00

We know absolutelythat anyone born of God does not deliberately and knowingly practice committingsin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protectshim; Christ's divine presence within him preserves him against the evil, andthe wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch him (1 John5:18 - Amplified). Draw near to God andHe will draw near to you (James 4:8a). Andfrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffersviolence, and the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12)

This is not a time to coast spiritually. There is too muchat stake. Satan has launched an all out assault on man and on the kingdom of God. Persecution is becoming moreintense. The potential pull on the flesh from the world and the enemy isstronger than ever. There are many “potholes” in the road of life right nowthat could trip you up and make you stumble.

This is a time to draw closer to the Father than everbefore. Spend more time in the word.Spend more time in prayer. Spend more time in church meetings, not less!Keep your spirit fine tuned so that the Father can use you to minister to thosearound you in bondage. Those believers who are sidelined by the flesh and theworld need someone to lift them up. That someone is me and you.

Keep your mind saturated with the Word of God. Confess theWord about who you are in Christ everyday. Constantly affirm what God says about you, particularly when itdoesn’t seem real, and thoughts and feeling defy the reality of the Word. Makeyourself say what God says about you.

Don’t give in to fear and doubt. They are the twins born ofSatan to put you out of commission spiritually. Yield your tongue to the Word!Meditate it, speak it, chew on it. When the pressure to yield and quit isstrong, that’s when you need to speak the Word the loudest!

When tempted to yield to strife, choose instead to yield tolove. Go love’s way instead of the flesh way. Demon forces are looking for away into your life to trip you up. Strife will let them in. See strife as atool of the enemy to sideline you spiritually and cause your faith to fail. Mediateon the attributes of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Keep your mind fine tuned to theWord.

Don’t allow the selfish spirit of the age to box you in andrule you. Ideas like the most importantthing is for me to be happy are of the enemy and the world’s ideology.Thoughts that tell you that you don’thave to put up with this or that from your spouse are born in hell (I’m nottalking about adultery or abuse here, but just the small aggravations).Thoughts that tell you that you deserve a better spouse are lies from hell. Godwants you to have stable family life so your children will grow up emotionallyand mentally level and whole. The kingdom of God is strengthened orweakened by family matter in believer’s lives! Refuse to yield to thecompromising pressure of the age!

This is the time that the Father wants us to rise up andshine and display His light in the darkness. Resolve to give God your besttoday!

What the Virgin Birth Gives Us

2011-12-13T08:59:00.002-05:00

For God has allowed usto know the secret of His plan and it is this, He purposed long ago in Hissovereign will that all human history should be consummated in Christ, thateverything that exists in heaven and earth should find its perfection andfulfillment in Him (Ephesians 1:9-10-J. B. Phillips).

The Virgin Birth was God’s way of bringing all of creationback to its original position before Adam’s sin. Jesus is called the last Adam.He came to blaze a new trail for humanity. He came to destroy Satan’s works andto restore to humanity all that was lost in Adam’s disobedience.

The first thing Jesus did was to restore our fellowship withGod. Through the New Birth we now have boldness to approach the throne of Godjust as Adam did before he sinned!

The second thing Jesus did for us was to break Satan’sdominion over our lives. Jesus defeated Satan in his own territory. He showedthe spoils of His victory over the dark kingdom in the spirit world before Hewas resurrected (Colossians 2:15). His allauthority in heaven and in earth has been given to the church. Now you and Ihave the same power over Satan and demonic forces that Jesus exercised.

The third thing Jesus did for us was to guarantee us a newbody at the rapture of the church. God never intended that the human ever dieand vacate his body. Before the fall, God’s plan was that we live in thesebodies of ours for eternity. The death that sin brought is not the plan of God.Jesus conquered death and brought life and immortality back from the grave forus! At the rapture, each believer will receive a glorified body that he or shewill inhabit for eternity. This body will fit us for life both in heaven and inthe new earth. It will last for eternity. Read 1 Corinthians 15 for thedetails.

The fourth thing that Jesus did for us was to make the wayfor the curse that was placed on the earth when Adam sinned to be removed. Thisis when God through Christ rids the earth of all rebellion, judges His enemies,and returns the earth to its pristine pre-fall state.

Here’s how it happens. Jesus returns to earth with theredeemed church and sets up a one thousand year reign here (Revelation 19, 20).He rules until all of His enemies are subdued (1 Corinthians 15:24-25). Then Hejudges Satan and his forces and casts them into the Lake of Fire,their eternal abode (Revelation 20: 10). Then God judges all of the unbelieversof all ages, and they experience the second death. They are likewise cast intothe Lake of Fire (Revelation 20: 11-15). Theyreceive the same judgment as their spiritual head, Satan.

Then God autoclaves theearth. He renovates it with fire (see 2 Peter 3). This cleansed earth is calledthe New Earth (see Revelation 21)! A city called the New Jerusalem comes downfrom heaven and is suspended between the present heaven and earth. It’s a cube1500 miles high, wide, and deep. There the saints of God will conduct thebusiness of heaven and earth with the Father for eternity.

The curse is completely removed form the earth (Revelation22)! And we get to live here in glorified bodies for eternity! We will be ableto travel back and forth between heaven, earth, and the New Jerusalem! We willreign with Him for eternity. It will be even better than life would have beenif Adam had never sinned.

That in the ages tocome He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward usin Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7). Butas it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into theheart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But Godhas revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things,yes, the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). O the wonder of thegrace of God!

The Son

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For unto us a Child isborn, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. AndHis name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

The implications of the virgin birth are far reaching.First, Jesus Christ existed from eternity past as the second member of theTrinity. Before Abraham was, I am(John 8:58). He had all the attributes of Deity prior to His birth in themanger because He was God; all – power (omnipotence), all-knowing(omniscience), everywhere at all times (omnipresence), righteousness, justice,love, etc. He is co-eternal and co-equal with God. Jesus said if you’ve seen Meyou’ve seen the Father (John 14:9)!

When the Son of God was born, He laid aside His Divinepowers, and lived the way we must live, by the power of the Holy Spirit (seePhilippians 2: 5-11). He did not rely on His God powers to do anything as aman. He showed us that it is possible to live above the temptations of theworld, the flesh, and the devil!

Jesus was born with total authority over Satan and hisdemons. Because He was born with God as His Father, He was not subject toSatan’s rule. He was born as Satan’s master! Also, Jesus was not subjectphysical death when He was born. He was not mortal (death doomed). Physicaldeath is a result of sin. Because Jesus was not born as a sinner, He was notsubject to death. He died only when He becameour sin and allowed death to seize Him.

So here’s the picture. Jesus was born as a full human beingthat was also Deity. He was the God Man! He was just like Adam before Hesinned. Satan tried to have Jesus killed as a child because he knew that Jesuswas his master. As Jesus grew up, He came to realize who He was. Jewish boyshad to memorize the first five Old Testament books by age twelve. As Jesusread, He came to know who He was! He came to see His mission in life.

At age thirty, the power of the Holy Spirit came upon Him,and in that power He ministered for three and a half years. He healed sicknessand disease through the gifts of healings; He multiplied food through theworking of miracles; He calmed the storm through the gift of faith; He knewwhat was in man by the word of knowledge; He knew what would happen in thefuture by the word of wisdom; He saw demonic forces and took authority overthem through the discerning of spirits.

He developed His prayer life the way we must, throughperseverance and diligence. He put His flesh under by fasting. He exercised Hisfaith the way the Father expects us to exercise faith.

When Jesus allowed Himself to die, He brought many sons unto glory! What He possessedbecame ours. He took our sins to give us His righteousness. He took oursickness to give us His health. He took our poverty to give us His prosperity.He defeated Satan to give us His authority. He is seated at the right hand ofthe Father to give us the same standing in heaven as He! We’re seated with Him in heavenly places inChrist. What He was, we are! As He is, soare we in this world!

The works He did, we are to perform (John 14:12). We are thebranches, He is the vine. His life flows through us today. He took the stingout of death for us. We are those that live unafraid of anything! We are more than conquerors! Nothing canseparate us from His love! No foe can defeat us. We are kings and priests untoGod because of Him. We can do all things through Him who strengthens us! Ourpast is forgotten, our present is blessed, and our future is bright! And ineternity we will rule and reign with Him! Thank God for the virgin birth!

Why a Virgin Birth was Necessary

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Then Mary said to theangel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angelanswered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power ofthe Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to beborn will be called the Son of God (Luke 1:34-35).

After Adam and Eve sinned, God had to find a way to bringman back to Himself. He couldn’t just forgive his sin. That would violate God’smorality and would be unjust. All sin must be judged. Psalm 89:14 says thatjustice and judgment are the foundation of the throne of God.

God must be fair to Himself, to man, and to Satan His enemy.After Adam’s sin, God could not make another man from the dust of the groundand use him to redeem the human race. The dust of the ground was tainted by sinafter the fall. Satan legally obtained the temporary control over the earththat God gave Adam. And besides that, if God could have created a human fromthe dirt the way he did Adam, that human would not be blood related to Adam andEve.

So here’s God’s problem. Adam, a man, sinned. Now a man must pay the legal price for themistakes of Adam and Eve. It’s not an issue of whether God loves man or not. Ofcourse He does. But because God is just and fair, all sin must be judged. He has tojudge sin to be fair to Satan and fair to His own moral law.

Satan knew this. Satan was kicked out of heaven becauseiniquity was found in Him. There is noredemption available for Satan. He was a perfect spirit being created byGod and he sinned. The payment for his sin is eternity in the lake of fire.Satan is an eternal spirit rebel. If he was allowed to freely travel in theuniverse he would corrupt it. So his eternal judgment is being confined to thelake of fire.

Adam’s judgment for sin had to equal Satan’s for God to befair. So Adam’s sin penalty is likewise hell, the final judgment, and thenbeing cast into the lake of fire.

Because Jesus was God incarnate, the problem of God findinga suitable sacrifice for sin has been solved! This is the wisdom of God in ourredemption! Jesus, born of a virgin, was not tainted with sin. His flesh wassinless, yet He was a man. Satan had no legal control over Jesus. Jesus was apure Man. Heis a spotless Man. Jesus was born infellowship with God and out from under Satan’scontrol and out from under the curse. Jesus had the same relationship with Godthat Adam had before He sinned.

Because of all of this, Jesus could legally bear man’s sinpenalty. So Jesus lived a perfect life. He faced successfully every temptationthat man faces without sinning. Then, Jesus was somehow made to be man’s sin (2Corinthians 5:21). Then, Jesus experienced physical death. When He died, Hewent to hell. He stayed there until God was satisfied that man’s sin penaltywas legally and completely paid.

Then God raised Him from the dead and set Jesus at His righthad as man’s eternal lawyer. The penalty for mankind’s sin has been eternallypaid by the innocent Son of God. Satan’s mouth of condemnation toward man hasbeen stripped of power. The Father has proved His loved for us based on Hisabsolute justice. The Virgin Birth gave us back our relationship with theFather!

Why a Virgin Birth?

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Therefore the LordHimself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son,and shall call His name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

December is the month the world celebrates the birth ofJesus Christ. Without the virgin birth, we would be doomed to spend eternity inthe lake of fire. The very foundation of our redemption from sin and itscatastrophic effects on all of creation is in the virgin birth.

The reason for the virgin birth is something we all need tounderstand. When Adam and Eve sinned, the entire human race was immediatelysevered from fellowship with God. Satan, God’s arch-enemy, became the temporarygod of this world.

The “lease” that God gave Adam over the earth to take careof it and “keep” it was transferred to Satan (see Luke 4:5). He became the“prince of the power of the air,” and set up a system of control over thisplanet and over humanity. Satan was kicked out of heaven because of a desire tocontrol God. When Adam sinned, Satan took advantage of his failure andfulfilled his desire to control by dominating this planet.

Satan may have thought that he had finally done somethinghere that God was helpless to change. He may have thought that his control overthe earth and over humanity was beyond God’s ability to reverse, but Satanunderestimated the love of God for the human race.

The only way for us to be redeemed was through a virginbirth. You see, a man got us into sin, and a man must pay our sin penalty forus. Satan knew that God was just, and that sin’s penalty must be paid. And heknew that humanity was now a fallen race, and that every human born of twohuman parents would be born under his control. From Satan’s viewpoint, ourredemption was not possible.

But Satan did not understand the deep love that God has forhuman beings. His corrupted wisdom never considered the price that God waswilling to pay to remove sin and the curse from man. The virgin birth was God’sanswer for man’s sin from His heart of love.

God’s wisdom before the creation of Adam and Eve was that ifthey failed the test of Eden and sinned, God would incarnate Himself in thebody of a human, and pay man’s sin penalty for him.

No person born of two human parents could pay man’s sinpenalty because that person would likewise be a fallen, sin bound, Satandominated being. But the virgin birth meant that Jesus was not born accordingto the laws of natural generation. He was a human because Mary His motherclothed Him with sinless flesh. The sperm that fertilized the ovum in Mary’swomb came from God Himself! That made Jesus Christ the God-man! He was 100% Godand 100% man. That meant that Jesus was born as the first sinless human sincethe creation of Adam before the fall; the lastAdam as He is called in 1 Corinthians.

And since Jesus was born sinless and free from Satan’s rule,He could legitimately pay the sin debt of mankind! Without the virgin birth,this would not be possible!

For God so loved theworld that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shouldnot perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Don't let Love Grow Cold

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Notice these translations of Matthew 24:12: And the love of the great body of peoplewill grow cold, because of multiplied lawlessness and iniquity ( Amplified)For many others, the overwhelming spreadof evil will do them in, nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes (MessageParaphrase). And because of theprevailing disregard of God’s law the love of the great majority will grow cold(Williams). There will be more andmore evil in the world. So most believers will stop showing their love for eachother (New Century).

For the Spirit of God to use us the way He desires in thisday, it’s imperative that we walk in love. Love is the foundation of the kingdom of God, and is the force that moves us intobeing used in spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit.

The harshness of the hour, the continual erosion of moralvalues, and the self-centered interests that pull us in every direction, temptus to put a barrier of protection up around our lives. Instead of reaching out,the tendency is to close ourselves in and isolate. That must not happen!

This is the time for the church to shine! This is the momentthat the Holy Spirit wants to manifest in an unhindered way to set people free.As we put love first, we open an avenue for the Spirit of God to speak to us andbring ministry to others.

Satan’s kingdom operates on fear, strife, envy, andselfishness. If Satan can keep believer from operating in love, he can quenchspiritual manifestations. This must not be! Refuse to give place to the devil!Put love first in all your relationships. Ask yourself in every situation, what would love do?

Spiritual growth and love go hand in hand. Love is the firstmanifestation of the reborn human spirit. Weknow that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren (1John 3:14). The Father desires that we develop in love until it consumes us!

Love neutralizes Satan’s kingdom! Strife dies when loveresponds. Hatred, anger, and bitterness cannot do their work when love showsup. The Father is holding you personally responsible for the love atmospheremanifesting where you go today! In your home, at work, in the mall shopping,wherever you are, let love loose today!

Don’t allow the ugliness of our times to harden you. You’recreated to love!

Keep Your Armor On!

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Finally, my brethren,be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor ofGod, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we donot wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, againstpowers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hostsof wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God,that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on thebreastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation ofthe gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you willbe able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet ofsalvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; prayingalways with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to thisend with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Ephesians6:10-18).

The opposition you face today does not have its’ origin inpeople or circumstances. It began with demonic forces seeking to trip you up.They want you to wallow in unbelief, fear, anger, self pity, selfishness,impurity, poverty, and the list goes on and on. They want to separate you fromthe Word and from the tenderness of the Spirit of God. Their goal is thedownfall of the kingdom of God, and your failure.

The good news is they are already defeated! And it is our jobas believers to demonstrate their defeat in our daily life and lifestyle. Everytime you conquer fear, unbelief, anger, self pity, selfishness, etc, you showGod’s power through the Word and through Jesus’ sacrifice for you!

We don’t take our armor off when we go to sleep at night! Wewear it to bed! We are always on alert, ever watching lest the enemy to trip usup. We have the girdle of truth on our waist. Just as a belt holds your pantssnug, the Word keeps the armor of God in place in your life.

The breastplate of righteousness guards your heart fromcondemnation and inferiority so that you are free to constant go into thepresence of God with your needs and with your faith.

On your feet are the shoes of the gospel of peace. In everysituation in life today, the Word is your guide. You don’t go anywhere that theWord doesn’t go.

The shield of faith is held in front of you and stops everyattack of Satan dead in its tracks! You walk by faith, not feelings. Youbelieve you receive from the Father in every area of life, and you never letdown your shield in unbelief!

The helmet of salvation keeps your mind protected with theWord. Mind renewal is a lifelong process with you. Every thought that comes isprocessed through the filter of true,honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, positive, and praiseworthy(Phil. 4:8). Every thought is submitted to the Lordship of the Word!

The sword of the Spirit is the Word spoken out of yourmouth. You recognize the spiritual force behind the words that you speak, andyou speak the Word over and in every circumstance.

This armor creates a powerful prayer life in you as abeliever, and demonic forces turn and run when they see you coming. Keep yourarmor on at all times. You don’t fight against flesh and blood!

Thank you Lord

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Give thanks to theLord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies (Psalm 107:1-2)

Take some time today to reflect on your life, and in aheartfelt way thank God for His blessings. I turned 53 years old this year, andif you look at the list of folk I hung out with in my teen years, I simplyshould not have had a positive life. Thankfully, through the prayers of mymother and others, God intervened.

MY best friend from my childhood committed suicide in hislate thirties. Another friend was imprisoned for selling cocaine. Anothercommitted murder. Yet another committed suicide. And I really don’t think Iwould be alive today without God, bottom line.

I can take no credit for anything the Father uses me todo. For without Him, I am absolutely worthless. Outside of Jesus, I am a crude,selfish, arrogant bag of wind! But thank God, in Him I am a brand new person!My identity in life is now wrapped up in Him. I am hidden with Christ in God! What I was has disappeared. Jesus Christmade me a new creature. The old things left, and He replaced all my mess withHimself. I diligently seek Him today and everyday, because I dare not look backto what I was.

The truth for all of us is that if you cease to walk inthe light, darkness will fill the void. I cannot and will never look back. WhatI was will never be again, by God’s grace. I have family friends, a beautifulwife, wonderful children, a church full of some of the most wonderful people Ihave ever met. All because of Jesus Christ. All because of His great sacrificefor me.

Lord, thank you foryour great and tender mercy on me. Thank you for not giving me what I deservein life. Thank you for your grace that has taken my mess, wiped it away, andreplaced it with your abundant and merciful blessings. All that I am, all thatI have, all that I will ever be is in your hands. With all of my heart Lord,thank you for placing your hand on my life. Let me never take You and Yourblessings for granted.

Your Life Partner

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The grace of theLord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit bewith you all (2 Corinthians 13:14).

Paul encouraged the believers to experience God’s grace,to walk in love, and to walk in harmony with the Holy Spirit. The word communion in this verse is the wordkoinonia and according to Kenneth Wuest Studiesin the Greek New Testament koinoniameans a joint participation, a belongingin common to, a partnership, an association, an intercourse, a sharing, arelationship between two individuals which involves a common interest, and amutual active participation in that interest, and in each other.

The Holy Spirit wants to be our partner in life. Hedwells in us and has an ambition to make Jesus real to us so that we can growto be like Him! The Holy Spirit also has a strong ambition to use us to blessothers.

For us to experience this communion, this koinonia withthe Holy Spirit, we must be on the same page in our lives that He is! We mustask ourselves; do I have a major ambition in life to be like Jesus? Do I wantto change? Am I pursuing the goal of changing things in me that are unlikeJesus? Am I asking the Lord to make me a blessing to others? Am I open each dayto be a conduit for God’s love? Am I actively seeking to hear the Holy Spiritand be used by Him to minister to those around me?

To be a partner with the Holy Spirit, you must fall inlove with the Word of God! He is the Spirit of Truth. The more you involveyourself with the Word by reading and meditation, the more the Holy Spirit willwitness to your own spirit. If you’ll decide and purpose to be a doer of theWord, the Holy Spirit will begin to show you many things about your life andwill begin to manifest in you the nature of the Son of God.

Once you choose to follow this path in life, joy that youhave never known will engulf you. But for this to happen, you must giveyourself away to your partner, the Holy Spirit.

I want to leaveyou today with a quote from Kenneth Wuest’s WordStudies in the Greek New Testament, volume III. Here he quotes a man by thename of G.D. Watson who obviously came to know the Holy Spirit very well:

The Holy Spiritwill put a strict watch over you with a jealous love, and will rebuke you forlittle words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christiansnever seem distressed over. So make up your mind that God is an infiniteSovereign, and has a right to do as He pleases with His own. He may not explainto you a thousand things which puzzle your reason in His dealings with you, butif you absolutely sell yourself to be His love slave, He will wrap you up in ajealous love, and bestow upon you many blessings which come only to those whoare in the inner circle. Settle it forever, then, that you are to deal directlywith the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have the privilege of tying yourtongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does notseem to use with others. Now when you are so possessed with the living God thatyou are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar,personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit overyour life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven.

Don't be Stubborn

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If anyone wants tofollow in my footsteps, he must give up all right to himself, take up hid crossand follow me (Mark 8:34 – Phillips Translation).

In my message yesterday I mentioned that we must bewilling to give ourselves and our willpower over to the rule of the HolySpirit. We are the custodians of our will. Our will is a sacred thing that Godwill not overpower. The Holy Spirit has the ability to aid us in everydepartment of life, but He waits for us to yield our will to Him. If we don’t,carnality will reign.

The largest challenge in any believer’s life is yieldingtheir will to God and His Word. We so want our own way!

In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul was commanded by God to totallykill the Amalekites because of their wickedness and dealings with theIsraelites in the past. Instead of doing exactly what God said, King Saulspared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord,and he kept the Amalekite King Agag alive.

The prophet Samuel came to King Saul and made some verysobering statements when he found that Saul has deliberately disobeyed God inhis stubbornness: So Samuel said:"Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as inobeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and toheed than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22).

The Samuel said something that applies to us today if wechoose to stubbornly and willfully disobey God: Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad asworshiping idols (1 Sam 15:23- NLT).

When we choose to stubbornly go the way of the flesh whenthe Lord is clearly dealing with us to avoid it, and when we know what the Wordsays to the contrary of our premeditated action, then we are actually openingup a door for demonic intrusion into our lives! And that can bring deceptionthat will callous and blind us to God and His ways.

This is happening all the time in our day. I’ve beenwalking with Jesus now for over 35 years, and I’ve watched as friends andassociates over the years have chosen their own stubborn way instead of the wayof God’s Word and will. There seemed to be no repercussions initially. But overa period of time, their calloused heart drew them away from God, and into onecalamity or another. Life was never the same for them.

If their remains in you a stubbornness that must have itsown way at the expense of God’s will, now is the time to deal with it beforeits costs you dearly. Go back and read the whole of 1 Samuel 15, and learn thesober lessons of King Saul. Disobedience and stubbornness will bring ruin.

As Michael Brown says, Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than youwant to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay! Yield you will toJesus and ask Him to deliver you from willful disobedience!

A Yielded Will

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The only thing that stands between the Christian andobedience to the Father is that believer’s will. Jesus cleanses us from sin inthe New Birth. Then the soul and body must then be submitted to the Lordship ofJesus through the Word. The body has been trained to yield to certain appetitesand desires that if partaken of after the New Birth, will break theirfellowship with the great Father God. The body must be controlled. The mind hasbeen filled with ideas and beliefs that are contrary to the plan and purpose ofthe Father. The mind must be renewed. The emotions have been trained to yieldto the carnal and selfish appetites. The emotions must be submitted to the BornAgain human spirit. And the human will has been accustomed to yielding to callof the body and of the un-renewed mind. This unharnessed will must be submitteddaily to Jesus and His Lordship.

Jesus addresses the will of the believer in every Gospel,appealing to us to yield ourselves willingly to God and His plans. Listen to Hisstrong appeals:

Don't think I'vecome to make life cozy. I've come to cut — (35) make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother,bride and mother-in-law — cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and freeyou for God. (36) Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. (37)If you prefer father or mother over me, you don't deserve me. If you prefer sonor daughter over me, you don't deserve me. (38) "If you don't go all theway with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. (39) If your firstconcern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if youforget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me(Matthew 10:34-39 – The Message). ThenJesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, youmust turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. (25) Ifyou try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your lifefor my sake, you will save it (Matthew 16:24-25 NLT). If anyone wants to follow in my footsteps, he must give up all right tohimself, take up hid cross and follow me (Mark 8:34 – PhillipsTranslation). Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse,children, brothers, sisters — yes, even one's own self! — can't be my disciple.(27) Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be mydisciple …(33) Simply put, if you'renot willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kissit good-bye, you can't be my disciple (Luke 14:26-27, 33 – The Message).

All of us must be willing to yield our thoughts, plans,and ideas to the Word of God and to Jesus the living Word! If we fail to dothis, we will miss God’s highest and best and open an avenue for Satan to workin our lives. Tomorrow I will give you an illustration of this in the life ofKing Saul.

Take time today to recommit your will to Him who lovedyou and gave Himself completely for you.

No Sickness Allowed!

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So you shall serve theLord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will takesickness away from the midst of you (Exodus 23:25).

God originally planned for us to live in these bodies foreternity. Sin marred God’s plan and introduced its offspring, sickness, disease,and death. Our redemption in Christ guarantees us freedom from sickness. Andeventually our last enemy death will be destroyed by the Son of God!

When God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, He made acovenant of healing with them that was perpetual and was more sure than therising of the sun. And said, If youdiligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in Hissight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put noneof the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lordwho heals you (Exodus 15:26).

This healing covenant is still in force, and is now a partof our inheritance in Christ. We have a better covenant established on betterpromises! We are redeemed from the curse of the broken law (Galatians 3:13).This involved poverty, sickness, and spiritual death.

It’s important that we keep our faith built up for thehealing and health of our bodies. Faithcomes by hearing the word! Take time to feed on the promises of God foryour health. Don’t allow sickness to trespass in your body. You have a legalright to health under the terms of your covenant! You must insist that Satankeep his hands off your body!

The moment symptom appear in your body, command in the nameof Jesus that they leave! Believe right then that you receive healing based onyour covenant with God. Remind Him of His promises, and act like He heard you!Don’t sign for the “package” of sickness that Satan brings by confessing thesymptoms. Refuse it and tell him that it’s not yours!

Expect the Holy Spirit to quicken your body! Expect healthand healing to be yours life long! HowGod anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who wentabout doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God waswith Him (Acts 10:38). That it mightbe fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He Himself tookour infirmities And bore our sicknesses (Matthew 8:17). Who Himself bore our sins in His own body onthe tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whosestripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24).

Keep the healing Word of God built up inside of you.Meditate on these healing promises daily! Speak health and healing, notsickness and disease. Expect the Father to bless your food when you eat, andexpect Him to keep sickness away from you!

A Jealous Lover

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Or do you think thatthe Scripture says in vain, the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?(James 4:5).

The Holy Spirit is a jealous lover. He is jealous over whatoccupies our thoughts, our time, our ambitions, and our daily lives. His majorjob is to make Jesus real to the believer.

He works constantly to keep us on the path of righteousness,bearing conviction through the Word when we go astray. His goal is ourChrist-likeness. We should be thankful for this jealous lover that the Fatherhas placed within us.

He perhaps more than us wants us to hear the words well done good and faithful servant whenwe stand before the Father one day. He works incessantly to keep us out oftrouble and close to Jesus and the Father.

We should be careful not to grieve Him through neglect ofconscience, bearing unforgiveness towards others, or by the wrong use of ourwords or our anger. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed forthe day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evilspeaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another,tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you(Ephesians 4:30-32).

The Holy Spirit is chosen by Jesus and the Father to be ourconstant companion throughout life. Listening to Him will keep us out oftrouble and will cause us to fulfill the will of the Father every day. He isvery sensitive to the Word. One of His major responsibilities is to open theWord to us, making it real and applicable to daily life. He feels neglectedwhen we don’t spend time with the Father in the Word.

I’ve found that one of the best ways to pray for fellowbelievers that goes astray is to pray for this jealous yearning of the HolySpirit to rise up within them. I pray that everywhere they are and everywherethey go the Holy Spirit will woo them and make then uncomfortable with wrongliving. I’ve seen some wonderful answers to prayer by this method.

Honor the jealous lover in your life today. If you do, Hewill give you’re his joy and peace. This only comes through obedience to theWord and to His incessant pull away from the world and to Jesus and the Father.Remember, you are never alone!

Look Ahead

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Look straight ahead,and fix your eyes on what lies before you (Proverbs 4:25 – Living).

To walk in the best that God has for you, it’s important tolook ahead, not behind. Think about how many people live in the shadow of whatthey have done. If it’s negative, thepast becomes a weight, or a strong chain, holding you back and keeping you fromprogressing. If you only in the light of pastaccomplishments, you’ll feel depressed, thinking that nothing could getbetter than that.

But our best days are ahead of us. I heard Lester Sumrallsay many times, Nothing that I have done,nothing that I am doing, is to be compared to what I’m going to do for Jesus!

Paul encourages us to focus on the future: Brethren, I do not count myself to haveapprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind andreaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal forthe prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14)

During an era of great personal hardship in my life, my mindwanted to focus on where I had been,what I had accomplished, and how God had used me. It made me feel as thoughmy days of usefulness and adventure were over. The Lord graciously showed methe dead end street I was on, and urged me to look ahead and believe Him forgreater things.

During this time, as I was working one day God used a songby Steve Green to adjust my focus from behind to ahead. I broke down in sobs ofthanksgiving as he sang: He who began agood work in you, He who began a good work in you, He’ll be faithful tocomplete it, He’ll be faithful to complete it. He who started the work will befaithful to complete it in you.

Let you daily confession be that your best days are yet to come! Think of all things that the Father has put inyour heart, and make them the focus of your mental attention. If you want thembadly enough, as you seek God, and pursue diligence, the Father and you willfind a way to bring those desires to pass.

Remember that the pathof the just is as a shining light, that shines more and more until that perfectday (Proverbs 4:18). Remember that Hewill perfect that which concerns me (Psalm 138:8). Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work inyou will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

In the end, webecome what we really expect. Expect God’s best!

God-Like Humility

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However, when He,the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He willnot speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and Hewill tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what isMine and declare it to you. All thingsthat the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine anddeclare it to you (John 16:13-15).

There is a nugget of truth hidden in these verses. Godthe Father occupies the highest position in the universe as the Most High God!Yet, he defers to the Son and elevates Him. Jesus was born into humility,though He was Lord of all. Jesus as Lord and sustainer of all, doesn’t attractattention to Himself, but defers to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does notattract attention to Himself, but His main goal is to magnify and exalt Jesus.

How frequently do we believers get upset if we are notrecognized for our efforts and achievements! This human pride thing runs verydeep, and it takes the Holy Spirit to root it out of us!

Let’s take our example from The Father, Son, and HolySpirit. Let’s refuse to draw attention to ourselves. Let’s refuse the spirit ofpride that dominates the world. Let’s choose to stay in the background and giveall glory for anything accomplished to the Father and the Son. It’s the way theHoly Spirit would want it to be.

God's Providential Care

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The eternal God isyour refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27).

There is no situation in life that is bigger than God’sability to help you out of it! As my former pastor used to say, God had the answer for your every problemprepared before the problem ever existed!

The reality is that we now live in the volatile time justprior to the return of Christ to earth! This is a season of rearranging. Andit’s not going to be comfortable. We must make a choice right now. See thelight instead of focusing on the darkness. Expect the promises of God forrenewal and revival worldwide to happen. Prepare for a fresh move of the Spiritof God. Prepare for a large influx of people into the family of God!

And in the middle of change, see the providence of Godworking in your life. He is your Protector, your Provider, your Sustainer, yourShield, your Defender, and He is your Life! Lean on His promises. Expect Him tohonor His Word in your life. Expect His Providential care to make a way for youevery day.

He has not brought us this far to fail us now. It’s timefor us to shine with His Glory. But the choice is really ours. Will we trustGod; will we trust His Word and lean on the Holy Spirit to show us what to do?Or will we lean on the arm of the flesh; worrying, wringing our hands, allowingourselves to be caught up in the negative circumstances of the moment?

See yourself under the care of the Divine Shepherd. Youbelong to Him, and He has

obligated Himself to care for you. Walk by faith, listento the Spirit of God within you, and expect Him to show you what you need to doevery day. And expect Him to open a way for you. He will not disappoint!

So we don't look atthe troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot beseen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot seewill last forever (2 Corinthians 4:18- NLT).

Wisdom

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The fear of the Lordis the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.(Proverbs 1:7) Happy is the man who findswisdom, And the man who gains understanding (Proverbs 3:13).

A head full of knowledge without wisdom is useless. Wisdommixed with knowledge brings success. Wisdom is the ability to use knowledgecorrectly.

The vantage point of wisdom is seeing all of creation in thelight of the moral laws of God and cooperating with them. Wisdom means being skillful and successful in one's relationships andresponsibilities ... observing and following the Creator's principles of orderin the moral universe (Dr. Roy Zuck 1).

Warren Weirsbe reveals: Biblicalwisdom has little if any relationship to a person's IQ or education, because itis a matter of moral and spiritual understanding. It has to do with characterand values; it means looking at the world through the grid of God's truth(2).

Notice the benefits of wisdom as mentioned in Proverbs3:14-18: For her proceeds are better thanthe profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious thanrubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Length ofdays is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are waysof pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to thosewho take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.

The above verse in Proverbs tells us that if we walk inwisdom we’ll have length of days, riches, honor, pleasantness, peace, life, andhappiness.

Jesus said that if we seek first the kingdom of God and Hisrighteousness, that all the things we need for life will be given to us(Matthew 6:33). That is walking in wisdom!

Now here is the great news. Jesus is our wisdom in life. Notice 1 Corinthians 1:30: But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, whobecame for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification andredemption . You don’t have to grunt and strain for wisdom. If you’re inChrist, you have it! All you need to do is to open yourself to receive thewisdom that is already there.

Of course Jamestells to ask if we lack wisdom, and if we ask without wavering in unbelief,we’ll receive the needed wisdom for the moment.

Let’s stop saying, well,I just don’t know what to do about this or that. Let’s let our confessionbe that God is granting us His wisdom in every endeavor of life. He is enablingus to see the end from the beginning!

[2]Ibid.

The Helper

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If you love Me,keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you anotherHelper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom theworld cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you knowHim, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; Iwill come to you (John 14:15-18).

Jesus was everything to the disciples. He met their everyneed during His three and a half years of ministry. If they didn’t understand ascripture, they would go to Him and He would explain it to them. Once theyneeded money to pay taxes and Jesus told Peter to go fishing, and the firstfish he caught would have the tax money in its mouth!

When they had trouble ministering healing to an epilepticby, Jesus set him free. When they needed to feed a large crowd, Jesus was thereto multiply a little boy’s lunch and feed over five thousand with it. Jesus waseverything they needed.

Here in John 14, Jesus is preparing His disciples for Hisdeparture to heaven. He wanted them to know that He was not leaving them asorphans. He told them that He would send someone to take His place in theirlives. That someone would be everything that He was to them. When He told themthat He would send another comforter, it literally reads in the Greek, another comforter of the same kind.Everything Jesus was to them, this coming person would be to them.

The word helper in verse 15 above is the word parakletos in the Greek. It means one who is called alongside to aid or help. TheLatin word for helper means one who comeswith strength. The Amplified Bible gives the various shades of meaning thisword parakletos contains - Counselor,Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby.

We actually have it better than the disciples did whowalked in Jesus’ presences. The Holy Spirit now resides in us and Jesuspromised that He would be to us everything that Jesus was to the disciples.Inside of you today, is wisdom, guidance, strength, ability, and insight.

You’re not anorphan! You’re never alone. Develop your relationship with the Divinepersonality that lives inside of you. He is sent to replace the physicalpresence of Jesus in your life. Yield to Him. Court His presence. Open yourheart life to Him. Saturate your mind with the Word so that He can communicatewith you easily.

He knows the challenges in our future and has promised tobe our helper and our guide. Expect His help today!

Happy Thanksgiving

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Blessed is thenation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen for His inheritance. TheLORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of Hisdwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their heartsindividually; He considers all their works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is notdelivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shallit deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on thosewho fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death,and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our helpand our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted inHis holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD,be upon us, just as we hope in You (Psalm 33.12-22).

The Pilgrims came to America in search of a place wherethey could worship freely in 1620. After a grueling winter where half of theirgroup died, they had a harvest feast to give thanks to God for His blessings onthem.

Franklin Roosevelt signed into law in 1941 a proclamationdeclaring the 4^th Thursday of November as a national ThanksgivingDay. I urge you to pray with your family today as you gather to eat andfellowship, give thanks to God our Father for all He is and all He has done foryou in Christ. Our freedoms are being challenged today. Let’s ask Him for mercyon our personal lives, our families, and our nation. We need His interventionand help. Time is short.

Many presidents throughout our nation’s existence haveissued a Thanksgiving Proclamation.You can go online and read President Obama’s for this year for instance. But Ilike the spirit of Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation and I offer ithere for your reading pleasure.

May God’s gracious hand guide you and your family throughthe days to come, protect you, and meet your every need. Happy Thanksgiving.

Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that isdrawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitfulfields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyedthat we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have beenadded, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail topenetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the everwatchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaledmagnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to inviteand to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations,order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmonyhas prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while thattheatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of theUnion. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peacefulindustry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle orthe ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines,as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even moreabundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstandingthe waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; andthe country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, ispermitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. Nohuman counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these greatthings. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealingwith us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It hasseemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently andgratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole AmericanPeople. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the UnitedStates, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreignlands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day ofThanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. AndI recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Himfor such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humblepenitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tendercare all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in thelamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and ferventlyimplore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nationand to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to thefull enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and causedthe Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, inthe year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of theIndependence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,

Secretary of State

America is at a Crossroads

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I’mposting an article today that I read at our Thanksgiving communion serviceyesterday. Our nation has a strong Christian heritage. It’s what made us great.But we have removed God from our civic life, and if He does not intervene, weare headed for a big fall. Our children will pay a heavy price. I’m asking Godfor a great awakening in our country. It has to start with us the church. I say, Lord,let it start in me!

Thisis a long article, but it’s worth reading…give me your thoughts…

A RELIGIOUS PEOPLE
VERSUS
A GODLESS GOVERNMENT

BY BRANNON HOWSE

http://www.worldviewtraining.com/book/chapters/arpoagg.html

      Americais at a crossroads, and the path that is chosen will have a lasting impact onthe future of this nation. We will continue to see a downward trend in ournation's morality as long as our citizens continues to permit the only acceptedform of bigotry permitted today to continue - religious bigotry.

      Americans need to stand up for and reaffirmthe faith of our fathers. Today, a civil war rages in Congress, in the courts,and in our schools.

      Why do I believe that this battle for religiousfreedom will so greatly affect the future of this nation? Because as a nationwe can only embrace and govern on the basis of one of two worldviews. We as apeople will either embrace the Christian worldview or the secular humanistworldview. There is no middle ground.

      This is not a new battle. In fact, it hasbeen on-going since the Garden of Eden. This conflict of the ages has alwaysbeen between what is right and what is wrong, what is just and what is unjust,what is good and what is evil, what makes men free and what makes them slaves.

      The Christian worldview was the basis andfoundation on which the founding fathers built the United States of America.Lenin, however, used the secular humanist worldview to base his ideology.

A Religious People

      Fyodor Dostoyevsky in his book, Crime and Punishment, wrote, "If God is dead, then everythingis permitted."

      If there is no God, then humanism, which isbased on the belief that man is god, is the moral standard. In other words, mancan decide for himself what is right and what is wrong through a relativistic,humanistic worldview.

      If, however, there is a Creator, asAmerica's founding fathers believed and wrote in the Declaration ofIndependence, then man is not god and is subject to set standards as prescribedby the Creator. Man is also obligated not only to live, but to govern in amanner consistent with God's laws and standards.

      The standards prescribed by the Creator arespelled out in the most important book of our western culture, the Holy Bible. Those who believe in God the Creator and His moral standards ofright and wrong, i.e. the Ten commandments, are embracing the Christianworldview either knowingly or unknowingly.

      Those of us who believe in God and seek tofollow and live out the Judeo-Christian faith realize that we are not theminority that the media and cultural elite would have us to believe. Gallopsurveys over the past two decades reveal that fully 85 percent of Americansconsider themselves to be following the Christian faith. On an average Sundayin America, 106 million Americans attend church.

      Americans need not apologize to thecultural elite for their religious convictions, no matter how strong. Indeed,it was a group of gun-toting, church-going Christians who gave us the greatestnation on the face of the earth.

      If you doubt me when I say that this nationwas founded on the Christian worldview by people who considered themselves tobe following the "Christian faith," then you do not know the facts.

      Dr. D. James Kennedy in his book, Character and Destiny, provides interesting data about the people whofounded our nation:

As late as 1776, fully 98 percent of the people in this country professed to be Protestant Christians; 1.8 percent said they were Roman Catholics; and .2 percent said they were Jewish. Now, if you add those numbers up you will find that 99.8 percent of the people in this nation declared themselves to be Christians.

Asan indication of the beliefs of all thirteen colonies at that time, theConstitution of the State of Delaware required that all office holders swear inpublic, "I do profess faith in God the Father, and in the Lord JesusChrist His only Son, and in the Holy Ghost . . . and I do acknowledge the HolyScriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be given by divineinspiration."

In 1892, the Supreme Court ruled in thecase, Church of the HolyTrinity v. United States,that:

Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of The Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian. . . . This is a religious people. This is historically true. From the discovery of this continent to the present hour, there is a single voice making this affirmation . . . we find everywhere a clear recognition of the same truth . . . these, and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.

Again,in 1931, the United States Supreme Court declared, in the case ofUnited States v. Macintosh, that "we are a Christian people."And in 1952, even the liberal justice, William O. Douglas, declared from thebench that "we are a religious people and our institutions presuppose aSupreme Being."

Who Gave Us Liberty?

In 1774, while serving in the VirginiaAssembly, Thomas Jefferson personally introduced a resolution calling for a dayof fasting and prayer. Later, while serving as the Governor of Virginia(1779-1781), Jefferson decreed a day of: "Public and solemn thanksgivingand prayer to the Almighty God."3

Engraved on the Jefferson Memorial inWashington D.C. are these famous words by Thomas Jefferson, the author of theDeclaration of Independence and our third President:

God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.

We must recommit ourselves as a nation and a people to the convictions of our Christian worldview.

JohnAdams, who served as our nation's first Vice President under George Washingtonfor eight years and then as the second President of the United States, sobelieved in the relevancy of the Bible that he wrote the following in his diaryon February 22, 1756:

Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow man; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God. . . . What a Utopia, what a Paradise would this region be.

      JohnAdams also said, "We have no government capable of dealing with anirreligious people." In other words, those who disregard religion aredisregarding what makes America, America.

      I could fill hundreds of pages with quotesfrom our founding fathers proving that they both publicly and privatelybelieved in and possessed the Christian worldview. Many of our founding fatherswere convinced that as long as we as a nation held onto and protected ourChristian heritage, we would flourish. Likewise, they also believed that if wedenied and rejected our Christian heritage, it would be the death of thisnation they so loved.

      George Washington wrote "We ought tobe no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expectedon a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heavenitself has ordained." He also wrote "It is impossible to rightlygovern the world without God and the Bible."

      Benjamin Franklin wrote: "Whoevershall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianitywill change the face of the world."

      On June 20, 1785, James Madison wrote,"Religion [is] the basis and foundation of Government." Several yearslater, on March 4, 1809, President James Madison said in his Inaugural address,"We have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance ofthat Almighty Being, whose power regulates the destiny of nations."

      It is overwhelmingly clear from these fewexamples that our founding fathers knew just how important it was to thepreservation of our nation that our Christian heritage and foundations not beeroded.

      Even though our founders knew how importantour Christian heritage was - and with a 99.8 percent Christian majority - stilla state religion was not mandated. Our founders wanted freedom of religion, not freedom from religion, as theliberals claim. The founders did not want our nation to deny its heritage, butthey wanted everyone to be free to practice and express their religiousconvictions and beliefs.

The "Separation" Myth

      The "wall of separation" betweenchurch and state is a myth. In recent years, this myth has gone from protectingus from a state-mandated religion to denying people their constitutional rightto practice their religion publicly. The ultimate result of the myth ofseparation has been the creating of a state-mandated religion, best known ashumanism.

      In two different cases, the United StatesSupreme court has written in footnotes to decisions handed down that humanismhas a religious tone. Today, this religion is not excluded but promotedaggressively in our nation's government schools at your expense.

      My friend and mentor, Dr. D. James Kennedy,put it best when he said,

The idea of separation of church and state has been abused by judges and juries for the past 50 years, but one thing is undeniably clear: If teachers in public schools can't teach Johnny about Christianity and if they can't say that Jesus Christ is alive today or that faith in God is a good idea, then they certainly cannot teach their students the exact opposite, either.

Yet,our schools continue to promote and teach the humanist religion that denies Godas the Creator and sets man up as his own god.

Despite what the liberal American CivilLiberties Union (ACLU) says, the religious foundation of our nation gave moreliberty to everyone, not less as they would have us believe. Our foundingfathers did so for good reason. They knew the lessons of history, as Dr. D.James Kennedy writes:

History teaches that great nations are seldom if ever destroyed by invaders or other outside forces. Wars and invasions may be involved in their final collapse, but nations fall because of compromise of their own foundational beliefs, loss of faith in the values that made them great, and the lawlessness and disorder that arise as a result.

Publicschools are now government schools that forbid the posting of the TenCommandments. Bible reading, even from a historical standpoint, is prohibited,and prayer is banned along with any Judeo Christian symbols.

We have compromised our foundationalbeliefs as a nation and a people, creating a society on the verge of moralcollapse - one where crime is rampant in our streets, babies are legallymurdered in their mothers' wombs, and divorce is as common and easy as orderinga pizza.

Safety Net or Hammock?

      Part of our Christian heritage has alwaysbeen personal responsibility and morality. With these two characteristicsmissing, America has become a welfare program out of control. Unwed mothers arefinancially rewarded for having more and more children out of wedlock. Coupleswho get married and have children are assessed a heavy tax for simply choosingto do the respectable and responsible thing.

      Untold numbers of welfare and entitlementrecipients are having their immoral and irresponsible lifestyles funded by agovernment that has chosen not to hold individuals to a high standard ofpersonal responsibility and decency.

      Psychologists and other misguided"professionals" only worsen the problem by "discovering" anew disorder or disability for every negative human failing. Sure, there arethose who have problems and disabilities, but such real problems end up beingignored or not taken seriously by the general public because of the over-use ofpsycho-babble terms and victimization grouping and labeling.

      This nation is being destroyed from theinside. How much longer can our nation continue down this road before werealize that the damage we are doing is increasingly irreversible?

      America needs to recommit itself to theheritage that made it great - a heritage that was clearly based on a Christianworldview, a strong faith in God, and in His moral principles and standards ofhard work, personal responsibility, right and wrong, good and evil, just andunjust.

      Certainly we need to have compassion, buttoday's welfare programs are based not on compassion but on socialism. At timesthere are those who need a little help to get back on their feet, but as onetalk show host has said, "The safety net has turned into a hammock."There is a clear difference between compassion and encouraging and rewardingirresponsibility, immorality and laziness.

Rights Without Responsibilities

      The same individuals who scream that youand I are not compassionate enough are the same group of liberals who have beenbehind cases where compassion, understanding, and the protection ofConstitutional rights have been extremely absent.

      The rights of many Americans - which are sobasic that the framers of the Constitution called them self-evident - have beendenied. Yet, if you and I are in favor of welfare reform, we are accused ofdepriving certain individuals of their so-called "rights" even thoughthese "rights" are not granted nor protected by the Constitution.

      As Dr. D. James Kennedy has written,today's young people "have been taught that their heritage of freedomgives them plenty of 'rights' but very few responsibilities."

      Liberals who steal our Constitutionalrights are hailed by the liberal press as being advocates for equality. Yet,when a conservative tries to defend the Constitution and limit specialprivileges and treatment for a few, which is often times not in the bestinterest of the majority, we are called mean-spirited hate-mongers.

      In some cases, states and/or the federalgovernment has aggressively attached and harassed conservative groups orindividuals with audits, law suits, and threats. Often such harassment isleveled at those who have - with great strength and courage - dared to stand upand defend the Christian worldview on which this nation was built.

      Why should America be forced to become asecular nation when the majority of Americans are not secular in theirreligious beliefs? In addition, there is nothing beneficial about being asecular nation. In fact, history proves that it is detrimental to the future ofa nation to reject certain principals and standards just because they can betraced back to a religious foundation.

      Time magazine publisheda cover story on December 9, 1991, titled, "One Nation, Under God,"in which they asked the question: "Has the separation of church and stategone too far?" The writer for Time obviously felt ithad when he wrote:

For God to be kept out of the classroom or out of America's public debate by nervous school administrators or overcautious politicians serves no one's interests. That restriction prevents people from drawing on this country's rich and diverse religious heritage for guidance, and it degrades the nation's moral discourse by placing a whole realm of theological reasoning out of bounds. The price of that sort of quarantine, at a time of moral dislocation, is - and has been - far too high. The courts need to find a better balance between separation and accommodation - and Americans need to respect the new religious freedom they would gain as a result.

Religionplays an important part in every nation's history and destiny, as Dr. D. JamesKennedy explains in his book, Character and Destiny:

Every nation that has ever existed has been built upon some sort of religious foundation. Whether it is the Hinduism of India, the Islam of Saudi Arabia, the Confucianism of China, the Shintoism of Japan, the Judaism of Israel . . . every nation had some form of religious commitment that contributed to its greatness. But while the government, the courts, the ACLU, the liberal American Bar Association, and the Trial Lawyers of America are doing everything in their power to strip away our moral values and religious rights, the government is stripping Americans of their property, their incomes, their rights of self-determination, and ultimately their hopes for the future.

Thisis exactly where we find ourselves today.

Abandon Yourself to His Care

2011-11-22T08:51:00.001-05:00

For whoever desiresto save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will findit. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses hisown soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew16:25-26).

Life is full of the unknown. We are finite beings inrelationship with the infinite God Almighty! His desire is that we giveourselves unreservedly to Him in faith and surrender. Jesus said that if welove our natural life more than our relationship with Him, then we would suffergreat harm and loss. But, He continued, if we put our relationship with Himfirst and foremost, then He would see that both natural and spiritual needs aresatisfied!

Several years ago while on a missions trip Goma, Congo, arebel attack broke out just a couple of miles from where I was lodged. Thehotel turned off the electricity for fear that the rebels would see our roomlights at night, attack our hotel, and harm us. We spent the night in the dark,listening to the sound of 50 caliber guns being fired, machine gun fire, andthe droning of military machinery.

During this ordeal, I found a great sense of security onknowing that my life was wrapped up in the will of God. The safest place to beis in His will! If you are doing what Heis asking of you, and are purposing to please Him, then things will work outfor good in your life.

Instead of bemoaning the circumstances that suddenlychange, let’s learn to “roll with the punches” that life brings and lean on theeternal faithfulness of our infinite God! He is bigger than every circumstancethat looms before us. He always sees the end from the beginning. He knows thecrooks and bends in our road of life. As we trust Him with faith and patience,He will shine His light on our path and make a way for us.

Resist the temptation today to worry or complain aboutthe “suddenly” things that surprise you in life. Take one day at a time, andexpect your Father to take care of you. He has never failed a person who reallytrusts Him.

The Promise of Healing

2011-11-21T12:16:00.001-05:00

Bless the Lord, O mysoul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O mysoul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Whoheals all your diseases (Psalm 103:1-3)

Healing is always the will of God for the believer. Rightafter God delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt, He revealed Himself asthe Physician of His people in Exodus 15:26: If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what isright in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, Iwill put (allow) none of the diseases on you which I have brought (allowed) onthe Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you. The phraseI will put in this verse is in the permissive sense, not in the causativesense. It should read I will allow.

This promise of healing is not just for the Old Testamentsaints, but for us today. We have a better covenant established on betterpromises. The good new is that the same faith that saves us is the same faiththat brings God’s healing power into our bodies. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouthconfession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:10) So you could also say itthis way: For with the heart one believesunto healing, and with the mouth confession is made unto health.

Believing for healing is as simple as believing forforgiveness of sin. First, you see the will of God through the Word to save andto heal. Then you believe it in your heart, and begin to say only what God saysabout your forgiveness and healing. You must look beyond the feelings you haveto be forgiven and to be healed. Pray, ask, believe you receive healing orforgiveness, and then stand you ground in faith until the feelings offorgiveness and the actual healing manifests in your body. Believing andspeaking the Word will draw God’s healing power into your body!

Diligently hearkeningto the Word for healing is refusing to believe or speak anything contrary tothe Word about your body. To do this, you must mediate regularly on God’spromises to heal. You must be diligent in the Word. He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from theirdestructions (Psalm 107:20). I’ll leave you today with God’s medicine foryour health. Take it according to the prescription in Exodus 15:26.

So you shall serve theLord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will takesickness away from the midst of you (Exodus 23:25). And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict youwith none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will laythem on all those who hate you (Deuteronomy 7:15). Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses) and carried our sorrows(pains); Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But Hewas wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; thechastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed(Isaiah 53:4-5) That it might befulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself tookour infirmities And bore our sicknesses (Matthew 8:17) Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, havingdied to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed(1 Peter 2:24).

No Sin History

2011-11-20T07:41:00.001-05:00

I, even I, am He whoblots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember yoursins (Isaiah 43:25).

Psychologists tell us that one of the main de-motivators ofhuman personality is guilt and condemnation. Many people carry the weight offailure due to past deeds. Guilt will keep a person in the downward spiral ofhopeless addictions as they seek the numb the pain of past failures. Addictionsof all sorts: alcoholism, drugs, sex, food, and even in work may find their originin the covering of and hiding from the emotional pain of failure.

God’s remedy for guilt is the forgiveness and cleansingfound in the blood of Jesus! As Isaiah says: Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sinsare like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red likecrimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18).

I was freed from my chains of personal failure when Ilearned that God does not even remember confessed sin. He has no record of it!

Years ago I was reading a book by Dr. Roy Hick entitles He Who Laughs Lasts and Lasts…In thebook, Dr. Hicks mentions Einstein’s theory of relativity. Part of that theoryis the belief that if a person could travel at the speed of light, time wouldcease. He would enter into the eternal.

The Bible says that God is light (1 John 1:5). God lives inthe realm of the eternal. Past, present, and future are all “now” to God. It’sa hard concept for our finite minds to grasp, but it is true. God lives in theeternal “now.” The panorama of history is constantly before Him. He seeseverything that was, is, and will be as “now.”Jesus is the lamb slain from the foundationof the world (before it was created). The Apostle John was shown The Revelation which shows the future.How? All this is or will be exits in the eternal where God dwells. And Godshowed John what will be because italready exists in the realm of the eternal.

So when God says that He will not remember our sins, it abig deal! That means that confessed sin is not even history, because historycan be remembered! Confessed sin is not found in the mind of God. It is blottedout as if it had never been committed.And that is a miracle!

God can do what we can’t. Our past deeds live in our memory,but He has the ability to completely remove confessed sins from His mind, andfrom recorded history! So when you sin as a believer, don’t brood and whineover it, repent and confess it! Then it will be completely removed from thehistory of your life and you can walk free from guilt!

This is all by faith. Weare usually the last one to forgive ourselves when we sin. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knowsall things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence towardGod (1 John 3:20-21). We oftenfeel the pain of self-inflicted guilt long after God forgives us. The key tobeing released from this inner condemnation is walking by faith in what Godsays about you, and choosing to believe what God says and refuse to be affectedby the feelings of failure. If God says He forgives and forgets, then youchoose to forgive yourself and forget it too!

Regardless of how manytimes you fail, get up! Confess the sin in repentance, and walk on. Remember, Fora righteous man may fall seven times and rise again… (Proverbs 24:16). Forget what God has forgotten and be released fromthe chains of the past!

Cleansed from Sin

2011-11-19T10:51:00.001-05:00

Blessed is he whosetransgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom theLord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit(Psalm 32:1-2).

In the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant, sin was notcleansed, it was covered. The life of an animal was sacrificed and its bloodwas poured on the Mercy Seat, which was the lid of the Ark of the Covenant inthe Holy of Holies in the temple. The presence of God dwelt in this man madeplace, and the animal blood provided a covering of “life” for the sins of theIsraelites.

Sin was covered because Godis Holy. And His Holiness is so pure that it cannot manifest where there issin. The fire purity of the Holiness of God would annihilate us since we are animpure, fallen race. To keep that from happening, a covering of animal blood typifyingcleansing, was used in the Holy of Holies.

For the life of theflesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make anatonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for thesoul (Leviticus 17:11). The word atonement means a covering. Sins were not removed, they were only covered, and theblood had to be re-applied to the Mercy Seat every year on the Day of Atonement.The life represented in the blood coveredthe sins of Israelso that they could fellowship with a Holy God. When He looked at the Ark of theCovenant with its contents of the Ten Commandments, He saw the blood thatcovered Israel’sfailure to obey His commandments and judgment was abated.

Jesus is the Lamb ofGod who takes away the sin of the world according to John the Baptist. WhenJesus spilled His blood on Calvary, died andwas resurrected, He took His blood into heaven and placed it before God as aneternal cleansing for our sins. Jesus Death and resurrection doesn’t justforgive us and cover sin, His death and resurrection literally removes our sin! Our sins are remitted, not covered!

Notice Hebrews 9:24-26: ForChrist has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of thetrue, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; notthat He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most HolyPlace every year with blood of another — He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of theworld; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin bythe sacrifice of Himself.

Our sins have been judged and removed from us when we areBorn Again! We are justified. It is Just-As-If-I’d-Never-Sinned! The sin is expunged and forever removed,not covered to be remembered year after year! Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more (Hebrews10:17). And now, when you miss the markand sin as a believer, sin is cleansed when you confess it (1 John 1:9).

When thoughts of your past deeds come to mind today, remindyourself and the Lord that you are totally forgiven; that your sins have beenremoved; and thank Him for never remembering them again! The accuser of the brethren wants you tolive in the past and brood over your failures. God has made a way through theblood of Jesus for you to completelyforget the things which are behind, and reach forward to the things ahead!Act like a person who has never sinned today!

The Prayer Habit

2011-11-18T08:26:00.001-05:00

…Steadfastly maintainthe habit of prayer (Romans 12:12-J.B. Phillips).

The Father wants us to develop our intimacy in prayer withHim. He wants prayer to become a habit. The prayer habit will be one habit thatcan transform the atmosphere of your life.

E.W. Kenyon in his book InHis Presence says: Prayer should beas natural as breathing and as enjoyable as eating. Prayer should be asunconscious as our communication with one another. He goes on the say: You can’t spend any length of time in prayerwithout being affected by it. The quietness, the unshaken faith, the deepunsounded peace that pervades the Godhead, will overflow into the prayer’slife.

Many people find prayer a great challenge. The fleshstruggles with relating to a God you can’t see. But God is the Father ofspirits. He relates to our spiritual nature, not to our mentality and emotions.Here are some tips to help develop the prayer habit.

First, you must know that the Father sees you as righteous;that is, as though you had never sinned! Our sin debt has been completely paidby Jesus, and God sees us as pure as Jesus before Him! In Christ, you have nopast!

Secondly, you must know that The Father loves you as much asHe does His own Son. In John 17:23, Jesus prays that he Father will reveal tous the fact that You have loved them asyou have loved me! You must knowthat you are endeared to the heart of the Father, and that He wants yourcompanionship and fellowship.

Then you must begin to develop you fellowship with Him basedon your right standing with Him according to the Word; not according to yourfeelings. Take some time to get alone and just tell Him that you love Him andtell Him how glad you are to be saved from sin and redeemed from hell.

Then, remind Him of what His word says about you, and ofwhat His word says about answered prayer. Talk to Him in specific terms aboutevery single concern you have in life, and ask Him specifically to help you.

Share your heart life with Him. Bear to Him your thoughtsand feelings and ask for His aid.

Take time too to pray in the spirit, in other tongues. Yourspirit, in communion with the Holy Spirit will pray God’s perfect will in allareas of your life.

Start slowly. You may pray to begin with for ten or fifteenminutes. That’s just fine. If you keep it up every day, you’ll find the need topray longer. You’ll find it easier and easier to express your heart and you’llbegin to want to take more time.

Life will become a partnership between you and the Father.You’ll begin to talk over every problem, every challenge, and everycircumstance good and bad with Him. And before long, you will have developedand unconscious communion with Him that will erase fear and worry from yourlife.

Prayer will become and unconscious act of communionthroughout your day. Daunting impossibilities will turn into opportunities foryour Father to show Himself strong in your life. You’ll begin to fulfillProverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord withall your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your waysacknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Attitude Determines Altitude

2011-11-17T08:22:00.001-05:00

The keeper of theprison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, becausethe Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper(Genesis 39:23).

Joseph’s life is an example of the attitude we should havewhen things go awry in our lives. As a teenager, God gave him a vision ofhimself as a leader. This vision changed how Joseph saw himself, and affectedeverything he did. Because he saw himself as an overcomer, he rose above everyproblem he encountered.

Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him and sold Joseph tosome slave traders. The traders sold him to the household of an Egyptian leaderto be their slave. Because Joseph didn’t see himself as a slave, he became theruler of the leader’s household.

Joseph was thrown into prison after being wrongfully accusedof attempted rape. But Joseph’s attitude caused him to rise above the prisonchains. He became one of the leaders among the prisoners and helped the guardsgreatly.

Finally, after correctly interpreting the Pharaoh of Egypt’sdream, Joseph was appointed as Prime Minister of Egypt. No one but Pharaoh hadgreater power than Joseph. And Joseph’s teenage dream of his family bowingbefore was literally fulfilled when he was thirty years of age.

Joseph is a great example to us of the power of our attitudeto regulate us during hard times. Attitudedetermines altitude someone has said. You never rise above attitude. Whatyou think about yourself deep inside determines how you respond to life’scircumstances.

Joseph saw himself as a winner and his attitude brought himthrough being rejected by his siblings; through being sold as a slave; throughfalse accusation; and through being wrongfully imprisoned.

What attitude do you have right now in the midst of yourcurrent circumstance? You never rise above what you think about yourself. I’llleave you with these scriptures to help you with attitude adjustments that weall must make at times:

What then shall we sayto these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spareHis own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him alsofreely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32) Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him wholoved us (Romans 8:37).

Now thanks be to Godwho always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragranceof His knowledge in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14). For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthyto be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18) Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren,whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall intovarious temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving ofyour faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But letendurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work,so that you may be people perfectly and fully developed with no defects,lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4- Amplified).

Throne Room Strength

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He gives power to thetired and worn out, and strength to the weak. Even the youths shall beexhausted, and the young men will all give up. But they that wait upon the Lordshall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; theyshall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:29-31-Living)

Like a place of shelter in a storm, the throne of God is aplace for you and me to go and be refreshed and strengthened after facing thepressures of the day.

We have an open invitation to come boldly to the throne ofgrace so that we can receive mercy, grace, and help for our needs (Hebrews4:16).

When you go to this throne room of the Father with yourneeds and lay them before Him, He then places in you strength and ability toobey Him, and peace that soothes and heals. Like a platoon of soldiers guardinga city, the peace of God will push worry and fear away from you and enable youto walk in the rest of God.

Make sure you take time to visit the throne room today.Strength, rest, peace, love, joy, insight, and healing abide there. You’ll comeaway with a spring in your step ready for whatever comes your way today. You’llhave an expectation of God’s best in everything you do. And you’ll spread thatThrone Room atmosphere to others!

Don’t allow the enemy to get you so busy that you don’tvisit the Throne Room. He’s intimidated that you may get smart enough to gothere more and more frequently. And the more frequently you go, the more thequiet strength of God will be upon you, and the less and less you’ll beweighted down with the pressures and challenges of life.

No longer will you be intimidated by circumstances that riseup. You’ll have the spirit of a conqueror, facing each challenge today likeDavid faced Goliath. Take plenty of time today to visit with the Father in theThrone Room. It will show on you!

El Shaddai

2011-11-15T11:49:00.001-05:00

El Shaddai is one of the names for God in the Old Testament.It means The Almighty God, the AllSufficient One, or the God Who is More Than Enough.

The etymology of the word Shaddai in antiquity gives a slight reference to a mother feeding herchild at her breast, meaning that the mother is everything the child needs tosustain life. The word Shaddai isalso used of mountains and linkedwith El, the self-existent one, itrefers to the all powerful God who created the mountains and rules over all. Heis the One from Whom everything is derived.

Our God is the God Who is more than enough! He is the creator and sustainer of all thatexists. Jesus upholds all things by the power of His word. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are onearth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities orpowers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before allthings, and in Him all things consist (Colossians 1:16-17).

In the light of our God being El-Shaddai, our problems areso small! The Being that created and sustains all that exists is my very ownFather! He is All-Sufficient to help me in my difficulties today. He is more than enough! He’s the God ofplenty! Someone said that God is El-SHaddai, not El-cheapo! He’s big enough,strong enough, wise enough, and loving enough to help us through the toughissues that life brings!

All we need to do is to release our faith in Him and believewe receive the best that He has for every circumstance we encounter. El-Shaddaipromised that mountains would move at the command of faith spoken words. Hepromised to answer faith based praying. Andwhatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive (Matthew21:22). El-Shaddai is back of this promise. Let His more than enough power work on your behalf today.

Trust in El-Shaddai with all you heart today. Don’t lean onyour own ability alone. In all your ways today, acknowledge that El-Shaddai isworking on your behalf. He is providing the needed wisdom, insight, healing,finances, and solutions to your current circumstances. He’s the Almighty God,the All Sufficient One. He’s more than enough!

First Love

2011-11-12T08:50:00.001-05:00

Nevertheless I havethis against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore fromwhere you have fallen; repent and do the first works…(Revelation 2: 4-5). I know your works, that you are neither coldnor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm,and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).

This is a day to give your heart completely to Jesus inan unreserved way. It is not a day to compromise with the flesh or with thepopular opinion of the moment!

Some time ago I had an insightful dream. In the dream Iwas at a conference meeting with other believers in a fairly wide yet not deeproom. Four women were leading singing including my lovely wife (she has hiddentalent!). We were singing the old song withmy hands lifted up, and my mouth filled with praise, with a heart ofthanksgiving, I will bless you O Lord. In the dream I noticed that somewere singing with lifted hands, but many were engaged in conversation withothers. They seemed oblivious to the worship that was going on. And then in thedream I thought to myself as I observed those who were not singing, boy we sure don’t have the passion for Jesusthat we once had. We need to come back to our first love. End of dream.

This is a day for consecration and dedication to theFather. Much is at stake. Our hunger defines us. Our appetites show who we are.Smith Wigglesworth stated, I’d ratherhave a man on my platform who is not Spirit-filled but hungry than a man who isSpirit –Filled and satisfied.

Hunger has greatdrawing power. Hunger can move you. Smith Wigglesworth also mentioned, I’m only satisfied with the dissatisfactionthat has to be satisfied over and over again.

Let me also remind you that our appetitesand hunger follow our attention. Perhaps you’ve slackened off on yourrelationship with the Lord. You read your Bible less often and pray onlysporadically. And perhaps church attendance is hit and miss. Has your firstlove taken a back seat to other things?

You can change today. Repent for stepping away from yourfirst love. Then, make yourself read and pray. Desire always follows attention.And pray to get hungry!

Behold, I stand atthe door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me (Revelation 3:20).

Protection

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The safest place in the world is the will of God!

After I preach thismorning, I’m leaving on a ministry endeavor in another country today, so I willnot be able to blog again until November 11. I, along with a couple of othermen, will be ministering to pastors and conducting evangelistic crusades.Please pray for us when we come to mind, that the Lord will direct our steps,that we will be protected from harm, that the Word of God will penetrate thehearts of the pastors and encourage them, and that many will be born againduring the evangelistic meetings.

Let me encourage you to goback and read my posts from October 24^th through October 28^thwhere I discuss the sequence of events before the return of Christ. Theseevents may be happening sooner rather than later, and to be forewarned is to beforearmed!

I’ll leave you with God’spromise of protection:

Psalm 91-NLT

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High willfind rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (2) This I declare about the Lord: Healone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. (3) Forhe will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. (4) Hewill cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. Hisfaithful promises are your armor and protection. (5) Do not be afraid of theterrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. (6) Do not dread thedisease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. (7)Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you,these evils will not touch you. (8) Just open your eyes, and see how the wickedare punished. (9) If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most Highyour shelter, (10) no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near yourhome. (11) For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. (12)They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on astone. (13) You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lionsand serpents under your feet! (14) The Lord says, "I will rescue those wholove me. I will protect those who trust in my name. (15) When they call on me,I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. (16)I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation."

Expect Long Life!

2011-10-29T10:15:00.002-04:00

Any thought in your mind that you may not live a longlife is just wrong! When I was young,a palm reader at a church Halloween carnival (go figure) told me that mylifeline was short and that I would die young. The ensuing fear lasted throughmy teen years until I became a dedicated believer.

I did a study on longevity in the scriptures and foundthat it was the will of God for us to live a long life and be satisfied withits length. This may be shocking, but there’s not a “set” time by God for youto die. As you study the Word you’ll find that there are things you can do tolengthen your life, and there’s some things that you can get involved in thatwill shorten your life. We have moreto do with it than we realize.

I’ll leave you with a list of scriptures that deal withlong life today. They have boosted my personal faith and they have quenched thefear the enemy planted in my life when I was young! Let’s grow old loving andserving God!

You shall walk inall the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live andthat it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the landwhich you shall possess (Deuteronomy 5:33). That your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in theland of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of theheavens above the earth (Deuteronomy 11:21). So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, asyour father David walked, then I will lengthen your days (1 Kings 3:14). You shall come to the grave at a full age, asa sheaf of grain ripens in its season (Job 5:26). With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation (Psalm91:16). My son, do not forget my law, butlet your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peacethey will add to you (Proverbs 3:1-2). Thefear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy Oneis understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of lifewill be added to you (Proverbs 9:10-11). The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will beshortened (Proverbs 10:27). Theyshall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; foras the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My elect shalllong enjoy the work of their hands (Isaiah 65:22). For He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain histongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away fromevil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it (1 Peter 3:10-11). Even to your old age, I am He, and even togray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry,and will deliver you (Isaiah 46:4). Thesilver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way ofrighteousness (Proverbs 16:31).

Radical Islam and Jesus' Return

2011-10-28T11:03:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago on aSunday morning, I addressed some current events that may give a glimmer oflight to us as to how the sequence of events may practically play out in thereturn of Jesus in the Rapture and in His second Coming.

Last year I had Walid Shoebatminister at our church. Walid is a form Muslim turned Christian and has writtenand excellent book, God’s War on Terrorin which he reveals a belief that Islam and its Jihad ideology may be a key player in bringing the events spoken ofin Revelation to fruition.

I also read a bookentitled The Islamic Anti-Christ byJoel Richardson which again reveals an eerie parallel between the comingIslamic leader called the Mahdi andthe Anti-Christ reveal as the arch-enemy of Jesus Christ and the kingdom ofGod. I encourage your reading of both of these books.

As I was studying in thespring of 2010, I saw some things that I had not seen before. I saw that thebook of Daniel mentions a “reviving” of the old Roman Empire prior to Jesusreturn. Most Eschatology (the study of end-times) teachers believe stronglythat the Western Roman Empire will “revive” before the return of Jesus, andthat the Anti-Christ will come from that region of the world.

But as I studied andrefreshed myself in world history, some things began to change for me. I sawthat the Western Roman Empire lost its power just prior to 500 AD. But theRoman Empire continued as the Byzantine Roman Empire through Constantinople inmodern Turkey for almost a thousand years.

Now follow me here forjust a moment in a short history lesson. Islam was founded by the prophetMohammed in the 600 A.D.’s and shortly afterwards was pushing through theMiddle East and Europe in a world conquest. The Ottoman Empire (Islamic)toppled the Byzantine Roman Empire in Constantinople by 1453 A.D., and changed thecity’s name to Istanbul.

The former Catholiccathedrals in Constantinople (now Istanbul) were transformed into mosques and foralmost 500 years Islam and the Islamic Caliphate (rule) dominated the MiddleEast. After World War II, the Ottoman Empire lost its control of the Middle Eastto other nations. Its’ Islamic influence ruled Israel and the Middle East, andwas a force to be reckoned with by other nations. One stanza of our Marine Hymn reads: From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, we will fight ourcountry’s battles, on the land and on the sea, and is actually speaking of the battles engaged by Marines from thenewly formed USA in the early 1800’s against the Muslim pirate ships of thecoast of Northern Africa that hindered free trade.

The Islamic Caliphatedissolved in Turkey in the 1920’s and was replaced by a secular government. Nolonger did Islam play a major role in the governing of that nation, untilrecently! The current government of Turkey has been turning towards tore-emergence of a combination of Islamic rule with the government of thatnation. There is a striking and possible parallel with this development foundin Revelation 17.

Notice Revelation 17:8-11 :The beast that you saw was, and is not, andwill ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwellon the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life fromthe foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, andyet is. (9) "Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are sevenmountains on which the woman sits. (10) There are also seven kings. Five havefallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he mustcontinue a short time. (11) The beastthat was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and isgoing to perdition.

In short, here’s what theabove verses from Revelation reveal: The woman mentioned is a false religioussystem that will be utterly defeated at Jesus’ Second Coming (Islam?). TheAnti-Christ will be affiliated with this false religion. The seven heads arekings or leaders, and the seven mountains are seven empires that have ruledover Israel since its inception as a nation. From history, we know that thefirst six of these empires that ruled over Israel are Egyptian Empire, the AssyrianEmpire, the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, and the RomanEmpire.

The Empire mentioned asthe seventh (the one in verse 10 which has not yet come) was not yet an empireat the time of the writing of the New Testament. But notice that if you followhistory, the next Empire to rule over Israel and the Middle East after theByzantine Roman Empire is the Ottoman Empire, an Islamic Empire. That couldeasily be the seventh Empire mentioned!

Then, notice that verse 11states: The beast that was, and is not,is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. The beast is the anti-Christ and his kingdom.This verse says that the eighth kingdom to rule over Israel is from the seventh kingdom, and will bedestroyed by Jesus (is going to perdition) at His return.

Let simply state it again.The last empire to rule over Israel before the Second Coming of Christ willcome from the Seventh kingdom that ruled over Israel. The exact match from history is the Ottoman (Islamic) empire thatceased to exist in the 1920’s after World War II. That empire is nowre-emerging as a huge player in the Middle East through Turkey, where the seatof Middle Eastern power was for almost 500 years. Could it be that the emergingof Turkey as a strong Middle Eastern influence with its increasing Islamic leanbe the emerging of an eighth empire, an Islamic Empire, that will eventuallyrule over Israel? Time will tell, but it is very possible!

Now let’s talk about the mostinteresting part of this whole scenario. Recep Erdogen, the Turkish Prime Minister,is becoming a huge player in rallying the Arabic nations into a political unity.He is involved in talks with the leader of the Palestinians, Mahmoud Abbas, andis encouraging him to make peace with Israel. Turkey carries a lot of politicalclout in the Middle East and is the one nation that may be able to bring thedifferent factions of Muslims together reaching for a common goal of unityamong the Islamic nations in the Middle East and Northern Africa, then completedomination of Israel.

Turkey has the 2^ndlargest army in NATO, and is re-emerging as a key player in the Middle East.Keep watching as this nation is mentioned more and more.

The turmoil in Tunisia,Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and other nations there will eventuate intoradical Islam being integrated and Sharia law being integrated into the fabric ofthese nation’s governments. The eventual end of this will be these nations unitingunder the rule of the anti-Christ and attacking Israel.

Jesus will come back inHis blazing Glory to defeat these nations at the battle of Armageddon (Ezekiel38-39, Revelation 19). I’m sharing these things to show you that worldconditions are ripening to the soon return of Jesus.

Joel prophesied that ahuge revival with encompass the earth at the same time that the anti-Christcomes to power (see Joel 2:28-32). This is a day for you and me to really getserious about Jesus in our lives. It’stime to be through with compromise and lukewarm living. The day of Jesusreturn is shorter than you may realize. It’s time to wake up! World conditionare quickly lining up with prophetic revelation from the Bible!

I’ll leave you with Paul’scomments on the day:

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late itis; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when wefirst believed. (12) The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soonbe here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shiningarmor of right living. (13) Because we belong to the day, we must live decentlives for all to see. Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties anddrunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling andjealousy. (14) Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord JesusChrist. And don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires (Romans 13:11-14 –NLT).

The Day of the Lord

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For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; andthe government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be calledWonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (7) Ofthe increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throneof David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment andjustice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hostswill perform this (Isaiah 9:6-9 –NKJV).

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall bemade alive. (23) But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits,afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. (24)

Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom toGod the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power (1 Corinthians 15:22-24-NKJV).

Today I am continuing myteaching about the sequence of events inthe return of Christ. My goal is to bring clarity to what I see inscripture concerning what is to come as the world is prepared for Christ’sreturn and reign.

The last book of the Bible,the book of Revelation, is about Jesus Christ coming as rightful owner of theearth to defeat His enemies, to judge the un-repentant wickedness of men andnations, to judge Satan, and to reclaim the earth for the Kingdom of Heaven,cleanse it, and make it a beautiful place for God and man to have fellowshiponce again throughout eternity.

Jesus came almost 2000years as a baby, in humility, taking upon Himself our suffering and sin, andproviding a way for His Grace to purify us from our sin and restore ourpersonal relationship and fellowship with God.

Notice John 1:17: For the law was given through Moses, butgrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Notice again that the law camethough Moses. The Old Covenant, with its emphasis on the 10 commandments,showed us that we cannot please God with self-effort. The law revealed our sin.We call that era the dispensation of law.

During the last 2000 yearswe’ve been living in the church age, thedispensation of Grace. The long-suffering of God has been emphasized toshow that He loves mankind, and wants all of us to have the opportunity torespond to His Grace.

Grace is Goddealing lovingly and tenderly with us and with our sin. Grace is God opening upHis love nature to willingly forgive and cleanse our disobedience, and towelcome us freely into relationship with Him through Christ.

But also notice that Graceand Truth came through Jesus Christ.Jesus didn’t come only to cleanse oursin, He also came to show us how to live a life that pleases God. That comes through truth. Jesus, within Himself andHis sacrifice for us, wed Grace and Truth together.

To receive only Grace isto live a life of bondage to sin. But when you allow His Grace and Truth to flood your life, only then doestrue freedom manifests in you.

When Jesus returns in HisSecond Coming, He will be emphasizing Truth.He will come as a judge to His enemies, for they have spurned His Love,rejected His Grace, and have refused His Truth. The only thing left for thosewho refuse God’s dealings of Grace, Love, and Truth is Judgment. And that is what is coming next on the earth.

The Day of the Lord is a period of time, not just a 24 hour day.The Day of the Lord starts after the Cosmic Disturbances I mentioned yesterdaywith the breaking of the 6^th seal on the scroll in God’s right hand(see Revelation 6:12-17), and immediately after the rapture of the church toheaven (see Revelation 7:9-17).

The Day of the Lord is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, andis mentioned by Jesus, the Apostle Paul, and the Apostle Peter. The Day of the Lord begins after God withdraws His earth ambassadors (the church!) to heaven.The Day of the Lord is God declaringwar on His enemies. The Day of the Lord encompasses the period of time after the rapture of the church wherethe 7 trumpet judgments and 7 bowl judgments occur in Revelation 8 through 19.

The scroll in God’s righthand that we’ve discussed in previous days (Revelation 5:1) contains the events of the Day of the Lord. Oncethe 7 seals on the scroll are broken open, the scroll can be unrolled, and thenthe events on the scroll come to pass.

Notice Revelation 8:1:When Heopened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Heaven became silent when Jesus broke the last sealon the scroll in God’s right hand. For half an hour, heaven paused, realizingthat the prayers of the saints for God’skingdom to come, and for His will to be accomplished on earth, were aboutto be answered. Heaven became silent for that half hour, knowing that theawesome judgment of the Holy God of the universe was about to explode on this evil,corrupt planet. Finally, all wrongs, all lies, all rebellion, all deceit, andall evil would receive its just rewards. The trumpet judgments and bowljudgments were about to unleash the fierce wrath of God against all of Hisenemies.

The church of the LordJesus will not be here to experiencethis time of the wrath of God. Jesus sacrifice on the cross delivered us fromthe wrath to come (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). The first 3½ years of the70^th week of Daniel are the wrath of man, the anti-Christ. The time of great tribulation spoken of by Jesus, when the anti-Christ breakshis 7 year covenant with Israel and martyrdom occurs with the breaking of the 6^5thseal on the scroll, is the wrath ofman.

You and I as believer are immune from the wrath of God. We willnot be here during this awful time when 1/3 of the vegetation will die, thefresh and salt waters become polluted, when over 2 billion people die from theeffects of the intense wrath of God.

I close this article todaywith the scriptures that reveal this dark period of judgment coming to earthcalled The Day of the Lord. PraiseGod that Jesus has delivered us from thewrath to come…

Scriptures revealing The Day of the Lord…

The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, forall that is exalted (and they will be humbled), (13) for all the cedars ofLebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan, (14) for all the toweringmountains and all the high hills, (15) for every lofty tower and every fortifiedwall, (16) for every trading ship andevery stately vessel. (17) The arrogance of man will be brought low and thepride of men humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, (18) and theidols will totally disappear. (19) Men will flee to caves in the rocks and toholes in the ground from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty,when he rises to shake the earth. (20) In that day men will throw away to therodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made toworship. (21) They will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhangingcrags from dread of the Lord and the splendor of his majesty, when he rises toshake the earth (Isaiah 2:12-21 –NIV).

Hail, for the dayof the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

(7) Therefore all hands will be limp, every man'sheart will melt, (8) And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take holdof them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed atone another; their faces will be like flames. (9) Behold, the day of the Lordcomes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; andHe will destroy its sinners from it. (10) For the stars of heaven and theirconstellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its goingforth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. (11) "I will punishthe world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt thearrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. (12)I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a man more than the golden wedgeof Ophir. (13) Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move outof her place, In the wrath of the Lord of hosts And in the day of His fierceanger (Isaiah 13:6-13 –NKJV).

All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and theheavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall fall down as theleaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree. (8) For it isthe day of the Lord's vengeance, theyear of recompense for the cause of Zion (Isaiah 34:4,8 –NKJV).

Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction from theAlmighty. (16) Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness fromthe house of our God? (17) The seed shrivels under the clods, storehouses arein shambles; Barns are broken down, for the grain has withered. (18) How theanimals groan! The herds of cattle are restless, because they have no pasture; eventhe flocks of sheep suffer punishment. (19) O Lord, to You I cry out; for firehas devoured the open pastures, and a flame has burned all the trees of thefield. (20) The beasts of the field also cry out to You, for the water brooksare dried up, and fire has devoured the open pastures (Joel 1:15-20 –NKJV).

The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; Thesun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. (11) The Lordgives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the Onewho executes His word. For the day ofthe Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it? (Joel 2:10-11 –NKJV).

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in theearth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, andthe moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (32) And it shall cometo pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in MountZion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among theremnant whom the Lord calls (Joel2:30-32 – NKJV).

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! Forthe day of the Lord is near in thevalley of decision. (15) The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars willdiminish their brightness. (16) The Lordalso will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens andearth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and thestrength of the children of Israel (Joel3:14-16 –NKJV).

Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? Itwill be darkness, and not light. (19) It will be as though a man fled from alion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his handon the wall, And a serpent bit him! (20) Is not the day of the Lord darkness,and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it? (Amos 5:18-20 NKJV).

The great dayof the Lord is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the dayof the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. (15) That day is aday of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation anddesolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thickdarkness, (16) a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities andagainst the high towers. (17) "I will bring distress upon men, and theyshall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; theirblood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse." (18)Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day ofthe Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of Hisjealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land. (2:1)Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, (2)Before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the Lord'sfierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you!(3) Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seekrighteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day ofthe Lord's anger (Zephaniah 1:14-2:3 –NKJV).

But the day ofthe Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will passaway with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both theearth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (11) Therefore, since allthese things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holyconduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming of the day ofGod, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and theelements will melt with fervent heat? (13) Nevertheless we, according to Hispromise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:10-13 –NKJV).

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren,you have no need that I should write to you. (2) For you yourselves know perfectlythat the day of the Lord so comes asa thief in the night. (3) For when theysay, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, aslabor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. (4) But you,brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief (1 Thessalonians 5:1-4 – NKJV).

Cosmic Disturbances and the Rapture of the Church

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Immediately after the tribulation of those days thesun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fallfrom heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. (30) Then the signof the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earthwill mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heavenwith power and great glory. (31) And He will send His angels with a great soundof a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, fromone end of heaven to the other (Matthew24:29-31-NKJV).

For the last two days, I’vebeen discussing the sequence of events in the return of Christ to earth. Iencourage you to go back and my blog for Monday and Tuesday if you haven’t doneso. Each day will build on the previous days’ teaching.

I’m continuing here withour looking at the opening of 7 seals on a scroll in God’s right hand inRevelation 6. In Revelation 5, God, as Creator and owner of all that is, isseated on His Throne with a scroll in His right hand. That scroll is His title deed to earth, by which He ispreparing to regain earth’s control from Satan and his emissaries.

The scroll contains thecontents of the book of Revelation starting with the breaking of the 7^thseal in Revelation chapter 8 and continuing through the rest of the book ofRevelation. In the scroll are 7 trumpet judgments and 7 bowl judgments whichoccur after the scroll is opened,during what the Bible calls the Day ofthe Lord. The Day of the Lord isa period of time when the wrath of God is displayed in full force againstSatan, and the nations and men who are working with his scheme of darkness tocompletely overtake and rule this planet for good. The church will not be here during the Day of the Lord.

None of the eventsbeginning with Revelation 8 can begin until the scroll is opened. In Revelation6, Jesus, the resurrected Lamb, has taken the scroll from God’s right hand andis breaking each seal one at a time. As each seal is broken, events occur.

Yesterday we look at thefirst five seals. The first seal when broken revealed a rider on a white horse,which denoted false Christ’s appearing, most notably the anti-Christ. The breaking of this seal begins the timeperiod frequently called the tribulation,or better called Daniel’s 70^thweek (see Daniel 9:27), which lasts for 7 years.

The second seal whenbroken revealed a rider on a red horse, denoting war breaking out. The thirdseal when broken revealed a rider on a black horse which denoted famine and hyperinflation.The forth seal when broken revealed a rider on a pale green horse which denoteddisease spreading as a result of war. The fifth seal when broken began a periodof martyrdom of Jews and Christians under the reign of the anti-Christ. This is three and a half years into the sevenyear peace treaty he oversees between Israel and their enemies. The breaking ofthis seal begins what Jesus termed thegreat tribulation : For then therewill be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of theworld until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (22) And unless those days wereshortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will beshortened (Matthew 24:21-22-NKJV).

It looks as though believerswill be here to see the rise of the anti-Christ and the breaking of the sealsaround the scroll. Believers will see the anti-Christ break His covenant withIsrael and begin a massive campaign of killing Jews and Christians.

Then suddenly, sometimeafter the anti-Christ begin this mass slaughter three and one half years intohis reign, the sixth seal is broken. I lookedwhen He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; andthe sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. (13)And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figswhen it is shaken by a mighty wind. (14) Then the sky receded as a scroll whenit is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. (15)And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, themighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and inthe rocks of the mountains, (16) and said to the mountains and rocks,"Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne andfrom the wrath of the Lamb! (17) For the great day of His wrath has come, andwho is able to stand?"( Revelation 6:12-17-NKJV)

These cosmic disturbances occur with the breaking of the sixth seal, andare a sign to the world that Jesus Christ is returning to withdraw Hisambassadors to heaven before the Day of the Lord begins. It looks as though wewill be here to see this event.

When you get up onemorning, and the sun is dark, and then at night the moon and stars don’t givelight, you know then that Jesus is about to return to get you! In Revelation 7,between the breaking of the sixth and seventh seal around the scroll, twothings happen. First, Jews that will actually go through the terrible judgmentsduring the day of the Lord will be sealed so that they will be protected fromharm during that terrible time (Revelation 7:1-8).

Then, in Revelation7:9-17, a multitude which I believe is the raptured saints of God are found inheaven before God’s throne : After thesethings I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, ofall nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and beforethe Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, (10) andcrying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God whosits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"(Revelation 7:9-10-NKJV)

I’ll end this article withthe scripture found at the beginning. Jesus also talks about what happens afterthe breaking of the sixth seal in Matthew 24. The sign of His return for us isthese cosmic disturbances. The way the world events are rapidly transpiring, wecould see the fulfillment of these scriptures in the not too distant future!Once the peace treaty is signed, figure 4 to 5 years (we just can’t know for surethe time length between anti-Christ breaking covenant and the rapture) ofsignificant change and degrees of hardship before this cosmic disturbance eventoccurs. But, during that time, expecta tremendous moving of the Holy Spirit worldwide!

And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pourout My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, yourold men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. (29) And also onMy menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (30)"And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fireand pillars of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the mooninto blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (32)And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall besaved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as theLord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls (Joel 2:28-32-NKJV).

Opening the Seals on the Scroll

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You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor andpower; for You created all things, And by Your will they exist and werecreated." (Revelation 4:11-NKJV).

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on thethrone a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:1-NKJV).

In yesterday’s blog, Ibegin talking about the sequence of events in the return of Christ. If youhaven’t read yesterday’s blog, please do so, for I will continue today withthat theme. Over the last year 18 months or so, the Lord has given me a newunderstanding of the sequence of events regarding the rapture of the church andthe time period immediately following. I submit what the Lord has given me toyou to consider and pray over, and for you to search the scriptures yourself togain understanding of Jesus’ soon return.

In Revelation 4, God isshown as the Creator, owner and sustainer of all things. In Revelation 5, Godis holding a scroll in His right hand as He is seated on His throne. The scrollis God’s title deed to planet earth. The scroll is sealed with seven seals, andcan only be opened by a person with the authority and credentials to overseethe events that transpire when it is opened. Jesus Christ, depicted as therisen Lamb, is the only person in the universe found worthy to break the sealsand open the scroll. He stands and takes the scroll out of God’s right hand.

In Revelation 6, Jesusbegins the process of breaking the seven seals that keep the contents of thescroll from being known and coming to pass. As the title deed to planet earth,this scroll contains the sequence of events that will occur to purge the earthof rebellion, sin, and the contamination of the darkness brought on it by theLucifer during his reign of stealing, killing, and destroying. It contains theplans God has to renovate this planet made for human life, so that it will onceagain be a place of purity, and a place where God and man can fellowshiptogether eternally.

As I watched, the Lamb broke the first of the seven seals on the scroll. Then I heard one of thefour living beings say with a voice like thunder, "Come!" (2) Ilooked up and saw a white horse standing there. Its rider carried a bow, and acrown was placed on his head. He rode out to win many battles and gain thevictory (Revelation 6:1-2 –NLT).

The breaking of this firstseal on the scroll brings forth a rider on a white horse. The rider represents falseChrist’s. This rider depicts a warrior as he is carrying a bow and wearing acrown. This is none other than the anti-Christ, who is everything opposite ofour Lord Jesus! He will come as a man of peace, but later his heart will berevealed and he will take peace away from the earth.

The breaking of this firstseal sets in motion Daniel’s 70^thweek. We read in Daniel 9:27 - Theruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, butafter half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Andas a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious objectthat causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finallypoured out on him."

Daniel 9 reveals 490 yearsof Israel’s history from the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after theJews’ captivity to Babylon until the second coming of Christ. 483 of thoseyears have already come to pass, and 7 years of those 490 years remain to befulfilled. We call this Daniel’s 70^thweek because each week is actually a week of years, or 7 years. There are 7years of Jewish history yet in our future.

According to Daniel 9:27,this last 7 year period will begin with the signing of a peace treaty betweenIsrael and their surrounding enemies. That’s the next current event we shouldlook for. Once that treaty is signed, there will be 7 years before Jesusreturns in His second coming!

I have believed for all ofmy Christian life that we believers would be raptured to heaven when this treaty is signed and the 7 years ofDaniel 9:27 begin. But I have seen new light from the scriptures, as I willexplain in detail as we move through this teaching. I hope we are raptured atthat time, but if this treaty is signed and we are still here, I want to show youwhat the Bible clearly reveals that will transpire.

This first seal being opened begins the reign of theanti-Christ, who will be a politicalleaders hailed as finally bringing peace to the Middle East by bringing Israel intoa peace agreement with its hostile Arab neighbors. This may or may not revolvearound the creation of a Palestinian State. Time will tell. This peaceagreement could be reached in the next few months or it may be a few years inthe making.

When the Lamb broke the second seal, I heard the second living being say, "Come!"

(4) Then another horse appeared, a red one. Its riderwas given a mighty sword and the authority to take peace from the earth. Andthere was war and slaughter everywhere(Revelation 6:3-4).

The breaking of the second seal on the scroll revealsa rider on a red horse, which depicts war coming to the earth. Under the rule of this peace treaty creating leaderwe call anti-Christ, war will break out on earth. It may be contained to theMiddle East, or it may spread to other continents. Keep in mind that the Bibleis an Eastern book, and these events are dealing with Israel and thesurrounding nations. It remains to be seen whether or not or how much these eventsaffect the USA.

With the interconnectednessof the world in the 21^st century, we in America could certainly beaffected financially, politically, and militarily by the war that occurs.

When the Lamb broke the third seal, I heard the third living being say, "Come!" Ilooked up and saw a black horse, and its rider was holding a pair of scales inhis hand.

(6) And I heard a voice from among the four livingbeings say, "A loaf of wheat bread or three loaves of barley will cost aday's pay. And don't waste the olive oil and wine." (Revelation 6:5-6).

When Jesus breaks the 3^rd seal, a rider ona black horse appears. This depicts famine and inflation due to scarcity offood. Olives and Grapes (olive oiland wine) are staple goods in the Middle East, so verse 6 reveals that staplegoods will be available.

This famine and subsequentprice inflation are a result of war breaking out under the rule of this leadercalled anti-Christ. This may be more prominent in the Middle East or it may spreadto affect other areas of the world. Again, we may watch this play out in realtime.

When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living being say, "Come!"

(8) I looked up and saw a horse whose color was palegreen. Its rider was named Death, and his companion was the Grave. These twowere given authority over one-fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword andfamine and disease and wild animals (Revelation6:7-8-NLT).

The breaking of the 4^th seal reveals arider on a pale green horse, which depicts disease and death spread due to war and the sepsis coming from dead bodies. Notice thatthis scripture says that these riders are given authority over ¼ of the earth.It doesn’t say that ¼ of the peopleon earth died. This ¼ of the earth could be the Middle East and surround area only.Again, we may see this play out in our lifetime.

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had beenmartyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony. (10)They shouted to the Lord and said, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, howlong before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our bloodfor what they have done to us?" (11) Then a white robe was given to eachof them. And they were told to rest a little longer until the full number oftheir brothers and sisters—their fellow servants of Jesus who were to bemartyred—had joined them (Revelation6:9-11-NLT).

The breaking of the fifth seal is actually 3½ yearsinto this 7 year period. This is whenthe anti-Christ shows his true motives,turns against Israel, desecrates their rebuilt temple (Jesus calls this theAbomination of Desolation in Matthew 24), and begins to martyr Christians andJews.

This could easily belinked to radical Islam and its Jihad – holy war against the infidel(unbeliever). Radical elements of Islam are gaining power in many Middle East and European nationstoday. Their Koran inspired mandate to kill those who refuse their religion andits Sharia law could easily be the fulfillment of this widespread martyrdom thatoccurs with the breaking of the fifth seal.

Don’t miss my blogtomorrow. There I will discuss the major sign of the impending rapture of thechurch! These events should inspire us to pray and prepare for a drasticallydifferent world prior to Jesus’ return. He’s coming for a prepared people!

The Scroll in God's Right Hand

2011-10-24T11:19:00.002-04:00

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comesupon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—inJerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."(9) After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching,and they could no longer see him. (10) As they strained to see him rising intoheaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. (11) "Men ofGalilee," they said, "why are you standing here staring into heaven?Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return fromheaven in the same way you saw him go!" (Acts 1:8-11-NLT)

Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, andtrust also in Me. (2) There is more than enough room in My Father's home. Ifthis were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place foryou? (3) When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you willalways be with me where I am. (John14:1-6-NLT)

During the month of October,I’ve dedicated my Sunday morning ministry to talking about the sequence ofevents in the coming of Jesus Christ back to earth. Over the last year and ahalf, I’ve done some fairly intensive study on this subject that I’ve studiedfor over 25 years. Things have changed in my belief system with respect to thetiming of the rapture and the events that will culminate in the second comingof Christ to the earth to set up His millennial reign. Over the next few days,my goal is to provide a synopsis of the major points that I’ve taught onSundays.

To introduce my revisedthinking, I’m going to look at four chapters (4,5,6,and 7) primarily in thebook of Revelation to form a backdrop for what I believe the Lord has shown me.And let me say here with a bit of chagrin that for the first time in my life,the events of Jesus’ return fit together for me like the pieces of a jigsawpuzzle creating a clear image of what is to come.

In the latter part of thefirst century A.D., the aged Apostle John was banish to the isle of Patmos offthe coast of Greece in the Aegean Sea because of His faith in Jesus Christ.There he received the vision of the future found in the book of Revelation(Greek- apokalupsis, and unveiling). BecauseGod is Omniscient, all knowing, and because God is also Eternal, He seeseverything past, present, and future as rightnow! So God gave John a part of His all-knowing about future things and weare privileged that the Father added this to the Word of God for our comfortand instruction.

After revealing Himself toJohn in chapter 1 of The Revelation, Jesusaddresses the churches of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) in chapters 2 and 3about their condition before Him, and the things that they need to adjust to befully pleasing to Him.

Then, in chapter 4, Johnin his vision is taken to heaven and sees the throne of God, with its rainbowof colors, and the huge, magnificent angels before Him crying out Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty…Chapter4 ends with the emphasis of this chapter being God’s ownership of all things: You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For Youcreated all things, And by Your will they exist and were created." (Rev4:11-NKJV).

Then, in Revelation 5, itis revealed that God has a scroll in His right hand as He is seated on Histhrone. I submit to you that this scrollis God’s title deed to planet earth!

Remember that God gavemankind authority under His all authority to rule over planet earth and to takecare of it (Genesis 1:26-27). When Adam and Eve sinned, this authority wasimmediately transferred to Satan, who at that time became the legal controllerof things on the earth. Adam, in essence, committed high treason against Godwhen He disobeyed his Creator, and his God-bequeathed authority over the earthwas by default given to Satan. It was a treasonousact! Satan’s reign of stealing, killing, and destroying on earth hascreated a history of turmoil and suffering that will one day end when God comesto legally stop Satan in his tracks, judge him and all the men and nations thatyield to his darkened ways, and cleanse the earth from all moral and physical blemishes.

The book of Revelation is God coming to repossess the earth thatrightfully belongs to Him by judging nations, men, and the demonic hosts ofhell that work with Lucifer to hold the earth in bondage to darkness andrebellion. The book of Revelation is God cleansingthe earth of all contamination resulting from the fall of man and bringing itback to its pristine condition enjoyed before Adam’s sin.

This scroll in God’s righthand has writing on both sides, and is secured with 7 seals (Revelation 5:1). Codex books, like we read today withmultiple pages, did not appear until around the second century AD. So tounderstand the significance of this scroll, some basic history of scrolls inJohn’s day is necessary.

A normal scroll in John’sdays was up to eighteen inches in length, and was made of papyrus and only oneside was used for writing. However, the scroll in God’s hand has writing on both sides. Some scrolls were alsomade of animal skins (like antelope) and were specially prepared so that bothsides of the skin could be written on. These skins were then sewn together.Some of these scrolls could become lengthy, as was the one in God’s right hand.

Scrolls in the firstcentury were secured with seals made of soft wax or clay. A piece of twine waswrapped around the scroll and imbedded in the soft wax or clay, and then thewax or clay was imprinted with the signet of the owner. The dried wax or claysecured the twine around the scroll, and tampering would become obvious. Themore seals the scroll had, the more secure and important it was. A scroll couldonly be opened by the person to whom it was sent. It was a capital offence to opena sealed scroll that was not sent to you!

Scrolls that were sealed inthe first century were often deeds to parcels of land, deeds declaring theownership of a certain slave, or they could have been military documents.

There more seals thedocument had, the more important it was. It was very rare to find a scroll withseven seals. This was an important document!

In Revelation 5, Jesus,the Lamb of God, was the only one found worthy in the entire universe to openthis scroll in God’s right hand. The person who opened this scroll had to haveauthority over the seals on the scroll and what would happen when they wereopened. He also had to have authority over the contents of the scroll as it wasopened.

In Revelation 5:6, Johnsees a blood stained Lamb standing up, with seven horns and seven eyes. TheLamb is standing, denoting that He is readyfor action. He’s ready to get busy breaking the seals around the scroll.

The standing lamb had sevenhorns. The number seven in scripture denotes perfection. The horn of an animalin Bible days stood for its strength, so this lamb had perfect strength, enough to bring to pass what would happen whenthe seals were broken and the scroll was unrolled.

This lamb had seven eyes.The seven eyes stand for God’s all seeing eyes. God knows all and sees all. Sothis Lamb has perfect knowledge of thefuture and what would occur when the scroll was unsealed and opened!

Tomorrow, we will talkabout what happen when the seals are opened around the scroll.

Revelation 5 - NKJV

And I saw in theright hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on theback, sealed with seven seals. (2) Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with aloud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose itsseals?" (3) And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth wasable to open the scroll, or to look at it. (4) So I wept much, because no onewas found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. (5) But one ofthe elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe ofJudah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose itsseven seals." (6) And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne andof the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb asthough it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are theseven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. (7) Then He came and took thescroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. (8) Now when He hadtaken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders felldown before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense,which are the prayers of the saints. (9) And they sang a new song, saying:"You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You wereslain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongueand people and nation, (10) And have made us kings and priests to our God; Andwe shall reign on the earth." (11) Then I looked, and I heard the voice ofmany angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and thenumber of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,(12) saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain Toreceive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory andblessing!" (13) And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth andunder the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heardsaying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne,And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" (14) Then the four living creaturessaid, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Himwho lives forever and ever.

168 Hours Each Week

2011-10-22T13:46:00.000-04:00

Teach us to use wisely all the time we have (Psalm 90:12 – Contemporary English Version). Making the very most of the time [buying upeach opportunity], because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16 – Amplified). Myson, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length ofdays and long life and peace they will add to you (Proverbs 3:1-2).

Timeis life measured out. What I do with my time determines who I am and determineswhat I allow the Father to do in me and through me.

Allof us have 168 hours a week to accomplish what we value in life. I’m thinkingabout this a lot now that my associate Joe has officially left my staff andreturns to the mission field this month. I have not yet chosen his replacement,but everything must continue in the life of our church.

Imust have time for ministry, for organizational and managerial tasks, and timefor personal ministry and staff relations. I must also make time each day formy relationship with the Father and with Jesus through the Word and in prayer.I must also spend time with my wife and children, as well as have time forleisure and hobbies, relaxation and rest.

Time is a commodity that Ican’t reclaim once it is wasted. I must take full advantage of each minute ofeach day. And I must do this in a way that honors God and doesn’t violate Hiskingdom principles of love, faith, trust, and rest.

To use wisely all the time Ihave, I start by tithing a portion of my day to the Father for time in the Wordand in prayer. He’s promised me length ofdays if I’ll honor the Word! I can extract more out of each minute, eachhour, and each day, and have time to spare if I’ll allow Him to be my wisdomthrough the Word.

Making a list of necessarypriorities for the day keeps me focused on the important, so that the urgentdoesn’t move it out of sight. Keeping that list before me is essential to keepmy focus on what must be accomplished.

In doing this, I also make roomfor the providence of God to override any plans I make. That causes me to seeinterruptions to my plans as the planof God for my life, and that keep my attitude joyful and expectant when what Iplanned doesn’t happen. Father knowsbest.

He will show us how to best useour minutes. Phone calls can often be return in the car on the way to an event.I can listen to a CD series in the car as I commute. Wonderful times ofmeditation and prayer can accompany a long commute to work or an appointment. Achapter in a book can be read during lunch. Ask the Father how you can seizeeach minute and extract blessing out of it!

Let’s give God our best effortsto work with today. Let’s make the most of our 168 hours this week. Let’s carveout of each day the purpose of God for our tomorrows.

My Jehovah God

2011-10-21T05:00:00.002-04:00

The Father’s Covenant names reveal His attitude towardsus. Jehovah means the self-existent One Who reveals Himself.In His Jehovah names, God reveals His covenant care for His own. I mentionedJehovah Jireh the Lord our provideryesterday. He has promised to take great care of us as we trust and obey Him. Ialso mentioned Jehovah Raah the Lord ourShepherd. We are in His care as sheep are watched by the careful eye of awise shepherd.

Jehovah Nissi (Genesis 17:15) means the Lord our banner and refers to the Father as our strength andvictory in tough circumstances. He is the One who provides the promised victoryin every test and difficult battle that life brings our way.

Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jeremiah 23:5-6) refers to the Fatheras the Lord our righteousness. Whenyou feel guilty and condemned because of present failure or by remembrance ofyour past, keep in mind that the Father has given you the same standing beforeHim that His Son Jesus has! You’ve been made the righteousness of God in Him (2Corinthians 5:21). Our sins have not just been covered, but they have beencompletely obliterated. The legal term is expunged! Every record of ourwrongdoing in the library of heaven has been destroyed. So when you miss it,confess your sin. He is faithful and just. You are righteous in His sight.

Jehovah Rapha (Exodus 15:26) means the Lord our healer or the Lord who heals. When you are attacked bysickness or disease, reach up in faith to your covenant God and appropriatefaith for Him to heal you completely. He is faithful that promised. Believethat you receive healing for your body the moment symptoms appear. He forgiveall of our sins, and heals all of our diseases (Psalm 103:3).

Jehovah Shalom means theLord our Peace. Happiness comes from happenings, our surroundingcircumstances. But peace comes from within. Your world can be falling apartaround you yet the peace of God can buoy you up and help you in the crisismoment. Peace with God is available through the forgiveness that Jesus offers byHis blood. The peace of God is ours as we walk in obedience and honor theprecious Holy Spirit in our lives.

Jehovah Shammah means theLord is present. This is the presence of God that floods our lives when theHoly Spirit takes up residence within us. We are never alone. When lonelinessrises up in you, remind yourself that theLord is present. He has promised that He will never leave or forsake Hisown. He is not a feeling. He is a Spirit. He’s still around when you feelnothing.

Our God never changes. What he was, He is! Take advantageof the covenant names of God in your daily life. See Him as your victory intough times, your righteousness when you feel guilty, your healer when theenemy attacks with sickness, your peace in times of turmoil, and the EverPresent One when you feel alone. He’s just the best!

Our Caring God

2011-10-20T09:08:00.000-04:00

Thorough the Lord’smercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are newevery morning; great is Your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).

The Father is absolutely committed to our care. He callsHimself the Shepherd, Jehovah Raah in Psalm 23:1. We are His sheep. He hasloved us enough to make an eternal covenant with Abraham and include us in it!His covenant care for us is guaranteed by God’s own integrity.

One of His covenant care names is Jehovah-Jireh (found inGenesis 22:14) which means the Lord our provider. God provided the lamb ofsacrifice in the place of Abraham’s son Isaac as Abraham walked up the mountainin obedience to God’s request of Abraham to give Him his only son. God’sprovides what He requests from us.

God’s nature is wrapped up in His name El-Shaddai (foundin Genesis 17:1; 28:1-4; Psalm 91:1), the giver and sustainer of life. Thisterm has wrapped in it the idea of a mother who is the all sustaining force ina newborn baby’s life. She provides all the nourishment and care for thatlittle child. The child is always safe and secure in the love of the mother.That’s how our Father God is to us!

The Father has revealed Himself to us as El-Elyon (foundin Genesis 14: 18-23; Daniel 5:18; Psalm 83;18), the possessor of heaven andearth. It means that He is the Most High God! When things look bad and theenemy seems to be winning, don’t forget that our never changing God isEl-Elyon, the MOST HIGH! We always win. Winning is our destiny!

The Father has revealed Himself as El-Roi, the One whosees. This is found in Genesis 16: 13-14. God saw Hagar, Abraham’s handmaid’sneeds, and met her needs as she was alone in the desert after being kicked outof Abraham’s house. The Father sees everything about us and knows intimatelyevery detail of our lives; the good, the bad, and the ugly. He know why we dowhat we do, and know how to minister to us in minute detail. He is El-Roi, theone who sees. Pour out your heart to Him and expect Him to help you. He cares!

The Father is Our Shepherd, our Provider, our LifeSustainer, the MOST HIGH, and He is the One who sees and knows all about us.Pour your heart out to Him today, and expect Him to meet you in today’s lifedetails! I’ll continue this tomorrow.

Goodness

2011-10-19T10:05:00.002-04:00

Oh, how great isYour goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You haveprepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! (Psalm31:19) He loves righteousness andjustice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 33:5).

Goodness is one of the attributes of our Father God. Oneof the definitions that I found for goodness is moral excellence that reaches out to meet others’ needs. Our God isa God of Goodness. He is morally excellent. His heart of compassion reaches outto all of creation. You can see the goodness of God in splashes of colordisplayed during the fall season. You can see the goodness of God displayed invarieties of smells, tastes, and colors that we experience every day of our lives.He thrives on blessing His creation. God is good. All the time!

When we’re born again, a measure of this goodness isplaced within us by the Holy Spirit. One of the spiritual fruit is goodness.This goodness enables us also to display moralexcellence that reaches out to meet the needs of others.

Goodness is manifested as salt and lightin the believer. Jesus said that salt is good (Mark 9:50). Salt protects,flavors, and hinders.

Jesus told us to have salt within ourselves. Saltenhances flavor. That means that we are to allow this goodness to season ourlives. The influence of the Spirit of God within us changes the atmospherewherever we go. A room full of people is affected by your presence. Let thesalt called goodness loose within you and allow it to influence others for Godand for good.

Salt also protects. Meats can be preserved with salt,needing no refrigeration. Bacteria have a difficult time growing in theatmosphere of salt. So does sin.

Salt also hinders. Armies in antiquity would sow thefields of conquered nations with salt. Salt will allow nothing to grow in thesoil. While the church is on earth, we hinder the growth of evil. It’s our job!

Goodness is also expressed as light in the New Testament.Notice Matthew 5:16 (Amplified): Let yourlight so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and yourpraiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise andglorify your Father Who is in heaven.

Our works display the goodness of God to others. Whenthey see our works, they should be drawn to our Savior. Listen to Paulelevating the importance of our after salvation works: This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirmconstantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintaingood works. These things are good and profitable to men (Titus 3:8). And let our people also learn to maintaingood works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful (Titus3:14).

Our works don’t save us, but they should show others howwonderful and Holy our God is.

Let the fruit of the spirit called goodness exude fromyour life today. Allow the salt and light of Jesus to manifest in your words,attitudes, and actions. Others are watching you. Let it shine!

Money

2011-10-18T08:38:00.001-04:00

For the love of money is a root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute mental pangs (1 Timothy 6:10 –Amplified) And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24).

Someone has said that money is a true test of character. What a person thinks and does with his money shows his heart motives. Money itself is not evil. Some misquote this verse to read money is the root of all evil. Greed, the love of money, not money itself, is what is decried here. God wants to bless us financially and materially. But He doesn’t want the things that He blesses us with to rule our lives.

Prosperity can be a much greater test than poverty. A person who has nothing is desperate and will cry out to God for relief. A person who is sated with money can become apathetic to the Lord. He feels that He doesn’t need Him. He thinks his money can provide whatever he desires. Over the years I’ve seen so many come to church, receive Jesus, get stirred up in the Word, and slowly drift away when their needs are met.

A wealthy young man came to Jesus one day and asked him what he must do to go to heaven. He told Jesus that he kept the Ten Commandments and obeyed the law as well as he knew how (they were still living under the Old Covenant at the time). Jesus told him that he only lacked one thing. He told Him to go and sell his possessions and give the money to the poor.

Notice the young man’s response: But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions (Matthew 19:22). Actually, great possessions had him! Greed controlled his life.

Those who are blessed must be willing to go through the eye of the needle as Jesus mentioned in the above scripture. The eye of the needle was a small door in the mammoth city gate in eastern countries in Bible times. The gates were very large, and it took several people and a good bit of sweat to open them. When they were closed, it was a lot of effort to open them for only one person.

So they added a small door within the gates, called the eye of the needle that could easily allow a person through. Often the person had a camel with them that carried their goods. The camel would be loaded down with the person’s possessions, and would not fit through the small needle’s eye opening. The camel had to be unloaded, taken through the opening, and then the packages had to be placed on the animal again afterwards. It took a lot of time! The camel would just barely fit though the needle’s eye. Loaded, it could never make it.

Those who come to Jesus must be willing to give up everything to follow Him. The wealthy young man didn’t realize that God would bless him if he only entrusted his wealth to Jesus. He would more than likely have gotten it back. But his greed became a curse. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. You’ll be more blessed in the long run following Jesus if you’ll surrender everything to him. Be willing to go through the eye of the needle. The end result will be great blessing.

Use the Gift!

2011-10-17T08:35:00.000-04:00

Do not neglect the gift which is in you, that special inward endowment which was directly imparted to you by the Holy Spirit by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you at your ordination. Practice and cultivate and meditate upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them [as your ministry], so that your progress may be evident to everybody (1Tim 4:14-15 –Amplified).

Each of us has been given a special gift, talent, or ability by the Father. It’s just an embryo within us at first. Sometimes it manifests as a faint desire that glimmers faintly in the background of our thoughts.

This special ability won’t develop on its own. In fact in many people it lies dormant year after year, longing to be activated, but never given opportunity. Paul’s admonition to Timothy shows the practical way the gifts of God develop in us. You must practice, cultivate, meditate upon, and throw yourself wholly into them.

I was eighteen years old when I first sensed the call of God on my life to preach the Word. It came as an embryo of desire to begin with. I changed the course of my life from pursuing a career to pursuing this call. It was a general call to ministry at first, and following that desire I enrolled in Bible College.

Then I began to notice a strong desire to help people understand who they are in Christ and to help them apply the scriptures to their own lives. It was faint at first, but as I began to talk with people, it seemed like a “switch” would turn on inside and I found words pouring out of me with passion. That was the gift God placed in me seeking to manifest.

A while later I was asked to speak in the morning devotions for our large church staff. I was petrified by fear! But I said yes, and spent weeks studying, praying, and preparing. That “switch” cut on again as I spoke for the few minutes each day that week and the words just poured out. Later I ministered in hospitals, taught Bible studies, ministered to people one on one, and said yes anytime a need arose for someone to minister in a small meeting. The gift kept growing, until today, it dominates me!

The Father has placed a gift in you. Develop it. Allow it to grow by giving in to it. It may be only a faint desire, but go after it! Pursue your passion. Give yourself to the godly desire that rises from within. This desire will “tickle” your thoughts over and over again until you yield to it. Fear will seek to override it and keep you from acting, but go ahead and do it scared!

It may be a spiritual or natural desire, but give yourself to it. Some have a gift to make money and finance the kingdom of God in earth. Others yearn to stay in the background and be a support for those called into full time ministry. Some have a strong desire to teach and mentor children. Still other have a desire to reach out to the lonely, the down and out and provide practical relief. Some yearn to pray. Whatever the desire, you must give in to it and allow it to develop. It will not until you act.

With practice, the gift from the Father in you will make room for itself. Make room in your life for it, and watch what the Father will accomplish with it. He’s waiting on you to faithfully act!

Walk With a Limp

2011-10-16T08:04:00.002-04:00

A man came and fought with Jacob until just before daybreak. When the man saw that he could not win, he struck Jacob on the hip and threw it out of joint.

They kept on wrestling until the man said, "Let go of me! It's almost daylight." "You can't go until you bless me," Jacob replied. Then the man asked, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. The man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have wrestled with God and with men, and you have won. That's why your name will be Israel."(Genesis 32:24-28 - Contemporary English Version)

Even before birth, Jacob, whose name means deceiver, was in a struggle. Since birth, he had pushed his way through life, doing whatever was necessary to make it. He took advantage of others, and thought nothing of deceiving to get his way.

One night of wrestling with an angel (the angel was possibly Jesus Himself!) changed Jacob from deceiver to Israel, prince with God. After that night of struggle, He walked with a limp. He was never the same again. His character was transformed.

Don’t ever give up on yourself. No matter how long you’re struggled with issues in your life, keep going forward! The Lord can transform you. It usually requires that you come to the end of yourself just like Jacob. When his best human efforts failed, Jacob finally realized his need to yield to God’s plan for his life, and he changed. His walking with a limp was an outward sign of his inward submission.

Moses was transformed at the burning bush. David was transformed from a shepherd to mighty warrior when he faced Goliath. Peter was transformed after denying Jesus and being filled with shame. The power of God’s mercy created within him a pastor’s heart. Saul was converted on the Damascus Road and was transformed into Paul, one of the greatest men of the church age.

In my own life, I was an extreme introvert, ruled by fear and rejection thinking. My only sense of value was through accomplishment. When I came to the end of my own ability, I found God’s grace to change. He replaced the fear with genuine love, the rejection with a knowing that I am fully accepted by God, and the goodness by works attitude with a knowing that it’s not my deeds, but His grace that make me acceptable to God.

Take your personal frustrations with yourself and your failures to the foot of the cross. Lay them by faith at the feet of Jesus. Humble yourself to Him and like Jacob, he will change your name! He’ll create in you the ability to be what He has called you to be.

At the end of your self-striving to accomplish, to be something, or to succeed, you’ll find the power of God to transform. But you must be willing like Jacob to walk with a limp.

Don’t Despise Your Birthright!

2011-10-15T09:37:00.000-04:00

Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the first-born (Genesis 25:34 - Contemporary English Version).

The story of Esau despising his first-born birthright is an excellent example to us of how yielding to the flesh can cost us the blessings of God.

Esau was born struggling. Before he and his brother were born, they were wrestling in the womb. When He was born, his twin brother Jacob had grasped his heel. Jacob means deceiver, schemer. These brothers were frequently disagreeing and fighting. Their personalities were opposite extremes. Jacob was a shepherd and stayed close to home. Esau was a hunter and loved the open field.

Esau came in from hunting one day and was overcome with hungry. He asked Jacob for a bowl of the soup he had made. The aroma had filled the house. Jacob was only willing to give Esau the soup if he would trade his firstborn birthright to him. Esau so little regarded his birthright that he gave it away for a simple bowl of soup!

The firstborn birthright meant that when his father died, he received 2/3 of the inheritance. The 1/3 left was divided among all of the rest of the siblings! This birthright was both an honor and a great responsibility! And Esau gave it away for next to nothing. He despised it.

As believers, we have a great heritage. We are heirs of God, and equal heirs with Jesus! We have inherited every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). We have God’s delegated authority, His favor, His nature. The Greater One lives within us. The gifts of the Spirit are available to us. Healing belongs to us. The Father has promised to prosper us as we honor Him. We have such a rich heritage!

But if we yield to the flesh and refuse to walk in the spirit, we stand to lose it all. It’s just like Esau giving away his inheritance!

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).

It’s just not worth yielding to the flesh to stand losing all that Jesus made available to us. Don’t allow Satan to dangle the carrot of the flesh in any area before your eyes! Just like the forbidden fruit, it may look good and taste good to your flesh, but it’s not worth the end result! Let’s respect our God given inheritance and walk in the spirit today!