Kingdom Rule

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear (Hebrews 12:28).

In these days prior to the rapture of the church, the Father wants us to shine in the darkness that is engulfing this planet! We are not just natural people. We’re citizen of the Kingdom of God. We are ambassadors of heaven while living here! We’re a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a purchased people!

Ambassadors living in foreign nations have diplomatic immunity from many of the laws that govern the country they live in while operating as an ambassador.

Now it’s time for us as citizen of God’s kingdom to operate in Kingdom law so that God can show Himself strong in our world through us! To operate in Kingdom law, our minds must be renewed with the Word. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13). The Father’s challenge in this hour is for us to live in His highest and best by operating in His law, His kingdom rule!

To do so we must walk in faith and love. The kingdom of God operates on the principles of faith. Faith pleases God. He maintains a relationship of faith with us as He speaks and guides daily through the Word and by His Spirit. He doesn’t show us everything at once. He doesn’t give us the whole blueprint. He usually only shows us the next step, and expects us to respond in faith and believe we receive from Him at all times. That’s kingdom law.

He expects us to walk in love. God is love. Love is the atmosphere of the Kingdom. Love is the motivation for attitude, thought, motive, speech, and action in the Kingdom of God! Love brings the Almighty into our relationships and tags us as Kings kids!

In this Kingdom Law, as leaders we become servants; to truly live we must die to self-ambition and self-interests and live for our unseen commander; to receive we must give; to increase, we must decrease. As the armies of Israel, we must allow praise to fight our battles, and look to the unseen realm for victory in conquests. Fear must give way to absolute faith in the Word of God.

We must not be moved or shaken by what we see or feel, we must be motivated by faith in the Word of God at all times!

As we live in Kingdom law, we should expect the working of miracles to become prominent as the rapture of the church draws near. The Working of Miracles is part of the rule of the Kingdom of God. The spiritual gift Working of Miracles is where God literally sets aside the natural laws of physics, and invades our world with His supernatural power. Working of Miracles is where Kingdom law supersedes natural law, with no natural explanation that can be discovered by scientific examination.

Jesus fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and a few fish. Tax money was found in a fish’s mouth. The storm cease by a simple word of command. The dead were raised to life again. The deaf and blind began to hear and see. The crippled walked. The insane became clear minded. A widow was supplied with flour and oil that never ran out during a severe famine. Men endured flames without being burned, without even the smell of smoke on their clothing. Wild animals became tame, not harming their potential victims. At one point, the sun even stopped in the sky for 24 hours as Israel fought their enemy! These are examples of Kingdom Law, Kingdom rule.

Let’s expect God to meet us in awesome ways in the dark days ahead. It’s time for us to shine! Let’s walk in Kingdom principles. As we do, we will see the miraculous!

Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you Isaiah 60:1-2).

Do Not Quit!

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; 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 55:9-11).

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9).

When the enemy puts pressure on you, lean on the Word of God! God’s Word is His power to deliver you right in the middle of the mess the enemy tries to stir up in your life!

Refuse to cower to unbelief and fear when the enemy turns up the heat by affecting circumstances and senses. Remember that he is a defeated foe. The only power he has is the power of suggestion, and when you make a decision to stand on the Word of God, his power over your life is immediately nullified!

During that time between the time you pray and believe that you receive and the time of the actual manifestation of the answer, it’s important to say only what God says about your situation. Call those things that be not as though they were! Say what you believe, not what you have. When you voice the Word of God out loud, fear falls in its tracks. Fear thoughts may come, doubt thoughts may bombard you, but your firm stand on God’s Word will nullify fear and doubt and faith will rise up within you!

If you’re believing you receive healing, declare boldly that with His stripes you are healed! Though the symptoms persist, act as though you believe you receive the answer to your prayer of faith! Talk the answer, praise the answer, act the answer, live the answer. Don’t for one moment yield to symptoms and thoughts of doubt. Doubt thoughts that come to mind die unborn if they are not voiced!

If you’re believing for finances, a job, or a change in some circumstance, take God at His Word. If He says He hears and answers you when you pray, then that’s it. Don’t move. Take a firm stand with God and His Word. His Word has stood the assault of doubt, fear, unbelief, cynicism, criticism, and negative circumstances for thousands of years. And in all that time, not one of His promises has failed.

Hundreds of times over the years God has proved Himself faithful to me as I stood my ground on the Word and did not cave in to doubt and fear. Faith and patience always inherits the promises! Don’t allow circumstances, feelings, thoughts, people, or demons to move you off of your stand on God’s Word today! You’ll come out on top if you don’t quit!

Faith verses Unbelief

And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him, and said: "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan." Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we." And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight" (Numbers 13:25-33)

Only two out of the twelve spies that went to take a look at the land God promised Israel had a positive report to bring back to Moses. Joshua and Caleb had an attitude of faith. The other ten spies were steeped in the tradition of doubt and unbelief.

Unbelief looks at obstacles. Faith looks at God and His promises! What kind of report do you have of your life and your circumstances today? Do you have a God sized attitude, or do you have grasshopper vision?

With only human ability in view, the ten spies said they looked like grasshoppers beside the giants. Yet Joshua and Caleb sized up the circumstance in comparison to God and said, we are well able to over come them!

Doubt and fear looks at the size of the problem. Faith looks at the bigness and greatness of God.

Allow God’s Word today to build you up. You and God are a majority! Greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world! Take your eyes off of your problems, and place them on God, His promises, His faithfulness, and His love! All things are possible to him who believes!

Take it By Force

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (Matthew 11:12).

The fight is on until the end of the church age. It’s the forces of darkness verses the kingdom of light! We’re addressed as soldiers in a battle throughout the New Testament. We’re to fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6:12); the weapons of our warfare are not carnal(2 Corinthians 10: 3-5); as an enlisted soldier don’t be entangled with civilian affairs that weight you down (2 Timothy 2:4); we’re to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11).

The great news is that the battle is already won; the outcome is set. We win! Our fight is a faith fight. We fight to maintain faith and to look beyond what we can see and feel to the never changing Word of the living God! Walking in the Word gives us security, confidence, and boldness in the face of extreme opposition.

It’s faith and patience that inherits the promises of God. Stand in faith today for your marriage, your children, your health, your finances, or for circumstantial change. Don’t be moved when the going gets tough. Satan’s power has been limited by the blood of Jesus to the power of suggestion and feeling manipulation! Satan is a defeated foe! (Colossians 2:15; Colossians 1:13). The only thing he can do is to put a thought in your mind and a feeling in your body and try to coerce you to act on it.

So war a good warfare and walk by faith. Say only what the Word of God says about your current circumstances. Refuse to be moved by what you see and feel. If you do, the power of patience combined with your faith will secure victory over the current test! Walk in praise and thanksgiving as you believe you receive from the Father. The more pressure Satan brings, the more tenaciously you speak the Word aloud, and the more you praise and worship the Father!

You only lose if you quit. The last chapter is already written. Take by force what belongs to you in Christ. Refuse to cower down to wrong thoughts and feelings. Hold your head high as a son or daughter of the Most High! Expect God’s best today! You’re more than a conqueror!

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).

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32).

It is Up to Us!

The Father has done all that He can do to bless and help us. When Jesus became the incarnate Son of God, died in our stead, went to hell in our place, was raised from the dead, and then was seated at the right hand of the Father, our redemption was a settled fact in the mind of God.

Jesus sacrifice for us purchased our salvation, healing, deliverance, and freedom from everything Satan brought us through Adam’s sin. Victory over oppression, depression, fear, sickness, disease, poverty, all kinds of lack, personal weaknesses, and every form of sin is now available to every human being. This salvation transcends race, ethnic persuasion, or gender.

Every promise of God is equally available to every human being on the planet right now. In the mind of God, your salvation has purchased your individual freedom from everything the fall of man brought into your life.

Now it’s up to us to individually exercise our God given choice and our God given grace through faith and receive all that Jesus has purchased for us. Our freedom is no longer up to God. It’s up to us! We must choose to act on the Word of God in faith, and by faith receive all that Jesus provided. If we fail to act on the Word, God’s hands are tied. Jesus’ work is complete, and we are complete in Him.

What the Father said to His old covenant people is also said to us in the church today: See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:15-19).

Let’s make a clear choice today to act on the word in every circumstance, to speak God’s word in the face of the negative report and the feelings of defeat. We cannot be defeated if we make the choice to fight the good fight of faith. The battle has already been won. The victory is ours to possess. Let’s stand our ground and receive God’s best!

Our God Reigns

Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6:31-34).

In these closing moments of the church age, the Father wants to shine through us! As the world situation continues to grow more challenging, our response is to trust the faithfulness of our God!

An ark was provided for Noah as God instructed him on how to survive the flood. The Israelites were fed by manna in the wilderness for almost 40 years! God provided water for them out of a rock when no water was in sight!

God fought for Israel when they trusted implicitly in the covenant, and they won every battle during the time they walked in the covenant. Lot and his believing family were spared the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as the angel delivered God’s word to them to flee. Elijah was fed by a raven as he sat by a brook. Daniel was saved from the lion’s terror. The three Hebrew men thrown in the furnace escaped without even the smell of smoke on their clothes.

Jesus fed a multitude with a little boy’s lunch. Peter went fishing and found the money to pay their taxes!

God’s has a great record of taking care of His people. And He hasn’t brought us this far to leave us to fend for ourselves. He’s planned this day for a long time. The prophets have mapped out for us what will occur in the last days, and here we are.

We’re covenant people with the King of the universe! Don’t be moved by the naysayers that predict gloom and doom on us all. The Father will do for us what He has done in the past. He will guide. He will supply. He will set us apart. He will protect. He will empower. And one day, in the thick of the fray, Jesus will appear in the clouds and take us home!

Pray about every event and issue in your life. Believe that you receive the answer when you pray, and praise God for His provision. This is the day for us to shine. This is the day for celebration. Our God reigns. He honors His Word. He meets our needs. Let’s rejoice!

We’re back!

Susan and I just returned from a wonderful conference in Fort Worth. Here are Thursday’s highlights.

Mark Barclay began the day with an encouragement to seek God and expect sign and wonders! His delivery was bold, positive and enriching. He concluded with several Words of Knowledge and a Word of Knowledge for Kenneth Copeland.

The second speaker for the day was Jesse Duplantis. In his usual humorous style, Jesse shared Twelve Ways to Receive Total Success. He said these are principles that he personally lives by: 1) Be clear about your mission in life and shape your own destiny; 2) Lonely times help you get clear on your calling and goals; 3) Don’t seek people’s approval; 4) Passion is the power the creates life and helps you achieve goals; 5) Don’t live in the land of better, live in the land of best; 6) Don’t judge others because you will open yourself up to major leaks in your life; 7) Listening to others helps you see things differently and opens your mind to new ways; 8) Respect the royalty in each other; 9) Always keep encouragement close to you; 10) Always be generous – take as many as you can to the top with you; 11) Never report the news – make the news; 12) Never waste you energy or zeal on projects that don’t work.

The third speaker of the day was Keith Moore. His title was The essence of the blessing. He talked about God commanding us to be strong (Joshua 1:5-6). He mentioned that fear and bitterness are two indicators of weakness. Walking in the Word, and walking in love are major ingredients to being strong in the Lord!

The fourth speaker of the day was Jerry Savelle. He spoke on the fullness of the blessing. He mentioned the attacked that have come against the body of Christ, and exhorted the attendees to persevere in faith. He said that Satan has a scheme to sideline those in ministry with shame. After a good period of exhortation, Jerry have several Words of Knowledge for those who had been attacked in their family or finances. The prayer of faith was offered believing that God would grant each responder with double honor for their shame (Isaiah 61:7).

Let’s take God at His Word today and believe Him for exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think! (Ephesians 3:20).

Day Two of the Ministers Conference

Susan and I are being refreshed! The days are long, but the Word is refreshing! We’re at Kenneth Copeland’s Minister’s Conference in Fort Worth. It ends tonight.

Wednesday morning, Mac Hammond spoke on the importance of waiting on the Lord and the need to develop expectancy when believing God. You always get what you expect in life, so expect God’s best!

Dennis Burke had the second morning session. He spoke on being justified and righteous in the sight of God. Our past is not just forgiven, it is expunged. All record of past misdeeds is totally removed. This gives us great boldness towards God and enables us to develop a high level of faith and intimacy with the Father.

In the afternoon session, Bill Winston spoke about God bringing the wealth into the kingdom of God so that we can do the quick work that must be done before Jesus returns.

Wednesday evening Kenneth Copeland spoke about our position and seating with Christ in heavenly places. We are kings and priests before God, and the blessings of Braham flow through us to others. We should expect to carry the blessing to our generation. The night ended with a prophetic song from Keith Moore.

Ministers Conference

Susan and I attended the Kenneth Copeland minister’s conference all day yesterday. We saw Clifton Chen who had flown in from Taiwan for some needed refreshing. We were being seated at the conference lunch, and there at the table were Ken and Trudy Blount! You may remember that they were guest speakers in our church last August!

The conference began Tuesday morning with Happy Caldwell ministering on finishing your course. Paul said I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (2 Timothy 4:7). He encouraged us to not allow our passion for God to wane. He mentioned that personal and ministry growth means change, mentioning several times that in our day we live in an accelerated atmosphere of change. Pain occurs with change, and as Peter Daniels says, Pain is weakness escaping. He said that our threshold of pain will determine our ability to change.

The second morning speaker was Bishop Oyedepo from Nigeria. This wonderful man of God started a church in Nigeria and now has a huge building that seats 50,000 people on 1400 acres of land! Bishop Oyedepo ministered on being empowered for ministry. He said that God will empower in us what He has called us to do. Ministry is simply hearing the Father speak and then carrying our His plans. We are not to minister nor offer ministry for prize nor reward. He mentioned that some abuse the prosperity message and use it as a tool to raise money for themselves, and that we should never minister for gain. He said rather that our giving connects us to God’s provision. He encouraged us to know what God has called us to do and stay with it. God’s provision goes along with the call.

Rick Renner ministered in the first afternoon session from 1 Peter 5: 7-8 on casting your cares on the Lord. The main points were that we are to throw the weight of worry on the Lord. We were never created to handle worry. Worry causes mental intoxication, causing a person to think, feel, and act the wrong way! Satan come to attack through the avenue of thought, and we must refuse the fear, doubt, and lies he seeks to bring to us.

Billye Brim ministered in the second afternoon session. Billye was editor of Kenneth Hagin’s books for many years, and had known him since the late 60’s. She ministered on the glory of God coming into manifestation in our day, and reminisced on how the glory would often fall on the crowd during brother Hagin’s meetings. She urged us to pray in tongues, and believe God for His golry to fall as wee minister.

Kenneth Copeland ministered in the night meeting and spoke about resting in God. Because Jesus has completed His work, we are seated in heavenly places in Him. That is a place of rest! At the conclusion of the meeting he mentioned the senate investigation of several ministries, and shared about how his ministry responded.

I’m looking forward to the meetings today. My cups runs over!

Restitution and Forgiveness

When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the Lord, and that person is guilty, then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him (Numbers 5:6-8). Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24).

Restitution is something that we don’t hear much about in our day, and it’s an important part of walking uprightly before the Father.

When we sin, and confess our sins, the Father is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And when God forgives, sin, He forgets what we did, and we can then move on.

However, If our sin and misdeed affects another person, it is not enough to just go to the Father and ask Him only to forgive us! In order to bring closure to that misdeed or sin when others are affected, we must go to that person, and confess that what we said or did was wrong, and tell them we’ve repented before God and asked Him to forgive. Then we must ask them to forgive us for what we did. This is a part of restitution.

If a thief steals what belongs to another, becomes convicted of his misdeed or sin and repents, then he must also give back the stolen items to the person he stole them from. That is restitution. And when our sin affects others, we must deal with how that sin altered the relationship! Don’t just go to God; go to the other person also!

I’m talking here about things that are done out in the open and are known by others. If you’re holding a grudge or have been judging someone, and the person is unaware of this because you’ve hid it well, then this doesn’t need to be confessed to the person. No restitution is necessary. The person had no idea in this instance that there was a problem.

But if you do something and it has harmed another in some way, then part of the repentance for these sins must include restitution.

Let’s keep short accounts with the Father and with others, and let’s be responsible for our actions and choices and how they affect others!

Refreshing

Susan and I are leaving today for Fort Worth, Texas. We’ll be attending a minister’s meeting with Kenneth Copeland there at their ministry headquarters.

The meetings are Tuesday through Thursday, and we will return on Friday.

It’s needful for any pastor to find a place to be refreshed on occasion. The days will be absolutely packed with meetings, one right after the other. We’ll get immersed in the Word!

If it’s like last year, then the speakers will include such folk as Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Jerry Savelle, Jesse Duplantis, Mark Barclay, Happy Caldwell, Mac Hammond, Bill Winston, Creflo, Dollar, Keith Moore, Billye Brim, Rick Renner, and perhaps others.

Paul had a pastor’s conference in Ephesus and gave the pastors in attendance the following admonition. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28).

If I as a pastor am to continue to be effective in reaching others, I must keep myself built up. Paul said to the pastor’s, take heed to yourselves. A pastor can’t help others unless he takes care of himself and his own spiritual needs.

In Leviticus 8, the priests ministered to and waited on the Lord seven days, offering the prescribed sacrifices for themselves before they ministered on behalf of the Israelites. It’s a wise pattern.

Take time each day to build yourself up spiritually. If you do, you’ll have something to offer the people that the Lord sends across your path each day.

I’ll continue to blog daily, and I’ll update you as to how the meetings are going!

No Fear

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

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

A fear based life is based on feelings and circumstances. A faith based life is a life that is lived by the Word! What God says settles everything to the faith based life. A calmness, a rest, a hope, a security, and great 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 and not by fear based sight! Each day will become an adventure as you and the Father go through the day talking with one another, strategizing with His Word about the details of what you’re doing. Faith based living does not consult with the flesh, circumstances or opinion. Thus says the Lord rules the faith based life.

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

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

The Life Changing Word

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits 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 the Word is not like reading Shakespeare or classic literature. These contain no power to change. But God’s Word is the power of God unto salvation for spirit, soul, and body (Romans 1:16-17).

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

The Word provides spiritual nutrition so that we grow into the likeness of Christ. The Word is spirit food. Keep your spirit richly fed with this manna from heaven.

One Word of caution though. Just reading the Word with no purpose to change or act will do no good. Spiritual growth will be stifled, and personal progress will not be realized. It becomes self-evident over a period of time whether or not we are submitting ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus through 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 it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does.

The author of Hebrews likewise gives us this warning: In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need 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 for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:12-14 -NIV).

Be sure to feed on the Word daily with the attitude of acting 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 the Holy Spirit by consciously asking yourself what the Word says about what you’re doing throughout the day.

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

The Healing Word

He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions (Psalm 107:20).

God revealed Himself as the Lord our physician in Exodus 15:26. Jehovah Rapha is one of His redemptive names. He never changes; what He was, He is.

For health to be a constant in our lives we must let the Word dwell in us richly. Time spend meditating on the healing promises of God is like taking medicine prescribed by a doctor.

I usually take time every day to take my medicine from the Great Physician. Sometimes it’s when I awaken in the middle of the night. Other times it’s just when I wake up in the morning, or throughout the day when I’m driving alone in my car.

For faith to remain high for healing, the healing Word must dwell strongly in us. For the Word to dwell strongly, or to be alive, we must take time with it.

Here are the scriptures that I use as God’s medicine. I’ve planted them in me. They are allowing God’s healing power and His health to keep me every day: Exodus 15:26; Exodus 23:25; Deuteronomy 7:15; Psalm 103: 1-3; Psalm 105:37; Psalm 107:20; Proverbs 4: 20-22; Isaiah 53: 3-5; Matthew 8:17; Acts 10:38; 1 Peter 2:24.

For medicine to be effective, it must be taken as prescribed. Hit and miss will not work. That’s the reason so many are hindered in receiving healing. These truths about healing must get way down into our inner consciousness, into our inner belief system, in our sub-conscious, our spirit nature. Daily meditation will plant them there.

A farmer expects to reap a harvest after he plants the seed. He cultivates the soil regularly for maximum results. No planting, no harvest. No cultivating means diminished results.

Maximize God’s healing power in your life today by meditating God’s healing Word several times a day. His Word is spirit and life!

My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh (Proverbs 4:20-22).

The Lord My Shepherd

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

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

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

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

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

The Lord our shepherd is with us in times of danger. The valley of the shadow of death is a gulley on the side of a mountain that the shepherd and sheep must pass through to get back home. Animals of prey watch from the surrounding hills for sheep that stray. The shepherd has a rod to defend the sheep from the prey. On the other end of the rod is a hooked end that the shepherd uses to grab the sheep by the neck when they are about to leave the fold. Sheep feel secure from danger as long as they know the shepherd is nearby to defend them.

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

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

Our cup runs over. It’s one thing to have a full supply, It’s another to have so much that 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 mercy are extended to us every day of our lives. His mercies are new every morning! Blessing chases us every day! Allow the Lord to be your shepherd today. Listen for His voice. Watch for the guidance He brings through His Word to you. Expect Him to nurture you and care for you spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. He is a good shepherd!

Praise is Powerful

But You are holy, O You 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 they fight 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 our mouth from our hearts in faith (Jeremiah 1:12). Demonic forces tremble when the command of faith is given in the Name of Jesus (Philippians 2: 9-11)! And we overcome Satan forces by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11).

But of all the weapons in our arsenal, perhaps praise is the strongest. When praise is offered, God Almighty shows up in the atmosphere! The weightiness 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 are expressed.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were praising and worship so loudly that the other prisoners heard them as they were held in chains in the dark prison. Instead of the atmosphere of the prison invading them, they decided to invade that atmosphere of darkness with the presence of God! And their 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 shaking the 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’s enemies would be defeated time after time by an unseen host of angels as Israel fought with the weapons of a new type of spiritual warfare, praise and worship!

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

The Meditations of My Heart

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength 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 will cause us to flow with His purposes to bless us with the best He has in this life. The words be acceptable in the above text are from the Hebrew word ratsown and means to delight or to satisfy. It delights the Father when our inward meditations agree with Him! And here’s why.

We are already blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). All things that pertain to life and godliness already belong to us by faith. That is, all things necessary to sustain us both spiritually and materially have already 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 the Father, it delights Him because we receive in life exactly what we believe! And when 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 to agree 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). We receive in life exactly what we believe in our hearts (our inward thoughts, our self-talk) about ourselves. Jesus said all things 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 to you (Mark 9:23; Matthew 8:13; Matthew 9:29).

When our inward belief system agrees with the Father, the impossible becomes possible, the limits are removed, and we change! Our needs are met, the chains are removed, and we grow into the person we were created to be 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 life and circumstances will change from glory to glory!

You are an Ambassador

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20).

An ambassador is a representative. An ambassador lives by the laws, values, and customs of his home country. His job is to represent his home country well, and to foster the relationship between his home country and the country where he’s working.

The Father could have just called us to glory after salvation, but He’s left us here on a mission. We are to represent the kingdom of heaven everywhere we go, in everything we do.

When you live as the Father’s special representative, it will attract questions from others. Jesus said that we believers are salt and light. Salt protects, enhances, and flavors. Without us, the world would be completely overcome with corruption. We protect the earth from total rebellion. We believers add hope to life on earth. We are to be change agents for the kingdom of God. The light within us exposes darkness.

If we live in Christ, with godly attitudes, values, words and actions, others will begin to notice and ask us questions. And we’re to sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (respect) (1 Peter 3:15). Being an ambassador for Jesus is simply telling others what he’s done for you and showing them that He can do the same for them.

We’re not called to prove the Bible is the word of God, We’re not called to prove that our doctrine is the correct. We’re not called to show others how much we know about the Bible. We’re called to be ambassadors, and to be ready to tell others that the same Jesus that set us free can set them free too!

Notice the words of the Apostle John: That which we have seen 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 (1 John 1:3). In witnessing, we’re simply to tell others what He did for us!

Look for opportunities today to be a witness, an ambassador. First of all, witness by your example of godly living. When others see the hope in you by the way you live, they will ask questions. Then, ask the Father to open up opportunities to share Jesus with others. Don’t quote scripture and be religious. Share your own experience in your own words. Invite them to come to a Lifegroup with you. Invite them to a service at your church. Tell them that what you have is not religion, but it’s a moment by moment relationship with Jesus that invades all you think, do, and say. Exercise your faith today and ask for opening in conversation with others to share the reason for the hope that is in you!

You Become What You Think

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

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

Jesus said in Matthew 12 that a good man manifests in his lifestyle what he meditates on within, and likewise the meditations of an evil man manifests in his lifestyle.

Satan knows how powerful our thoughts are and continually seeks to invade them. We must choose to keep our thoughts on godly things, and not allow them to dwell on fleshly things.

Notice the admonitions from the New Testament we have encouraging us to watch our thought life: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2); Be renewed 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 of your mind (1 Peter 1:13); Pull down strongholds and cast down vain reasonings, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the 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 of us, for we are not ignorant of his mind games (2 Corinthians 2:11); Be free from mental intoxicants, be mentally alert and on guard (1 Peter 5:8)

Here are some quotes I’ve gathered over the years that will encourage you to control your thought life:

A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner, so if one’s life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself. You have a chance to select from some pretty elegant furnishings (Louis L’Amour).

Make not your thoughts your prison (Anonymous).

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

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

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

You live the way you think – so what the mind feeds upon becomes the most influential force in your life (Tim Lahaye).

The devil knows that if he can capture your thought life, he has one a might victory over you…I come across people everywhere I go who are held bound by deceptive conditions and these conditions have come about simply because they have allowed the devil to make their minds the place of his

stronghold (Smith Wigglesworth).

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

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 (Lester Sumrall).

Guard your thought life today!

The Word Will Keep You

I had something happen to me almost 29 years ago that taught me the power and the importance of the Word in my daily life. I was twenty years old at the time and had been walking with God for two and a half years.

The short of the story is that my Pastor, out of a desire to manipulate and control, said some caustic and biting things to me in a meeting that I had asked for to talk to him about some concerns (many years later, his behind the scenes misdeeds were exposed). The things he said to me almost sent me into a state of mental shock! Satan used his words to drive my mental state into a frenzy for well over a month. I was young and very impressionable, and my Pastors’ words carried weight with me. Day after day his words played over and over in my mind.

I learned the absolute power of the indwelling Word of God through this experience. When the enemy would remind me of what the Pastor said and accuse me so terribly, I would refute the overwhelming thoughts and feelings by saying Romans 8:38-39 over and over to myself. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The enemy would use the Pastor’s words and my fickle emotions against me from the time I got up each day until the time I went to bed! I seemed as though I was going to lose my mind as the thoughts and feelings bombarded me! This verse came to my rescue and became my life raft in the storm. The more I reminded myself and God of what He promised in caring for me and never leaving me, the less the thoughts and emotions from the Pastor’s words affected me. In fact, I was able to forgive him and walk in love toward him as God’s Word helped me endure the demonic accusations and look beyond the feelings to God’s truth about me.

One day, over a month later, the daily oppression ceased, and my inward peace returned. It was the power of God’s Word that sustained me. I found that God’s Word really is full of life and power and that the Word is stronger than any force that seeks to overpower me. God through His precious Word to me became my friend that sticks closer than a brother. It is true that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

When you find yourself in a hard place, take the Word with you! Don’t be caught without it. My hours and days of meditating on the Word before this experience sustained me through it. Build the Word into your inner consciousness, and you’ll be insulated from the assaults of the enemy. Forever, O Lord, your Word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my Words will not pass away (Matthew 24:35). …The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63) The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever! (Isaiah 40:8)

The other thing I learned from this experience is to never use my office of Pastor to try to control and dominate people. As a Pastor, I’m to be an example, not a taskmaster.

An Established Heart

Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man deals graciously and lends; he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established; he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies. He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be exalted with honor. The wicked will see it and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked shall perish (Psalm 112).

Psalm 112 explains the blessings of the person who chooses to be a doer of the word. This is the person who has an established heart.

An established heart is not blown by the winds of adversity. It is not motivated by fear but by faith in God’s unfailing promises. It has the patience to stand its ground when tests and difficulties come. It doesn’t cast away its confidence, but knows that being s doer of the Word brings results (Hebrews 10: 35-36).

A person with an established heart will attract the blessings of God upon His home and his family. His obedience will affect his family for generations to come.

The established heart gives generously and is kind and considerate of others. It is not moved when difficulties come because it is grounded in the Word.

The person with an established heart is a light and example for others to follow. He gives encouragement to faint and to the weak, and becomes a source of hope in times of great need.

An established heart gives a sense of righteousness, peace, joy, hope, rest, health, and prosperity. An established heart breeds optimism in the darkest test. It is surer of the promises of God’s Word than the rising sun!

Your heart becomes established by daily meditating on, confessing, and practicing the Word. Take time today to establish your heart in the Word. You’ll gain inward strength and outward stability. The blessings of God will be upon you, and you will be a source of light and aid to all around you.

Spirit, Soul, and Body

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 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 spirit being, I possess a soul, and I live in a physical body. The real, eternal part me is spirit. God is a Spirit. I am made in His image as an eternal spirit.

My conscience is the voice of my spirit. My conscience must be trained in the Word of God and obeyed implicitly. If I train my conscience in the Word, it can become the primary way God leads me. I call a trained conscience 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 my mind and my body to usurp that first place that my spirit should hold in my life.

I, as a spirit being, possess a soul. My soul is made up of three 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 my conscience.

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

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

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

My body is the part of me that will perish in 80 or 90 years or so of living on earth. It my earth suit that I must have to live on this planet. I must never let it dominate my spirit or my soul. My body easily responds to earthly things and has an appetite for anything to which it is exposed. I must control my body and keep it disciplined so that my spirit can manifest through it. I must use my body as an instrument of righteous and godly living, and must not use it in a selfish way.

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

The Battlefield of the Mind

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

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

We are encouraged to think on things above because thoughts rule conduct. We’re to imitate God. The only way to do that is to think like God. 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 the place. Throughout the day by thought association, events, people, smells, and a thousand things we come in contact with tag thoughts from the past in a millisecond. These thoughts mushroom if not controlled and can stir up the old man 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 purposely challenged and redirected. The mind has a mind of its own! It will lead you where you don’t want to go if you allow it to be in charge. Take the reigns of your mind today by forcing yourself to turn away from the negatives that creep into your thoughts.

The only way thoughts can be changed is for them to be replaced. 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 thought life did not agree with these words, then I made myself think on a scripture. I would 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 a halt by forcing myself to think on a scripture.

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

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

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

The Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Word

Acting on the Word brings God into the details of your daily life. Then said the Lord to me, You have seen 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 your actions! He pays attentions and gets involved when you act like His Word is important to you!

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

The Holy Spirit takes the Word that we feed on in our personal times and reminds us of what we’ve heard. His major ambition is to help us act, think, respond, love, speak, and live like Jesus does. As He is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). Be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1).

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

Acting on the Word brings you into realm of the limitless God 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. Become conscious 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 with His ability, and the Father will watch over you and do amazing things. Magnify the Word!

Free from Deception

In our postmodern culture, we have the same personal ideology as the culture in Israel during the time of the Judges. Every person 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 of unbelievers. And instead of doing what we feel like doing any given moment, we’re to obey the Word! Our blessing in God is in obedience! 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 time of tribulation spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and found in Revelation 6-19. It’s a time of great challenge and difficulty. To navigate successfully through this time, it’s important for us to be people of the Word!

Notice 1 Timothy 4:1-2 (Amplified): But the Holy Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach, through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared (cauterized).

Then also 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 with teachers who tell them what they want to hear. People will refuse to listen to the truth and turn to myths.

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

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

As a pastor, I’ve had the unfortunate experience of having people sit in 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 on and on!

Here’s the bottom line: Any believer that decides to ignore the Word and do what he or she knows is wrong, defies conscience and opens themselves up to 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 about your fellow worker, then don’t gossip and say bad things about your fellow worker. If God says, don’t lust, then turn your eyes away!

The Father’s protection, favor, and care in this hour will be with those who choose to love Him by obeying His Word! Don’t compromise the Father’s care in this time with loose living; doing what is right in your own eyes. Defy your own thoughts and feelings and obey the Word! That’s where you will find the blessing, protection, and favor of the Father today!

Enter Your Closet

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

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

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

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

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

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

Psalm 139:1-18 (God’s Word Translation)
O Lord, you have examined 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 my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. You are all around me—in front of me and in back of me. You lay your hand on me. Such knowledge is beyond my grasp. It is 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 I make my bed in hell, you are there. If I climb upward on the rays of the morning 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. If I say, "Let the darkness hide me and let the light around me turn into night," even the darkness is not too dark for you. Night is as bright as day. 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 I have been so amazingly and miraculously made. Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this. My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made 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 in your book before one of them had taken place. How precious are your thoughts concerning 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 am still with you.

Finding Intimacy

Thou art worthy, O Lord, 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 so that He could have someone with which He could enjoy rich fellowship. We are created to bring Him pleasure. He has brought us into relationship with Him through the New Birth. And once the relationship is established, He longs for intimate fellowship with you.

Sometimes there are roadblocks to personal fellowship. A person raised in a harsh family environment where their thought and opinions were not welcomed or valued will at first struggle to have an intimate fellowship wit the Lord. Some people are just naturally inclined to hold themselves back, and not share their heart with others.

This deeper level of communication with the Lord must be developed. It takes time to break habits of holding yourself back. The first key 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 though you have never done wrong! As a righteous person in Christ, you have the same standing before the Father that Jesus has! The Father unconditionally loves and accepts you! Because He does, He has an open ear to listen to you and understands everything you think and feel.

The next step to rich fellowship with the Father is to force yourself to go there! Go to a private place and begin to share your heart secrets with Him. Tell Him everything; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Hold nothing from Him. At first, this is uncomfortable if your experiences have caused you to hold yourself back from others. But you’ll find that the moment you get real with the Father, His love and joy will rise up in you by the Holy Spirit. 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 would go to my room and read my Bible for a period of time. Then, I would begin to pray, and I found myself for the first expressing to the Father my deepest heart thoughts.

At first I was afraid that He would be upset with me as I was so honest. I shared motives, thoughts, fears, questions, longings, and wrong desires. I found that when I did this, the Father did not judge me, yet He held me to the standard of the Word. And by the Holy Spirit He would speak to 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 to Him. He became a place of refuge when I felt emotional pain, or when the pressures of life seemed too much to bear. He is the kindest, most understanding person you will ever know.

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

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

Maintaining Fellowship

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

Relationship is a result of birth or covenant, but fellowship is only by choice. Fellowship is a sharing together, a communion. It’s two people coming together with a mutual interest and a part to play in that interest.

Fellowship must be fostered on purpose. I’ve found that many believers 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 we process our relationship and fellowship with the Lord. If in our home life, we were not welcomed to bear our hearts, but felt forces to keep our opinions to ourselves, then fellowship from the heart will be a challenge to overcome even in our relationship with the Father.

When we sin, our fellowship is broken. The joy that strengthens us leaves. Peace is replaced by a troubled uneasiness. For fellowship to be renewed, sin must be confessed. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). To confess means to same the same thing. It means to agree with. When I confess my sin, I agree with God that the thing I did that broke fellowship was wrong. I change my mind or repent 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 rises again (Proverbs 24:16). Confess the sin the moment you commit it, and then renounce it before the Father, and tell Him that you believe you receive the inner strength to overcome this thing. Thank Him in faith for removing this thing from your life. Confess sin the moment it occurs is the key to remaining in constant fellowship with the Father.

Notice that if you do one thing; confess your sin, that the Father does four things in return! He will be faithful to you, just or fair to you, He will forgive your sin, and will cleanse you from unrighteousness. Cleansing from unrighteousness means that if you’ll confess what you know you did wrong, there is an automatic cleansing from those sins committed in ignorance, or because you didn’t know that particular thing was wrong. This is important for the new believer who may not understand the will of God in all of life’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 fellowship is fully restored. Be careful today to remain in constant fellowship with the Father. 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 your personal predisposition is to hold back.

Called to Fellowship

God is faithful, by whom 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 mean that the family members fellowship together. Fellowship is on purpose. We are called to fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Too many have the relationship with the Lord, but lack the sweet, intimate fellowship that He so longs to have with all of His children.

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

Intimate fellowship with the Lord is possible because through the New Birth, He has made us righteous! Righteousness is the ability to stand before God as though sin, fear, condemnation, or inferiority had ever been a part of your life! Righteousness produces boldness (Proverbs 28:1). The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever (Isaiah 32:17). Once you renew your mind and know that your Father loves you even when you 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 life and around you. The will of God becomes clear and focused.

Fellowship produces joy. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11). You will show me the path of life; in your presence 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 fellowship in its fullness is the joy life with the throttle wide open on a downgrade.[1]

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

Fellowship produces strong faith. As we enter the dangerous time period before us that precedes the tribulation, fellowship will be our anchor in the storm. We’ll know how to act in every circumstance. The Father 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 that your faith is weak, check up on your fellowship with the Father. He longs for you to share your heart life with Him. In tomorrow’s post, I’ll talk about how to find rich, deep fellowship with the Father.

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

Be a Doer of the Word

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

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

For us to turn a deaf ear to what the Father has spoken by failure 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 the Word clears the fog from the un-renewed mind and shines light on the pathway of life.

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

The following is a very sobering scripture. It shows the results if we stubbornly choose to cling to our own thoughts and ways and neglect to act on the Word. Be the person who is blessed by the Father today by choosing to act on the Word at all times!

Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy 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

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the 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 rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall (Matthew 7:24-27).

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

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away (Matthew 24:35). So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; 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, but the 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 of adversity removes the spirit of fear and worry, and releases the ability of God in the circumstance you face.

A person who has decided ahead of time to be a doer of the Word will be able to win life’s fight! Acting on the Word makes you a conqueror. Acting on the Word brings with it the attitude that you and God cannot be defeated.

Acting on the Word brings stability to the emotions during hard places. Instead of the yo-yo of ups and downs, the person who acts on the Word lives above emotional unrest. The person who acts on the Word speaks the Word 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 the mind. You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3). The Father has given us a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). When the negative report comes, the person who acts on the Word immediately balances the report with what the Word says about them and then speaks the Word out loud to defeat the negative thoughts.

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