Real brief update

It's 9:30 at night here in Rwanda. I'm getting ready for bed. We'll be in the refugee camps tomorrow until 5 pm - 11 AM your time. Please pray and believe with us for the hearts of the people to be open to receive the gospel in the afternoon. It will be 9 am your time when we brgin the crusade. Pray for a great moving of the Holy Spirit. We'll also be teaching pastors in the camps in the morning while you're still sleeping!

I hope to give another update tomorrow when we return!

Our God is an awesome God. Goodnight!

Ministry Begins in Goma Refugee Camps

I must be really quick here! We were able to go to the refugee camps today to conduct a pastors conference. I ministered this morning and this afternoon to a couple of hundred pastors. We go tomorrow to minister to the pastors again, and then to conduct an evangelistic crusade in the camp. Tens of thousands of displaced people are t here. Pray for their hearts to be open to receive.

We are safe and sound in a hotel in Rwanda. We cross over the each day and come back in the afternoon. I'll update as much as I can.

Thanks for praying!

An Update From Rwanda

This is the first time I've been able to get on the net since I left London. If you've watched the news, you may have heard of an outbreak of fighting in the Congo. It was right here in Goma. I must be brief due to time, but let me just say that we are all safe and well. We just crossed the border from Goma, Congo to Rwanda this afternoon. We are in a hotel close by. We will get an update in the morning to determine if we can go back into Goma tomorrow to minister in a church to pastors. We will not be going to the refugee campo where we originally attended.

The situation is calm at the moment. There was some fighting that broke out yesterday around noon, causing great concern in the populous. We stayed in our hotel when we got back from the refugee camps where we were making preparations to minister on Thursday. We were never in any personal danger. And we are just fine now. I don't have time to give you any details at the moment. I'll give a full briefing when I get home.

Thanks to all who have prayed for us! Prayer works! I'll try to be in touch soon with more details. The Father is taking good care of us!

Monday Morning in London

I arrived in London this morning at 3:00 Am your time. I just had a bite of breakfast at a Starbucks Cafe here in terminal 5. I'm waiting on Bruce McDonald to arrive at the gate. We leave here at 6:05 am your time.

I had a great flight from Raleigh to London. I was able to sleep a little and I read for a while.

I have another day of travel yet before I arrive in Goma Congo. I already miss all my church folk. You're a special bunch. Thanks for keeping Bruce and me bathed in prayer. The angels of God have already been busy preparing our travel path in air and on land, and they are working ou our behalf at all connection points and border crossings!

Here's Hebrews 1:14 - A.S. Way's translation from my memory!

The angels! What are they but ministering spirits who are being dispatched hour by hour on errands of ministration on behalf of those who have salvation as their heritage!

I'll be in touch when possible. Just keep checking back. Bon Voyage!

I'm leaving...on a Jet Plane...

It's a little after 3:00 PM and I'm doing my final packing for my Congo Trip. Thanks to all who have committed to pray for our team. My flight leaves tonight at 7:25 for London - a direct flight to Heathrow. I'll arrive in London your time on Monday morning at 2:55 am. We leave London for Nairobi at 6:05 am and arrive in Nairobi at 2:35 pm your time on Monday.We leave Nairobi 1:05 am your time on Tuesday and arrive in Kigali Rwanda at 2:30 am Tuesday your time. Then we travel for 5 hours in an SUV to Goma Congo, arriving late Tuesday morning your time. We'll rest the rest of the day and start ministry on Wednesday. Thanks for praying for us to be refreshed.

We'll minister to pastors for a couple of days and then in a refugeee camp for a few days in Evangelistic meetings. Then we will travel to a Pygmy camp and minister to these folk.

I return on Thursday, November 6th at 4:10 PM. I'll blog when I can. I'm just not sure when or where I'll have internet service.

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ( unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life (John 3:16 - Amplified).

Friendship Evangelism

And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity (Matthew 24:12-Amplified). By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35).

I believe the Lord is doing some fresh things among us. People are coming to the Lord regularly. They are being invited by their friends to check out our church and while here they are finding Jesus Christ as Lord!

I believe it’s time to take this to the next step. There is a great harvest to be reaped before Jesus returns. It’s time to consider a different way to evangelize our community. The old way of thinking, the traditional way is this:

Gospel information is presented
Hearers are called to make a decision about Jesus
When they make a decision, they are welcomed into the church
Then friendship is extended to the person
The person is trained for service in the ministry by being separated from the culture
(From The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll)

This is the typical way we Christians evangelize. And we will continue to give altar calls in our services. But I sense that the Lord wants to take us to another level of evangelism. I call it friendship evangelism. Here’s the way it works:

A real and spiritual friendship is built between a Christian and non-Christian.
A non-Christian see real faith and ministry lived openly.
The gospel is naturally presented in word and deed within the friendship.
The non-Christian’s conversion follows his or her conversion to Christian friendships and the church.
The church celebrates the conversion of their friend.
(From the book, The Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll)

This happened to me in 1976. I guy met me at a Charismatic church service I attended in my town and he began to come to my workplace to talk to me. He was friendly and kind, and never forced anything on me. He would encourage me to come with him to his church and I usually made an excuse as to why I couldn’t. Finally, on Saturday, September 11, 1976, I went with him after work to a “field day” his Bible college was having (there was a college in his church). I spent the afternoon watching these people play all sorts of sports games and laugh and talk and hang out. They made me feel welcomed and accepted. They included me in their activities. They never one time asked me if I was a Christian. They just simply befriended me and included me in their activities. I went back to the church the next day with my friend. That night, I got back into fellowship with Jesus and was filled with the Holy Spirit! I haven’t been the same since that day! And this happened to me all because a person was willing to befriend me.

The world is looking for what we have. Let’s love them, befriend them and show them by our love and our deeds the way to the Father!

Our Culture Needs Our God

I need to bear my heart to you today. I think that God wants to do something bigger in the church at large than we’ve allowed as Christians. We’ve so valued being right spiritually that unknowingly we’ve driven away the very people that the Father wants us to reach. As one brother put it in our men’s meeting this morning, we’ve so sought to steer clear of the yeast of sin that we’ve unwittingly embraced the yeast of the Pharisees.

Our mission is clear. We are to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. How are we going to make disciples of people who don’t know the Lord if we won’t let our guard down and love them in their sin? Why do we have this unspoken thought in us that somehow the unsaved must in some way meet our standards before we love them unconditionally? Are we somehow afraid that we are going to be tainted and spiritually adulterated if we rub up against unbelievers and their sinful lifestyles? What kind of Pharisee have we become?

The Pharisees in Jesus’ day demanded excellence of the populace with respect to keeping the Mosaic law. In their eyes, nobody connected with God better than they did. Jesus hated their mentality and challenged the Pharisees and other religious leaders for their harsh judgments against others.

Jesus said that His goal for us is that others know that we are believers by the love we have for one another. The love He speaks of in John 13:35 is unconditional, self-sacrificial love that cares for others even when they don’t fit our mold. Do you love others unconditionally when they don’t measure up to your standards? IF you don’t love is lacking in your life.

Our culture needs God. They will only find Him in the church, for we are the Father’s ambassadors. Can we love others enough to invite them to our church meetings and embrace them even while they are unclean in sin? Jesus would. He had a meal in a tax collector’s home. Tax collectors in His day were the worst crooks in town, everybody hated them. He also extended love to a lady who was caught in the act of adultery. The law of the land in that day said that she must be stoned. Jesus loved her and told her to go and sin no more. The woman at the well in John 4 was a Samaritan. Jews would not even walk on the same side of the street with Samaritans. To them, they were untouchable. Jesus gave her water on a hot day. People were aghast! She went and told her friends in the city where she lived about Jesus and what He did for her and a revival broke out there. All because Jesus loved her in her untouchableness!

Are you a Pharisee? Do you look down your nose at people who aren’t like you or don’t believe the way you do? Can you love people while they are in their sin without forcing them to be like you? Can you remain untarnished by the sins of those you are seeking to reach while you extend God’s care to them?

Unconditional love will breed revival. Let’s go there!

The Gospel Preached in Hell

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water (1 Peter 3:18-20). For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit (1 Peter 4:6).

Many people don’t realize that the gospel was preached in Hell to the Old Testament saints. But it’s true.

To understand this, a basic fundamental has to be understood about Old Testament saints that died prior to Calvary. Animal sacrifice under Old Covenant Law only covered sin. Old Testament (OT) saints were not born again in the sense that we are; they had hearts of stone. Old Testament animal sacrifices merely atoned or covered sin; they did not cleanse the individual from sin. OT sacrifice offered a promissory note of salvation, but not actual salvation. Nothing sinful can enter the presence of our Holy God. So the dilemma for the OT saint is where do they go when they die? Technically, they are still sinners with a promise of new life one day; when the Messiah comes. So what happens when they die?

In Luke 16: 19-31 Jesus sheds light on the problem of where OT saints went at death. Go read the whole passage sometime, but right now here are the pertinent scriptures: So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom (Luke 16:22-23). And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us (Luke 16:26).

Before Calvary, hell was divided into two compartments; the righteous side, called Abraham’s Bosom, or as Jesus mentioned it to the thief on the cross, paradise; and the unrighteous side where those who didn’t trust God through law and sacrifice went. It was similar to hell now, in that the flames were there. A great chasm divided the two areas of hell. One area was pleasant, the other was horrible. In the above verses, the rich man, not trusting God through OT animal sacrifice, went to the unrighteous side. Lazarus, trusting animal sacrifice, went to Abraham’s Bosom (or lap) or Paradise.

When Jesus died, he went to hell (see Matthew 12:40; Romans 10:6-7; Ephesians 4:8-10). There, He paid the legal penalty for the sins of mankind. When God was satisfied that our sin debt was legally paid for by the Son, Jesus was BORN AGAIN in hell! (See Colossians 1: 15, and 1 Timothy 3:16).

Then, He did what 1 Peter 3:18, and 1 Peter 4:6 mention. He preached to the spirits in prison! The OT saints who were awaiting the Messiah’s appearance there in Abraham’s Bosom were paid a visit by the eternal Son! Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, and the rest of the OT saints were there! Jesus preached the gospel to these OT saints! They were BORN AGAIN! And then Jesus whisked them out of that prison. They were resurrected with Him, and then went on up to heaven!

Notice these verses in Matthew 27: 50-53: And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.Then, behold,the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened;and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

So yes, the gospel was preached in hell and the captives were released that day. There is probably an archive in hell of the visit that day of the ETERNAL SON. Hell still trembles at His NAME!

Make Sure You Pray Then Vote

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes (Proverbs 21:1) Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

I filled out my absentee ballot last night and I’m mailing it today. I’ll here the results of the election from CNN Europe while I’m in Congo. I’ve been praying for our country a good bit and to be real, I’m very concerned.

We are a Democratic Republic. Democracy is rule by the people. Voting means that the people decide who oversees them in government. We all have a say in what America values or refuses to value. And without a moral compass to direct us as a people, we will drift to the lowest common denominator. Cultural standards will disintegrate. Then our nation will eventually lose its virility and influence among nations. Moral decay breeds ruin.

There are many stark contrasts with this presidential election. I cannot encourage you enough to get past the rhetoric and listen to the substance of what each candidate is saying. Listen with your heart, not your head.

Tough times are ahead for the entire world. Like it or not, the US is a major world player, and what happens here affects every other nation, directly or indirectly. We need leadership by conscience; leadership by principle, not politics. We need a statesman, a person not in this for political gain or personal agenda. We need a person who has America and her best interests at heart. We need a person who is strong on morality, on ethics, on national defense, who supports Israel, who supports personal rights and personal freedoms, who believes in justice, liberty, and mercy, who is strong on family values and personal responsibility. These are all biblical values.

God honors the sovereignty of nations and respects national boundaries. On the other hand, the spirit of anti-Christ seeks to dissolve national boundaries and combine the nations into one great big family. This sounds great, but the problem is that the fallen, corrupt, depraved human heart must have the control of law. It must have a governing body with checks and balances so that power will go to no one person. Read history. Nations fall when these ideals of national sovereignty or not strictly adhered to. Be careful of any person who thinks outside of the ideology of national boundaries.

There is great division even among Christians with this election. I implore you to pray for this election and our country and then vote!

The standard of living that you have and that your children grow up in will be affected drastically by the November 4th election. Don’t be flippant or half-hearted about this. If you do, it will cost us all dearly. I’ve talked to some who say they will not vote because they don’t like or agree with any of the candidates. Well, if that is you choice, then you’ve given up, and blown your candle out. And you have no say in what happens to our nation because you refuse to participate in the process.

This is a serious time. Please take time daily to pray for our country. United we stand, divided we fall.

God Has Promised to Supply!

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my temple. If you do, says the Lord Almighty, I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in. Try it!Let me prove it to you! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insect and disease. Your grapes will not shrivel before they are ripe, says the Lord Almighty. Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight, says the Lord Almighty (Malachi 3:10-12- NLT). Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing (Psalm 34:8-10).

As the world changes in preparation for Jesus’ return, it’s so comforting to know that God always keeps His word! If He’s said it, He’ll do it! He has promised that we would never lack provision in any way. We’ll have food, clothing, shelter, and all the essentials of life until Jesus comes back!

Make sure that you don’t allow the news stories of the day or week to preempt your faith in the promises of God! If inflation goes through the roof, God is our supply! Don’t say or think any other way. Don’t go to the break room at work and participate in the “what are we gonna do” conversations about lack, want, and need. Your Father is watching over you and your family. He is making a way for you!

This is a time to act on the Word! Make sure that you tithe and that you give to others. Keep the principles of God’s kingdom in mind every day. We are chosen, generation, a royal priesthood, and purchased people! God’s kingdom rules apply to us!

The Promise of Healing

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

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

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

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

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

So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you (Exodus 23:25). And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them 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 He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5) That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses (Matthew 8:17) Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed (1 Peter 2:24).

Stumbling Blocks into Stepping Stones

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive (Genesis 50:20).

When facing a severe trial of long duration, it’s important to keep perspective. Joseph spent many years bearing the repercussions of his brother’s misdeeds. Though he spent years of suffering shame and mockery in prison, the end result for Joseph was blessing, honor, and favor.

Tests and difficulties are part of living on a fallen planet. Our faith in God’s Word will navigate us through every test if we’ll let it! Satan attacks us, sometimes using others, sometimes using circumstances, and at other times using our own mistakes to ridicule and seek to discourage us.

But we must face each difficulty knowing that we are conquerors! God has destined us to win! We are victors! We can’t be defeated if we refuse to lie down and quit! The promises of God are YES and AMEN in every circumstance. He will never leave us or forsake us! If God be for us, who can be against us!

If we keep the right perspective, tests will only bring out the best in us. Tests will cause the dross to rise to the surface. Tempered steel is the strongest because the heat drew out the impurities that weakened it. Notice what Peter said: That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:7).

Years ago, I found myself in the middle of one of the most difficult periods of my life. Nothing was going the way I thought it would. It seemed as though I would fail. At times, death seemed appealing as a sweet escape. Really, it was a very hard place. But the Holy Spirit kept reminding me of the promises of God when I wanted to just quit. He wouldn’t let me! Day after day, week after week, month after month, this particular test droned on.

At my lowest points, I found my God to be faithful. Knowing what He planned for me, the Father just would not let quit in the middle of my journey. He urged me to act on His Word and keep on going. He sees the end from the beginning. Sometimes we allow the pain of present circumstance to cloud the vision of where we’re headed.

Now looking back, I can see that some of the greatest things God did in me were a result of the pressure I went through. Character changes occurred in me as the pressure squeezed flaws to the surface of my life and forced me to face them.

The enemy sought to destroy me through circumstance, but God turned it all around and used it for my good. Joseph was able to lead Egypt out of a dark period because of the work of preparation during the testing years.

See your present circumstance, not as a stumbling block, but as a stepping stone into God’s greater purposes for you. If you’ll do this in every test and trial, God will turn what was meant by the enemy as evil into opportunity to help you grow!

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18). Keep your chin up today!

No Sin History

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

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

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

I was freed from my chains of personal failure when I learned 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 the book, Dr. Hicks mentions Einstein’s theory of relativity. Part of that theory is the belief that if a person could travel at the speed of light, time would cease. He would enter into the eternal.

The Bible says that God is light (1 John 1:5). God lives in the realm of the eternal. Past, present, and future are all “now” to God. It’s a hard concept for our finite minds to grasp, but it is true. God lives in the eternal “now.” The panorama of history is constantly before Him. He sees everything that was, is, and will be as “now.” Jesus is the lamb slain from the foundation of 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 God showed John what will be because it already exists in the realm of the eternal.

So when God says that He will not remember our sins, it a big deal! That means that confessed sin is not even history, because history can be remembered! Confessed sin is not found in the mind of God. It is blotted out 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, and from recorded history! So when you sin as a believer, don’t brood and whine over it, repent and confess it! Then it will be completely removed from the history of your life and you can walk free from guilt!

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

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

Reciprocity

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days (Ecclesiastes 11:1).

The idea in the above verse is that the waves will bring back to you what you throw out into the water.

Reciprocity is an action that produces in return an action of the same kind. It’s a law in the kingdom of God. In one sense our lives are filled with sowing and reaping. Our tomorrow is found in seed form in what we do today. My actions today are the foundation for tomorrow’s living.

Not only is this a law of the kingdom of God, it’s an eternal promise attached to the earth. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:22).

This principle is not just about finances, but it applies to all of life. Notice what Jesus said in Luke 6:37-38: Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

The actions, words, attitudes, and kindness that I show today will come back to me. The way I treat others is the way I will be treated. If that is true, I should see every action and word as a seed that will produce a harvest in my life. So what kind of harvest do I want? Plant the seed for it today!

This also includes our material and financial lives. Notice 2 Corinthians 9:6: But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

And again we find this principle in Galatians 6:7, where it also refers to the Galatian believers giving to those who minister the Word to them: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

Yet Paul broadens this concept to include a believer’s whole life, including his spiritual life in Galatians 6:8:-9: For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

See yourself as a seed planter today. Only throw the bread on the water that you want to see again! This is a law. A law works all the time. It’s sometimes slow and methodical, but it is always working behind the scenes.

This principle of receiving what you sow is working right now in you. If you’ve sown some bad seed, cry out in repentance for the mercy of God to cleanse you from the wrong. Mercy is when you don’t receive what you deserve! And sometimes God’s mercy will root up a negative seed we’re planted!

Expect the bread you’ve thrown on the water to come back. Sow seeds of kindness, love and mercy into others today. The day will come that you’ll need these in your own life. Let’s sow seed today that we’ll be glad to reap tomorrow.

Cleansed from Sin

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord 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 not cleansed, it was covered. The life of an animal was sacrificed and its blood was poured on the Mercy Seat, which was the lid of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies in the temple. The presence of God dwelt in this man made place, and the animal blood provided a covering of “life” for the sins of the Israelites.

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

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

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

Our sins have been judged and removed from us when we are Born 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 (Hebrews 10:17). And now, when you miss the mark and 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, remind yourself and the Lord that you are totally forgiven; that your sins have been removed; and thank Him for never remembering them again! The accuser of the brethren wants you to live in the past and brood over your failures. God has made a way through the blood of Jesus for you to completely forget the things which are behind, and reach forward to the things ahead! Act like a person who has never sinned today!

The Prayer Habit

…Steadfastly maintain the habit of prayer (Romans 12:12-J.B. Phillips). The Father wants us to develop our intimacy in prayer with Him. He wants prayer to become a habit. The prayer habit will be one habit that can transform the atmosphere of your life.

E.W. Kenyon in his book In His Presence says: Prayer should be as natural as breathing and as enjoyable as eating. Prayer should be as unconscious as our communication with one another. He goes on the say: You can’t spend any length of time in prayer without being affected by it. The quietness, the unshaken faith, the deep unsounded peace that pervades the Godhead, will overflow into the prayer’s life.

Many people find prayer a great challenge. The flesh struggles with relating to a God you can’t see. But God is the Father of spirits. 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 paid by Jesus, and God sees us as pure as Jesus before Him! It’s as though we have never sinned!

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

Then you must begin to develop you fellowship with Him based on your right standing with Him according to the Word; not according to your feelings. Take some time to get alone and just tell Him that you love Him and tell 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 of what His word says about answered prayer. Talk to Him in specific terms about every single concern you have in life, and ask Him specifically to help you.

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

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

Start slowly. You may pray to begin with for ten or fifteen minutes. That’s just fine. If you keep it up every day, you’ll find the need to pray longer. You’ll find it easier and easier to express your heart and you’ll begin 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 every circumstance good and bad with Him. And before long, you will have developed and unconscious communion with Him that will erase fear and worry from your life.

Prayer will become and unconscious act of communion throughout your day. Daunting impossibilities will turn into opportunities for your Father to show Himself strong in your life. You’ll begin to fulfill Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Attitude Determines Altitude

The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the 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 have when things go awry in our lives. As a teenager, God gave him a vision of himself as a leader. This vision changed how Joseph saw himself, and affected everything he did. Because he saw himself as an overcomer, he rose above every problem he encountered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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) Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14). For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to 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 into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance 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

He gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak. Even the youths shall be exhausted, and the young men will all give up. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall 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 a place for you and me to go and be refreshed and strengthened after facing the pressures of the day.

We have an open invitation to come boldly to the throne of grace so that we can receive mercy, grace, and help for our needs (Hebrews 4:16).

When you go to this throne room of the Father with your needs and lay them before Him, He then places in you strength and ability to obey Him, and peace that soothes and heals. Like a platoon of soldiers guarding a city, the peace of God will push worry and fear away from you and enable you to 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 come away with a spring in your step ready for whatever comes your way today. You’ll have an expectation of God’s best in everything you do. And you’ll spread that Throne Room atmosphere to others!

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

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

El Shaddai

El Shaddai is one of the names for God in the Old Testament. It means The Almighty God, the All Sufficient 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 her child at her breast, meaning that the mother is everything the child needs to sustain life. The word Shaddai is also used of mountains and linked with El, the self-existent one, it refers to the all powerful God who created the mountains and rules over all. He is 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 that exists. Jesus upholds all things by the power of His word. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist (Colossians 1:16-17).

In the light of our God being El-Shaddai, our problems are so small! The Being that created and sustains all that exists is my very own Father! He is All-Sufficient to help me in my difficulties today. He is more than enough! He’s the God of plenty! 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 tough issues that life brings!

All we need to do is to release our faith in Him and believe we receive the best that He has for every circumstance we encounter. El-Shaddai promised that mountains would move at the command of faith spoken words. He promised to answer faith based praying. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive (Matthew 21:22). 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 on your own ability alone. In all your ways today, acknowledge that El-Shaddai is working 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!

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19).

One way the Father encourages us is through the speaking of psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs. A psalm is a poem or ode. It may or may not rhyme. A hymn is a song of faith that inspires. A spiritual song is a song spontaneously given that edified, exhorts, and comforts the believer.

The book of Psalms is an excellent example of these inspired psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Through the years in my personal prayer life I’ve been given psalms that inspire and encourage and I’ve been given spiritual songs that edify. I usually get them in my private times with the Lord. But this past Sunday during our first service I received one while I was singing during praise and worship.

The way this works is that as you are praying or worshipping, they arise from within and there is an anointing that comes with them. The anointing rises up from inside you. And when these psalms come up from inside, usually there is just a phrase or one verse of it.

Sunday as I stood there, I singing some but also just praying in the spirit too. That’s when the anointing rose up in me and this psalm also rose up from my spirit to my mind. I only initially received one verse of it. I encourage you to spend some time waiting on the Lord and you too can receive these psalms and hymns and spirituals songs. They will keep you encouraged and filled with the Spirit! Here’s the one from Sunday:

Be not filled with fear and with dread
For I am alive, I am not dead

I've given you My word, the incorruptible seed
Speak it and live it and in Me believe

Don't set your eyes on things around
But on Me may your sight be found

I will direct you and lead you, and I will supply
All that you need, on my Word you rely

Lift up your faith and lift up your sight
Believe in Me and I will be your might.

This is not a time for you to lower your head
And to growl and whine

But it's time for you to lift up your voice and sing
And my joy within you will continually ring

First Love

Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works…(Revelation 2: 4-5).I know your works, that you are neither cold nor 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 in an unreserved way. It is not a day to compromise with the flesh or with the popular opinion of the moment!

I had another dream on Monday night. I’m not sure what the deal is with me and dreams lately! But I believe the Lord spoke to me through it! In the dream I was at a conference meeting with other believers in a fairly wide yet not deep room. Four women were leading singing including my lovely wife (she has hidden talent!). We were singing the old song with my hands lifted up, and my mouth filled with praise, with a heart of thanksgiving, I will bless you O Lord. In the dream I noticed that some were singing with lifted hands, but many were engaged in conversation with others. They seemed oblivious to the worship that was going on. And then in the dream I thought to myself as I observed those who were not singing, boy we sure don’t have the passion for Jesus that we once had. We need to come back to our first love. End of dream.

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

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

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

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

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

Stay Ready to Go!

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18).

Thoughts about the rapture of the church keep coming to my mind in the light of current world events. Please remember that there must be at least 7 years between the rapture and the second coming of Christ (Daniel 9: 24-27). In the rapture, God transports believers to heaven and their bodies change into glorified, immortal human bodies like Jesus had when He was resurrected. In the second Coming of Christ, Jesus and the saints (us) come back to earth. Jesus defeats the Anti-Christ and sets up His 1000 year rule on earth (Revelation 20).

So many things that are happening now run parallel with the Word concerning the period prior to the second coming of Christ. The problems with middle East peace and the Palestinian state solution encouraged by our government; the rapid rise of Islamic terrorism; the problems with Iran acquiring nuclear weapons; The Iranian president’s forceful diatribe promising to annihilate Israel; the rise of Russia’s influence; the flat-lining of cultural standards; the rise and acceptance of homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle; and the current economic mess worldwide. These issues point to a time called the tribulation by the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have reached the point of no return. We’re very close to the time scenario predicted by the prophets in the Bible when Israel will enter into a covenant of peace. When that happens, the tribulation begins. It will last 7 years and will begin as a time of pseudo world peace. This will quickly spiral into mayhem as natural disaster after natural disaster causes the nations to plummet into chaos (see Revelation 6-19 for the details).

According to 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the rapture of the church seems to be somewhere around the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace treaty. Right after that world conditions warrant the rise of the person called Anti-Christ. He will have a plan to right the world economic woes and t o stabilize the friction in the Middle East. We the church will be gone! Listen to Kenneth Wuest’s translation of 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-4:

Now, I am requesting you, brethren, with regard to the coming and personal presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, even our being assembled together to Him, not soon to become unsettled, the source of this unsettled state being your minds, neither be thrown into confusion, either by a spirit [a believer in the Christian assembly claiming the authority of divine revelation and claiming to give the saints a word from God], or through a word [received personally] as from us or through a letter falsely alleged to be written by us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come and is now present. Do not begin to allow anyone to lead you astray in any way, because that day shall not come except the aforementioned departure [of the Church to heaven] comes first and the man of the lawlessness is disclosed [in his true identity], the son of perdition, he who sets himself in opposition to and exalts himself above everyone and everything that is called a god or that is an object of worship, so that he seats himself in the inner sanctuary of God, proclaiming himself to be deity.

The world as we have known it is fading away. Now is the time to get our “ducks in a row!” Put God and His kingdom first in your life. Don’t be lulled to sleep by complacency, compromise, and lukewarmness. It’s a bit surreal for me to think this way, but it really does seem that the rapture must be soon. Get ready and stay ready! We’re going on a trip!

Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. (John 14:1-3). Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:50-52).

Expect Long Life!

Today is my 50th birthday! What comes to mind is the times the enemy tried to take me out and did not succeed! When I was young, a palm reader at a church Halloween carnival (go figure) told me that my lifeline was short and that I would die young. The ensuing fear lasted through my teen years until I became a dedicated believer.

I did a study on longevity in the scriptures and found that it was the will of God for us to live a long life and be satisfied with its length. So here I am at 50. I’m not yet satisfied, and my work is not complete. I’m planning to hang around a whole lot longer - 90 sounds good! But it seems that the rapture may take us all out of here before long! Stay ready! I’ll leave you with a list of scriptures that deal with long life today. They have boosted my personal faith and they quenched the fear the enemy planted in my life when I was young!

You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess (Deuteronomy 5:33). That your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth (Deuteronomy 11:21). So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days (1 Kings 3:14). You shall come to the grave at a full age, as a sheaf of grain ripens in its season (Job 5:26). With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation (Psalm 91:16). My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you (Proverbs 3:1-2). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you (Proverbs 9:10-11). The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened (Proverbs 10:27). They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands (Isaiah 65:22). For He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil 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 to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you (Isaiah 46:4). The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness (Proverbs 16:31).

Use Time Wisely

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

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

All of us have 168 hours a week to accomplish what we value in life. I must have time for ministry, for organizational and managerial tasks, and time for personal ministry and staff relations. I must also make time each day for my 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 for leisure and hobbies, relaxation and rest.

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

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

Making a list of necessary priorities for the day keeps me focused on the important, so that the urgent doesn’t move it out of sight. Keeping that list before me is essential to keep my focus on what must be accomplished.

In doing this, I also make room for the providence of God to override any plans I make. That causes me to see interruptions to my plans as the plan of God for my life, and that keep my attitude joyful and expectant when what I planned doesn’t happen. Father knows best.

He will show us how to best use our 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 of meditation and prayer can accompany a long commute to work or an appointment. A chapter in a book can be read during lunch. Ask the Father how you can seize each minute and extract blessing out of it!

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

My Jehovah God

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

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

Jehovah Tsidkenu (Jeremiah 23:5-6) refers to the Father as the Lord our righteousness. When you feel guilty and condemned because of present failure or by remembrance of your past, keep in mind that the Father has given you the same standing before Him that His Son Jesus has! You’ve been made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our sins have not just been covered, but they have been completely obliterated. The legal term is expunged! Every record of our wrongdoing 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 by sickness or disease, reach up in faith to your covenant God and appropriate faith for Him to heal you completely. He is faithful that promised. Believe that you receive healing for your body the moment symptoms appear. He forgive all of our sins, and heals all of our diseases (Psalm 103:3).

Jehovah Shalom means the Lord our Peace. Happiness comes from happenings, our surrounding circumstances. But peace come from within. Your world can be falling apart around you yet the peace of God can buoy you up and help you in the crisis moment. Peace with God is available through the forgiveness that Jesus offers by His blood. The peace of God is ours as we walk in obedience and honor the precious Holy Spirit in our lives.

Jehovah Shammah means the Lord is present. This is the presence of God that floods our lives when the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us. We are never alone. When loneliness rises up in you, remind yourself that the Lord is present. He has promised that He will never leave or forsake His own. He is not a feeling. He is a Spirit. He’s still around when you feel nothing.

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

Our Caring God

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

The Father is absolutely committed to our care. He calls Himself the Shepherd, Jehovah Raah in Psalm 23:1. We are His sheep. He has loved 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 in Genesis 22:14) which means the Lord our provider. God provided the lamb of sacrifice in the place of Abraham’s son Isaac as Abraham walked up the mountain in obedience to God’s request of Abraham to give Him his only son. God’s provides what He requests from us.

God’s nature is wrapped up in His name El-Shaddai (found in Genesis 17:1; 28:1-4; Psalm 91:1), the giver and sustainer of life. This term has wrapped in it the idea of a mother who is the all sustaining force in a newborn baby’s life. She provides all the nourishment and care for that little 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 (found in Genesis 14: 18-23; Daniel 5:18; Psalm 83;18), the possessor of heaven and earth. It means that He is the Most High God! When things look bad and the enemy seems to be winning, don’t forget that our never changing God is El-Elyon, the MOST HIGH! We always win. Winning is our destiny!

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

The Father is Our Shepherd, our Provider, our Life Sustainer, 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 life details! I’ll continue this tomorrow.

Goodness

Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! (Psalm 31:19)He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 33:5).

Goodness is one of the attributes of our Father God. One of the definitions that I found for goodness is moral excellence that reaches out to meet others’ needs. Our God is a God of Goodness. He is morally excellent. His heart of compassion reaches out to all of creation. You can see the goodness of God in splashes of color displayed during the fall season. You can see the goodness of God displayed in varieties 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 is placed within us by the Holy Spirit. One of the spiritual fruit is goodness. This goodness enables us also to display moral excellence that reaches out to meet the needs of others.

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

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

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

Salt also hinders. Armies in antiquity would sow the fields of conquered nations with salt. Salt will allow nothing to grow in the soil. 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 your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.

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

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

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

Proper Money Perspective

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.