Jesus Died Twice

And they made His grave with the wicked, but with the rich at His death(s)(Isaiah 53:9)

The Hebrew word for death in this verse is plural, and should be rendered “deaths.” Jesus died twice on the cross.

Jesus’ physical sufferings and death, as gruesome and as horrible as they were, did not touch our sin problem. His physical death was only a means to an end. Jesus had to endure our spiritual death too.

Jesus cried out on the cross as the Father turned away. Jesus literally became our spiritual death. Yes, Jesus died spiritually. He had to in order to bear our sin penalty. The Father made Him who knew no personal sin of His own to become our sin.

Sin is deeper than the physical body. Sin is a nature called spiritual death. Spiritual death is spiritual separation from God. If sin was only a physical condition, then perhaps Jesus physical sufferings could suffice to cleanse it. But because sin is a spiritual condition, then Jesus must bear our sins spiritually, which means He must die spiritually, just like you and me before the New Birth.

Jesus’ Spirit became separated from the Father on the cross. That’s spiritual death. Then he died physically. When Jesus’ Spirit left His body He then went to hell to spiritually pay our sin debt.

When God’s justice was satisfied that Jesus legally paid our sin penalty, Jesus was literally born again in hell. His Spirit became alive unto God once again. He became the first human to ever experience the New Birth. He became the head of a brand new race of men. The New Creation man! That’s the reason Colossians 1 says that Jesus is the firstborn from the dead. He was not only resurrected from physical death. But before the resurrection, He was raised from spiritual death when the Spirit of God came upon Him there in the dark regions of the damned after He paid our sin penalty.

Thank God that Jesus bore our sin and its penalty so we can be spiritually redeemed!

Wasted on Jesus

Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil (Luke 7:36-38).

The streets in eastern countries of Jesus’ day were filed with dust and animal dung. It was an act of great respect and honor to a guest to clean their feet when they entered your house. A household servant usually took care of this for the homeowner. This was a cultural norm.

Seeing the disrespect shown to Jesus, this lady began to weep. Washing His feel with her tears, she began to wipe His feet off with her hair. The Pharisees didn’t even offer a towel.

A lady usually kept her hair wrapped on top of her head. Her hair was her glory and self-respect. This lady gave up her personal pride to minister to her Lord. She gave what personally meant a lot to her. It was an act of utter personal humiliation for a lady to let her hair down in public.

In an act of great honor to Jesus she cleansed His dirty feet with her person. She wasted herself on Him. She no longer cared what other s thought of her. Jesus was more important.

After cleansing Jesus’ feet she emptied the box of perfume on His feet and kissed them. This box of perfume cost one year’s salary for the average person in Jesus’ day.

The carnal religiously motivated minds of the Pharisees thought she wasted so much that day. Giving up her personal dignity and wasting one year’s salary was ridiculous to them. This lady gave Jesus the most costly possessions she owned. He had forgiven her sin and removed her shame. She gave to Him her grateful heart.

Are we willing to give up our personal pride in honor of Jesus today? Are we willing to give Him what to us is of great personal value? All He asks for is our personal obedience. This lady went the extra mile to show her love. Let’s follow her example!

The Seed

The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground (Mark 4:26).

The parable of the sower in Mark 4 is constantly at work in our lives. The kingdom of God is like a seed. A seed contains the life germ. If the seed is planted in the right kind of soil, if it receives moisture and warmth. If the weeds are kept at bay, then the seed will produce a strong plant that will bear fruit. And the plant will keep on bearing fruit as long as it continues to receive moisture, sunshine, and nurture from the soil.

Jesus spoke of four kinds of soil. Wayside, where the word is heard but rejected. Stony, where the word is heard but no deep application to life. Thorny, where outside interference hinders the development of the seed. Good Ground, where the word produces an effect.

We determine the fruit that is manifest in our lives by the implanted word of God. We are to receive with meekness the implanted Word. If we turn a deaf ear and don’t apply it, the seed dies. If we get upset and quit when tough times come, it fails to produce. If we allow ourselves to become too busy to tend to it, then its growth is choked by outward things.

But if we listen, meditate, and act, then the Word produces fruit. The fruit is already programmed into the seed! All we do is nurture it with our time and attention, and then wait and be patient. Fruit will come.

Nurture the seed of the Word in your life today by confessing it, meditating on it, and by acting on it. Healing, blessing, refreshing, answered prayer, wisdom, strength, power over the adversary, joy, patience, love, self-control, peace, are all in the seed. Some of us today will receive a thirty percent harvest, because that’s the effort we put in. Others of us will receive a sixty percent harvest because that’s how much effort we put in. A few of us will receive a one hundred percent harvest; the most benefit that can be obtained from the Word.

We determine today what kind of soil we will be for the Word. Purpose to be the good ground! And let’s go for one hundred percent effectiveness! He is watching over His Word in you today! Let the Word be fruitful and multiply!

Word and Spirit Seminar Synopsis…Continued

So Isaac moved away to the Gerar Valley, where he set up their tents and settled down. He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham's death. Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them (Genesis 26:17-18-NLT).

As I mentioned yesterday, I attended a Word and Spirit seminar with Randy Grier on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this past week. Randy Grier is used of God in the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge, as well as discerning of spirits (see 1 Corinthians 12:8-10).

Randy mentioned during the seminar that the Lord has told Him that the power of God is coming in a greater way for to the body of Christ and that now is the time to prepare for it. He said the Lord spoke to Him that those who do not make adjustments in their personal lives by January of 2011 will not be ready for what is coming. He mentioned that right now in there has been a split in the body of Christ, and that many churches and ministers have backed away from the power of God and instead are involved in a seeker sensitive approach to ministry. He said that the Lord told him that these types of ministries would continue to be very popular until 2011.

In 2011, the power of God would be displayed in a way that this generation has not experienced and we must prepare ourselves by spending more time in prayer and in meditation of the Word of God.

He mentioned Genesis 26:17-18 in the context of what is happening now in the body of Christ. With the seeker sensitive approach to ministry, many ministers and churches have forsaken pursuing the moving of the Holy Spirit and instead have a program that appeals to the flesh and the carnal nature. Randy Grier mentioned that the seeker sensitive churches have in many ways forsaken the foundation that their spiritual fathers have laid, and are seeking to do things without the moving and leading of the Holy Spirit. And just as Isaac re-dug the wells of his father Abraham, we too need to re-embrace the spiritual foundations that the Lord has laid for us in previous years in the body of Christ through the men and women of God. Randy Grier said that time is too short to lay a new foundation!

Randy Grier mentioned that demonic forces have been let loosing in our nation in an unprecedented way, and that we must assert our spiritual authority in prayer to push them back and to keep them out of our lives and ministries.

Randy Grier mentioned that we must learn to live by Isaiah 40:28-31, and that we must spend much more time waiting on God so that His Glory and power will manifest. Those who do not will be left out of what God is doing.

Randy Grier mentioned moves of God in the past and how many men of God did not develop the character of Jesus in their lives and were not able to handle the power of God properly. They opened the door the demons in their lives and died prematurely. He reminded us many times of the necessity of developing godly personal character so that we would be ready when God’s power comes in this greater way.

While I was at the meetings this past week, the Lord reminded me of some things He has said to me years ago about the moving of His Spirit and prayer. I have made a personal consecration to spend more time each day in prayer, particularly praying in the spirit. I’ve decided to adjust my personal schedule to provide me uninterrupted time to pray in this manner every day. If you want a different result it often means changing routine to make room for a different emphasis, and that’s what I’ve determined to do in order to be prepared to fully obey God in the coming months.

I encourage you to set aside extra time to pray and seek God, and let’s together pursue God’s best for this time preceding Jesus’ return!

Word And Spirit Seminar Synopsis

Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; and they commanded the people, saying," When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before." And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." (Joshua 3:1-5)

I attended a Word and Spirit seminar with Randall Grier this past Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. There were roughly 100 people present, and most were ministers from churches all over the US.

Randy Grier took the above scriptures to encourage us to seek the Lord for a fresh manifestation of His presence in the body of Christ. As the Israelites began to follow the Ark at God’s instructions, so we are to ask the Lord for a moving of His Spirit, and then learn to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. We are to covet the manifest Presence of God and follow the Lord as the Israelites followed the Ark.

Randall told us that the raw power of God is coming to the body of Christ and that we must prepare ourselves for this fresh moving of the Holy Spirit. God told the Israelites in the above scripture that they had not passed this way before. And what is coming to the body of Christ in the manifestation of His presence is greater than anything we have witnessed before.

God told the Israelites to set themselves apart (sanctify themselves) because the Lord would do great things among them. Randy Grier mentioned that the power of God would manifest very strongly, and that the Lord was urging the body of Christ to prepare spiritually for what is ahead. He told the audience that this power that God would release in the body of Christ would bring miracles, and signs and wonders just as the early church had in the book of Acts. But he also warned that it would also produce judgment on those who being hypocritical in their spiritual life.

Rev. Grier mentioned that the Lord told Him that He has been waiting on the body of Christ to prepare for this last great moving of the Holy Spirit. He said that a huge change would occur in January of 2011. The power of God would begin to manifest in a much greater way.

In my blog tomorrow, I’ll share more of what the Lord shared with us through Randy Grier. Let’s purpose to prepare ourselves to be those that God can use to minister to those in darkness around us in the days ahead.

Spiritual Food

Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16)

What food is to the physical body, the Word of God is to our spirit. Food gives us physical nourishment. The Word nourishes us spiritually. Jeremiah had a meal of the Word. Job desired the Word more than a feast! Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. (Job 23:12)

Peter tells us that we are to desire the Word like a baby desires a bottle of milk! As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2).

Jesus said that food alone would not nourish us. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

Malnutrition is the results of lack of nourishment, and there are certain physical signs that follow. There are also spiritual signs of malnourishment. Doubt, fear, irritability, impatience, rage, selfishness, lack of peace, etc. The only cure is The Word!

Sometimes through the years as we sat at the dinner table one of our children would tell Susan and me that they weren’t hungry. I would get up from the table, go to their room and find the candy wrappers in their trash can! A lack of hunger for the Word may mean we’ve fed ourselves with the candy of the world and have filled ourselves with that which will not satisfy nor nourish spiritually.

Hunger is a sign of health, both spiritually and physically. Keep yourself well fed!

Take Heed to Yourself!

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 has purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28).

Paul gave this admonition at a pastor’s conference he held in Ephesus. Before we’re able to minister to others, we must first of all allow the Lord to minister to us. Sometimes you do more by doing less.

American culture rewards achievement. We’re highly productive sometimes at the expense of our personal fellowship with God and with our spouse and children.

Smith Wigglesworth said: Pay attention to life’s inflo; outward service will dwindle if inward energies are not renewed. Taking heed to yourself means tasking the time to get your own spiritual needs met before you minister to others. It also means taking needed rest after periods of busyness and work.

Each day of our lives should contain time with God, spouse, kids, work, and recreation and leisure. The recreation and leisure are as equally important as the other things we give attention to.

The flight attendant always tells you to put the oxygen mask on yourself first in any emergency, before you try to help anyone else. We can’t help others unless we first take care of our personal needs.

Join me for some rest at some point today. Add the leisure into your schedule and take heed to yourself!

Consecration

And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22: 41-42).

In the Garden, Jesus prayed the prayer of consecration before He went to the cross. His flesh, like ours, was looking for another way to redeem us other than the way of pain and suffering.

The prayer of consecration is when you pray like He did: not my will, but Yours be done. We should pray the prayer of consecration frequently. We never get so spiritually mature that we don’t need this kind of prayer.

The prayer of consecration opens us up to the full will of God. It opens our spirits and minds to be willing to do anything that the Lord wants us to do. We should never get so settled and satisfied in life that we don’t take time to seek God for His absolute best.

If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
but if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword"; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken (Isaiah 1:19-20).

Only the willing and obedient can have God’s best in life. Take time today to consecrate yourself to do the will of God. God’s will is the best place for any of us to live. It’s the place of blessing, peace, contentment, and joy. Open your heart to go anywhere and do anything He asks. The Father’s plan for your life is the only one He can bless!

Idolatry

Little children, keep yourselves from idols (false gods) — [from anything and everything that would occupy the place in your heart due to God, from any sort of substitute for Him that would take first place in your life] (1 John 5:21 – Amplified).

In India idols dot the landscape. Everywhere you turn, someone has erected an idol of one the thousands of Hindu gods. And they are worshipped constantly. Fruit, flowers, and incense are used in sacrifice to appease the god and to bring a person protection from its wrath.

One of the Ten Commandments is you shall have no other gods before Me. We Christians find blatant, open idolatry repulsive. But sometimes we are guilty of idolatry ourselves.

An idol is not only an image like I’ve pictured from Hinduism, but an idol is also anything used by us to meet a need that only God can meet. John urged the church to flee from idolatry, not because they were outwardly worshipping idols, but because they were allowing other things to meet a need that only God can meet.

Someone has said that idolatry is meeting a legitimate need in an illegitimate way. We all need rest, emotional release, and comfort. During times of duress and challenge, our human nature longs for a respite from the pressure. The human mind looks for avenues of solace from weariness and mental and emotional pain.

Idols in our culture could be compulsive spending, gambling, overeating, religious hyper-activity (using ministry as an emotional escape), fornication, adultery, pornography, work, or just busyness so that we’re rarely alone with our own thoughts. This list is endless.

Jesus wants to meet every need in our lives, and wants to be the one we turn to during times of difficulty, tiredness, or challenge. He has promised that we can experience times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord! In the Father’s presence is fullness of joy, pleasures forevermore. The promise but my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus covers more than just our finances. It applies to every area of life. Expose your every need to His supply today. And keeps yourself from idols!

God's Overwhelming Love

The LORD is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him…( Psalm 145:8-9,14-20 NIV).

To think that God cares so much about me is still amazing. Bring raised in a denominational church, I saw God as rigid, demanding, critical, aloof, austere, judgmental, harsh, and angry. With the Flintstone’s club in hand, I thought that God was ready at any time to deal to me the fatal blow. After all, I deserved it.

And then I found out that He wasn’t mad at me because of my sin; that He had made full provision for my sins to be cleansed. All I needed to do was to bow my knee and give Jesus the strings of my heart.

Instead of tolerating me, He loved me. And not because He had to, but because He wanted to. And to top it off, He didn’t just love me, He really liked me!

My life began to open up when I found that the Father really, really cared for me. I found that I could tell Him everything about everything in me. He knew it already. He just wanted me to yield the control of my thoughts, desires, and inner drives to Him. He would care for me and help me. All I needed to do was to be transparent, yield, and believe that He was helping me.

The Father wants to be your close companion today. Yield control to Him. Father knows best, even when at the moment you don’t feel that He does. You past, your present, and your future as His great concern. Yield to Him your heart life today. He longs to care for you. He is so pleased when you walk by faith!

Humility

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Isaiah 57:15)

Pride challenges us all. Lucifer became prideful of his exquisite beauty and became corrupted. He lost his lofty position and fell. Pride brings us low. Humility exalts us.

Throughout scripture we are encouraged to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God so that He can exalt us when we’re fully prepared to handle promotion.

In my first year with the Lord, the Father revealed the above scripture to me. Pride ran deep in my person. I knew it could hurt me and others. When I found out that the Father will draw near when we humble ourselves, I began to pursue humility.

I began my times of prayer with, Lord, I humble myself under your mighty hand. I saw roots of pride in so many things I did, wanting others to see my skill, my achievements, dressing to bring attention to myself, having to be in control in social situations, shifting blame instead of taking responsibility. Even self-pity is a form of pride and I was full of it.

If allowed, pride will destroy all that is lovely in a personality, wrapping its tentacles around that which is wholesome and degrading it.

We’ll have to deal with this pride as long as we live. Our relationship with the Father and the degree that He will use us will be determined by how we deal with the noxious weed of pride.

Knowing that pride was born in the heart of Lucifer makes it repulsive to me. That makes me want to push it out of my life and resist it. Rancid food will make you sick if you eat it, and pride will destroy you unless it’s brought under control.

The Father draws near the contrite heart. Let’s humble ourselves today. Open your heart and share your deepest thoughts and needs with the Father.

Purposely humble yourself before Him. Ask Him to reveal how pride affects your behavior and ask Him to root it out of you. You’ll find yourself asking others to forgive you for the unkind word or the selfish display. Motivations and attitudes that have been seated in you for years will begin to yield as you purposely pursue the path of humility.

As water ever seeks the lowest place, so the presence of God seeks the humble. Give yourself to humility today!

Stability

Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation, the fear of the Lord is His treasure (Isaiah 33.6). 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 most stable force in the universe is the Word of God. A person who decides to become a doer of the Word can change from being out of control and unpredictable to stable and dependable.

The Word produces stability. In this age of constant change, God has given us an anchor. We don’t have to be tossed around by the ebb and flow of life. God’s Word is more sure than the rising of the sun!

If He says He loves you, then He does. If He says He forgives you, then it’s done. If He’s promised to never leave you, then He won’t! If He’s promised to meet your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus, then He will. If He has promised to protect and shield you, then it’s a done deal!

He promised that we would go through the fire and not be burned, and through the flood and not drown. He promised us that though thousands may fall around us we would be protected from harm!

The Father has promised provision in famine, health during a plague, victory over every enemy, angelic host to surround us, His strength during the toughest battle. What the Father says supersedes every difficulty, circumstance, thought, plan, fear, sickness, attack, or problem.

How can we lose if we choose to be doer of the Word. Choose today to believe and speak the Word in the facing of the most challenging issues you face. You’ll find that security, peace and strength from heaven will fill you. You’ll become sure and stable, and others will draw from His strength in you! Remember that the Father watches over His Word to perform it!

Long Life!

With Long Life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation (Psalm 91:16).

In my teenage years, I had a fear of dying young. I had gone with a friend as a twelve or thirteen year old to a Halloween party at a church and there someone read my palm. They told me I would die young because of what they saw in my palm. Fear gripped my heart. (Watch where your kids go, even if it’s a church activity!)

After I was Spirit Filled at age 18 I did a study and found that there was no real set time for each person to die; that we had something to do with how long we lived. I found that God promised us long life, and that we could do things that would lengthen our life, or we could do things that would shorten our life. During this study, the Lord set me free from the fear of death that hung like a cloud over my life.

You shall come to the grave at a full age, as a sheaf of grain ripens in its season (Job 5:26). 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). Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span (Exodus 23:25-26, NIV).

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). 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). 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). For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you (Proverbs 9:11). The fear of the LORD prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened (Proverbs 10:27).

Rid yourself of any fear of a short life span! Expect to be satisfied with long life. Meditate on God’s word, and lengthen your days!

Righteousness

In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you (Isaiah 54:14)

Righteousness is the ability that God gives us in Christ to stand before a Holy God as though sin, inferiority, and condemnation had never been a part of our lives.

Righteousness has two parts to it. When we make Jesus Lord, we are declared free from the penalty of sin. It is as though we have never sinned!

When a person has been found innocent of a crime that they have been charged with, all evidence must be expunged. That means that all documents that contain evidence of the matter presented at the hearing in a court of law must be completely destroyed! It is as though nothing ever happened!

When I stand before God as righteous in Christ, it is as though I have never done wrong! That brings security and boldness to my life!

The second part of righteousness is awesome! Not only does the Father see you as though you have never done wrong, He goes a step further and gives you the same standing before Him that His own Son has been given! He sees you as upright and as clean and free from sin as His own Son Jesus!

Righteousness banishes fear. Righteousness allows us to go into the presence of the Father with the freedom of a child! No fear. No shame. No dread. Perfect liberty. Absolute confidence. Total acceptance!

We sang this song about our standing with God in the 1970’s. Here are the lyrics:

I am covered over with the robe of righteousness that Jesus gives to me. I am covered over with the precious blood of Jesus and He lives in me. What a joy it is to know the Heavenly Father loves me so and gives to me Jesus. And when He looks at me He sees not what I used to be, but He sees Jesus!

Stand boldly before God today as the righteousness of God in Christ. You have the exact standing before the Father that Jesus has. Act that way! Ask, seek, worship, praise, believe, rejoice, and rest!

Surely

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; 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 53:3-5).

The same sacrifice of Jesus that brought us salvation also brings us healing. The words borne and carried in the above text are Levitical words that pertain to the scapegoat bearing Israel’s sins once a year. We read in Leviticus 16 about the Day of Atonement for the Jews under the Old Covenant. This was the day that the high priest offered an animal sacrifice to atone or cover Israel’s sins. This happened once a year.

Two goats were presented. One was slain, and its blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat. The other goat was taken to the wilderness. There, the high priest laid his hands on the scapegoat and confessed onto it the sins of the children of Israel. The goat was then let go into the wilderness, signifying that it bore Israel’s sins away from them into an uninhabited place.

That scapegoat represents for us Jesus our Messiah bearing away our sins in his own body. He carried them so that we would be free from them.

The above verse in Isaiah relates that Jesus not only bore or carried our sins but also bore or carried our sicknesses and our pains. The Hebrew word for grief is choli and is elsewhere in the Old Testament translated sickness. The Hebrew word for sorrows is makob and is elsewhere in the Old Testament translated pains.

As surely as Jesus bore our sins He likewise bore our sicknesses and pains. He took our sicknesses and diseases upon Himself and carried them away from us. He carried all of our sins upon Himself so that we could be legally free from them. Jesus was our scapegoat. He legally carried all of our sin and all of our sicknesses and diseases upon Himself so that we could enjoy forgiveness and health.

Meditate much on the above scriptures. They form the foundation for faith in healing through Jesus’ sacrifice. He forgives all of our iniquities and heals all of our diseases. As surely as He bore our sins He bore our sicknesses. As surely as He forgives sin He heals our sickness and disease. Surely we should be as free from sickness as we are from sin. I’m sure!

Learned Contentment

No, I have learned in whatever condition I am, to be independent of circumstances. I am schooled to bear the depths of poverty, and I am schooled to bear abundance. In life as a whole, and all its circumstances, I have mastered the secret of living – how to be the same amidst repletion and starvation, amidst abundance and privation. I am equal to every lot through the help of Him who gives me inward strength (Philippians 4:11 – A.S. Way Translation).

Spiritual Maturity enables us to endure any situation with confidence. The Lord wants us to get to the place that nothing moves us. He wants us to be able to be the same during times of prosperity and poverty; during times of great victory, and in times of tremendous duress.

Spiritual maturity means that we are not affected by outward things, but are only moved by the internal standard of God’s Word and His unwavering love.

The more we are moved by circumstances, the less we are influenced by the Word of God. When our spirits gain the ascendancy in our lives, circumstances have less and less affect upon us.

Years ago, Smith Wigglesworth used to say I’m not moved by what I see. I’m not moved by what I feel. I’m moved only by what I believe.

Start now to act on God’s Word throughout your day. Decide to be a doer of the Word in every circumstance.In the office setting, at home with the kids, with the obstinate person in traffic, or alone with your own thoughts; decide to put God’s Word first place in your life.

One day you’ll become independent of circumstances. God will be able to use you in the most difficult situations, because He can trust you to stand strong and not waver.

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).

Diligence

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

We have one chance to leave a mark in this life. This verse challenged and changed me when I was 18. I inherited my hard work ethic from my father, but this verse became the under girding force for diligence in my spiritual life. Nothing can take the place of diligence. The effort we put in to anything determines the results we gain, naturally and spiritually.

Fruit for the kingdom of God in our lives is determined by what degree we act on the Word; some thirty, some sixty, and some act one hundred percent of the time on the Word (See Mark 4). Why stand for mediocrity when we can go for the BEST? We are to press toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

It’s not the smartest people who succeed in life. It’s those who choose their God given path and apply themselves every day. Don’t cry over failure and over the break in life you never got. Take what life brings, find God’s plan, then give yourself to it every day. Don’t look back. Keep looking forward. If you stumble, get up and start again.

The tortoise won the race, not because he was strongest and fastest, but because he was more persistent than the hare. You’ll succeed, not because of your mental acumen, but because of the sweat you apply to the leading of God. It’s daily diligence that triumphs over genius.

The following scriptures have been my friends for years. I urge you to make them yours too.

He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich (Pr. 10:4). Work hard and become a leader. Be Lazy and never succeed (Living – Pr. 12:24). The soul of the lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich (Pr. 13:4). He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves oil and wine will not be rich (Pr. 21:17). The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor (Pr. 21:25). Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean [unknown] men (Proverbs 22:29). Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord (Romans 12:11).

Give every day your absolute best.

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).

Kenosis

Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [ possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:5-9 –Amplified).

This is called the kenosis of Christ, from the Greek word for emptied. Jesus was a king, but laid down His kingly position momentarily for 33 years. As God, He wrapped Himself in a body that He Himself created for man. Having dominion, power, authority, majesty, and control of the universe; He laid it all aside for you and me. He emptied Himself of all positional privilege as the Son of God and lived just like us. He faced every temptation known to man without yielding. He fully submitted His human will to the will of His Father.

As a result, He now holds the highest position in the universe. Every being will one day bow to His Kingship in hell, on earth, and in heaven! He is the representative new creation man.

We are to have the same purpose, mind and attitude that Jesus exemplified. We are likewise called to empty ourselves of the desire for our own way, to be seen and heard, of pride, self-centeredness, and self-will. Jesus gave each of us the call to take up our cross daily. A cross is a place where flesh dies; where the will of God meets my selfish desires and I choose to lay them down out of love for Him.

The seed that dies bears fruit. The barren becomes fruitful. The un-surrendered life is barren and cold. The surrendered, self-emptied life is filled with joy, peace, and the fruits of right standing with God.

Each day we must make a choice to have the same attitude, purpose, and mind that Jesus had. We must be willing to empty ourselves the way He did. Our own personal kenosis. Taking up our cross. Purposing to please the Father rather than gratify the flesh.

A glass that is not emptied cannot be refilled. Running water gravitates to the lowest places. Rivers of living water are waiting for the self-emptied cup; for the lowest spots to fill. Kenosis. Let it be your mindset today!

The Furnace

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction (Isaiah 48:10).

God does not test us with sickness, poverty, calamity, etc., but He will lead us into places that give us an opportunity to exercise our spiritual muscles! Even Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Yes, the Spirit led Him into a place of difficulty.

Sometimes God will lead us into an impossible circumstance and we wonder why. Kenneth Hagin used to tell us students that hard places are God’s method of taking us into deeper places in Him.

My former pastor Bob Yandian tells of working as a young person at a place that made steel pipes for the oil industry. He said all of the pipes looked perfect as they lay in a row together after the manufacturing process. Hoses were attached to the ends of each pipe and the pipes were then filled with high pressure steam. When the PSI (pounds per square inch) reached several thousand pounds, some of the seemingly perfect pipes developed pin hole size leaks. The pipes would have failed in service after installation had the leaks not been detected!

We think all is well and we’re ready for the pressures of ministry and of life until we go through a situation that produces pressure. I’ve learned to welcome the hard place. The pressure reveals the pin hole size character issues previously undetected. Better now than later when in the middle of a call to service where the flaw may affect me and others in a much more negative way.

The toughest place may be the place where God ministers to you most! The pressure demands action! The circumstance produces soul searching!

As I look back on my own life, the hard places have yielded the fruit of holes being plugged in my pipes! I’m not sure that some things would have been dealt with within me without pressure. Some of the things that have dealt with in me during times of pressure include pride, self-pity, perfectionism, anger, impatience, etc! Use the hard place to your advantage.

A scripture that I’ve learned to appreciate over the years is the J.B. Phillips Translation of James 1:2-5.When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders but welcome them as friends. Realize that they come to test your faith and produce in you quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed and you will find that you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence.

Declaring the End from the Beginning

Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure, (Isaiah 46:9-10).

Faith is the eternal principle of receiving from God. All things are possible with God. All things are possible to him who believes. And the foundation of real Bible faith is to act as though you already have what you have asked from the Lord.

God declares the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done. He called Abraham the father of a multitude while he was childless. Jesus is called the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

To Joshua God said, I have given into your hands Jericho while the walls still stood. God called Gideon a mighty man of valor while he was still crouching in fear from the enemy! Before raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus looked up to His Father before His prayer was answered and said Father, I thank you that you have heard me. Jonah declared that He would enter God’s temple again while he was still in the belly of the whale (Jonah 2:4)!

God calls those things that are not seen as though they exist. And that’s what we must do to receive. Thank God for the healing while the pain rages in your body. Declare the financial need met while staring at great lack. Proclaim the problem solved, the mountain moved, the circumstance changed, the habit broken, the emotions calm, the wisdom granted, the prayer answered before you see the even the first manifestation. That’s faith.

Faith takes the place of what you don’t have until it shows up! In the face of grueling need, declare the end from the beginning. See yourself with it. Say what you believe you receive. Circumstances, sight, and feelings are not indicators of what God is doing. You can’t see with your ears, you can’t hear with your eyes, and you’re can’t detect faith and its results with feelings and circumstances!

Declare the end from the beginning today. God watches over His Word to perform it!

Forgotten

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

From my earliest memories, my life was plagued by a gnawing, ceaseless guilt. My obsessive mind just would not let me rest. Reminders of my failures were constant. Guilt is one of the greatest demotivators of human personality.

One of the major truths that brought me back to God in 1976 was when a friend told me that God was not mad at me because of my sin. Then he showed me 2 Corinthians 5: 19: That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (NIV). He told me that when I come to Jesus and repent, it is just as though I had never sinned. I was aghast!

I considered myself the black sheep of my family, and thought God was through with me. A spark of hope brought a glimmer of light to my dark world when I learned the dimensions of God’s mercy.

Here’s what I learned. 1 John 1:9 says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. To confess means to agree with, to acknowledge what I did wrong. I do one thing; God aggresses towards me by doing four things; He is faithful to me, just to me, forgives my sin, and cleanses me from all unrighteousness.

When God forgives, he completely forgets what I did. He retains no remembrance of my failure. It is as though I never did wrong! And there sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more (Hebrews 10:17). As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).

It’s amazing. God has no memory of sin confessed. It’s not even history. He literally blots it out. God lives in the eternal now. To God, past, present, and future are all NOW. If He can’t remember my sin, it’s as though it never existed! It’s not even a part of history!

The ball and chain of guilt have been removed from my life for many years now. And the personal and spiritual progress has been incredible. I am not the same person I was 30 years ago. Righteousness (the ability to stand before God as though you had never sinned) produces spiritual growth and the ability to change!

Let go of your past today through repentance and confession. Embrace God’s mercy. Remember, a righteous man fall seven times, and rises up again (Proverbs 24:16). Accept God’s forgiveness and get up!

Don't Resist God!

And Saul said, Who are You, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. It is dangerous and it will turn out badly for you to keep kicking against the goad [to offer vain and perilous resistance]. (Acts 9:5 - Amplified)

I was resisting God and did not know it. I pioneered a church in a small town in South Carolina in 1988. It was a difficult and arduous task for me at thirty years of age. I had left a staff position in a church of almost 5000 in Tulsa to pastor in a town with a population of 6000! Susan was pregnant with our third child. I was challenged in every way.

To survive, I dug my heels in the sand and set my jaw. I thought to myself, I’ll just do what the scripture in Isaiah says and set my face like a flint! I faced opposition in every way possible. As time went by, the church grew a bit, but I was never quite content with the whole thing inside. I believed God had led me there, but every day was a battle.

I picked up a Christian magazine and read of a missionary in a remote part of South America who was living in a mosquito infested jungle with no electricity or running water. Though life was difficult, he was having the time of his life. He had found his element. I wondered how he could be so happy while so deprived and living in substandard conditions. Here I was in small town America and had a normal life outwardly, yet I was so discontent. The contrast between this missionary and me troubled me.

After I read the Christian magazine, the verse from Acts started invading my thoughts on a regular basis. I asked the Lord, Are you telling me that I’m kicking against the goads? Am I resisting you? He answered me with a firm YES! I was shocked.

Here’s what I learned. When you are doing what God told you to do, there is peace and rest. Sometimes, He will lead you into a hard place, and then, when you conquer the test, He will change the assignment and move you on. I had so concentrated on resisting the hardness of living that I missed the dealing of God. He places in us desire for what He wants us to do (Psalm 37:4).

Listen to the desires that come from deep inside you. It may be the Lord pricking you to change. When you get uncomfortable with where you are and what you’re doing, it’s time to examine yourself. Father may be speaking. Don’t kick against the goad!

He is Faithful

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).

Years ago, I had just turned a church I had founded over to another pastor and was involved in a traveling ministry on the weekends. By the direction of the Lord I had started a paint and wallpaper business and it was doing very well.

But inside, I was unfulfilled and disheartened. I wanted so much to be full time in the ministry the Lord had for me. It was a hot summer day, and I was removing old paint from some really old exterior wood. Why was I here? Why was I not ministering life to people? Why waste my time like this?

A song by Steve Green came on the radio at that moment. He sang, He who began a good work in you, He who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it, He’ll be faithful to complete it, He who started the work will be faithful to complete it in you… I melted into a bucket of tears as the song described a person feeling forlorn and forsaken, consumed by the circumstances of life.

In the midst of my feelings of being alone and God seemingly not caring, at that moment as the song played I knew that things would eventually work out for good in my life. And while I was disappointed at my present plight, I knew that the Lord was working something deep into my life and that I would come through this hard place shining!

Now, years later, I can see how the Lord was changing me deep inside as I pushed through that hard place. You may feel today that nothing is working out like you thought it would in your life. You may feel that God is not fair, and that you don’t deserve to be in the place you’re in.

Resist the thoughts and ignore the feelings. He is faithful. You will come through this ordeal, and you’ll be stronger in God, and you’ll be able to identify with those who are in the hard place.

When you commit your way to the Lord, He has a way of causing everything that occurs to work into a pattern for good in your life. Never give up and succumb to self-pity, doubt, and fear. Refuse to be ruled by oppressive thoughts of defeat and failure. Force yourself to praise God and give thanks. Remember that clouds only temporarily obscure the rays of the sun. Choose walk by faith and not by feelings! He will complete the good work He started in you!

He Knows Me

O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether (Psalm 139: 1-4).

These verses amaze me. Here is a Person who knows everything about me that could possibly be known. He knows every fleeting thought, every faint motive of my heart, every desire, every word, every action. Everything. And still He loves me and is committed to my care.

One Bible expositor said you could translate this verse, Lord you have x-rayed me. Today we could say, Lord you have “MRI’d” me. God doesn’t see me from the outside in or from the top of my head down; He sees me from the inside out. At first, this is quite unsettling to know. Nothing can be hidden. Then, as you get to know Him, it becomes a freedom that delivers you from fear. From fear of others, fear of yourself, fear of your past, fear of really knowing the truth. Without God, self-revelation could be a frightening thing. Some people refuse to face themselves with truth.

This being called God, who is love, who knows everything that can be known about me and still loves me, is absolutely the most wonderful person I have ever met. He is the most real, the most encouraging, the most patient, the most understanding, and the most motivating person I will ever know.

His unconditional love melts me. His love is not based on me and my performance, but on Him and on His character. All at the same time He can make me feel so loved and accepted, yet so challenged to change and move away from the negative elements of my existence.

I have found a place in Him where I can pour out my all, the good and the bad, and know that He understands, and will lead me away from harm. I can commit everything to Him; my past, my present, and my future. His all wisdom absorbs my pain, my fear, my lack, my need, my weakness, and replaces it with His stability and calmness.

I encourage you to come to know Him through His Word and by His Holy Spirit. Open your inner being to Him. Tell Him everything about yourself. Give yourself unreservedly to Him. He is not like any person you have or will ever meet. And let Him show you true freedom. He’s waiting for you to open the door and let Him in today.

Walk in the Spirit

But I say, through the instrumentality of the spirit habitually order your manner of life, and you will in no wise execute the passionate desire of the evil nature, for the evil nature constantly has a strong desire to suppress the spirit, and the spirit constantly has a strong desire to suppress the evil nature. And these are entrenched in an attitude of mutual opposition to one another so that you may not do the things that you desire to do (Galatians 5:16 – Wuest Translation).

There’s a fight daily between the flesh and spirit. We allow habits from our before Christ days that hinder our walk with God. This verse gives a key to overcoming fleshly tendencies.

You don’t overcome a habit by fighting the habit. The more you think about it, the stronger it seems to get. You overcome a negative trait by replacing it. Walking in the spirit keeps us from fulfilling the desires of the flesh.

Walking in the spirit means allowing your human spirit to control your moment by moment conduct. Walking in the spirit is not some ethereal life where your feet aren’t touching the ground. Walking in the spirit is walking in the Word.

Being a doer of the Word puts the spirit, your human spirit, in charge of your life. If you have a habit entrenched in your flesh let me give you some practical encouragement on how curb it.

Habits are overcome a step at a time. The first step is to recognize the problem. Many times we just let things slip by because these habits are so familiar and frequent. When the light of the Word comes, conviction comes.

Secondly, find scripture, portions of the Word that directly challenge the behavior, and meditate on it. Thirdly, repent every time you fall into this habit. Tell the Lord you’ve repented and then ask forgiveness again for violating your heart’s desires.

Lastly, follow through day after day with recognizing and repenting after yielding to the offensive habit. Entrenched habits take time to expel, but it’s worth the effort. Before long, your spirit will win the fight if you just don’t quit! Walking in the spirit, that is, walking in the Word is the key to overcoming every resistance the flesh offers!

Conformed

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29).

Once we’re born again, God wants us to be conformed to the image of His Son. This word conformed is the Greek word ‎summorphoo‎, which means to bring to the same form with. The root of this word is morphe which means an outward expression of an inward essence or nature.

In the New Birth, our spirits are made new creatures in Christ. Old things pass away; all things become new. And what should take place is that what has been placed on the inside should begin to show up in our daily behavior. Years ago we sang a song, “I’ve got something on the inside working on the outside…” That’s the idea here.

Paul prayed for the Galatians believers, My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you (Galatians 4:19). This word formed in this verse is the Greek word morphe which again means an outward expression of an inner nature. He was praying that the New Birth experience would begin to show up on the outside in the daily lives of these believers.

Paul travailed in prayer for these believers. Travail is intense prayer. It denotes agony and tears much like a woman giving birth to a child. So instead of complaining about the lack of Christ likeness we may see in others, we should pray as Paul did that Christ may be formed in them.

All of us are the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus. What’s on the inside is rising up to be seen on the outside! Let’s pray for each other today that this process would be completed. We’re morphing!

An Established Heart

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 a 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.

Psalm 112 -NLT
Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands.(2)Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.(3 They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever.(4)Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.(5)Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly.(6)Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered.(7)They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.(8)They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly.(9)They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor.(10)The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.

Develop Your Faith

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)

When we are born again, God places in us a measure of faith. Jesus told us to have faith in God (Mark 11:22). The Greek there in Mark actually says have the faith of God. God has given us the same kind of faith that He has; a measure of it. He expects us to take the faith He gave us and develop it so that it produce more and more fruit!

Our faith is what overcomes the daily challenges that life brings. Until Jesus returns or we leave this planet in physical death, we will always need to exercise faith to receive from God and stand against Satan’s attacks.

Your faith is like your muscles. You have all the muscle you will ever have in your body when you’re born, but as you grow, they develop stronger and stronger. A baby has to crawl before it can walk because muscles all over the baby’s body have to mature and develop to be able to support and balance its’ body.

Similarly, faith grows a little at a time. Faith comes by meditating on the Word of God, but your faith muscles only become strong when exercised against the problems of life.

Too many believers don’t exercise their faith enough for it to be strong and then find themselves greatly disadvantaged when difficulties arise. Often their faith is overwhelmed by the challenge. This does not have to happen.

Start now to exercise your faith in small things. Believe for your lunch money this week. Believe for the headache to leave without pain medication. Believe for the upset stomach to be healed without intervention. Believe for a parking place when you coming into a full parking lot! Look for small ways to exercise your faith, and before you know it, you’ll be able to believe for big things!

Be prepared when a 500 pound problem comes by starting to lift small 10 pound problems with your faith. You or someone you love will be glad you took the time to develop strong spiritual faith muscles when acute challenges land at your door. Be ready.