The Lord My Shepherd

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

The Lord My Shepherd

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

 

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

  

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

  

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

 

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

 

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

  

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

  

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

 

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

  

His goodness and mercy are extended to us every day of our lives. His mercies are new every morning! Blessing chases us every day! Allow the Lord to be your shepherd today. Listen for His voice. Watch for the guidance He brings through His Word to you. Expect Him to nurture you and care for you spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically. He is a good shepherd!

 

   

No Fear

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

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

  

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

 

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

  

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

 

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

  

The Life Changing Word

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

  

The Word contains God’s very life and nature. Feeding on the Word is not like reading Shakespeare or classic literature. These contain no power to change. But God’s Word is the power of God unto salvation for spirit, soul, and body (Romans 1:16-17).

 

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

 

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

 

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

  

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

 

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

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

  

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

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

Pray in the Spirit!

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

  

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

 

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

Spirit Power

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Praise is Powerful

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

  

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

 

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

 

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

  

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

  

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

 

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

Don't Get Too Busy

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 Bible) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

 

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

 

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

 

We’re to live in the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. This frees us from the law of sin and death. Just as the laws of aerodynamics and the laws of lift and thrust work together to override the effects of the law of gravity; causing a large aircraft weighing hundreds of tons to sail into the air, so the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus will free us from the habits and weights that keep us from God’s highest and best.

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

If you decide to put God first in your day, Satan can’t attack you with busy! You’ve already prepared yourself for anything that comes that day by being strengthened in His presence.

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

 

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

The Meditations of My Heart

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

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

 

The Father wants us to think and ponder things that will cause us to flow with His purposes to bless us with the best He has in this life. The words be acceptable in the above text are from the Hebrew word ratsown and means to delight or to satisfy. It delights the Father when our inward meditations agree with Him! And here’s why.

  

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

  

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

 

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

  

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

 

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

You Become What You Think

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

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

Jesus said in Matthew 12:35, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. A good man manifests in his lifestyle what he meditates on within, and likewise  the meditations of an evil man manifests in his lifestyle.

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

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

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

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

Make not your thoughts your prison (Anonymous).

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

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

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

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

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

victory over you…I come across people everywhere I go who are held bound by deceptive conditions and these conditions have come about simply because they have allowed the devil to make their minds the place of his

stronghold (Smith Wigglesworth).

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

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

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

 Guard your thought life today!

    

Spirit, Soul, and Body

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

   

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

    

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

    

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

    

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

    

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

    

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

    

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

   

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

   

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

The Battlefield of the Mind

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

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

  

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

  

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

  

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

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

    

The Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Word

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

  

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

 

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

  

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

  

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

  

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

Free from Deception

In our postmodern culture, we have the same personal ideology as the culture in Israel during the time of the Judges. Every person did what was right in his own eyes.

  

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

    

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

  

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

  

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

   

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

  

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

  

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

  

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

   

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

  

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

Enter Your Closet

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

  

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

 

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

  

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

  

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

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

 

 Psalm 139:1-18 (God’s Word Translation)

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

Finding Intimacy

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

 

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

  

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

  

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

  

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

 

The next step to rich fellowship with the Father is to force yourself to go there! Go to a private place and begin to share your heart secrets with Him. Tell Him everything; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Hold nothing from Him. At first, this is uncomfortable if your experiences have caused you to hold yourself back from others. But you’ll find that the moment you get real with the Father, His love and joy will rise up in you by the Holy Spirit. This is the beginning of your close communion and fellowship with Him.

  

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

  

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Maintaining Fellowship

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

   

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

 

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

 

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

Called to Fellowship

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

 

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

  

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

  

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

  

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

Be a Doer of the Word

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

  

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

  

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

  

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

 

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

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

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

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

  

Act on the Word in 2012

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

  

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

   

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

   

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

  

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

  

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

  

Being a doer of the Word will has a calming effect on the mind. You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3). The Father has given us a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). When the negative report comes, the person who acts on the Word immediately balances the report with what the Word says about them and then speaks the Word out loud to defeat the negative thoughts.

  

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