Happy Days

Psalm 146: 5              Good News Bible

Happy are those who have the God of Jacob to help them and who depend on the Lord their God.

This passage reminded me of the post, Fingerprints. How happy are those who have God looking after them. I count my blessings. The story about my storage unit is only one of the recent miraculous deeds Father has worked out for me. Some of the things He does are big things. Some are small. For example, He worked out every minute of my schedule one day so that I “accidentally” ran into two different people I needed to see. Living in those moments was crazy because one minute either way would have made a difference in each of those situations. It was amazing being in God’s hands and watching things unfold. Truly, it was one of those, “You had to be there,” moments. It was obvious Father was orchestrating my day. Just wonderful!

With the storage unit, He was looking out for me without my knowing what was going on. He was on His own taking care of my details. I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am to our Father for the myriad of little things He does, some of which I probably never even realize.

Do I depend on the Lord my God? Increasingly so. Don’t you see how the directive to pray without ceasing is a simple operational procedure. I would never teach this as a burdensome thing. It is not a command to perform a ritualistic service. Instead, it is more akin to breathing. Breathing is automatic. You don’t have to think about it, plan it, be in just the right place, with the right tools. It is a part of everything you do all day and all night. Prayer will likely never be run by our autonomic nervous system, but I do believe it can approach that level of incorporation. We can become people of prayer such that we live in a prayer state and I believe we can do this without becoming weird. Yet, one of the greatest joys of life is that even without this continual prayer walk, Father is on the job looking to the details He knows we care about even when we don’t know there is a matter which needs prayer.

Ivey Ministries is dedicated to the idea that we can live lives intertwined with the Holy One. Part of that is that we might receive a revelation of how we can be plugged into communion with the Father at all times as was Jesus. Happy days, indeed, are ahead for those who depend on Yahweh and who have the God of Jacob helping them.

Ransom Me

Isaiah 50: 2

Is My hand so short it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver?

Don’t you love the passages where God just comes right out and speaks. In this verse He doesn’t just speak through the prophet Isaiah, He just shouts out His thoughts. It must be an important, emphatic message.

As we consider the words of this verse we may contemplate a wide range of situations in which this would be God’s communique to us. What is He saying here? Does something shout to you? What are you involved in right now that you would love to have God deliver you from? What is there in your life, right now, that if you spoke to God face to face you would say, “Father, rescue me from this and just take care of it for me?” Think about that situation and hear the Father ask you, “Is My hand so short it cannot ransom?” Immediately you think, “No, you are able to reach me.”

The point is that God wants us to think of Him in all the uncomfortable and even miserable life situations that occur. So often we do not even consider Him as our redeemer and our help. He is left in the background of our lives when He wants to be an integral part. Even on Sunday, we forget to talk to Him about that circumstance that is causing us stress and even robbing us of sleep.

God is saying to each of us today, “I have the power to deliver you.” No matter what the situation you are facing involves, He is well able to help you and I can promise you He is also willing. If God could have His way, we would live stress free lives. Sure, there is trouble in this world but Jesus said that is the very reason he was sending us the Holy Spirit whom he called “the helper.” These heavy burdens are not for us. They are for the three persons of the Trinity. Give them a call today. They want to hear from you.

The Spirit

John 7: 39

But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
But now the Son of God is glorified and seated at the right hand of God. Now the Spirit is a gift to all those who believe in the Son. The Old Testament people met God though they knew very little about the coming Messiah. They only knew that He was promised. In the New Testament, we meet Jesus, the Messiah; the once promised, now come Son of God. Jesus then told about the promise of the Holy Spirit. He even said that it was to our advantage that He go away so that He could send us the “Helper” (John 16: 7). There were many who did not recognize the promised Messiah once he came. Let us not miss the promise that has come in our age, the promised Holy Spirit. He is our helper and our teacher and we really need His help. Call upon Him just as you would our Father and our Lord Jesus to help you in a time of need. Let Him lead you and guide you into all knowledge. He is your constant help in a time of need. Call Him.

The Promise

Numbers 11: 16 – 17

The Lord therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, who you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you , and will put Him upon them.

This “Spirit” spoken of is the Holy Spirit of God. God reveals to us in this passage that His spirit was “on” Moses. That is a powerful revelation for anyone who has ears to hear. 

Moses did gather the seventy elders and God did put His Holy Spirit on them too so that they could help shoulder the burden of caring for the Israelites. When God put His Spirit on them, the Bible tells us that they began to prophesy (v. 25). That is the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is the same spirit which was spoken of in Acts 2. God promised in Joel 2: 28 that He would pour out His Spirit on all mankind. This outpouring was a monumental occurrence, the fulfillment of a long awaited promise. In fact, if you study all the verses which speak about the Holy Spirit you will see numerous references to the promise of his coming. Then in Acts 2 we get to witness the outpouring of the Spirit. 

In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came “upon” people as was the case with Moses and the seventy elders. This resting of the Holy Spirit upon people gave them tremendous ability and power. Jesus told the disciples that when he left he was going to send the Holy Spirit (John 16: 7). He also told them that the Holy Spirit was coming to live IN them (John 14: 17). 

This is a new dispensation, if you will. We are talking about the same Holy Spirit which brooded over the waters in Genesis 1: 2. However, a new thing was happening. Jesus was sending the Holy Spirit into the world to stay. Not only that, but importantly, the Holy Spirit was sent to us individually rather than collectively. That is an important distinction. The Holy Spirit was with the nation of Israel as they sojourned to Canaan but He did not live “in” them. Jesus has now sent the Holy Spirit to each of us, to live in us and to be our constant companion. He said the Holy Spirit would be to each of us a go along, a teacher, a guide and a helper (John 16: 7, 13, John 14: 26).

Certainly there is an aspect of our own responsibility. We must each receive the Holy Spirit personally. He is not going to set up house within you without your permission. However, when you invite Him in, the power, authority and ability that was with Moses comes and takes up abode IN you. You become the vessel, the carrier of the power of God. This power and authority does not just rest on you and then remove Himself, He is with you and in you all the time. That is a much better arrangement than the Old Testament saints had.

I invite you to meditate on today’s verse and ponder the role of the Holy Spirit in today’s world but most importantly, in your own life. I pray that the Spirit who was upon Moses will come rest in you and with you today.