Hideaway

On November 18, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 1: 33

But he who listens to me shall live securely and shall be at ease from the dread of evil.

There has been little security for many people over the last many years. Wars, Covid, threats, political unrest and economic hardship have caused people all over the world to lose their sense of wellbeing and safety. Suicide rates are climbing. People are desperate. Fortunately, we do still have a safe place to hide, our own refuge. We can live safely and with the feeling of security because we have a God who is bigger than all of the trouble the devil dishes out.

You see, as the verse says, if we listen to Him, He will lead us to a place of protection. He will give us the ideas and answers we need in order to live securely, both physically and emotionally. You shouldn’t have to live in dread and worry. Your Father has provided a safe haven for you, but His security is only for those who believe Him and listen to Him. The Good News is, that is only a decision away. You may have been a Christian all of your life but have never quite gotten out of the boat yet and walked by faith. Well, today is your day. Set your mind on Him, completely on Him. Let His word instruct and guide you. Let Him fill you, all of the parts of you, even those places you have walled off before. Those walls are only keeping you handicapped anyway. Now put Him and His word first place in your life allowing Him to flood you with the peace and security. Choose to believe that He is protecting you and call on that protection. Ask Him to surround you, your family and friends, and your properties with His angels. Don’t give in to fear any longer but rather live in the security and peace of mind that comes from living to Him and listening to His instruction. Be free of fear. Be secure in His name and blood.

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Favorable Conditions

On November 11, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Exodus 3: 21; 12: 35 – 36, Psalm 105: 37

And I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty handed (Exodus 3: 21). Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus, they plundered the Egyptians (Exodus 12: 35-36). Then He brought them out with silver and gold (Psalm 105: 37).

I am showing you these three verses to demonstrate just how separate your finances are from those of the world and why you should not connect your fortunes to those of the world.

The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. Yet the time came for them to leave and God sent Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. Being slaves, though, they had not accumulated for themselves wealth. None the less, God promised them that when they left Egypt, they would take the wealth of Egypt with them. Sure enough, when they left Egypt, they took silver, gold, articles of clothing and jewelry and large herds of livestock with them.

How did they go from slaves one day to wealthy the next? It was the favor of God. Exodus 12 says that God gave them favor in the eyes of the Egyptians. This was a big deal. Can you imagine giving all of your wealth to your slaves? It wasn’t enough that the Egyptians lost all their slaves but also the slaves left with immense wealth.

We have so much in common with those ancient Israelites. We too have been enslaved. We have been slaves to a world economic system that has broken our backs. But like the Israelites, God has ordered us to be freed. What I really want you to see is that when economics failed the Egyptians, the Israelites were improved. The Israelites were not tied to the economy of the Egyptians. When the Egyptians were doing well, the Israelites certainly were not. So, a booming economy in the land of Egypt was not benefiting Israel even though the Israelites lived in Egypt. Are you seeing this? Then when God sent His people out of Egypt, they carried the wealth of Egypt out with them. You see, when the world’s economy is failing, you do not have to fail with it. God has separated you out. Further, I really believe you should arise and succeed in such times even as the Israelites fared well while Egypt was emptying itself.

When Egypt was enjoying great wealth, it was really wealth that was created by the Israelites. The wealth of the land was tied to the labor of the Israelites. Then there was a realignment. The wealth of Egypt became the prosperity of Israel. Well, in the same way that the Father was looking after the Israelites, He has been watching over you. He has wealth stored up for you. Don’t look at what is happening in the world’s economy unless that is the system that you want to be a part of. Look to God who has been laying up treasure for you all along. He has unlimited resources with which to bless you. Don’t watch the evening news and expect to hear anything that relates to you and your condition. Just because you live in Egypt does not mean that you are a part of Egypt’s system. I tell you that you are not. Your news broadcast is called “The Good News” and it is broadcast everyday, all day between Genesis and Revelation. If you want to know what is happening in your economy, then you’ve got to read the book. God is telling you what to expect and believe me, it is the Good News Report. Hallelujah! When the world system fails, look to heaven because maybe, just maybe, it is about to rain manna from heaven for you just like it did for the Israelites.

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Moving Up

On November 4, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 3: 11 – 12

My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof, for who the Lord loves, He reproves, even as a father, the son in whom he delights.

No one loves discipline, few want to even hear about it, but you may have reason for concern if God does not correct you from time to time. If you never receive reproof or correction from the Lord, then you could be ignoring His direction. Worry more about not receiving correction than having to endure discipline because he who the Lord loves, He disciplines.

It is for our benefit that He corrects us. He wants us to live the best life, and the best is that lived through and by Him. The book of Hebrews says it this way, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” Hebrews 12: 11.

Few people want to receive discipline but the wise know that it is to their benefit and even consider it a compliment that God loves them enough to correct them.

God wants you to have a good life and moreover, He wants you to attain to an even higher life once you leave earth. So, He keeps leading you in paths that will take you to that higher life both here and afterwards. If He has to instruct, correct and discipline you then it is just because His love for you requires it. He doesn’t want you wandering around lost nor does He want you behaving in ways that lead you away from His awesome plans for you. Listen for the correction of the Lord so that you will become the person He has designed you to be. He will use preachers’ voices to minister correction to you but very often He uses His Word, The Bible, to discipline and instruct. He will also speak to you himself but when you have become accomplished at ignoring His discipline, He usually has to use a human voice to get your attention. Therefore, don’t ignore what the Spirit of the Lord is saying through scripture and ministers of the gospel. And yes, this does mean you. God is trying to get a good word to you because He loves you and wants to bless you. He can’t bless you where you are right now so stop ignoring Him and listen to the voice of correction. Follow His instructions because they lead to a great place.

You know Yahweh loves you. You know Jesus’ burden is light. Further, there is nothing Father instructs you to do that He will not also help you with. Embrace instruction and move up to the next level.

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Hope

On October 28, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 10: 23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

Hope is the beginning of faith. Without hope, one will not even look forward to the promise. But we can have great hope and hence great faith because the one who has made promises to us is more than faithful. He is honest and true without the ability to lie. And as we think of Him, our hope grows. We can feed that hope with the Word of God too, and it is just like applying fertilizer and water to a young plant. That Word causes our faith to grow the same as fertilizer and water cause the plant to grow. Our faith then develops and when it reaches maturity, it produces a crop. But it all begins with hope like a small seed faithfully sown.

We are to hold our confession of hope without wavering which means we keep speaking the word of hope and then the word of faith even when we cannot yet see the offshoot of the seed. We hold onto our belief that the seed will produce a plant whether or not we see the evidence of that plant. The evidence is our faith because our confidence is in He who promised. We keep our words (our confession) aligned with our hope and His promise despite any evidence. Then, when the proper time is come, the seed gives forth the plant which then gives forth the fruit.

Keep your hope and keep your faith. Fear not. Trust He who is faithful and worthy of our trust. Don’t dig up your seed with contradictory language, rather keep your confession consistent with His promise for in due time you will reap if you don’t grow weary.

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Be Encouraged

On October 21, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Thessalonians 3: 2

. . . and we sent Timothy, our bother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith.

Several times I received the high compliment that I am an encourager. It really blessed me for people to tell me that because I really like to encourage folks. If I am indeed an encourager, then this passage shows why. God has sent me and others to be encouragement. He wants to encourage His people. Now, sometimes God has to teach us and sometimes He even must reprove us at times, but underlying it all is His great hope that we receive instruction and improve our situations. He wants to give hope and encouragement and then instruct us in the way to go in order to have those hopes realized. If He gets on you sometimes, don’t take it hard. Just understand that He is showing you things that you help you move towards His great desire for a better life for you.

In Jeremiah 19: 11 God said, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God has really great plans for you. He has plans to prosper you and to give you a good and glorious future. His plans for you are pleasing, full of love and full of His glory. He has so much goodness that He wants to rain into your life. Never give up! Never, ever quit! God has a plan for a good future for you and you need to set your mind on that plan of His and ignore this present uncomfortableness. I know some days are tough but, it will surely pass and you will get on to the better things.

Be encouraged today because your Father loves you and wants great things for you.

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Cleansing the Temple

On October 14, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 21: 12 – 13

And Jesus entered the temple and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers den.”

Some Bibles have topical headings describing the passages. Mine is one of those and this passage is headed by the title, Cleansing the Temple. This is a familiar passage, but I want you to read it with new eyes, as if you have never heard this story before.

My first question to you is this. Jesus had been to the temple many times before and He had never upset the cart, so to speak, before. Why this time? The second question is, why did He do it at all? The conduct of commerce at the temple was not an uncommon situation. He, His disciples and everyone in Jerusalem were accustomed to seeing trade going on at the temple.

The reason this passage is so important is because of 1 Corinthians 3: 16- 17, 1 Corinthians 6: 19 and 2 Corinthians 6: 16 all of which tell us that we have become the Temple of God. Jesus’ storming of the temple in Jerusalem happened immediately upon His triumphal entry into the city on a young, donkey colt. The crowds shouted, “Hosanna” as He entered and threw their cloaks and tree cuttings on the road so that not even the hooves of His colt would touch the ground. This entry into Jerusalem marked the end of the journey for Jesus. He would never leave. When He left for Jerusalem, He went with the intention of sacrificing Himself for our sins. He knew that He was about to be offered up as the sin offering for all mankind.

Jesus cleansed the building that was used as the Old Testament temple as He entered the city and He cleansed the temple of the New Testament, you and I, as He left, “For we are the temple of the living God, (2 Cor. 6: 16). Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross cleansed all of us for all time and now the Father, Son and Holy Spirit come and make their abode in us. You are now that house of prayer of which Jesus spoke. You are the living temple of Christ. We are the reason that Jesus made a message out of a spectacle. He proclaimed us clean and entrusts us to maintain the temple until his next coming.

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Be the Tree

On October 7, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Jeremiah 17: 7 – 8

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For He will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.”

Compare Jeremiah 17: verses 5 & 6 to verses 7 & 8. What a difference. While they both use very picturesque speech, the picture they paint is quite disparate. In today’s passage we have the picture of a lovely green tree that is well watered and never fails to yield fruit. It does not fear the drought because it is secure. Nothing causes it anxiety or worry.

Now how would you like to be that tree? You see, the entire difference between being a bush planted out in the barren desert and being a well watered tree that bears fruit in season and out is in trusting the Lord. This is a choice that you can make, and God will honor. Isn’t that great? He has already laid the choice before you. He has even told you what the outcome is of each choice. I think He has made it pretty simple.

Will you believe that some people will actually choose to keep trusting a failing system that was the concoction of man when the choice has been laid out so clearly for them? I have a hard time understanding that, but it is true. I think what really happens is that the cares of the world choke them. When that happens, they take their eyes off of God and start looking around for some quick fix. Well, those quick fixes aren’t working, and they are what got our economy in such a big mess. We stopped running our finances the way we had been taught and we have suffered because of it. It is time for us to get back on God’s train and do things the way He has taught. And if you begin to feel choked by the pressures of the world, turn to the Word. It is the remedy. God has not left you orphans little children. He is longing to help you. What have you to lose by getting completely radical in your trust of Him?

Jeremiah 17 talks about being blessed or being under the curse. Let us choose blessing and trust God to make it so.

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