The Weaker Sex

On May 10, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Peter 3: 7

Husbands, in a similar way, live with your wives with understanding since they are weaker than you are.

Happy Weaker Sex Day!! I hope you laughed when you read that. I have to laugh. You certainly wouldn’t walk through my YMCA and come away with the idea that women are weak, even physically. I look around the classes and the women are fit and strong. I wouldn’t like to be the person who walked into our Y proclaiming that women should bow to men because women are weaker. The person who does that better workout every day because at any time there will be dozens of women who can demonstrate the fallacy of that statement.

I watch these women walking into the Y with one child on their hip, pushing another in a stroller and with two bags over their shoulders. It is truly amazing. Then they go into class and press an impressive amount of weight and just leave you speechless. And this isn’t the rare case. There are dozens of women who are strong physically as well as emotionally and mentally.

My friend, Ann Musico (author of Today is Still the Day), said recently that women are the ones who typically suffer from adrenal failure because they are so over-extended. Women take care of their children, husbands, parents, husband’s parents, and the home. Besides that, they work and volunteer at church and with civic organizations. They are the people volunteering to help with special events, committee work, prayer teams, the kids’ soccer league. It’s practically endless. In fact, I think sometimes women do too much and that is what Ann was eluding too. It can compromise one’s health. Then some idiot says, “See there, women are physically weak.”

We have all heard the “weaker sex” banter but by now all but the really obtuse realize that women are not the weaker gender. Some men can lift more weight than some women, but I would not even make a blanket statement that men are physically stronger than women, especially when it comes to leg strength. Physically, women’s endurance is phenomenal. I watch these mother’s work night and day taking care of everyone else and still make time to get in their workout. I really don’t know how they do it and it is exhausting to even think about.

The real point is that today’s verse was an admonition to honor women though it has been used to abuse them so, let’s make sure we get this right, once and for all. You only have to read a few translations to see what this verse was meant to say. I picked a translation today which got it wrong.  Others do a much better job with this verse.  Some, like the Complete Jewish Bible make the distinction about the physical strength disparity between men and women but, at the same time, minimizes it, “Although your wife may be weaker physically, you should respect her as a fellow-heir of the gift of Life. If you don’t, your prayers will be blocked.” The point which is made in all the versions is that husbands should honor their wives. The failure to do so will inhibit, even block their prayers. That is a huge deal, but we haven’t heard this verse taught this way very often. We hear a nauseatingly huge number of sermons about women being submissive to husbands though. Peter made it very clear that women are joint heirs. As joint heirs they should be treated equally, one translation says, or better still with honor. That is the point.

Women are strong. Don’t be fooled. And they are worthy of honor. And so, with that on my mind I say to all of you mothers, Happy Mother’s Day!!!

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Throne of Grace

On May 9, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 4: 16

Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.

God is sitting on the throne of grace. Did you know that? He is not sitting on the throne of judgment nor the throne of condemnation. No, His choice of thrones is the one of grace. That should set someone free right there. Glory!!

Additionally, we are invited, no, instructed, to draw unto that throne so that we may receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. I used to picture myself entering the throne room of God. But in re-reading this scripture I realize that we are not to draw near to the throne room but rather to the throne itself. I was often satisfied just entering the throne room when God has said, “Come on up to the throne where I am.” Are you getting a revelation of this? God wants us to draw nigh to Him so that He can extend His mercy and grace and so that He can help us with every challenge. That ought to radicalize your thinking. You ought to get a breakthrough just realizing at a greater level how sincerely and longingly He wants you to run into His arms like a little child so that He can help you with everything.

Do you know what the word “grace” actually means? It means “unmerited favor”. So God is saying to you, “Come receive my favor. Let us put my favor on you and on whatever situations you are facing.” He is trying to get you to go to Him with your needs. He wants to be your helper. Look, He could have chosen any throne He wanted but He chose to sit on the throne of unmerited favor so that He could bless you without you having to earn it. So, who will be the first to run into the throne room and up to that throne today? Will it be you?

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My Shepherd

On May 8, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 23        NLT

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Most of you know this psalm very well. Probably many of you have been able to recite it since you were children. It is so familiar, it’s almost invisible. I have sent you this version from the New Living Translation to shake up your thoughts about this psalm and to perhaps highlight something in it you have not seen before. Also notice how each verse holds a thought. You may even want to meditate on one verse per day for the next six days. I believe you will find new life in this old, familiar psalm.

David wrote this and being a shepherd himself, he understood the role of the shepherd. Therefore, he knew that the Lord’s job was to supply every need. Because we have the good shepherd looking after us, we should have a mindset like David’s, that is that God provides for all our needs. When you believe, you also receive.

There is rest and peace for us because of our shepherd. He takes the cares and worries off our shoulders, at least when we give them to him, so that we can lie in green pastures and beside tranquil streams and daydream. That’s our job. His is the worries, ours is the quiet, calm meditation.

I hope you enjoy this version of the twenty-third psalm. Post your comments telling us what your insight is today or your favorite part. Be blessed!

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Full Recovery

On May 7, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Samuel 30: 19

Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back.

The Jews have a ideal of peace which I hear ringing out through this verse. They call it “Shalom” and it is a very comprehensive idea, much fuller than our “Christian” idea of what peace encompasses.

The Jewish sense of peace is rich and complete. It has little to do with tranquility and calmness other than that those are the natural outcomes of fullness of peace. I have heard Shalom described as “nothing missing, nothing broken.” I absolutely love that. It blesses my soul and expands my thinking. And blessing really is the right word to be applied here because our Jewish brothers and sisters bless each other in greeting with, “Shalom.” Think of it, every time you are greeted by your Jewish kin they speak blessing over you. The blessing is, “For your life I speak nothing missing, nothing broken.”

The backstory to today’s verse is that the Amalekites invaded the territory of Judah, plundering its wealth and taking women and children as slaves. David’s wives were part of this plunder. Verse six tells us that “David found strength in the Lord his God” so he sought the Lord, our God, asking whether God was with him to go after these heathen Amalekites. The Lord answered, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!” (v. 7). So, David pursued them and recovered everything the enemy stole.

Do you see a parallel here with your own life? Has the enemy stolen from you? Then you, too, should seek the Lord and ask if God is with you. You know the answer in your head, but head knowledge is not what David sought when he inquired of the Lord. We, like David, must be convinced in our hearts that the Lord is with us and that He is our strong right arm, that He will fight our battles and return to us all the enemy stole.

God’s will for us is Shalom; nothing missing, nothing broken. That is the way He made us and that is the life He constructed for us. However, we have an enemy who has wasted our resources and stolen our prized possessions. We should go get what the enemy has stolen. We should make him return everything he has plundered. We would be foolish, besides unsuccessful, if we go upon this raid of the enemy’s camp without first beseeching the Lord. But that the Lord go with us, we should go not. There is no victory apart from the Lord.

God’s will is nothing missing, small or great. Be bold like David but be accompanied by the Lord or else stay home. Don’t let the enemy steal from you. Petition your Father. Hear His words and hearken to them. If He says, “Go,” then go, for He will be with you.

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The One Thing

On May 6, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 51: 11 – 12

Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.

I really had a hard time choosing which verse to send today. This psalm is good right from the beginning. You would really be blessed to read the psalm in its entirety. How could I not choose these two verses, though, especially verse eleven where David writes explicitly about the Holy Spirit.

There are many things which distinguish David from other Biblical personalities, but David’s most unique characteristic is that he knew about the Holy Spirit. There just isn’t much about the Spirit in the Old Testament and those who had a concept still had little experience. Of all the Old Testament writers David stands out for his walk in and with the Spirit. In fact, often I think he is a good example to us of walking with the Spirit.

We see from this passage that David was well aware of God’s presence with Him. He enjoyed an intimate fellowship with the Lord. Consider then the context of this psalm. It was written from a contrite heart seeking forgiveness for what others may have thought unpardonable. This psalm follows upon the heels of David’s affair with Bathsheba and all that entailed. Yet if you read the entire psalm, though contrite, there is evidence of David’s confidence in the Lord’s lovingkindness and His immense capacity for forgiveness. David may have thought his behavior warranted God casting David from His presence but his song and prayer indicate that he understood God’s mercy to be greater than any sin.

David didn’t have Paul to teach him about God’s grace. He didn’t hear Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Where did he learn these deep concepts? I surmise that David learned directly from the Holy Spirit. Though the Spirit had not yet been poured out, he was in the earth. We find in the Old Testament examples of the Spirit alighting on individuals with resultant power and ability manifested in their life. Then the Spirit would, apparently, lift and they would return to their normal abilities. When the Spirit would settle upon an individual they would perform extraordinarily.

David experienced this extraordinary empowerment too but what scintillates about David is the daily walk he enjoyed with the Spirit. There are at least several messages hovering here. I will suggest two, you choose what to ponder today.

The first message is obvious, I think. If people from the Old Testament were supernaturally empowered by the visitation of the Holy Spirit, how much more divine power have we with the Spirit living in us rather than just settling on us from time to time? The second idea is the evidence in this psalm that David had a working relationship with the Spirit of God. While others had little appreciable understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit, David was engrossed in a daily partnership with him. David importuned the Father to restrain from removing the Holy Spirit’s presence with him.

David’s hope was in living in the presence of the Father with the support of the Holy Spirit. Joy and sustenance were in those two elements. It’s really quite beautiful when you think about it. Likewise, for us joy, hope, sustained life and power are found in the presence of divinity. In the world, we strive, powerless against the sin wrought turmoil. In the Spirit, we have life abundantly. David found something, the very something our innermost being seeks. Our search ends in the presence of the Holy Spirit. David said, “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple,” (Psalm 27: 4), and he dedicated his life to doing just that. Let us adopt a similar purpose. Let us say with commitment, “One thing I ask, this I shall seek, to live all my days intertwined with the Holy Spirit.”

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Building Blocks

On May 3, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 11: 1          (KJV)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is the substance of those things you are praying for. Faith is something real. It is substantive. It is not just an idea or a concept. It isn’t just theology or a feeling. It is the substance, the actual matter, that becomes your answered prayer.

My dictionary defines substance as: the real or essential part or element of anything; essence, reality, or basic matter. You see faith isn’t ethereal. It is real even though it is not tangible. A thought is real, as is a word. You cannot reach out and touch them with your fingers, but they still are real and have real world consequences. Some have said that we are the sum of our thoughts. That is a powerful statement whether or not it is true. Certainly, our thoughts greatly influence our lives. And by now we all know that our words have power. And although they are not palpable, they undoubtedly affect the substance of our lives. So it is with faith. Although we cannot bottle it, it is a crucial element in our answered prayers.

Faith is the very essence of the things you want or need. And although you will not find it listed in the periodic table it is the element which God uses to form your answers. Cast your mind back to High School Chemistry and imagine, if you will, a periodic table of spiritual elements rather than physical elements. Faith would be right up there. Maybe its symbol is Fa. Looking at the table we find that faith is the key building block for all things spiritual just as the physical elements are to the things of the physical realm. In order for us to operate in the spiritual realm we must first grasp this concept that faith is substance. It is something real. It is something perceptible, if not tangible.

The next premise we must understand is that faith is the substance, the essential building block of the things we are hoping for. So, stop right here. What are you hoping for? For what are you praying? Now picture a child’s building blocks. Instead of the letters of the alphabet these blocks have their spiritual symbols on them. You look there on the rug where are scattered all the building blocks and you see a block with Fa on it. You grab it. Perhaps you can find more Fa upon them. You collect all that you can muster and you build the first level of your edifice. As you look you see other blocks there with symbols on them. Maybe there is P. You reason, “That has got to be prayer.” Another one has Co for confession, another W for the Word. As you look you see more and more essential spiritual elements, the building blocks of a spiritual reality. You gather them, stacking them one atop the others until you have constructed something magnificent. Then you realize that it was all rather easy and fun once you realized the blocks were there and that they were for you. It is though the building blocks were in your toy chest all along, but you didn’t know they were there or you didn’t realize what they were for. Now you know, though, and armed with new information you can begin to build anything you need or want.

There is one more premise you need to understand though. Everything that exists in the physical realm first came into being in the spiritual realm. Everything you can see, touch, taste, etc. first existed in the realm of the spirit. Before the earth existed, before even the sun or the moon, God had an idea, a thought, a vision. He then created in the physical that which existed first in His spirit. Every creation of humankind was first birthed in the spirit of a person. The spiritual realm is the realm of creation. The physical realm is the realm of fabrication. Therefore, before you manifest anything in the physical realm, you must first perceive and create it in the spiritual realm. Now that you have your spiritual building blocks this will be child’s play for you.

So, we have today, opened the toy chest and let the wonder of God’s creation flow out. Perhaps you will identify some other spiritual building blocks other than the ones I mentioned and can write me telling me their spiritual symbols. As you begin construction, though, remember that Fa (faith) is the essence of those dreams you are building. It is a crucial element and must be included in every construction project. Without it, you are building a house of cards. Faith is the substance; it is the raw material of your hopes and dreams. Dream big dreams. Live large but begin with faith.

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Prayer Power

On May 2, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 1:10

And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer.

Today is the National Day of Prayer in the United States. For those of us who live here, we should first offer up a prayer of thanksgiving that we can have a National Day of Prayer. Let’s also pray for all those around the world who cannot openly pray to Yahweh. For all of you who read this devotional and live outside the United States, will you consider this your personal invitation to join with us for a day of prayer? There is no time or space in the Spirit because we are united in the Spirit.

Maybe you will pray with me that we will become a people known for prayer. I think we don’t pray as often as we might because we have lost confidence that our prayers are effective. “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much,” or so Brother James would have us believe (James 5: 16). Maybe we doubt our righteousness, or maybe we just don’t think we have enough spiritual “oomph” to make a difference. Sometimes it just doesn’t feel like our prayers are going to impact a situation. We talk about the power of prayer and we’ve even seen how prayers have turned a situation around, but the confidence leaks out of us when it comes to our prayers. Well, there is help for that. It is called unity. As we unite in prayer, we become stronger. “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken,” (Ecclesiastes 4: 12 NIV). Together we can do amazing things! Jesus said, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven,” (Matthew 18: 19).

The spiritual realm has power. However, we are not well versed in operations within spiritual sphere. When you speak words, they actually have energy. Researchers have already shown that thoughts create an energy signature. They aren’t just wisps that float off into Neverland. Likewise, there is spiritual substance in our words and thus, in our prayers. Even if you feel like you don’t move a lot of spiritual weight, in our combined strength we really can move mountains. And, don’t forget that it is really our heavenly Father doing the heavy lifting, but we have our part as well. He takes our prayers and the spiritual energy they create and molds them into the answers we seek. The long and short of it is that when we combine our energy, we are a powerful team. So, even if you feel like your prayer is weak, in its combination with other prayers the power is enormous. It only took a few men in Wales, devout in their prayers, to bring about a revival.

So today, I invite you, no implore you, to join millions of other people in prayer. Pray all day. Every time you have a minute break, offer up one more prayer. Pray for the people at your place of employment, at your church, at your children’s school. Pray for the leaders of those institutions as well as for the leaders of your country. Pray for the people in the media who deliver news, movies, and music. Ask the Lord of the harvest to touch hearts, bless and heal. Pray for the clerk behind the cash register and the teller at the bank. There is no limit to the number of prayers or the number of people who need prayer. Pray for me.

May God, our Lord and Love, bless your every prayer and may he bless and touch every person and institution for which you pray today. May the blessing return to you a hundredfold for every prayer you offer. And, may His blessed grace unfold itself upon all people that all may see that Jesus is Lord and the savior of our souls. Let the love of our beloved God and Father be seen and demonstrated. I pray that God bless you and keep you in the folds of His embrace.

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