Home for the Holidays

On November 30, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 68: 6

God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

The holidays are a time of friends and family and yet for many people, it is the loneliest time of the year. A friend of mind mentioned recently that loneliness is a pronounced contributor to mental illness. Most of us have dealt with loneliness at some point in our lives but God is present to say, today, that we need not be lonely. We have a God who cares for us. Moreover, He is a caring, loving father and He has made a place for us in His heart.

I want you to know that God is actively thinking about you right now. He has plans for your well-being. Despite your current situation, you do not have to live apart from love. The transformation, however, often takes place inside of you first. Some of us are alone because some of our decisions led us into the place of aloneness. Whatever is in our hearts, though, that keeps us isolated, can be renewed so that we find a world of people who are willing and even desirous of spending time with us.

Have you ever felt you were living in a desert? I sure have and I never want to go back to those times. This verse says that our isolation in the desert came out of our rebellious nature. Those are not easy words to hear but for me it was true. When I relaxed into my relationship with God and ceased striving and toiling for everything, including hearing His voice, then I began to find a new relationship with Him. My effort and self-reliance separated me from Him. I tried so hard but finding is easy when you stop trying and simply open your eyes. He is right there, I promise, but we build such walls around ourselves that our perceptions become numb and His voice muted.

God created this entire planet, everything on it and even the solar system in which it revolves just so He could have a family. He didn’t create deserts for His children. Deserts exist in our lives when we do not allow Him to pour His living water into us. They are of our own making. He gave us Eden and we turned it into a desert. Here is the good news, though. We have the same power to renew Eden into the glorious garden of our heart where we can, and do, walk with God in the cool of the evening.

I pray that this Christmas season, you find new connections with your Divine Father and that those bonds lead you to increased relations with others so that you will never experience loneliness again. I pray that the joy of God’s heart will be reverberate in yours this season. When we connect with Yahweh in the way He intended, we never will feel alone again. Happy Holidays!

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Practice Presence

On November 29, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 5: 16

But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

This passage is speaking of Jesus. Most of the scripture reveals His public ministry but this is a glimpse into Jesus’ personal habits. Ministry isn’t that different from sports. The success is in the preparation. For athletes we like to say it is what you do away from the cameras that really matters. We know from Acts 10: 38 that Jesus was anointed with Power and the Holy Spirit. That should be enough, one would think, to be anointed by God, but Jesus developed the gift in Him by spending time alone with his father and the Holy Spirit. It is that alone time that built Him up and prepared Him for the work of the Lord. It was necessary, vital time.

Not much has changed. We can have the same anointing as Jesus, many do. But we, like Jesus, need time to develop the gifts inside of us. We need time alone with God, quiet time that He can use to build us up and develop us. You and I are never going to develop spiritually by spending an hour in church once or twice a week. For that matter, no amount of time at church is going to replace the time that you need to spend alone with your father. Church serves a different function and was never meant to replace quiet time with the Lord. I wish for you all to have fulfilling intimacy with the Lord. I want you to be as close to Him personally as you want to be. That only comes by time with Him though. You have to sneak away from the bustle of life and find quiet time with him. For those of you with a lot of time on your hands, praise God. You have the time others have a hard time finding. Don’t let yourself be lonely. Use that time to get into God’s presence. The rewards are awesome.

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Rich Dwelling

On November 28, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Colossians 3: 16

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.

I would like to ask you to pause over these words today. For those who have been Christians for a long time and especially who have attended church for many years, the words of our faith become familiar. As such, they almost disappear. They become invisible in their familiarity. That was not the case for Paul’s audience. All he wrote was new and unfamiliar. This phrase must have sounded bizarre to them. What does it mean to have the word of Christ dwelling within us, much less richly dwelling within. What did Paul intend to convey.

Today I read some journaling I did with God on Isaiah 1: 19 (please see this entry at http://www.bornofthespirit.today/isaiah-1-19/). Though there are differences in the verses and the ideas contained within, there is a grand similarity. That is that there is something in us that is making alive all that we need to see manifested in the world around us. The living word is alive within us and that makes a difference in everything. The concept of the living word is, perhaps, a bit difficult to grasp. How can we embrace this truth so that it impacts our lives and the world around us?

We are walking, talking vessels of the Holy Spirit of God. Everywhere we go, so goes the Spirit. God’s design does not have His Word confined to the church building. It goes wherever we go. It is not the dead word but alive so it is best conveyed by a living vessel. Does this begin to sound like a heavy burden for us to bear? The wire that transmits electricity to your home conveys a lot of power but it does very little other than be available. The power is the electricity. The wire is to electricity what we are to the Holy Spirit.

There is something about God that I find truly astounding and consistent. His power does not degrade the wire but rather infuses it with life. God always accomplishes multiple blessings in one act. You have the ability to carry His light into every conference, meeting and encounter but at the same time, His power within you is blessing every cell of your being. He always blesses you first and then wishes to extend that blessing beyond all boundaries. He is the God of overflow so His plan is to overfill you so that the excess blesses all people around you.  Isn’t that astounding?

First, let us become internally aware. Become consciously attuned to the life of Christ within you. Sensitize your being so that you perceive the Lord’s tenderness within. I want you to think about the life of Christ within you so that you can experience the fullness of life in your own bones and spirit. Life should flow out from you but it should first begin in you. All that Christ is, all that he won for you is inside each one of us right now. That is a huge concept, one most of us have not yet fully embraced.

Take a moment to stop and think what this might mean in your life. I pray it blossoms into an expanding revelation of His glory within.

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Spiritual Fruit

On November 27, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Galatians 5: 22 – 23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

You are going to encounter a lot of different kinds of people in a lifetime. Some, frankly, mean you ill will. Here is the surprise though. They will usually come dressed as one of the flock, hence the saying a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing. That is the only way they can get close enough to you to do you any harm. If they looked like someone that has bad intent on their minds, you would stay far from them. So, they come camouflaged. But fear not. You can tell who they are rather simply and easily. Check their fruit. Do they exhibit the above characteristics? It is not what people say that matters. Remember that Satan quoted the Bible to Jesus in order to trick him. It is not their good works or status in a church. The Spirit of God alive in a person reveals himself through them by the above traits. If they are not kind and gentle; if they show a lack of self-control, then you will know that they may not be who they profess to be.

Look, we are all trying to become the people that God has created us to be and most of us are far from perfect, but Jesus said in these last days there would come false prophets. He said that we would know them by their fruit (Matthew 7: 15 -16). Now by this we not only learn how to discern God’s Spirit in prophets, but also in everyday people. Let us not be unwise but rather protected by the Spirit of the Lord through heavenly wisdom given to us by the Lord himself. Look at people’s fruit, not their words or activities, before you follow them or take their advice.

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Adoration Time

On November 24, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 2: 12

“I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”

Okay, it’s official. The Christmas season has begun. So now, I can start my Christmas celebration.

I love Christmas and I have already been playing and singing Christmas music. As I sang along with classic favorites, I was touched by the line, “Come let us adore him.” What a beautiful petition. Come friends, let us adore Christ in our actions, words and thoughts. I was touched by this thought but also chagrined as I realized how often I have heard those words and that is all they were, words in a song. It is amazing to me how we can sing such songs and sometimes remain untouched by them. What a great message for us, though, as we enter the Yuletide season. Come, one and all, let us find breath and sentiment to adore the Christ.

One of the things I have noticed this year already is how happy and light my heart becomes as I sing Christmas songs. The child who came brought with him salvation for all. That is worthy of praise. He also brought joy, a joy so deep and so broad that time cannot mark its boundaries. It is a joy so profound that your human heart is altered as you experience it. You feel it in your body and you may even find yourself a little giddy. No wonder Christmas makes children of us all. The joy Christ has poured into our hearts is most easily expressed in a childlike fashion.

I encourage you to give into that innocent joy. As you sing Christmas carols, give yourself over to the exultant emotion within. Let your heart be reborn in the simplicity of the Christ child. Lift your voice to give God praise and experience the overwhelming sense of love and acceptance.

Let me be the first to wish you a Merry Christmas. As we enter this season of great joy I pray that the presence of Jesus will be with you more strongly than ever before and that you will find your heart lifted on the wings of his love. Come friends, “let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.”

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Happy Thanksgiving

On November 23, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 22: 19

Then Jesus took bread and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you are having a great day with family and friends.  This is our feast day and a day to celebrate all that God has done for us.

Did you notice that Jesus offered a prayer of thanksgiving when he took the bread?  Being thankful as you eat actually aids digestion.  Yeah.  The kind of thoughts you have as you eat even affect your body’s ability to extract nutrients from the food.  How perfect, then, is a feast day which is based completely on the idea of giving thanks to God.

Today I am thankful for you.  I pray your day is blessed in the presence of God.

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Led to Abide

On November 22, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Exodus 15: 13

In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.

Yesterday we talked about the Lord’s Prayer and that God leads us away from temptation. Fully grasping that the Lord wants to lead us day by day and moment by moment is one of the biggest revelations we can have. This verse comes from the book that is all about God leading His people. He busted them out of slavery and led them day and night to the land of promise, to the place He has destined as their place of habitation.

God hasn’t changed. He has redeemed His people and He leads them to a safe place, the place of habitation with Him. This verse says that God leads us to His holy habitation. In other words, this is a place of living with Him. Now, these days, that is not about going to Canaan. It is about living in Him and with Him. In every area of your life He is leading you into a life with Him. He wants to live with you in your work life, in your family and friends life, and even in your sleep life. He has prepared a place in the Spirit where we can abide with Him 24/7. This is the place of His holy abode, living in us with us even as we intertwine ourselves around Him. What He did for the Israelites, He wishes to do for us. We are all His redeemed. He has set us free so that we can be together with Him.

God is always leading His people to the land of milk and honey, to the land of promise. We must take Him at His word and open our ears, hearts and minds to His leading. Allow God to speak to you in everything you do. You are going to enjoy abiding with Him.

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