Spiritual Gifts

On July 5, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Corinthians 12: 1, 4, 7 – 11

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues and to another the interpretation of tongues, but one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

I wrote to you last week about the power of God and how it seems to be minimally operational in our culture today. We read 2 Corinthians 2: 4 which says, “My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” This is not the claim, unfortunately of many Christians today, and sadly not even of many ministers. We need to change this.

A couple of years ago I undertook to find every scripture in the Bible which refers to the Holy Spirit. As I looked them up I created a spreadsheet indicating what each verse was about. I also used a keyword for many of the scriptures because I began to notice recurring themes. One of the words which repeatedly occurs in tandem with the Holy Spirit is the word “power”.

In the beginning the Holy Spirit was hovering over the surface of the deep and when God spoke, the power of God through the Holy Spirit manifested and created everything we see and know. He, the Holy Spirit is the power of God. That is why today’s verse is a good response to “The Power is Out.” If we wish to see the power of God manifesting in our lives and in our cities then we must tap into the source. Paul teaches us that these manifestations come through the Spirit of God and they take the form as described in today’s verse. From the word of wisdom to the effecting of miracles, all this is ours in the Spirit. Paul goes on to teach that these manifestations are given to every one of us. They all operate through the Holy Spirit of God; they are His gifts but he is not the one who effectuates the manifestation in the earth. We are the hands and the mouth of God in the earth. The Holy Spirit works in harness with us to bring the power of God to effect in the earth. Miracles, healing, words of wisdom and knowledge are all gifts of the Holy Spirit given to each one of us. You have the ability to prophesy if you have the Holy Spirit because all of the power of God and all of these spiritual gifts are in him.

The conclusion is that the power of God isn’t being seen in our lives because we are integral pieces of the dynamic. Once we understand that the power can and should flow through us then we have the opportunity to step in the realm of manifested gifts. You don’t have to be someone special. You don’t have to be a minister. The gifts are already available through your Father’s Spirit.

Ignorance of these gifts and our operation of them has crippled the body of Christ but we can change that. In fact, in just reading this Word of the Day devotional we are collectively moving towards a renewal of the spiritual energy that is ours through Christ our Lord. I was thinking, it takes a bit of courage or perhaps bravado to move forward, to challenge the status quo and importune God for the operation of these gifts in your life. It is much easier to sit in the stands and watch for someone else to step out. However, on the heels of that thought came another. It truly only takes one person to start and the whole body of Christ can begin to grow in the power of God. It’s like the wave cheer at a football game. It begins with just a few but only is fulfilled when others join in. None the less, someone must begin.

Let’s you and I determine not to be afraid but rather to embrace God’s Word, Paul’s teaching and step out into the things God has made available. God gave us power when He gave us His Spirit. Let’s walk in that power and move some mountains.

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Done and Done

On July 3, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

1 Corinthians 2: 9

Just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND WHICH HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

The part of this verse which really grabbed me was that God has already prepared things for us. The verse does not say that once we pray, God will prepare these things which are beyond what eye has seen and ear has heard. It says that He already has prepared all these things for us. That is a pretty big revelation. This substance, these things which God has already prepared for us is beyond what has ever entered our hearts. That is the second part of the revelation, that God has already created things for you that you currently don’t even know you want.

Ephesians 3: 20 says that God is able to do for us beyond all we can think or ask. Before we have even dreamed up the next idea or want, He has already created and stocked it for us. He has already prepared things which are beyond our ability to dream or think. So, ten years ago, for instance, or 20 years ago, God prepared the things that you want and need today. I hope this is a revelation which is sinking in. Take it a step further though.

He has already prepared things for you which no human eye has ever seen, which no human ear has ever heard and which no human heart or mind has ever conceived. There will come a day when an idea, concept or dream will drop into your mind. That idea will require resources. That dream will be an expansion of your former thoughts. Where does it come from? Perhaps God is the source of these ideas and dreams and before they are ever perceived, God is already at work providing the means by which they can and will be realized.

If God has already stocked the storehouse, if He has already prepared the resources, then the only question is, how do you requisition the materials. I believe the answer begins right here. We must first apprehend this simple appreciation of God’s provision. We need to allow this revelation to take root in our hearts so that we know and believe that all we need has already been prepared. This is the beginning of living those dreams.

God has great plans for your tomorrow and your today. He is giving you hopes and ambitions and He has already laid aside the substance of those dreams so that you make walk in success and enjoy all the good things He has prepared for you.

Will knowing this verse change your prayer life? Will it alter the conversation you have with God? Will your prayer ask God to provide when the Bible is telling us He already has or will your begin to look more for distribution than manufacturing? Tomorrow can look very different today because now you know He has already provided.

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The Power’s Out

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

1 Corinthians 2: 4 – 5

My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

A friend of mine helped me to see that the church of God, the body of Christ has a problem. That problem also expresses itself in our evangelistic attempts. The problem is that we have lost the power. Unlike Paul, we do come in persuasive words trying to talk people into being Christians. As pastors, perhaps we spend too much time talking and not enough time actually letting God move by His power. Although Jesus was a great miracle worker, we have divorced ourselves from miracles and the display of God’s power.

All of us, every single Christian, are supposed to walk in the sustaining victory of Christ. Perhaps you, like me, look back at the Israelites and think we could and would do better but as I look around I see that we are not where we should be. Are we the victorious church? We were destined by God Himself to live in the fullness of the blessing. Our lives are supposed to be full of everything Christ is and yet I see us sick and broke, our relationships are a mess and we have become the disfavored stepchild instead of kings and princes. What happened to us? What happened to the glory of Christ? Where is this power that the Bible tells us about? We are not casting out demons and healing the sick. Jesus said that the things he did we should do even greater yet I certainly haven’t walked on water or fed 5000 people. Sometimes it’s hard to feed myself.

Every one of us is meant to walk in the spiritual power of Jesus. We are supposed to see Jesus’ miracle working power daily. Where is the power of God in our lives? How is Jesus’ victory being experienced or demonstrated in our lives? There are dozens of verses on prosperity. Are we enjoying the prosperity God set aside for us? There is an equal number of scriptures on healing but how is our health?

The heathen look at us and scoff the way we have belittled the Israelites. They don’t want any part of our God because they don’t see any victory in our lives. They see weak, mealy mouth people instead of the giants we should be. Why, even most Christians these days are not discernable as such. We live the same worldly lives as our pagan friends. We too have lost the allure of a mighty God. Sure, we pray when the chips are down but that is about the end of it. Where is the power? Where are the miracles? Where is the overcoming victory that Jesus promised us? Is he a liar? We certainly aren’t living it so something is clearly amiss.

I wish I had the answers. I don’t but I sure don’t like the way our Christianity has become a watered down version of faith. I don’t see us standing like Stephen or delivering people. We are supposed to be living a life in Christ but this certainly does not look like a Christ experience to me. And how did we get here? How did we fall so far?

You are the body of Christ. Are you satisfied? Do you want a whole lot more of Christ than you are currently experiencing? Are there things in your life which a touch from Jesus would resolve forever? I believe, I truly do, that we are meant for much more. I believe in my heart of hearts that there is power in the name of Jesus, that devils must flee, bodies must be healed and I believe there are angels all around us just waiting for something to do. I say again, you are the body of Christ and I am the body of Christ. We are Christ in this earth now. What must we do in order to walk in the earth as he did? What are you going to do about it? What are any of us going to do about it?

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The Throne Room

On June 29, 2017   /   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.

I do interactive journaling for www.bornofthespirit.today. I recently asked God about this verse and what He would like to reveal to me about it. Click on the link above to see what He said to me. As I pondered all that He said to me, I knew I wanted to use this same verse for a Word of the Day.

The Protestant Reformation was supposed to usher in a time of approachability to God. No longer do we need a priest to speak to God for us or to tell us what God says to us. This is not to minimize the operation of spiritual gifts; that is another topic entirely. This discussion focuses on the necessity of another human to facilitate the conversation between us and the Father. You can speak directly to Him and more importantly you can hear from Him yourself.

Before Christ, only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies where the presence of God resided. Even then, he could only enter at the appointed time and after the proper preparation. Jesus tore the dividing veil asunder, literally, and now each of us has an open invitation into the very presence of God. We have a pass which entitles us to enter into His throne room at any time of the day or night, weekdays and weekends. There is not one minute of one day when the doors of the throne room are closed to us. Don’t you find that amazing?

We all need more of God. We need Him morning, noon and night and this verse shows us that we have availability to Him. Whatever you are doing right now, pause and take a moment to see yourself walk through the giant doors, which equally gigantic angels hold open for you. See your Father on His throne, beaming with His smile of welcome. Go to Him. Enjoy His presence and return frequently.

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Halt, Thief!

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

Proverb 6: 31

But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold.

Restitution by a thief is what is being discussed in this passage. When the thief is discovered, he must repay seven times what he stole. There is an interesting connection from the New Testament. Jesus told us that “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy” (John 10: 10). Who is the thief? The devil, of course. He is the enemy of all who love Jesus and he would love to steal everything from you but you have the ability to stop him and even to make him repay seven times what he stole.

I wrote to you last week about how we are increasingly ignoring, or denying the existence of the devil and his minions. When we deny the existence and influence of Satan we begin to blame God for the bad things that happen. I find this tragic. Not only do we allow the devil to get off free when we hide in our denial but we don’t receive the restitution we are due. Worst of all, since we need someone to blame, we blame God. Obviously, these recriminations against God damage our relationship with Him. How can you have a close, trusting and loving relationship with someone you believe is doing you harm? Even if you try to justify the assumption that God is the one who is making bad things happen as His attempt to strengthen you, it will still destroy your relationship with Him.

I was exposed to this dangerous teaching like many of you were. I remember telling my basketball coach, “It’s too hard with God so I am going to have to be without Him.” I turned my back on God because people had me convinced that God was doing all these bad things to me. I sure wish someone had stood apart from the crowd and said, “Hey, that’s the devil who is evil doing those things, not God who is good.” I think I could have taken it from there and realized how foolish and broken my logic was.

I don’t know if people are just afraid of the devil so that is why they deny his existence or if he just has really good Public Relations people. None the less, our continual denial of his existence and his shenanigans is putting God, our beloved, right in the target sights. No one is throwing stones at Satan. They are all casting stones at God, the one who loved us so much that He sent His only child to die a horribly cruel death so that we might be saved. When you state it that way, it really defies logic but that is what so many of us do without really considering.

Look, you don’t have to be afraid of the devil. You’ve got Jesus and his victory. All you have to do is catch the thief. He has to pay back seven times if you will catch him instead of blaming God. God is the one who will make him pay restitution because He is a righteous God. There are any number of weapons Jesus has provided for you, all of them effective. Praise music, reading your Bible out loud to the devil (he loves that), giving money to a ministry (one of my personal favorites), prayer and more. Just remind the devil of the blood of Jesus. Figuratively, bathe your business, ministry or family in the blood. Dedicate everything in your life to Jesus, whatever the devil is torturing you with or messing with, see yourself go put it on Jesus’ altar. Then dare the devil to mess with it. Install Jesus as CEO, but really do it, not merely mouth the words. Let Jesus run your business for a couple of weeks and see if the devil doesn’t take his hands off of it.

Give over leadership of your family to Jesus. He never meant for you to be the leader of your family. That’s how it gets messed up. He wants to be head of the household. As long as you are, the devil is going to get in your stuff. Give it to Jesus. It really is his problem afterall, because he is the shepherd, not you. You are one of the flock.

Whatever area of your life is being challenged. Go put it on the altar and sprinkle Jesus blood on it. Remember, this is how Abraham became the Father of us all, by putting his son on the altar. Releasing control to Jesus is the quickest way (not the easiest mind) to get the devil out of it. Where ever there is the blood of Jesus, the devil will flee. He hates the Word, and he cannot bear even one drop of the blood.

I want you blessed and I am so tired of watching the devil steal from Christians. God has prepared a way for us and has given us all of the tools necessary. Put blame where it is due and make the devil pay; make him pay back seven times what he stole.

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Choices

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

James 4:4

You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

James had such a gentle and tender way of getting the point across, didn’t he? Well, sometimes we need someone to care enough to speak to us plainly. This is Jesus’ brother writing to us today. I said yesterday that we are called to be different from the world. James makes it much more plain. He said that “being in bed” with the enemy makes us adulteresses. Ouch! If that doesn’t sting just a bit you better take your pulse.

Of course, we all want to fit in and of course, the things of the world are attractive. God isn’t trying to deny us luxuries or pleasures, He just wants you to purchase them through the Kingdom instead of through the world. Why? Because the Kingdom is life and the world is death. God is trying to get life to us but we, being the great intellectual giants that we are, keep choosing death. I have always loved this passage from Deuteronomy, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants” (Deuteronomy 30: 19). Father gives us the choice, like a multiple choice question on a test but before we can even choose, He gives us the answer. None the less, how many of us continue to choose death over life, the curse rather than the blessing?

To choose to live in the world and to be of the world is to choose death and curse. Jesus said that we are not of this world any more than he was. We live here but we are not “of” this world. Our choices are to be made on Kingdom principles, expecting Kingdom results. Brother James says it rather plainly – to be friends of the world, in other words living as the world lives, makes us enemies of God. Now here is the question. Do you think James wrote these words to believers or the unsaved? This is an important question because if you believe, like I do, that he wrote to believers then you understand that we, God’s own chosen and beloved, can become enemies of God by being lovers of the world. That is a huge statement. James saw a dynamic taking place in his own time and sought to address it. His passion poured out for his people. Let us, therefore, seriously contemplate our own place, whether in the world or in the Kingdom. What choices are we making on a daily basis that shift us from living in Christ to living in the world. Choose to be unique, peculiar. Choose life. Choose Christ.

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