Intertwined with Jesus

On February 1, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Isaiah 40: 31

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

When you go to our webpage (www.iveyministries.org) you will see this verse on the leading banner. One might question why we have chosen this verse when there are others which seemingly fit the logo better. Of course, one thinks of John 15: 5, “ I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Yes, I love that verse. It is rich, but so is today’s verse.

To really appreciated today’s verse one needs to look a bit deeper. If you stopped reading this and looked at our website, you undoubtedly noticed a difference. Above reads, “those you wait for the Lord.” The website verse reads, “those who hope in the Lord.” That is the NIV reading whereas for the Word of the Day I used the New American Standard Bible. Which is right? Well, they both are. The God’s Word version deals with this verse well. It says, “Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord will be renewed.” Certainly that adds clarity between the various readings but still, I have not answered why this verse in any version would be appropriate for Ivey Ministries other than it is just a great verse and inspiration from the Lord. In order to reveal the very essence of this verse we must look in the concordance.

When you look up the word “wait” in Strong’s Concordance (Strong’s no. 6960) you find it is the Hebrew word “qavah”. It is a root word which means to bind together perhaps specifically or particularly by twisting. So let’s look at today’s verse in this light, “Those who are ‘twisted together with the Lord’ will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Now, that makes sense, doesn’t it? Let me restate it, “Those whose lives are twisted together, intertwined, with the Lord, shall have great strength.”  One would expect nothing less. The word qavah also implies a sense of expectation. Truly, if we each had a revelation of being inextricably intertwined with Jesus wouldn’t we have enormous expectations of goodness, power, strength and blessing flowing in and through our lives?

That is what I want for you, a life so full of the indwelling presence of the Lord that when you breath, he breathes; when you speak, he speaks. I want the blessing of the Lord to fill you to overflowing. The overflowing grace of the Lord will bless all people you come in contact with. You have the right to walk in the power of the Lord, yes, but also in his majesty. I want you so full that you have the answers, authority, words and power for every situation. I envision each one of you so full of Jesus that he literally overflows from you. All victory, all glory is yours in Christ and that is what you are entitled to. Do you want to talk about entitlement? This is your inheritance in Christ, full victory and glory of the Father. Everything that Jesus is belongs to you through him. He so desired to give you full access to all the glory of God that he chose to go to the cross. Let us not stop short of everything. Let us not settle for anything less than Jesus’ absolute best. This is the Kingdom of God, that we should be intertwined with the Beloved and behold His face. Glory to God and to His children.

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No Rejects

On January 31, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 41: 9

I have chosen you and not rejected.

If you are reading these words then you can be happy because God has chosen you. I know this because you would not be reading this if you had not been chosen by God. He has chosen you to be His own beloved. Does that give you a sense of belonging and value?

God has also said that He has not rejected you. I am amazed at the number of people who feel rejected in some form or another. Even a great number of Christians seem to feel unaccepted by the church and even by God Himself. Well, we no longer have to worry about rejection by God. He has told us, unequivocally, that we are acceptable in His sight.

God is love. He sent Jesus into the world to save you so that you could be in His family and live forever with Him. He didn’t send Jesus into the earth to judge and condemn. He isn’t trying to keep you out of heaven. He is trying to make sure you spend eternity in His house. God wants to express His love to you. How can someone who is love be critical and reject everyone who is not perfect? God sent the perfect one so that he could be perfect for us. This allows us all to just be ourselves. Sure, we are all trying to be the best version of ourselves that we can be but God will not love us anymore because He does not love us any less now. His love for us is also perfect and complete.

Before you were born, God knew exactly what you would be like and He chose you none the less. He never required you to earn His love and acceptance. They are both free gifts. You never have to feel like an outcast because God loves you perfectly today. Isn’t that great?

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Sun, Moon, Jesus

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

Isaiah 60: 19

No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light; but you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory.

Your sun will set no more, neither will your moon wane; for you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be finished.

I love the book of Isaiah. I am definitely going to look up Isaiah when I get to heaven and tell him how much I enjoyed his book and how much he helped my life. Isaiah saw Jesus. He had a revelation of his coming unlike anyone else in the Old Testament. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8: 12). That is what Isaiah told people. One is coming, he share, who is brighter than the sun, whose light will never fade.

When God speaks, it is sometimes difficult for us to take in the fullness of his communication. Is this passage by Isaiah and statement of Jesus purely metaphorical? If it is, it is good enough. Jesus is the light which lights your life. I don’t doubt if you met Jesus in person, though, that he would be a bright radiant light. In heaven there is no darkness ever because the sun is the light.

I think these two passages of scripture are as big as you believe them to be. I believe Jesus’ light is also life and it glows within you bringing you health and well-being. Could he really light a dark alley for you. If you need it, then yes. Isaiah saw Jesus and saw his radiance. He saw that the sun and moon were no longer the light sources upon which we would depend. Jesus is the light which fuels the sun; he is the everlasting. I guess that means that the son fuels the sun.

Am I suggesting that you no longer need light bulbs in your house? Well . . . I am not there yet, but were you to believe big enough, maybe so. What I really want to share with you today is Isaiah. I don’t know what he saw but he saw something magnificent. We too can live in the kind of revelation he did. Also, through his words, we may see Jesus more clearly. We may even see ourselves more clearly. What mysteries are revealed to us through Isaiah and the other writers of the Bible when we pause and let the light shine on us? I am ready for us all to see “all truth” and be inspired by the glory of the Lord.

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God of Comfort

On January 27, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

2nd Corinthians 1: 3 – 4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Do you wish to be a disciple of Christ? Do you want to be a person that God can use? If so, then you have to make yourself ready. You have to receive the comfort which you will need for others.

Most of us want to be soldiers for the Lord but we fail to understand that God’s soldiers don’t carry swords, they come with healing. They come bearing good news of the Kingdom. Jesus said he came to set free those who are downtrodden (Luke 4: 18). This statement he quoted from a passage in Isaiah, which reads, “to bind up the brokenhearted.” This is such a big part of the ministry of the gospel. People are hurting. In many ways most of us have broken hearts. Jesus came to heal those hearts. As Disciples of Christ, we are to continue his work. Here is the thing though, most of us are so injured and scarred that all we bring is judgment and criticism. If we are going to be useful to Jesus, we must first get healed ourselves.

Why does this frighten people so? We walk around badly injured but do very little to receive healing. Do we delude ourselves that if we just let time pass, we will heal. Observation suggests that just the opposite is true. Our wounds fester rather than heal. Then the hurts of our hearts make it not only impossible to carry out the works of the good news but instead we go about hurting others. You cannot give what you have not first received. We cannot comfort others with the good news of the gospel if we will not first receive the comfort and healing that we promise to others. Our words will not ring true and our testimony of our fruit will scream, “Hypocrite!” I realize we are all trying our best but success isn’t in trying alone. We must be equipped with the right tools, the first of which is our own healed heart.

There are plenty of methods, modalities, tools and mechanisms for healing. Our big brother is THE great healer and he got all of his skill and anointing from our Father. Healing is in our house. Is it even rational to think that God has not provided the means by which we are to be emotionally and mentally healed? Did we think healing was only for our bodies? We are three-dimensional beings. Do you think God did not know that and provide for wholeness for every aspect of our lives? That seems an unreasonable speculation.

It is high time the body of Christ stopped going around as the walking wounded. It is time we cooperate with the Holy Spirit for the healing of our hearts. It is time to let Dad repair the damage of our past and of just living in the world. Won’t you trust Him with your heart, with your wounds? Will you reach out to receive, not only the comfort of God, but also the myriad of tools and methodologies He has provided for our healing. Bless the Lord and trust Him with your heart.

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Beautiful

On January 26, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 27: 2 – 3

When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident.

This is one of those passages where we really need to slow down and savor every word. How amazing these statements are! David wrote this about the actual challenges he faced. His enemy tripped and fell when they arranged themselves against him. Where would your heart be; how strong your confidence if a host quite literally surrounded you? Why David’s immense confidence?

David had experience with God’s power; specifically His power to protect and rescue him. In verse two David tells us very clearly that his enemies, who were evildoers, pursued him meaning to devour him. These were angry, violent men who meant to destroy David physically and even to wipe the memory of him off of the face of the earth. David stood and beheld the glory of the Lord though. He watched as his adversaries “stumbled”. Do you know who the stumbling block is? Jesus is the stumbling block. David was saved many times by the mighty hand of the Lord.

Why were David’s enemies unable to defeat him? I believe the answer is in verse 4 of this same chapter. David writes, “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.” There is David’s secret weapon. He adored God. He thought the Lord beautiful, so beautiful, in fact, that all he wanted to do was to be in the Lord’s presence and admire Him. Wow! No wonder his enemies stumbled. How could they even get to David? Well, they couldn’t and I imagine part of the reason is because an angelic host camped around him. I believe they were drawn to David’s adoration of the Lord. God inhabits the praise of His people. That makes a pretty amazing shield but I just think that all sorts of heavenly beings are attracted to an atmosphere of adulation. I can believe they want to soak in those genuine and sincere feelings. They must have flocked to David’s side to join in the worship David offered our God. In a very real sense, though this is a spiritual reality, David’s enemies couldn’t get to him through the heavenly host. They stumbled over angels.

The spiritual things of the world are quite real. Angels are real. We do not interact with them very well because we are very anchored in the three dimensions of the physical world. There is a fourth dimension, though and believe me, spiritual beings can interact with the physical world. Angels actually are ministering spirits that our Father has provided to us. So, just because you do not see them easily, doesn’t mean they aren’t there. You usually cannot see air either but I bet you depend on its presence. I believe that David’s praise, worship, admiration and adoration of the Lord, brought heaven to earth in a very real sense and he gained very real, tangible and substantive help because of it. His desire was to spend his days admiring the one true love of his life, the Father, and it brought the power of God to bear in the earth.

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Invigorated

On January 25, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Samuel 30: 6

But David strengthened himself in the Lord.

Well, the work week is half-way through and some of us may be finding our energy lagging a bit. Perhaps there have been a few battles in the early part of the week. Certainly David fought battles and found himself weary. He knew how to restore himself though. He found his strength in the Lord.

I love this from Habakkuk, “The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds feet, and makes me walk on my high places” (Habakkuk 3: 19). A hind is a female deer, especially the red deer. They are known for being able to scale the high places, i.e. mountains. There is no rugged, jagged terrain they cannot surmount. If you have ever seen them scampering along a cliff you know how amazingly surefooted they are. Our Father has made us able to navigate the high places too. He also gives us the strength to attain the highest peaks.

The Lord God is our strength Habakkuk reminds us, but once we are fully convinced by Habakkuk, the key for us is found in David’s example. It is not sufficient knowing that the Lord, our God is our strength if we never avail ourselves of His gift. David turned “strength” into a verb. He “strengthened” himself in the Lord. That means David did something proactive in order to receive God’s strength. Receiving is an active process. I think about a wide receiver in football. He has a big job to do in order to receive a pass. Well, God has provided for us but unlike the manna, all these things are not going to rain down on us. We have to turn our attention to Yahweh and receive what He has made available. It does no good to have provision delivered to your front stoop if you never go out and get the boxes.

I pray you, receive God’s strength today. Receive His refreshing. Let Him fill you with all sustenance.

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Tired, Weary and Aching

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

Isaiah 40:29

He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.

I am ministering to myself today, tonight actually. It is late in the evening and I owe you a Word of the Day in the morning. I am tired, weary even, my back hurts and I just do not have the strength in myself to produce a Word of the Day. What shall I do? Fortunately, as we all know, our Father gives strength to the weary. What may distinguish me from some people is that I know from experience that I can call upon Him in this time of need. I have had to rely on His strength before.

I hope you have the means to find strength, encouragement and the wisdom for every need. I use www.biblegateway.com to help me find verses to fit my need. I also have a link to Bible Gateway on my website so that you will always be able to find the help you need. Our Word of the Day is archived on our website. It is also searchable. You can find every time in the last ten or so years when I have written about a specific topic. We also have an “Ask Ivey” section on the website where you can write your question and I will answer you. To access any of these resources go to www.iveyministries.org.

Our Father will lead you to passages from His book, which will strengthen and encourage you. I sat down tonight with my computer and searched Bible Gateway for the two words which were most prominent in my mind: strength and weary. You see that Father gave me a perfect verse. He met me at my point of need and filled me. He will do this for you too.

If you are tired and do not feel up to the task ahead, keep re-reading today’s verse and let it minister strength to you.

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