The Seeker

On August 4, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 6: 33


But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.
One encounter with God can change your life forever. Having an encounter with God is worth everything. There really is nothing greater than a touch from Him. But how do we find god in our everyday lives? We must seek Him. When we seek Him, we find Him. In Him is the answer to every question we have as well as every need. Our job is to seek Him out and it is His job to provide us with the resources we need. Everything we need, want or desire is in Him. Seek Him with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength and he will give you the desires of your heart. He will be everything you need or want. His touch will fill your heart and heal your hurts. This type of seeking requires commitment and surrender though. If you will be determined to seek Him out, you will most definitely find Him. Seek Him in His word and through your prayers. He will be found by you.
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Prayer Time

On August 3, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Daniel 6: 10


And he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God.
This verse used to really impress me. I was, and still am, humbled by Daniel’s devotion to God and to prayer. However, I have a new revelation of prayer, and perhaps you do too. Last week we considered 1 Thessalonians 5: 17 which says, “Pray without ceasing.” Well, if praying three times a day is impressive, how much more is praying without ceasing?

While I still applaud Daniel, it is true that this is an Old Testament view of prayer. Prayer no longer need be a formalized, ritualistic event. Don’t misunderstand me, there is nothing wrong with going into your prayer closet, kneeling or whatever you do, and praying. It’s all good and even to be encouraged but if you are going to move into new dispensation prayer and pray without ceasing then you are going to have to adopt some other methodologies. Consider Ephesians 6:18: “pray at all times”. What? How are we to do that?

The key is in the words I did not reveal to you from Ephesians 6: 18. The rest of the quote is, “in the Spirit.” There is our super-power. You see, in Daniel’s time the Spirit of God had not been poured out yet. We need to learn to walk in the Spirit, worship in the Spirit and pray in the Spirit. This is exactly what Jesus had in mind when he said, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16: 7). The apostles must have thought Jesus was crazy in saying that it was to their advantage that he leave but Jesus understood about life in the Spirit. He knew what it would mean to us and how the Spirit’s coming would change everything.

So there we are. Rather than praying three times a day, pray all day; pray without ceasing. Do you think this will change your life?

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A Kingdom in a Seed

On August 2, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mark 4: 30 – 32

And He said, “How shall we picture the Kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.”

Jesus was trying to illustrate the Kingdom of God for us. He compared the Kingdom of God to a seed, and not just any seed, but the smallest of all seeds. He tells us, though, that once this seed is sown, it yields the greatest harvest of any seed of the garden. The mustard plant not only yields a food crop, as do the other garden plants, but it also provides shelter and protection for the birds. God is telling us that we need sow only a small seed in order to reap a large harvest, a harvest which will provide our food as well as our protection and shelter. Everything we need is contained in that small seed. Operating in the Kingdom of God is easier and more fruitful than operating in the world. The world is like the rest of the garden where you labor and yet reap a smaller crop. The Kingdom of God operates in faith and efficiency. You can sow smaller seeds and yet gain all that you need.

As you meditate on this scripture, you will find more and more depth in it. Read it then think about it then re-read it. Remember, this is Jesus trying to demonstrate the Kingdom of God to us so it is probably in our interest to glean all of the understanding from this that we can.

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Beyond Normal

On August 1, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Corinthians 3: 3


[F]or you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
Paul seems to say here that he did not expect us to walk as mere men. He expected more of us. We are expected us to walk like Christ. Paul could tell that his disciples were not walking in the Way because there was still jealousy and strife among them. He berated them as fleshly babies but then attempted to draw them up to their true calling. They were to leave fleshly desires and behaviors behind and come up to a higher walk. Paul actually expected them to walk in a way that was above normal life. Honestly, most of the things that people strive over or are jealous about are temporal. They generally are not important in the grand scheme of things. When you have your eyes on the things above, it helps you tolerate the things of the world. Set your gaze on things above and let the things of this world slip beneath your feet. Don’t get caught up in the things of this world and you will find it easier to be kind to other people and jealousy and envy will no longer plague you.
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The Body

On July 29, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Philippians 1: 27

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; . . . standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.

I find this an interesting passage from Paul’s letter written from prison to the faithful in Philippi. Can you imagine a minister writing this today? It is a bit harder to imagine because the situation is different. Perhaps if you started a church in a foreign place you might write such a thought. I think there is another difference also. I believe today we pastors, teachers and evangelists speak to audiences of one. We attempt to teach each person who he or she should endeavor to be rather than speaking to the body corporately. It truly makes me wonder how much of a body we honestly are.

A body is more than a collection of individual parts. While a body is a union of many parts all of those constituent parts work together to perform. Can we say that a body is like a machine? Each of the parts have their individual function but all of those functions are for the furthering of a greater purpose which is the greater goal. Different components of our cars do different functions but it is in their collective that a car serves its greater function. This is what Paul was speaking to.

Paul wasn’t preaching to each member individually. He wrote to the body. He wanted to them to stand in unison with one goal, one mind and one purpose. Do you ever wonder what our greater purpose is or where you may fit in to the body? This is why ministers try to get you to partner with them. Partnership with each other is much, much more than financial support. It is a sincere effort to gather all of our separate parts together so that together we can fulfill our greater purpose. Our individualism sometimes causes us to be separate and even breeds loneliness. While we honor the individual it is also true we are most fulfilled and satisfied in togetherness.

I am not asking you, today, to do anything specific. Perhaps today’s devotion causes you to think, maybe it stimulates a prayer. I think it is important, though, that we see ourselves as part of a group; that we understand that our strength is not only in our relationship with our God but also in our unity with each other. God didn’t call just you. He didn’t call just me. He called us and we stand together as the Body of Christ.

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Partner Meeting

On July 28, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Thessalonians 5: 17


Pray without ceasing.

Now what does this have to do with our partnership with Christ? In yesterday’s Word of the Day I shared how Father gave me insight and answers while I prayed. Now, what if I want that divine insight and wisdom all day long? Well, pray all the time, right?
I am increasingly impressed that our part of many situations is simply prayer. However, there are times when there is more for us to do. It is through prayer that Dad tells us what to do. He wants to lead us every minute of every day and the way He can do that is through our vigilance in prayer.
One of the cultural problems we encounter is that we have built prayer up to a formal event. Read what David wrote and you will appreciate that prayer was never meant to be ritualistic. It is the common communication between you and your father. It has to be familiar rather than formal if we are to pray without ceasing.   Prayer is simply talking with your Father, God.

Another element of prayer is making ourselves receptive to His voice. We also use the time in prayer to give Him the authority in every situation. This is when you can put the problem in His “inbox” (see the Word of the Day for June 4, 2014 and October 19, 2015). We need to invite God into our every part of our lives and day and then we need to let Him work out the problems and tasks for us. In prayer give Him your projects and then begin to thank Him and praise Him for the result. And do this all day long, without ceasing. This is your perpetual partner meeting.

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Partnered with Christ

On July 27, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 25: 12

Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
First let us begin with a small reminder. There is no reason to be afraid of the Lord our God and father. This fear is more akin to a reverential awe. I personally read it as, “Who is the one who loves the Lord?” I think of this as applying to the person who is living in and with the Lord. Those who so do will be instructed by the Lord. God will show such a person the profitable path, the way he should choose.
I want to use another illustration today to demonstrate the idea of partnering with God in our lives. This partnership means that we are neither exercising our own might and power nor sitting on our hands waiting for God to drop everything in our lives.
Last week I was praying over a house. I was asking the Father to abide in the property and beseeching the Holy Spirit to saturate every molecule of the house with his presence. As I prayed I kept hearing the words “abide” and “saturate” repeating in my head. Well, isn’t that what I just prayed? Then I realized that the words were not coming from me but from Father God. He was telling me to abide in the space I was praying over. “Set up a desk here and work in this space. Reside here, abide. Next, if you want the Holy Spirit to saturate this space then you saturate it with prayer and anointed music. Sit here and pray. Let your prayers saturate the walls.” As I received this message I remembered some of the old churches I have been in. As soon as you walk into them you can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Westminster Abbey was the most amazing in this respect but I remember going into an old country church and feeling that anointing. I remember thinking that one could feel the generations of prayers which had been offered in that building. The prayers of the saints had saturated the walls and the pews.

The point, though, is that through prayer, through connecting with God, He told me what to do for that property. You see, I prayed and then He told me what to do. He has a part to do and I have a part to do. When we begin our days, projects and work with Christ, then we will walk in the way we should. He will direct our paths. This is how we work in harness with Jesus, this is the way of partnership.

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