Peace and Unity

On December 9, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 133: 1

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!

We have opportunities everyday to get offended and/or get in strife. God is looking for people who can hang on to their peace even when things challenge them. This is no easy task in today’s world. Just driving to the grocery store and back can be enough to steal every bit of peace you have; not to mention the time you spend in the store waiting in line, etc. There is no shortage of chances to let your emotions get wrought up. What can we do to stay in peace in the midst of the daily turmoil? We have to rise above it. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us be at peace and maintain our peace. We are not going to change every driver out there so we must get Jesus to help us. Not all of our co-workers, family members or even church members are going to walk in a manner that makes it easy for us to stay out of strife. None the less, Jesus said that he gave us his peace (John 14: 27). We must refuse to let the devil hop up and down on our buttons and cause us to get stirred up. Only by yielding to Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit to do a work in us are we going to be able to walk in this world but not be of it. Jesus has within himself the power to overcome these obstacles to our love walk. He told us that he has overcome the world so by and through him we are overcomers too. Hold on to your peace. Follow peace. Don’t let others get you into strife and dissention. Let us exemplify Christ in our unity and communion with others.

Back to Top

Time to Pray

On December 8, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 32: 6

Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him.

When should you pray in response to a calamity? Today! When you are in a crisis is no time to begin praying. It is the daily prayer, the continual prayer that helps you to be able to stand in the time of great pressure. When the challenge comes, your deep, abiding trust in the Lord arises because you have been daily praying to him.  

You can hear him a lot better when you are quiet too. You need the calm, quiet time to build yourself up and to hear from Father. In a crisis is no time to try to start that. When you have laid in layer after layer of prayer in your heart and thereby drawn closer to the Lord and more secure in your relationship with him, all that prayer comes to your defense when you need it. Pray now, when you are not over-stressed so that in the time of great need your defenses are fully arrayed. Your armor will already be on you and the weapon of our warfare, the Word, will be in your heart at the ready.

Back to Top

Inquire of the Lord

On December 7, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Kings 22: 5

Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the Lord.”

The king of Israel, Ahab, had asked the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, to go up with him against another army to take some land that he thought belonged in the kingdom of Israel. Jehoshaphat answered that they were as brothers, that his people were Ahab’s people and his horses were Ahab’s horses. He was practically committed to helping Israel just by their closeness, but still, he required Ahab to pray about this war before he went up against the army.

We could all stand to take a page out of Jehoshaphat’s book. We should pray about everything before we give our answer. Before we undertake anything, even our drive to work, we ought to say a prayer. Every time even a small decision is required, stop and ask the Lord what he advises. He cares about everything in your life; even the things that you think are small and insignificant. He has great insight and can save you a lot of time and effort. Remember Jehoshaphat and when you have a decision to make call on God for direction and assistance.

Back to Top

Preach It!

On December 4, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Acts 18: 9 – 10

And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

Whatever God gives you to say, speak with confidence and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that he has many people in the city. He is telling us that he has people who are praying for the word to be preached, for the word to be taught. He has praying people whose prayers are supporting you and pulling on your anointing.

I heard a story told by a bible teacher of a man that had been involved in the occult. He was a witch doctor and his father was a witch doctor. The man is now a Christian but was telling how his father trained him in the things of the occult. The father pointed out one little village and said, “We will not be putting any curses on that little village.” When the son asked why, the father responded, “Because a Christian lives there.” Because one Christian lived in that village, the whole village was protected from the curse.

Brother, when someone goes to attack you because you are spreading the gospel, they are in for some trouble. Go forward in faith and courage for the God of all creation is on your side and he has assigned praying people to guard your back. Obey the Lord in everything he has given you to do and do not fear.

Back to Top

Love Is …

On December 3, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Corinthians 13: 4 – 8

Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

If you are old enough you may remember posters and figurines which attempted to reveal the nature and appearance of love. Love is … a puppy on a summer day, or something like that. Well, I have travelled many miles since those days and I now know what love is and it is a lot more simple than we ever knew. In fact, God did the original Love is … poster two thousand years ago. Love is patient, kind, etc.

I started to title this Word of the Day “Marriage Advice” because this is the most clear exposition on love I have ever heard. You could attend a week long marriage seminar and not get as much as this simple yet rich verse reveals. So this is what I would say to a couple seeking pre-marital counseling, if the person you are planning on marrying does not display these characteristics, these behaviors towards you, then don’t marry him/her.

If someone does not exhibit patience, kindness, and the rest then it is not love. Love is …. They may need you, they may have a dysfunctional attachment to you but love is known by the attributes above. Now, we may not always like this truth but truth is truth and you go ahead and marry that person but you will be back for couples counseling later and probably still end up in divorce.

We are not requiring a person to be perfect but love has some characteristics, it leaves evidence. For example, love is not jealous. If your soon to be spouse is jealous then understand that he/she isn’t demonstrating love through that expression. They are expressing ownership. They believe they have the right to own all your time, your thoughts and decisions. And, importantly, he or she does not trust you. Now, what would you say to a friend whose boyfriend or girlfriend tried to control them through jealousy? I am sure you would warn them. Well, take your own advice. Anyone who treats us other than as the verse above enumerates is acting out of some motivation other than love.

You deserve love. Christ brought love. God is love. Live in love.

Back to Top

Glorious Peace

On December 2, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 16: 33

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Peace is one thing the world needs more of. Peace is something which most of our lives need more of. It is an incredibly valuable commodity. In John 14: 27 Jesus assured his followers that he was going to leave his peace here in the earth for them, “My peace I give to you,” he told them. Then here in the 16th chapter of John we see part of the impact of Jesus’ peace in our lives. He taught us, he spoke to us so that even in the midst of turmoil, even when the tribulation of the world bears down upon us we can breathe. We can have peace. Jesus overcame the world so that we can live in peace.

Peace is the legacy Jesus left every believer. We have the right and the ability to live in peace even when the world is in chaos all around us. The key, though, is that we have to be in Him. These few words are so precious. They provide a test for us. I like having tests and measurable instruments. That way I do not have to weigh things subjectively. That is why, at least in part, I find this verse so valuable. Using this verse as an instrument I know I can stop my life for brief moment and check for peace. If I don’t have peace, if I don’t feel peace, if I am not walking in peace, then I am not in Him. Wow! That is powerful to me. I know that I need to stop whatever I am doing and get back in him. “Jesus, I am out of peace so I am out of you. Move me back into you and back into peace Lord. Show me where I may have jumped the track and what, if anything I need to do to get back in you. Lord, lead me to your perfect peace.” If you pray that very simple, almost naïve prayer you will find yourself back on track in no time. That is the value of a test. You can see where you are and if it is not where you want to be, you can immediately change courses.

Look, the world deals tribulation. Jesus told us that. However, he also told us that he has overcome the world and that we, therefore, have an inheritance of peace. No matter what you are going through right now won’t you let Jesus fill your heart with peace? Won’t you let him minister his sweet love to your very spirit? Don’t go through today without the peace of Christ. Don’t let the world do that to you. You are the heir to the promise. Live in it today.

Back to Top

New Threshing Sledge

On December 1, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 41: 15

Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; you will thresh the mountains, and pulverize them, and will make the hills like chaff.

The aspect of this verse which is so profound to me is that our heavenly Father said that He has made us a threshing sledge. He said that within us is the power and the ability to thresh mountains, to pulverize them and to make hills as chaff. That power is within us in the person of the Holy Spirit. No thing is now impossible to those who believe because the Spirit of God has come to live inside of each of us.

There are two cautions I would give you in regards to your ruminations about this verse. First of all, some wish to argue, foolishly, that this verse was meant only to the nation of Israel. Well, my first argument to refute that is, “My name is Israel” and so is yours! We are now standing in the shoes of Israel thanks to our Lord, Jesus.

Secondly, why is the book of Isaiah in the Christian Bible if it isn’t for Christians? Let’s get a revelation here and cease with foolish semantics. Your God had you in mind before there even was an Israelite nation, even before there was an earth, so doesn’t it seem downright stupid to suggest that He didn’t mean these words for us?

The second caution I would give you is not to minimize these words or to make them so metaphorical that they lose all their power. So the mountains in your life might be a mountain of bills or medical issues. That is to look at these mountains metaphorically and that is okay. A mountain to Isaiah might be a relationship challenge to your or me. However, I want you to allow you mind to expand to encompass exactly what this verse says the way God gave it to Isaiah. I sincerely believe He was talking about real, physical mountains and that if we understand and embrace who we are in the Kingdom of God that truly there is nothing impossible to us.

So, consider what mountains you are facing today. Are any of them too big for your Dad? Now, the really big question, are any of them too large for you? Your father has given you power from His own hand to make you a “new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges.” You don’t have to let the mountains loom over you and weigh you down with their shadow. You can, and should, rise up and tell that mountain to jump into the sea and if it doesn’t, then thresh it, pulverize it, take it down! You are the power of God in this earth through His indwelling Spirit. Let that truth fill you.

Back to Top