Running Mates

On February 26, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 15: 13 – 15

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Yesterday I wrote to you about being a deep-water devotee. There are few pleasures in this earth that satisfy like finding a deep-water running mate. I once felt so alone, like few people wanted to dedicate their lives and our conversation to the pursuit of Jesus, our Christ. I am here to say today that I am blessed. I have friends, people who want to run in the fast lane of Christian quest. 

I believe Jesus shows us a model for friendship in this passage. First of all, he calls us into friendship with him. Wow, just wow! Then he shows us the dedication he gives to friendship; that he was willing to lay down his life for his friends, i.e. you and me. However, I see another key factor in this friendship equation. Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do what I command you.” I am not suggesting that a friend should be obedient to you. I do recognize, though, that we must be of like mind and spirit. In other words, Jesus points out to us that our way should be his way. We should run his path. We cannot really be friends with someone who is running a different path than we are. Sometimes that is sad. Every now and again you lose someone along the way. I grieve those losses but there is joy in the morning when you find a true running mate. When you find someone who is willing to delve into the deep things of Christ with you, who will respect your opinions and questions and call you in even deeper, then it truly is like finding a gold mine.

I dedicate this Word of the Day to my Deep Water friends. You know who you are and I appreciate you. I also wish to extend an invitation to others who wish to jump in the deep water. There is plenty of room in the ocean for you. Come on in, the water is fine and your new friends await you. 

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Deep Water

On February 25, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 14: 29

And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

What is it that makes this story so captivating? Verse 30 reads, “But seeing the wind, he became afraid and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” We understand, don’t we, that Peter is in over his head? He is in the deep water. That is what makes this story interesting. What happens if Peter is in three feet of water? There is no impact, no meaning.

I believe this is a precise metaphor for life. All the important work of life is done out there where you are in over your head. This is a focus area of this ministry. In fact, I have thought about naming the Word of the Day the Deep Water Devotional. Why? There are ministries whose purpose is more centralized on evangelism. Their mission is to take the saving word of the gospel to non-Christians and help those people take the first step in becoming a disciple of Christ. Ivey Ministries is a second step ministry. Our focus is to take those folks and people who have been Christians for a long time and lead them into deeper water.

We want to give people what they need in order to grow in the Lord. I, personally, want to encourage and aid people in going deeper. Many of us have spent some portion of our Christian lives as little more than pew sitters. Or like me, you may have called yourself a Christian, believed Christian doctrine and believed in Christ but those beliefs didn’t affect you on a daily basis. I have been a Christian as long as I can remember. My grandmothers taught me about Christ when I was a toddler, for which I am extremely grateful, by the way. Nonetheless, while those beliefs were always important to me, I didn’t always live daily in the deep water. Jesus couldn’t call me to come out to the deep even because I wasn’t listening well. In San Diego, though, I ran up on some folks that challenged me to go deeper and I will ever be grateful to them. Now, I am most happy when I am way out in the deep water. I like to be in over my head. And really, isn’t this the only way to live? When I am in the deep water I have to keep my eyes on Jesus otherwise I will sink. If I am in the shallows then what do I really need Jesus for? Besides, I have found that life is soooo much better in the deep. There is more of everything out here, including grace, blessing, revelation, glory, etc.

So, my unadulterated, unequivocal purpose in sending you these Word of the Day devotionals is to coax you a little further into the deep. I know there is a cost to you. I too have to pay a cost. There is the minister that sends me looong partner letters, the occasional long sermon which we all have to sit through, and there is the occasional long Word of the Day which costs us both time. 

I want to let you know that we timed the longest Word of the Day thus far and found that most people read it in less than five minutes. Now, sometimes you may feel that you don’t have five minutes. I get that but perhaps you should read the Word of the Day on busyness. Do what is important first and you will find yourself better equipped to do the rest. Second, that is only 25 minutes a week if all of them take five minutes to read. When I break it down like this for myself I find that I decide I can do it.

I have a passion for this and I want to share this deep passion with you. I am revealing to you what the Father is showing me. We are in our last days if not THE last days and we just need more of Jesus. Look around you. Christians are falling on their faces all over. The times are challenging. We can’t skate by on a small dose of Jesus. These are deep water times. So, jump in! The water is fine. Moreover, Jesus is here to take your hand.

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Standing in a Storm

On February 24, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 7: 24 – 27

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall.”

Jesus spoke these words. He says that anyone who hears his words and acts on them is like a wise man. The rain, floods and wind represent the storms of life. Those people who hear and act on Jesus’ words will be able to withstand the storms of life. Those who do not listen to and act on Jesus’ words get battered and destroyed by every storm that blows. Do you want to be able to stand in the roughest of times? Then you must commit yourself to the Word of God. God’s wisdom is contained in these pages and through your relationship with him, he reveals the deep truths contained therein. Is there anyone foolish enough to say that he/she does not want God’s wisdom? There probably is though it is very difficult to understand. Obviously, he is without wisdom if he would say such a foolish thing. Therefore, since most of us do want the wisdom of God, let us dedicate ourselves to reading his word. This need not be tiresome. Get a version that is more readable than the King James if it helps you. Go to any Christian store and read the same passage in several different translations. There are plenty out there these days that are not written in Elizabethan English. There is also the One Year Bible if you are ready to commit to reading the entire Bible. It also comes in a couple of translations. Do yourself a favor; start reading a little each day and let the Lord of Hosts bring life and wisdom to you.

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Decreed

On February 23, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Job 22: 28

You will also decree a thing and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways.

In a previous devotional we unveiled that there are spiritual laws influencing us and the world around us just as there are physical laws. The first of these spiritual laws is the law of sowing and reaping. It says, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” Upon this law all the others depend.

Today’s verse is on Spiritual Law number two – you will have what you say. People chaff against this and even though most of us, in our hearts, know it is true we still resist its truth. I am not sure why we do this unless it is just that we do not want to be responsible for our results or do not want to be responsible for our words. None the less, the reality of our lives five years from now is being constructed by the words we speak today. 

This verse from the book of Job is an application verse of Spiritual Law Two. Once we know the second law, we can use it in order to establish that which we need and want. You can proactively speak and proclaim and it will be established for you. Must I say that you must believe this passage in order for it to work for you? Any time you spout any sort of unbelief, or try to get God’s laws to work for you mechanically rather than spiritually, you will fail. Speaking unbelief undermines everything faith attempts to accomplish. Mechanically spitting out some formula for Biblical success is anything but Biblical. We are called believers and everything we do is to be according to faith and belief. If, however, you believe what you say, then it shall be done for you.

So, here is the real crux of today’s selected verse. Every day we should arise and begin declaring. Recently, I wrote to you about proclaiming Jesus as Lord every single day. We have the promises of God. There is a whole book of them which I endeavor to ship to your inbox one by one. We can take those promises and speak them over our lives every day. We should declare by the grace of God and name of Jesus that we are the beloved and the redeemed of God. You are today an heir to the Kingdom of God and all that it encompasses. I proclaim in Jesus’ name that you are forgiven, sanctified, holy, precious, and glorified. Now, you start proclaiming these things over your life. Decree that your children are saved and serving God. You don’t have to declare it in their faces. You can articulate all your decrees in the shower. Whatever you decree in the name of Jesus, believing, will be established for you.

One last note, if you declare that you are getting old and your body is falling apart, get ready to spend your time in the doctor’s office. If you say you are crazy or losing your mind, you are right. Let this revelation penetrate to the very core of your being – WHATEVER YOU SAY, YOU WILL HAVE. Now start making glorious decrees!

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Life

On February 22, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 10: 10

I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

John 3: 16 tells us why the Father sent His son into the earth. It was because of his love for us and so that, by that love, we might be saved and inherit life. Here Jesus tells us in his own words what his motivation and purpose were in coming to earth. He came into the earth to lay down his life for ours so that we might have abundant life, life overflowing. What is that motivation then? It is love, of course. Jesus so loves us that he willingly and knowingly laid down his life for us. He knew when he began his ministry how it would end. He knew that he was destined for Calvary and he chose that path because he so loves us. The Romans did not kill him. The Jews did not kill him. He laid down his life for us.

Knowing and understanding this should not put you under condemnation though. Do not feel guilty or unworthy of the sacrifice. That is to make the sacrifice less than it is. No rather we should express our deep and overflowing love and gratitude to he who first loved us. Just let the love of Christ fill your heart to overflowing and then as it does, let it overflow in your adoration and appreciation of him.

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Daily Declaration

On February 19, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 67: 19

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation [Selah].

What is salvation? So many times we have a narrow perspective on salvation. We often limit its scope to being saved from hell. Of course, that is one of the inclusions of the word salvation but these Old Testament writers had a much more complete understanding of salvation.

The word salvation, according to Strong’s, means “something saved, deliverance; hence aid, victory, prosperity; – health, help, welfare.” Therefore, God is our daily deliverance, aid, help, victory, prosperity, health and welfare. Does that put a different perspective on today’s verse? 

The word “Selah” means to stop, pause and consider. We are supposed to stop here as if this verse is a crescendo and ponder its meaning. When we do we notice that this little 15 word sentence is loaded with power and good news. One of the takeaways is that God bears our burdens. Another is that God is our salvation. We also see that it is possible for us to bless the Lord. There is at least one more though. That is that this burden shifting salvation occurs on a daily basis. There may be a revelation in there. It is not enough that I gave Jesus my heavy burdens yesterday. I must meet Him again this morning and pronounce his lordship over my life today. That is like fireworks going off in the sky above me. 

Every day we proclaim that Jesus is our Lord.  From that reality easily flows the daily laying down of our burdens. It becomes almost automatic to give him our worries, deadlines and cares when we begin with a daily declaration of his lordship over our lives.

I hope this revelation sets you free in at least one aspect of your life. Proclaiming his lordship over our lives daily unleashes his power into our day. It gives his angels assignments for our benefit. Maybe this gives the understanding and motivation for getting up five minutes early so that we can speak with Jesus and declare him as Lord today.

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Busy, Busy Bee

On February 18, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 46: 10

Cease striving and know that I am God. 

Well, I’ve done it again. I’ve allowed myself to get busy. Now to some of you that might sound good. Well, I do like to be busy and to have a lot on my plate. I like having a lot going on. But here is the thing, sometimes I get out of balance and get so busy that in the end I find myself not very effective, certainly not efficient. Always I look around and find that I am trying to do everything in my own strength again. Then, as now, I have to stop and put the pieces back in place. For me that means pulling out my calendar and scheduling my time. It means analyzing my work time to determine what I am doing with my time and it almost always means I have to clean up my diet and workout schedule too.

In the United States these days we wear our busyness like a badge of honor. Well, not me, not any longer anyway. In my life, “busyness” invariably means I have stopped living in grace in favor of living in effort. In fact, being “busy” has become a bit of a profanity to me because our Father has already corrected me in this and loudly. When I find I am beginning to feel the stress of too much to do and not enough time, then I know it is time for a checkup. You see, it always means that I have stopped leaning on Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit to be the work horses in my life and have put all of that heavy load back onto my shoulders. 

What did I find this time? My devotional life is nowhere as strong as it was, my Bible time is weak, prayer time limited, my workouts have fallen to almost nothing and my diet stinks. I have more and more to do so I am drawing further and further into myself instead of reaching out to the source of all strength, power and helpfulness. I am no longer yoked with Jesus. Heck, I am not even including Him in the emails. What?! I am working hard at getting little done. So, I repent – turn and go in a different direction.

I have personally experienced and also witnessed in others that we can actually get more done when we first connect with God. So instead of going straight to my computer, I must first go to my Bible. Time with the trinity must supersede work if I wish to be as effective as possible. Jesus really will do the heavy lifting if I will let him. Let’s make “busy” a bad word by devoting our hearts and time first and foremost to our Lord and savior. Let’s put the entirety of our lives in his loving hands, even our work, even our busyness. When we begin to tell people that we are busy, when we begin to think it and when we first begin to feel the stress of too much to do and not enough time, let us run, not walk, to the throne room of God and lay down our heavy burdens in humble repentance. Let’s turn our busyness into worship instead of it being a source of pride. Let’s get more done in less time while spending all of that time with the Lord. Now that sounds good, doesn’t it?

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