Sunshine

Proverb 4: 18

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. 

I have never seen this verse so big before. I have been helping my mother with the sale of her house, the purchase of a new house and the impending move. Do you know that old saying, “If it can go wrong, it will.” Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration but there have been many hiccups along this road. 

A minister friend sent this verse to Mom and me and it really is a good one. It means that despite the rain or the clouds the sun shines for the children of God. I would say, though, that it doesn’t shine for Christians. It shines for those who are in God, whose life is hidden in Him. Having said a salvation prayer isn’t the end all. It truly is the beginning. From that initial dedication of our lives to Christ we begin to learn to walk in him and to trust him for all the things of our life. One of the lessons we learn is to put ourselves in His hands and put our stuff: our problems, issues and cares in His “Inbox”. As we do this the clouds have to dissipate. It really is wonderful.

Look at this verse from the Good News Translation and be encouraged: “The road the righteous travel is like the sunrise, getting brighter and brighter until daylight has come.” Yahoo! There may be clouds, there may be rain but for the children of God the sun shines brightly. The brilliance keeps growing until it is as bright as it can get. That is our God and Father. Out of the midst of storms He brings sunshine. Hallelujah. It may be raining on others but the “sonshine” is on you. Glory!! Get a revelation of this and let it get down in your spirit. The people who will see this truth manifested in their lives are the ones who believe it and trust it. God wants to pour out sunshine on you so don’t look at the clouds. They aren’t for you. Set your eyes on the emerging sunshine. God is light and He has you covered.

Death Snare

Proverb 6: 2

. . . snared with the words of your mouth, have been caught with the words of your mouth.

The words of our mouths; by them we shall live victoriously or be snared. If you knew for a fact that whatever you say is what you are going to get, would you change some of the things you are saying? Would you speak differently about your children, your health? What about your job? We need to get a revelation about the words we speak. God used words to create the whole universe (Hebrews 11:3). And He sustains the world by the “word of his power” (Hebrews 1: 3). Words are powerful. They are going to determine where we are five years from now. So the question is, “What are we saying?”  

I heard a story about a man who confessed over and over again that he was going to die young? Guess what? He did. Athletes use positive affirmations in their work. They know that they are determining outcomes with their words. All sorts of Positive Mental Attitude speakers and authors have taught how powerful words are in people’s lives. It seems most of us, though, have not wholly grasped the enormous authority that our words have. If we had, we would guard very carefully the things we say. We would not claim disease as “my” heart disease or “my” diabetes. Don’t own it. Don’t claim it. Give it back to the devil since he seems to like those things so much.  

The Bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverb 18: 21). Take some time to notice what words you speak. Then maybe even take some time to write out the things you would like to see manifested in your life. Speak those good results and teach others to do the same. We will have in the future what we speak now. Let us all speak good of ourselves and our futures.

Near and Dear

Psalm 145: 18

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him.

At some point in time we have to decide to simply believe the words of the Bible. We have to move on from wanting everything to be proved to us and arrive at belief. We are said to be “believers” but just what is it that we believe? I want you today to choose to believe that God is with you. When your life is troubled or even very busy, you may not feel like God is close to you but we have learned not to go by feelings. We go by faith. This is where belief in God and his Word needs to be preeminent. Belief in the Word needs to rise up so that it can strengthen you. Know that he is near you as you call upon Him. Do not doubt that he is right there for you. He is working on your behalf even when you cannot see his work or feel his presence. Don’t doubt it for a second. You are precious to Him and nothing you do or say escapes His notice. The Lord is near you today. What have you to say to Him?

Seeking

Psalm 34: 10

But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.

Matthew 6: 33 says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” Christians do not have to run around seeking after “things,” even things they need. In Philippians 4: 19 God promises us he will provide for our needs. Our role and function in this relationship we have with Him is to seek Him. It is His responsibility to provide for our needs as well as everything else. The above verse says we will not lack any good thing.

I do not say this is always an easy thing to do though. The cares of the world come and choke out the Word that was planted in our hearts (Matthew 13: 22). But take a care. Put your effort and energy into reviving that Word in you and sow the Word of the living God into your heart and He will be able to move on your behalf to meet your needs and your desires. Seek Him! Seek Him and don’t worry about the things of this world. You will choke on the cares of this world. And there is no point when it is His good pleasure to give you those things you want. Seek the Lord. Seek His face continually. Let your energy go into seeking him. “I will be found by you” says the Lord as written in Jeremiah 29: 14. Seek him and you will find him and every good thing will be added to you in His name.

The Grand Intercessor

Romans 8: 34

Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Jesus completed his work on earth and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. And what does Jesus do now? Is he retired? No. He talks to the Father about our needs. I’ll bet he brags on us too. I can imagine him saying, “Father, just look at that child of yours, how she has reacted in love to that person. Father, send a special blessing to that child of yours.” Can you imagine that? How wonderful. And when he sees us struggling, he tells the Father that we need a little help. What a magnificent thing this is. Jesus sits next to our heavenly Father and prays on our behalf. Thank you Jesus!

The Good Father

Romans 8: 32

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (John 3:16). What will he not give us now that He has given us His best? Sometimes people have difficulty grasping that Father God is interested in every single aspect of their lives and furthermore that He is willing to help them in all things. But this verse really brings home to us the message that God is more than willing to do all things for you. He is more than willing to give to you all the things you need or want. After all, he sent His only son so that we could be reconciled unto Him. Certainly he did not do that only to remain estranged and far removed from us. No. He has called us into the kingdom of His dear Son so that we can be one with him. He wants to be a good father to us. He will certainly give us all these other things; things we need, things we want. We just seek Him and he adds all the other things so that we never even have to go after them for ourselves. Save your energy. Do not strive for your needs or desires of your heart. After all, He has already provided for your eternal life and blessing. Will he not provide for you in this life too? Will he give you His very best and then withhold the lesser part? I don’t think so. He gives freely and not sparingly to those who love Him.

Well, Satisfied . . . I’m Satisfied

Psalm 34: 12-13

Who is the man who desires life, and loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.

Do you desire good life? Do you desire to have a long life filled with the goodness of God? David tells us in this psalm how to get just that. He instructs us to keep our lips holy unto God. Speak words of life and healing rather than words of death and destruction. Don’t indulge in telling lies or even telling half truths because that is also deceitful.

Every time you open your mouth about a situation you can either give a report on what the devil is doing or you can report on what God is doing. You can say, “Oh, my knee hurts,” reporting on the hard work of the devil. Or you can say, “By his stripes, I am healed,” telling of the good works of God.

If you desire a long life filled with the promises of God, then you need to fill your mouth with the good news of the Lord. Speak out of your own mouth all that he says regarding every situation in your life. Are you broke? Or are you rich? Are you sick or are you healed? What does God say about your situation? Find out if you don’t know and then repeat what he says.