Called Out

On June 15, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 45: 3

And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden wealth of secret places, in order that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

Did you know that you are called of the Lord? And that he has called you by name? Well, you are called. He has called you to himself. Who will answer his call? He is willing to pour out his blessing on you to confirm his call on your life. The secret to all of this is in the answering of his call. Run to him with all that you are. Withhold nothing from him. So many people pray to him for the things they need when the real answer is to turn your face to him. You do not have to call him. He is already present with you, calling your name. You have only to acknowledge him. In every way that you acknowledge him, he will be your Lord and bless you. If you let him be the Lord of your health, he will bless you in your body. If you acknowledge him in your finances, he will release his blessings in your financial life. Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will make your paths straight (Proverb 3: 6).

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Divinely Powerful

On June 12, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 10: 3 – 4

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

How easy it is to forget that, although we are in this world, we are not to war according to the world. But wouldn’t we really rather have divinely appointed weapons anyway? Paul is reminding his readers that we are not to walk according to the flesh and we are not to fight our battles in the flesh or as we learned to do. We are to learn a new way to wage war. That is in the Spirit. We wage war in the Spirit through prayer and by speaking the Word of God. Every time we speak a verse of the Bible over a situation, we are waging Spiritual war.

If you have a mountainous challenge before you right now, set your heart and mind to use your most powerful arsenal, use the divinely appointed weapons of the Spirit. They are prayer, God’s word and love. We do not want to hear that last one but it is the nuclear bomb of spiritual weaponry. You are allowed to use this bomb. Whatever challenge or enemies you are facing today, remember to pull out the big guns. Don’t fight your battles in the flesh. Use the weapons that God Almighty has provided you.

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Sit Down with Mercy

On June 11, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 3: 25                 (God’s Word Translation)

God showed that Christ is the throne of mercy where God’s approval is given through faith in Christ’s blood. In his patience God waited to deal with sins committed in the past.

 There is a new mercy seat and his name is Jesus. In the Old Testament we read about the mercy seat which was the top of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark held, among other things, the tablets of law which were given to Moses. God in His great love and compassion for His people covered the law with the Mercy Seat. Now He has done it a second time in the person and sacrifice of Jesus.

 We are seated in the heavens with Jesus (Ephesians 2: 6). That is what it means to abide in Christ. We are in Him and He is in us. We abide together. We are again covered by mercy. God has given us His approval because of our faith in the victory of Jesus’ shed blood. It does require our confidence in Jesus’ victory however, but once we have faith in the blood of the perfect lamb then we are seated with him in the mercy seat. No longer does our sin condemn us. God withheld judgment until He could get the perfect sacrifice into place. Now the blood of Jesus speaks for us and completely washes away our sin. God has covered us with His overflowing mercy.

Order your personal theology so that you do not perceive yourself as a sinner but rather as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5: 21). We are saved by grace. When we embrace the truth of our righteousness in Jesus we will not be drawn to sin. We are humbled by his magnanimity and though we may make mistakes we sure don’t seek out sin. Righteousness makes you righteous. Sit down in mercy and arise in His righteousness.

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A Healthy Addiction

On June 10, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Corinthians 16: 15          (Common English Bible)

Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to do something else. You know that the people in Stephanas’ household were the first crop of the harvest to come from the mission to Achaia. They have dedicated themselves to the service of God’s people.

Paul urged his followers as he urges us today to emulate the household of Stephanas and dedicate ourselves to the service of the saints. The King James version of this verse says that they addicted themselves to serving God’s people. If we are to have an addition, that is the one to have.

Christians generally accept the idea of service but I am not sure that we are always clear about how our service will manifest. Paul clarifies this for us. We serve the Lord Jesus through our devotion to his people. John told us the same thing but in a roundabout way. “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4: 20). We express our love for the Father by extending his grace, mercy and gifts to this people. We bless people with our means and serve them every way we can. Let us become addicted to serving God’s people and so honor our God.

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Shepherd of Compassion

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

Isaiah 49: 10

They will not hunger or thirst, neither will the scorching heat or sun strike them down for he who has compassion on them will lead them, and will guide them to springs of water.

What a wonderful promise and image. Father God has compassion on us and knows our needs. Jesus’ life was characterized by his great compassion. Their love for us compels them to care for us just as Jesus analogized about the sheep and the sheep herder. He told us, as recited in John 10, that he is the good shepherd and that the shepherd lays down his life in defense of the sheep. Will he who has defended us even unto his own death, now not lead us to fresh water? Will he not provide and care for us?  

Psalm 23 so clearly demonstrates the acts of a shepherd caring for his sheep. He will not allow anything to happen to us and he will meet all of our needs. He will lead us through the times of trouble just as described as the valley of death in Psalm 23. Do not fear your enemies or tortures. Our shepherd is well able to defeat them all.

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For His Name’s Sake

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

Psalm 31: 3

For Thou art my rock and my fortress; for Thy name’s sake Thou wilt lead me and guide me.

God has a vested interest in leading you. He wants you successful because your life is a testimony to others. He wants his kids to find their way and to live peaceful, successful lives. He directs your steps so that you can find your way. If he did not lead and guide us, we would easily get lost. There is safety in Him and He leads you into that safe place for His name’s sake. In that place, in Him, is all of the substance you need. He has promised to lead you so He must do it or otherwise damage His reputation. He cannot lie so if He has said it, He must do it. Do not ask yourself if God will lead you and guide you. You are not the expert on what God will do. He has already established, by His own word, that he will direct you. Just relax and let Him

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Leaning

On June 5, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 3: 5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

God has promised us that He will lead us and guide us making our paths straight. Well, that is great news! Here is the real key though. We must really learn to put all our trust in Him. We must abandon our own ways of thinking even to the point of abandoning our own understanding. Many of us have our security tied up in understanding things for ourselves. This is like jumping off of a height. All that we know about gravity and the consequences of such an action tell us that this is a foolish action. None the less, if God is telling you to take a step that you do not understand, you must just trust Him to bring you through. Do not require God’s plans to make sense to you. Don’t lean on your own wisdom and knowledge. We really aren’t that smart anyway. Rely on God’s ability to do what He promises. Abandon yourself, your plans and your will to Him. Trust Him to lead you into the fullness of all He has promised you.

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