Down but not Out

On October 17, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Corinthians 4: 8 – 9

[W]e are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

No matter what hardships come against us, we are never defeated because of the love of the Father, and God who always picks us up and provides us all the tools and weapons for defense and victory. We never have to live even one day in despair because we have a Father who is loving and kind. Moreover, he is able to care for us. He is always there for us. Even if some event knocks you down, do not despair. Your Father will not allow you to be defeated. You may say with all confidence that although you have suffered a blow, you will be back in greater form than ever before. God is not willing that any of us should suffer defeat. Put your confidence in His faithfulness. We are never forsaken. Not even when it looks like we have been. 

There is a destroyer (John 10: 10). He doesn’t have any real power. He is just a renegade and a trickster. He will try to convince you that you are forsaken, that God has turned His face from you. This is the only weapon he really has, deception. This is what he did to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He fooled them, tricked them into thinking things were one way when they were really another. So, don’t believe the lies of the devil. Don’t even believe your own eyes. Believe the Lord, our God. Jesus is the truth. Believe him. You cannot be destroyed as long as your eyes are fixed on Jesus and you deny the lies of the evil one. God bless you.

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Tuning In

On October 16, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 21: 22

And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

You might say that you have not received all that you have asked in prayer. I have a question then. How is your receiver? Or maybe your believer is broken. The scripture says that what we believe when we ask in prayer, we will receive. If that is true, then perhaps we have received exactly what we have believed. So, we need to work on our belief. The way to increase belief is to spend more time with the Father and his word. The more time you spend hearing, seeing and reading the word related to the subject of your prayer, the more your belief will grow. When you find a really key scripture, one that goes right to the heart of your prayer, you should meditate on that one. Meditate just means that you are thinking on it in a concentrated manner. Think about each word in the scripture. Why did the author use a particular word? Look up the key words in a dictionary. Look up synonyms for the word. Talk to your heavenly Father about the scripture. Ask him what the scripture means to him and ask him to shine even more light of meaning on it for you. As you do this, one day the faith will just jump in your heart. All of sudden you will know that you know. Then the facts won’t count. It will not matter what the situation around you looks like because you will have a revelation of the truth. Truth is above facts and the truth always trumps facts. Once you know the truth, you will truly be free.

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New Wine

On October 15, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 5: 18

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.

Does this verse mean that we can get drunk on vodka or gin; anything but wine? I think we all know that drunkenness is not in the will of God for his kids. Synonyms for dissipation are debauchery and indulgence even wickedness, depravity and decadence. These are not words that any of us want to have associated with us. Does that mean we can never drink wine or other adult beverage? The verse does not indicate that Christians cannot have a drink but we should not allow ourselves to become intoxicated with strong drink. The only thing we are to be intoxicated with is the Holy Spirit. The way to protect yourself from getting drunk or any other kind of dissipation is to be filled with the Spirit. Pray to the Lord to fill you up to overflowing with the Holy Spirit of God. You can never over indulge in the Holy Spirit.

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Grieve Not

On October 14, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 4: 30 – 31

30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

One thing I would never want to do is to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. That drums up a truly horrid image. Fortunately for me and everyone else, Paul proceeds to tell us how we can avoid doing so. We are to make bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice completely foreign to our way of living. That means that we are to have no ill will (malice) toward anyone, nor speak of others in a way that will damage their reputation in the eyes of others (slander). We are to put anger away from us. That is no surprise but sometimes we allow ourselves the luxury of anger. If you do not want to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, then you should quickly put the anger away from you and move into forgiveness. Bitterness is defined as: sharp and disagreeable; harsh; severe; piercing. 2) Characterized by strong feelings of hatred, resentment, cynicism. You have known people who are sharp with others. That is not the attitude God wants us to show to others nor are we to be cynical. Taking verses 29 through 32 together, there is a picture revealed to us of the Christian walk.  If it were to be summarized we might say guard our mouths only letting those words come out that are edifying and uplifting and be kind to everyone in word and deed. In this way we will be pleasing to the Lord God and not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

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Power Tools

On October 13, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 4: 29

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.

God is serious about our words and how we use them. We can use them to build up others or tear them down. The word edification means instruction or enlightenment, especially when it is morally or spiritually uplifting (Encarta Dictionary). So, therefore, we are supposed to use language with each other that is uplifting. If people feel better and/or encouraged after speaking with you, then you are fulfilling the direction and purpose of God. But if people feel frustrated, hurt or bad when they leave your presence, then you are not using your words in a way that God will approve. Language is a powerful tool that we have for good or for ill. It is so powerful and so important that it is the weapon that God gave us with which to battle our enemies. He didn’t give us lightning bolts or fire balls that shoot from our fingertips. He gave us his most powerful weapon; words. Each of us must make wise choices with this awesome power. 

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The Winning Blow

On October 10, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 4: 32

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Do you really want to put a cramp in the devil’s style? Take a hint from this message from the Apostle Paul. Be kind to each other. Do not speak to one another with harshness. Be forgiving and patient. You can really see the work of the devil these days in the lack of patience and kindness people show one another. Just get out on the roads for any amount of time and you will see the personality of the devil demonstrated rather than the attributes of the Father. We yell at old drivers rather than humbling ourselves and respecting our elders. We almost run over people rather than wait two seconds for our turn. You would think the whole of the world depended on our arriving at our destination in the next minute. One more minute might spell the doom of the world.

Let us, instead, endeavor to show a little human kindness; a little of our father in us. Let us try to be a little less self-oriented and self-important and see others and their journeys as significant and as important as ours. Let us speak kindly and go out of our way, if need be, to help someone else. If we start with the way we speak to others, the rest will naturally follow.

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Suit of Armor

On October 9, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 6: 11

Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul gets a chance to teach us how to withstand the plots of the devil. The first thing that I noticed is that Paul did not use the word attack or assault relative to the devil’s activity. The first thing the devil does is to plot and scheme. He roams around trying to find someone he can devour. Then he starts scheming. We want to make ourselves unattractive as targets. Then using the teachings of Paul and Peter we proceed to thwart the devil’s schemes.

Paul goes on in this chapter to detail the armor God has provided us. There is first truth and righteousness. Then there is the preparation which is in the Word of God. Then we take up the shield which is faith and the culmination of our armor is salvation. Having put on the full armor of God we are able to withstand the “flaming missiles of the evil one” (Eph. 6: 16). This armor is our defense. This is the protective covering God has given us so that we will not be victims of the devil’s schemes. God has provided the means for our protection, defense and security.

God has also given us a weapon. It is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The Word is your weapon. It is the tool which you use to strike back at the devil. He hates to hear the Word quoted to him. It defeats all the lies of the devil.  

Lastly, Paul instructs us to “pray at all times” and “be on the alert” (Eph. 6: 18). That sounds very similar to the teaching of Peter. Keep on the alert knowing that there is an enemy out there who would like to take you out if he can. Pray keeping yourself built up in your most holy faith. The shield of faith will “extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one” (Eph. 6: 16).

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