Good from Bad

On July 24, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Revelation 1: 9

I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

The devil likes to mess with folks but he still has not figured out that whatever he does God turns it around for our good.  You would think that when he crucified Christ and it turned out to be the greatest thing ever he would have learned his lesson but no, he keeps making the same mistakes.  The devil connived and plotted to shut down the Apostle Paul and we got 2/3 of the New Testament as a result.  Still he didn’t learn.  He tried to kill John but John could not be killed.  So the devil conspired to have him exiled to the island of Patmos.  Thank you Satan!  God gave John the greatest revelation of all time.  And lucky for us, John wrote it down.

So what is my point?  Don’t worry about the challenges the devil puts in your path because God takes those things and turns them to your advantage.  When we have a broader view we gain a whole new perspective.  With this perspective we perceive that Satan’s ploys turn out to the good for us because God takes his ploy and turns it around for us.  Just think about the New Testament.  If Satan had not conspired to get both Paul and John off of the speaking circuit we would not have most of the New Testament. 

So, when the devil attacks you, don’t panic.  Extend your trust to the Lord and allow Him to turn those things around for you.  Don’t confess the problem (which is the work of Satan) but rather confess the glorious miracle working power of the Lord and you will see everything turn around to your benefit.  The devil cannot steal from us if we will take him to task over it.  Expect good to come from what the devil means for ill because that is what God does.
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Sowing to the Spirit

On July 23, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Galatians 6: 8

For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.

This verse makes our choice pretty plain. We have only to decide what we want and then pursue it. The question we need to answer is, “What does it mean to sow to the flesh and to sow to the Spirit?”

There are many ways we can sow to the flesh and not all of them are bad. For example, if you are sowing towards someone else’s fleshly needs then you are really sowing spiritual seeds and will reap bountifully from the Spirit of God. It is the sowing towards our own gratification that gets us into trouble. When we ignore the needs of others and obsess on all of the things that we want we reap corruption. God wants you to have everything that you need and want but He wants to be the source of those things. We are supposed to sow towards the kingdom and allow Him to take care of our earthly needs. It is when we have our eyes on ourselves and are doing God’s job instead of ours that we really run afoul of His will.  

The obvious ways that we sow to the Spirit are studying God’s Word and prayer. Through those two practices we develop our ability to be led by the Spirit of God. Once you are comfortable following God’s leading you find that He leads you into sowing all kinds of spiritual seeds. Giving to God’s works, helping a stranger or praying for others are all ways that you sow seeds into God’s kingdom. As you continue to follow Him, He will show you many ways that you can bless other people and through that you are storing up treasure that will rain down on you. As we spend time being quiet before the Lord He teaches us ways to sow to the Spirit and when we do sow to the Spirit, God’s kids are blessed and we reap eternal life.

As you go through today observe where life leads you. Are you encountering increasing ways to sow spiritual seeds or is almost every action in your life designed to further your interests, needs or wants? Are there additional ways that you can sow to the Spirit? The more you journey with the Holy Spirit the more you will learn His ways. He loves to bless you but you may find that the greater fun is blessing Him and you can, you know. Every time you set your eyes and will on Kingdom goals, every time you go out of your way to bless God’s children you bless the Spirit of God and I don’t think you will ever find anything more gratifying than blessing the Holy Spirit. So ask the Holy Spirit in your prayers today how you can sow more into Him. I am sure that He will give you some opportunities.

 
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Fear Not

On July 22, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Job 3: 25

“For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.”

Boy!  We can get a revelation from this passage.  I was looking at John 14: 27 today and Jesus said that he was leaving his peace for us.  That is great but that is not all he said.  He also said for us not to let our hearts be troubled or fearful.  He left his peace here for us to have as our own but the other side of that coin is that we have to make a determined decision not to allow fear to remain in our hearts. 

Part of the reason that Jesus doesn’t want fear in our hearts is because he knows that we attract those things which we allow to reside in our hearts.  If there is something that we dread we actually end up meditating on it and what we meditate on is what we draw to our lives.  Job certainly learned this lesson the hard way but we can be wise and learn from his mistake.  Job learned that fear takes root in your life and then it manifests.  So although Jesus just made a couple of short remarks about being fearful it is really a very important lesson.  That’s the way it is with Jesus’ statements.  He wasn’t wordy so you have to pay attention the first time he says something and in these few words he was trying to teach us the Job lesson.  Do not allow fear to take up residence in your life because whatever you are afraid of you will attract.  Jesus apparently thought that we could do something about fearful and troubled hearts.  He would not have told us to do something that we did not have the ability to do.  So let us take to heart this lesson from Job’s life.  Cast the fear out of your life.  Let not your heart be troubled or fearful.  Receive from the Lord His perfect peace.

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In His Arms

On July 21, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 27: 10

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me up.

Have your ever felt forsaken? Almost everyone feels some level of abandonment or rejection at some point in their lives. If you have gone through a divorce you may have suffered through feelings of abandonment. Maybe a parent was not completely present for you or their death left you feeling like an orphan. One can experience these feelings either from a spouse, parent, boyfriend or girlfriend. You might have even gone through a period when you felt all of your friends abandoned you. You may even feel abandoned by your children. The point is that most everyone goes through a period where they at least felt abandoned and certainly there are real instances of abandonment. These feelings of rejection can be devastating and have lifelong implications. They are not only life altering but life determinative by which I mean that if one has experienced deep feelings of abandonment at a young age they may never develop into the person that God created them to be. Their lives could be determined by the injury rather than by the blessing of God. That is a great loss.

There is great news though. No matter how devastated we have felt, we have never been orphaned, never once left alone or forsaken. At every one of those uncomfortable bends in the road the Lord, our God and Father, has been standing there with His arms open. Actually that is an understatement. He wasn’t just waiting for us to jump into His arms but rather He was carrying us. In the midst of our pain we may not have felt His love and support but it was there as was He.

Can you remember instances in your life when you felt the deep pain of abandonment and rejection? If you will mentally and emotionally go back to those times and this time see your Holy Father there embracing you, you can rectify the damage that those injuries caused you. You do not have to go along all your life carrying the hurt from parents or other loved ones who did not meet your needs. You can be fully healed and restored. You are not alone and you never have been, not even for an instant. Your heavenly father has been ever present and ever loving. Fill those voids with the love that knows no bounds. Reach out for the love that heals.

It is tragic to see a life not only unfulfilled but tainted by hurts suffered. So many people continue to bear the scars and battle wounds when there is healing available. What’s worse is that we remain susceptible to further injury when we do not allow healing to take place. Even worse, we pass those injuries onto our children and other loved ones. There is no need when we have a father who is full of love and grace and has healing in His hands. Embrace the loving hands of the father and allow Him to take all the hurts away.

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Wisdom and Life

On July 18, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 19: 8

He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.

The implication of this verse is that those of us who do not seek wisdom do not love ourselves. Why wouldn’t we all seek the wisdom of God, especially when we read that it brings great benefit to our lives? But then we know that often we are our own worst enemies. All wisdom is in God and He is our own Father. He desires to lead us by His wisdom so that our lives will prosper and be at peace.

The secret, if there is one, to a good life is a life lived in Christ. That life, though, requires seeking God and His advice. His wisdom is a free gift for all who ask but there is something in us that prevents our asking even when we understand with our minds that our self-interest is furthered when we obtain God’s insights. The Bible is filled with the wisdom of God and yet I wonder if we treasure it as we might. If we really understood the value of the wisdom that is contained in the Bible we would voraciously devour it. The daily devotion to the Word and to prayer is not a duty. It is bread, life and prosperity. Those who love themselves will pursue wisdom and it will serve them well.

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Everything You Want

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

Ephesians 1: 3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. 

We do not exist only in this physical realm. We actually are living in the spiritual realm at the same time and that is why this verse is so important. Everything that has ever come into being had to first exist in the spiritual sphere. Think about that for a moment. Everything that you have ever seen, every single thing in this world first existed in the world of the Spirit. So, every time you pray for anything the answer already exists in the spiritual sphere and then it manifests in the physical. In today’s verse we learn that God, our Father, has already blessed us with everything in the spiritual realm. Now I know that the verse says that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing and you might think that means that physical blessings are not included but when you appreciate that everything begins in the spiritual realm and that to God everything is spiritual then you conceive that all blessings of God are, in fact, spiritual blessings. So when we see the fullness of this verse we perceive that God has already blessed us with everything. And that makes sense because we know that God has rested from His work. He has already provided everything we could ever want or need. There is no lack of anything in heaven. God has already created utopia. Once we grasp with our hearts that God has already made full provision for us, that it is all in the spiritual warehouse awaiting our requisitions then we are able to receive everything in full. 

This can radically change your prayer life if you can shift your perspective to embrace the idea that the Lord, our God, has already provided every single thing we could ever think or ask. The point of Paul writing this passage is to let us know that God has already blessed us and provided for us. The verse would have so little meaning if it was only about having blessings in heaven. It is here that we need the blessings of God. When we get to heaven there is no need. They are walking on streets of gold up there. Paul is writing to say that God has already provided for the people who are living on the earth now. He is trying to convey the enormity of the blessing and he seems to run out of words. Paul also lets us know that our blessing is in Christ which expresses the extent of the blessing as well as our access. Paul is encouraging us to bless God because he had a revelation of the fullness of the blessing which has come on us because of Jesus. We must move our chairs to Paul’s place so that we can see from his perspective. When we look from his perspective instead of from ours the horizon broadens. We can read the same words we have read many times before but now we see much more and Paul’s perspective always leads us into closer unity with God.

Celebrate today the reality that God has already blessed you with the fullness of who He is. Pray to receive all that He has provided for you and bless the Lord.

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Digging Holes

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

Psalm 7: 15 – 16

He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his on his own head.

At this time of the year every year you can find me watching the Tour de France. In the first stage of this year’s race one of the best sprinters in the world crashed towards the end of the race and unfortunately was injured and is out of the race. It was particularly sad because this rider is British and they were racing on British soil. Moreover, the stage ended that day in his mother’s home town. It was a potential fairy tale ending that concluded in disaster. On the slow motion replay one could see that the rider who crashed out had caused the accident by leaning on and pushing another racer.

So often we are the victims of our own malfeasance. That is how the universe works. In Galatians 6: 7 we are told, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, the he will also reap.” Paul writes, God is not mocked. He told us thousands of years ago that if we dig a pit for others, we are the ones who will be ensnared. Whatever we sow, that shall we reap. This is a universal principle that cannot be avoided.

The good news is that it works in a positive direction as well. When you sow peace you reap peace. When you sow kindness, you reap kindness. Now you can put this principle to work in your life. Whatever you need, sow towards it. Plant a tomato in order to get a tomato.

What you see in your life is a result of the seeds you have sown in the past. The future is completely predictable. Your life will reflect the seeds you sow and the words of your mouth because words are also seeds. So, determine what you want your future to look like and plant those seeds then keep your language consistent with your goals. God is not mocked. What He said years ago still holds, whatever you sow, you shall reap so get out there and plant some good seeds.

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