Sigh of Relief

On February 3, 2025   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 9: 13

“But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire compassion and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This should come as very good news today. We are relieved from worrying about our Christian performance before God. Breathe a sigh of relief.

In today’s verse, Jesus referred to a passage in Hosea where God told His people that He was looking for devotion rather than offerings. Clearly Jesus did not think that the Pharisees had yet learned what God was saying to them. He witnessed those trying to earn their way through works and their perception of righteousness. The point, though, is that God is not impressed by pharisaical offerings and service. He wants us to love with a pure heart. Godly love will reveal itself through compassion.

Jesus had once again been accosted and criticized by the Pharisees. Knowing what they were thinking and saying he tried to lead them into understanding. Jesus drew a distinction here. The sacrifice represents all of the works of the flesh and all of the ritualistic service of the Pharisees. Jesus, however, was, and is, looking to the condition of the heart. He those within hearing that God is more interested in them having a kind, loving and compassionate heart than to do Him ritualistic service. God is more concerned with our heart than our works. God would rather that we are kind and loving than that we show ourselves as religious perfectionists.
This is stereotypical God. He is much less concerned about our performance in church as our expression outside of church. The Pharisees’ approach is very self-oriented while God was, and is, trying to get people to be others centered. Service to our God is not about getting our cards punched. This is no longer Vacation Bible School. It’s not about getting a gold star for attendance and another one for reciting a Bible verse perfectly. That was our training when we were children. Now that training and our faith are supposed to have an outward expression. Much was sown into us by pastors and teachers. Those seeds were supposed to grow into a heart of compassion whereby we are not judgmental, or self-concerned. Instead, we embrace and bless the broken. We pray for and feed the needy. We can learn to show compassion to the sinner who at least has the excuse that they don’t know Jesus.

Further, the Pharisees would have done well to keep their criticism to themselves. This is another important lesson that we can learn from this passage. They were critical of Jesus because He was doing all the things they were not. It was much easier to criticize someone else than to clean up their own shortcomings.

So, let us pray, and let us ask Father for forgiveness because this is an easy trap to fall into, most of us having fallen short in this area at some time. Thank God we have the right to repent and begin anew. Let us show the compassion of the Father to all we meet and refuse to criticize and judge others. Let us focus on compassion rather than sacrifice. By this we will bring joy to the heart of Father and show people the real meaning of Christianity.

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Old is New Again 

On January 27, 2025   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 23: 4

Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it.

There is some confusion over the part the Old Testament plays in a New Testament people. This verse gives an excellent opportunity to see how the Old and New Testaments work together.

Hebrews 13: 8 reads, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” That means that God has not changed His mind or principles. True, we are no longer living under the Levitical priesthood, so some things have changed but not God nor those premises that He sought to teach the Old Testament people. Jesus didn’t come here to throw out everything that God taught for thousands of years. Jesus himself said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5: 17). Jesus became the embodiment of the law. He changed it from a bunch of rules to a lifestyle. His life and ministry took legalism out of the law, turning it into a passion. His coming and his leaving takes us deeper, where our relationship with him is the focus but yet embodies all of the law and prophets. Our relationship with him, with the Father and with the Holy Spirit would have contained all of these elements even if we had never seen, heard of or read an Old Testament text. So, when you love Jesus, you automatically love the law and want to do those things that the prophets taught, even had the law never been taught. Compassion which comes from our love of Jesus now drives us to do all the things that the prophets had to instruct and order the Old Covenant people to do.

One of the things I love is seeing where the Old Testament text and the New Testament intersect. I enjoy seeing the fulfillment of the Old Testament and those mirror images of each other. For example, let’s look at this text from the book of Matthew. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will you heart be also. No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6: 19-21, 24). Then Jesus went on to speak about not being anxious about our needs and concluded with, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6: 33). Jesus’ teaching in Matthew says the same thing as the proverb. It just took Jesus more words because He wasn’t just laying down a law. Rather, He was teaching the substance of the law. He was teaching why that rule was ever given to us. He could have just quoted the Proverb to us, but He came to lead and teach us rather than to give edicts. Under the new Covenant we are supposed to be able to understand, use wisdom and thereby make good choices for ourselves. We are still supposed to refrain from chasing after material wealth. We are still supposed to keep our minds from the consideration of it and our needs but now we have a fuller explanation. Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of the law, but as you see, the basic tenets have not changed. Legalism is gone but love compels.

I hope you enjoyed this comparison and feel empowered by it. Love, it turns out, wrote the Old Testament. Now, through the lens of Jesus’ ministry, we see more clearly.

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Goal Achieved

On January 20, 2025   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 31: 33

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

This is the crux of the new covenant. I am especially moved by the latter part where God says that He will be our God, and we will be His people. This is where we are today. God wishes to be your personal God and you and me to be His people. There is a very personal, intimate anticipation in this. It is about the relationship that we are to enter into. No longer is God to be a distant and removed God, who can only be approached by a few select people, but rather a personal God with whom we have direct contact.

Jesus told us in John 14: 23 that He and His father would come and make their abode with us. He also told us in the 17th verse,  of that same chapter, that the Holy Spirit abides with us and in us. You see, this is a shift from the Old Testament relationship. In the new covenant, God wants to be a very personal God to us all. He no longer has His presence in an ark but rather in us as we have become the temple of the new covenant.

His Word is now a part of our hearts by the Holy Spirit and by the son himself. We have been told that Jesus is the word (John 1: 1-14). Here we see that the Word, Jesus, has come to live in our hearts. Additionally, the Holy Spirit who has been charged with teaching us and guiding us into all the truth (John 14: 26, 16:13) has made His home in our hearts. So, the Word has now been written to our hearts and is in our hearts.

The God of all creation, the God who made the sun, all the planets and every star, who made the trees, all animals and us, has come to live inside of you. He has chosen you as His temple. You are His chosen people. This is what God has been looking forward to for millennia, that we should be His people, and He should be our own God. You are the realization of His ambition.

These are the days. We are the prophesied people. You are no lowly worm of the dirt. You are the chosen people of Almighty God. You are the culmination of all of His desires and plans for thousands of years. That should make an impression on you and hopefully make you feel differently about yourself. Maybe it makes you consider your relationship with the Father a bit differently. Collectively we are the body of Christ. Individually you are a member of the body. You are important to God, immensely important. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

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Love Perfected

On January 13, 2025   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 John 4: 18

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

God is love (1 John 4: 8). There is no fear in love. By this I know there is no fear in God. Fear is a nasty, awful thing. The King James version reads, “fear has torment.” Isn’t it true? Fear is crippling. It prevents people from enjoying their lives. That is in contradiction to what God wants for us. God is love and loves each of us. He wants us to have a good life. Jesus is good news, not torment.

I like what Jesus said about himself in John 10:10 NIV, “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” Torment interferes with his mission. John gave us this good news so that we could navigate life’s challenges. Because of his intimacy with Christ and the many revelations Jesus gave him, his words are able to act as a guide for us. So, when we are confronted with fear, the first thing we can do is to reassure ourselves that the torture of fear is not Father’s intention for us. Knowing that, we may ask ourselves how we can be free of it. The first answer is always the Bible. What does the Bible say about our situation? There are 300 verses in the New Testament alone which speak about fear. Does that sound like a lot to sort through? Use the Ivey Ministry website to help you synthesize what they mean to you. I have written on fear many times because it is something with which we all wrestle. Then, take these verses, and what you have gleaned from them, to God in prayer. Even ask Jesus and the Holy Spirit to lead you in your prayers. God will answer you because it is His will that you live free.

Fear is not of God and has no right to disrupt and hinder your life. God has the power to free you but, as is always the case, we must open our arms and heart to His ministrations. We must invite Him to be a part of the solution. Remember, Yahweh is a gentleman. He will never overrun your will, even when it is to your advantage. That would make Him a bully and a controller. Jesus’ death insured our free will, and Father will not violate it.

As always, if you need help, Ivey Ministries is here for just that purpose. Email me or go to contact us.

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Have a Good One

On January 6, 2025   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

 

Please allow me to add my well wishes to the many you have received for a prosperous and happy New Year!  May the blessing of the Lord be with you, following you every step of your day. I pray for you inspiration and insightfullness for your year.  I agree with you for the positive ambitions you have for the new year.

If you want me or our prayer team to agree with your specific prayers and goals for this year, send them to us here.  You can leave it anonymously or ask me to leave your name out of the request if you prefer.  I usually only use first names anyway.

Happy New Year my friends!

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Holiness & Santa Claus

On December 23, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Santa Claus is certainly not the holiest image I could send you for a Christmas message.  However, there are several reasons I like this image and chose it for you today.

First, I simply wanted to send some cheer and whimsy into your life today.  If this picture invoked a smile, then I am satisfied.

Secondly, and the more important reason, I just love a guy who has devoted his life to giving and making other people’s lives more cheery.  In the simplicity of my theology, Santa speaks to me some of the messages that Jesus imparted.  Santa brings joy and hope.  He goes about doing good, leaving a trail of smiles in his wake.

I recognize that people have real problems.  That is precisely why the idea of Santa (which means holy) is comforting.  In this lighter view of the Christmas celebration, our hearts open to the real meaning of Christmas.  In my view, Santa is the embodiment of who we all are when we embrace the love and message of Jesus.  Few better typify the love and generosity of our holy father and His dear son than Santa.  We don’t always have to take ourselves so seriously.  It is okay to enjoy the simple things and sometimes, if you look, they are the easiest ways to find our beloved.

So, I hope this picture brings you a smile.  I hope your heart feels light and full of joy.  I pray it ministers God’s pure love to your heart.  I pray you have a blessed Christmas with Jesus so close to you that you hear his voice and feel his love.  Merry Christmas!

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The Good News

On December 16, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Malachi 3: 10 – 11

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts.

I promised you good news last Monday. Last week’s message was pretty hard and the whole topic is uncomfortable for some folks, BUT here is the good news, and don’t you know that the gospel is Good News? Everything God said is for our benefit.

So now this section of Malachi 3 is just as loud to me as last week’s passage. God comes right out and tells us why He has made this requirement. And that is not like God. He doesn’t usually tell us why He wants us to do a thing. We are supposed to just trust Him and do as He says. He tells us here that we are the ones that supply His house.

Then, no sooner does He gets these words out of His mouth than He starts making some BIG promises: 1) He will open the windows of heaven for you, 2) He will pour out a blessing on you so huge that you will not be able to contain it and, 3) He will rebuke the devourer for you. Now, any one of those is enough but all three is really above and beyond.

I want you to see and understand that the promises He makes are part of the same sentence as the dictate to bring the tithe into the church and the explanation of why He gave the directive in the first place. In other words, in the same breath He starts telling you about the benefit to you when you stock the storehouse of God. The reason these are all together is that provision for you is the reason He wants you to give in the first place. He is telling you something for your own good. He is so adamant about this that He invites you to test Him in this. Isn’t that remarkable? Wow! God wants you to put Him to the test. He wants to bless you, and He wants to protect your seed and your harvest. He is trying to show you how His kingdom operates. He is trying to get you to let Him into your finances so that He can be the cultivator and protector of your harvest.

You see, we are in covenant with God. When you take care of the finances of His house, you have just invited and given permission to Him to take care of the finances of your house. It really is that simple. That is what He is trying to get over to us. He is trying to get something to you, not something from you. He wants to stand in your garden and protect it from the devourer. You have sown seed when you give into God’s house, so you are due a harvest. He is going to watch over that crop until the harvest if full and ripe. That is what it means when he says your vines won’t cast their grapes or fruit. Fruit which has fallen off of the vine is no good. It needs to stay on the vine until it is ripe, receiving nutrients, and then it is picked at the height of maturity.

If we could really grasp this, I mean really get it down into our hearts and into our understanding, we would never hesitate to give to God. No, we would give with great joy and excitement. When you are a tither, you can make a demand on God’s resources. When hard economic times come, you know with confidence that your harvest is protected by God. You will increase while others decrease because your wealth is tied to God rather than to the economy. If something bad heads in your direction, you will have the boldness to stand strong in the promises of God. You won’t have to ask God about your finances. That is already handled. You will just stand firm with that shield of faith out in front of you declaring and decreeing the Word of God.

So tithing is good news. Tithing is good for you. It was designed to bless you and protect your finances. It is part of God’s kingdom resources. You need to be a tither today more than anytime in the past. I know it is tough when you first start, but start. Get involved in God’s economic system. Don’t let another day go by that you don’t tell God you want in. If you don’t have an income, find something, anything to sow into His kingdom. You can always give time. You can probably find something of value in your house that will really bless someone else. Just do whatever you need to do in order to become part of God’s economy. Get in on His system today.

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