Knowing God’s Voice

On March 11, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 18: 16        (Amplified Version)

…so that every word may be confirmed and upheld by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Alright, so now you are beginning to hear the voice of God. Oh, but there seem to be other voices too and you can’t always tell if it is God or you or just the wind blowing through your head. It’s ok, we’ve all been there. Here is a starting point for you in discerning God’s voice until you recognize His voice easily. First, God will never contradict His Word so if you think that it is His voice telling you it is ok for you to be in an adulterous relationship, you are being fooled. That is the voice of Satan. Satan will constantly contradict the Word. Secondly, if you think God is speaking to you and this is about something significant in your life, ask Him to confirm it. He will always confirm His word to you. Now let us also exercise some wisdom, if you get confirmation from your hedonistic friend who is always dragging you into trouble, then you might question it. God is going to use His Word and His anointed ones most often.

Here is an example. One time God was trying to tell me something and I really was not getting it. He had already shown me the applicable scripture, but frankly I still couldn’t see how it applied to me. For about a month everywhere I went that scripture popped up. I really mean it was everywhere. Every preacher I turned on was preaching it. Any publication I picked up had it splashed all over it. I was even given a product on CD to preview and it turned out to be on that section of scripture. Out of all the books in the Bible I was given the CD with that scripture on it. Then I went to a Joyce Meyer conference and the songs they sang were about it and Joyce actually interrupted the praise and worship to preach on it. Ok, finally I got it. It was so loud by then that I really couldn’t miss it. This example, I think, shows a couple of things. First of all, we can all be kinda thick at times, but more importantly, the confirmations of what God told me privately all came from Christian sources. Secondly, He absolutely will confirm His Word to you. And He will keep it up as long as necessary when you are honestly seeking Him as I was. Many of the confirmations came by way of His Word. He would have preachers preach and teach on the scripture that pertained to my situation. He put that verse on every media type I touched. I think that if I had eaten a fortune cookie during that time that scripture would have been my fortune. There is something very secure about seeing your answer in the scripture. I would not have the same confidence if I was watching some TV drama and “got a message.” I am not saying God couldn’t use that forum. I’m just saying that it would not (and should not) inspire the same confidence.

Lastly, let me share this with you. When I was learning how to hear God’s voice, God would often let me practice with little things. He might show me or tell me something unimportant so that if I missed Him, it was not a big deal. When I did hear Him though, and acted on it, I would realize that I had heard the voice of God. From many small things, He has taught me how to hear Him in the big things. I would even talk with Him while I was walking around the grocery store. It sounds weird, I know, but it helped me to learn to be led by Him. And if you knew how much I dislike grocery shopping and how bad I am at it, you could fully appreciate that I needed to be led by God. It was really good practice, and it became fun. Try it with something small and have a good time hanging out with God.

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Alone Again, Naturally

On March 4, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   2 Comments

Matthew 28: 20

“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

When I was a kid, there was a song by Gilbert O’Sullivan titled Alone Again Naturally. I liked the song back then but to listen to it now, well, I am in a much different place and have some answers I didn’t have then. It is quite a sad song should you listen to the lyrics. The thing is, most of us have dealt with loneliness at some time or another and so the lyrics resonate with many.

If you are a Christian, and I know you are, there is no reason to suffer with loneliness. Has not our own Jesus, our beloved, made us a vow. He is with us. In fact, his name means “God with us.” Yet, we have struggled. If you have felt alone, you are not alone in that feeling.

The problem is that we weren’t taught how to be so connected with Jesus that we can be fully aware of him with us. You can become so attuned to his presence with you that if you accidentally belch, you will apologize to him. I want to lead you into this kind of relationship with him today if I can. We also have personal coaching available if this is a longing of your heart.

You see, the church presents sermons on Sunday. They are instructive, corrective and sometimes inspiring. In small groups, we tend to do Bible Studies, or we are taught to follow Bible Studies in our personal time. If you have been with me for long, you know that I think the Word is powerful truth and I continuously encourage you to spend time amongst its pages. However, I am not trying to get you to become a Bible scholar. I don’t really care if you can quote scripture and verse. We were taught to study the Bible, but that led us to an intellectual approach to the Word. When you understand that Jesus is the living Word then it becomes more about meeting a person than becoming well versed. I encourage you to the Word because I want you to find Jesus among its pages. I don’t want you to study it. I want you to lose yourself in it. I want you to allow the Word to minister to your needs. When we approach the Word with our hearts rather than our minds, then amazing things begin to happen. One of those miracles is the full comprehension of Jesus with us every minute of every day.

Studying the Bible can be fruitful, but engaging in the Word is the real deal. That is where you let Jesus guide you. Sure, you read the words on the page, but it is more than that. I have had times when our Father has led me from one scripture to another to another until they all combined to create one narrative. It is an amazing experience but not a unique one. This becomes everyday engagement.

I want you to never feel lonely, and you absolutely can achieve that status, but it does not come from seeking Jesus with your mind or simply reading the Bible. You see, there is actually a big difference between the Bible and The Word. The Bible is an amazing book. The Word is a person. I can understand if this blows your mind, but once you cross over the river to bask in the Word, you will never be the same and you will never be lonely.

So, let me help you bridge the gap of difference. Before you open your Bible, pray out of your emotions, out of your heart for Jesus to lead you, to meet you in the pages and in your time with him. Ask him to lead you to what he would like to show you. If you begin reading the Word in an open hearted, submitted way, you will find truth and encouragement. If you are only opening the Bible so that you can do your duty, or to learn the words, then you won’t find Jesus. You’ll just find a great book. Listen, there are non-believers who are true Bible scholars. That’s not what you want for yourself. You want the embrace of Jesus. Isn’t that right? Isn’t that why you are a Christian?

Never be lonely again. Open the Word and find the lover of your soul. Don’t study the Bible, look for Jesus in it and if you can’t quote great passages, but you find Jesus and he wants to move in with you, then you win!

One last thing – I am writing this to Christians. I am not trying to convert non-believers. I am trying to lead well-intentioned Christians to a deeper relationship with our beloved. I know that no matter who you are and no matter how wonderful your relationship with Jesus, you still want more. I also know there are millions of Christians who have an intellectual relationship with the trinity and with the Bible and are unfulfilled. So, this is for you. Come closer and never be lonely again. You never have to feel that horrid feeling again, ever.

Be blessed my beloved.

If this has touched your heart and you want more, reach out to our coaching staff. We would love to help. www.iveyministries.org

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Appointed and Anointed

On February 26, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Exodus 35: 30 – 31

Then Moses said to the sons of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all craftsmanship.

The backdrop to this verse is the construction of the temple. God gave Moses detailed plans for the layout of the temple and the fabrication of every item related thereto. The time had come to build it. How do you succeed at a momentous task? What is the secret to getting a job done in excellent fashion. The answer is, “the anointing.”

This verse is in the Bible, not necessarily for its historical value, but more importantly, for its instructive value. We are all assigned jobs to do and sometimes, many times, they are larger than ourselves. Truly, most tasks worth doing are bigger than our abilities. That’s when it becomes fun and also when we learn how to do the impossible.

Today’s verse pries the lid off the mystery. God anointed Uri and filled him with His Spirit. It seems to me that two of the precursors to this anointing are humility and surrender. When confronted with a new task, how do we respond? Most of us were not trained to stop and consider Yahweh. Therefore, we usually begin in our brains attempting to figure out what steps and resources are required. Most of us begin with planning, then perhaps proceed to meeting with others. This is the way we were trained in the world. Today, Father is showing us a different way. Moses was in partnership with God. God told him, “Look, I’ve already called and appointed a project leader for you and I have gifted him with everything he needs.”

Moses was listening to God and, it seems to me, so was Bezalel. Father God downloaded to Bezalel all the wisdom and talent he needed in order to complete the project. That sounds pretty cool to me. The anointing is the power within us to do that which we could never do in our own strength and knowledge. It is supernatural wisdom and knowledge. It’s just the thing we need for that next big project.

The other remarkable bit about this passage is that it contains what many would consider New Testament language, so it is worth an extra moment to examine. This passage reveals that God “filled” Bezalel with “the Spirit of God.” This is a rare experience for the Old Testament. Jesus told us it was in our best interest that he go away so that he could send the Holy Spirit to us. In fact, the Spirit was not spoken about much in the Old Testament. Jesus introduced him and the Acts 2 phenomenon is the promised out pouring . What is important about all this is the revelation that with the infilling of the Holy Spirit comes the gifts and anointing. It is the Holy Spirit which empowers each of us. We can put aside theology and even history and resolve to something much more foundational and important. You don’t need to resolve any theological debates or questions. None of it matters. In fact, today’s passage seems to fly in the face of some of it anyway.

Here is what is important. We can see, apart from theology, that God thought it was important to fill Bezalel with His own Spirit. It seems the reason was to empower Bezalel to do the task at hand. Now, the bottom line for us would seem to be to inquire of God whether we, individually, are filled or not. I would encourage each of you to ask the Father if you have all of the Holy Spirit that you can have. I cannot imagine a response that says, “I have all the Holy Spirit I need or want.” That just doesn’t make any sense to me. That is why I believe we are afforded an opportunity today, to ask the Father for more. Ask Him what is next for us. What more do you want me to receive? Have I opened my heart to all you want to do in me? Have I surrendered all of me? Am I open and humble. I suppose most of us will find there is more we can surrender. We will likely believe we can be closer to Yahweh than we are currently. That’s great! Perhaps today, each of us can grow closer to the Lord and be filled with more of Him. Ask the Lord and receive the good news!

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Bedtime Stories

On February 19, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 14: 25

And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.

Do you believe Jesus walked on the water?

Recently, I had a conversation with someone about a well-known preacher who tells good stories. This person did not believe the stories were true. He, like so many others, believes the stories are made up to make a point. The problem with this is that we make the same shift to Bible stories. So, I ask you, is a story a retelling of something that is true and really happened or is it a fabrication?

Allow me to ask another question, please. Were I to witness something marvelous such as Jesus walking on water, how would I convey the experience to others so they know it was an actual experience rather than a made up story? Do words mean what they purport to mean or are they just colors we use to paint a picture? How does one communicate something literal?

So, if you were Matthew and you witnessed this event, how do you tell people about it? I am a believer. I am not a cynic, so I tend to believe the words I read in the Bible. However, you know that many of us translate these events into something imaginative. How then can God ever communicate a literal miracle to us in words we will accept.

When I tell you that I saw the Holy Spirit, are you intrigued and want to hear more or do you think it is a metaphor for something I wish to convey?

My position is this, I don’t think the Bible is a collection of made-up stories compiled so that we can find God. I think it is an instruction manual. I’ve found God. In fact, He wasn’t missing. I was, but He brings in the lost and then gives us the book so that we can grow in faith and in the knowledge of Him. He reveals Himself in the pages and stories of the Bible. However, we will never receive the revelation as long as we think they are only cute, metaphorical stories. Once we embrace the Bible as the living Word of God, accepting is as truth, not fiction, then we can find faith giving strength among its pages.

I challenge you in this. When you read your Bible, see yourself in the writer’s shoes. See the event unfolding before you and imagine what it is to write it down. These folks walked with Jesus. They didn’t need to make up a bunch of stories. They were more concerned with capturing the events for themselves and future generations. Don’t you think you would walk around with a journal if you walked with Jesus. I think we all would.

Embrace the Word. Take it into your heart. Don’t let your brain talk you out of believing. We were called to be believers and it starts here.

Let our coaching team help you: Iveyministries.org.

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Sin and Salvation

On February 12, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Last week we had a Word on the worship of self and self-power, something we tend to call willpower. However, salvation is not something you do. It is something Jesus did. The point being, salvation is not a matter of willpower.

What, then, is sin? Sin is anything that displaces Jesus’ rightful place. So, you can see from this an assertion I made last week. It is not a far reach to say that willpower is sin because it replaces Jesus as the power to salvation.

I used to think of sin this way, “Sin is doing anything Jesus told me not to do or not doing anything he told me to do.” On the surface, that sounds like a pretty decent definition, but it is off about a mile and a half. Why? It is because that definition applies to actions. It is behavioral. Sin is in the heart. You see, if we let Jesus fix our hearts, sin will not be a problem. My former definition relies on my willpower, my strength and conviction rather than the transformative power of Jesus.

This is why the modern evangelical movement sometimes fails. It relies on a misunderstanding of God, Jesus and love. If we could begin to fathom even the most superficial meaning of John 3: 16, we could help millions of people find salvation. Salvation is found in the love of Jesus and God the Father, and it is only in that love that any of us are saved. If we have tried to be “good;” if we have tried to be saints, then we have failed because salvation isn’t in the behaviors, and it most certainly is not in the power of our self. Will and power belong to God and Him alone. When we try to be good in our own power that is a loud declaration that we don’t need God. Have you not read where Jesus said, “No one is good but God alone,” (Mark 10: 18). None of us are good. Jesus rejected being called good so why are we struggling to be good. No, the only good is in our surrender to Jesus and our Father. In them, we are righteous. Our will and our power have nothing to do with it.

So, how do we tell others of this salvation? There are essentially two camps. There is the fire and brimstone camp and the love camp. The love camp sounds like a bunch of hippies. The fire and brimstone camp at least sounds righteous, right? It tells us to clean up our act and be saved. Otherwise, we are going to hell. However, I would argue this approach is vanity and borderline insanity. Even the world knows that you catch a lot more flies with honey. How can we hear that saying over and over again and yet not understand its meaning? It has become a cliché for a reason. Is the threat of going to hell an effective evangelical tool? Is it kind? Is it loving? Where does “For God so loved the world” fit into that paradigm? Better still, do we believe that a person will fall in love with Jesus if their motivation is simply to avoid hell? This is ludicrous. Salvation exists because of love. I doubt anyone will fall in love with Jesus because we threaten them with hell.

Salvation and evangelism, I believe, can be summed up this way – it is loving God and loving people. Furthermore, to demand that people act a certain way or clean up their behaviors so that God can save them flies in the face of everything the New Testament teaches. We ask people to control themselves, which is an act of self-will. Why do we need Jesus to save us if we can save ourselves through our acts of self will? It is the fact that we could not save ourselves that sent Jesus to earth, so to ask people, not to give their hearts to Jesus, but to police their behaviors is to deny his saving power and to functionally elevate themselves to Jesus’ throne through self-determination rather than surrender.

We’ve got this sin and salvation thing completely on its head. Do you want to lead someone to salvation? Tell them how much Jesus and Yahweh love them. Tell them about the great love, acceptance and forgiveness. And for yourself, don’t try to be righteous, just surrender and you will be. Don’t fight against a sin problem. Give it to Jesus. Let him fight it. You just get under his wing and let him be your savior.

There is no sin problem in love. Love is the great corrector and healer. If you truly love Jesus, if you get your heart right before him, sin will lose its hold on you. It is in the surrender to him, the letting go of your control and power. It’s one of the hardest things to do but this is what it means to be Jesus’ disciple. That is what you want, right?

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Give it Up!

On February 5, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ephesians 2: 22 & 24

In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self . . . and put on the new self.

Here we are in February. How are you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions? How is your willpower holding out? Well, here’s the deal, willpower isn’t the thing anyway. In fact, one might go so far to say that it is rebellion from God.

We are not supposed to be self-willed. I think you can see that in the verse above. We are supposed to be people who are surrendered to God. We are instructed to lay aside our old self and the power we think we have. “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord,” (Zechariah 4: 6). Christians are supposed to succeed not by their own might, nor by their own power but by the Spirit of the Lord. So, willpower is the exact opposite of the power we are meant to employ.

Every year we condemn and criticize ourselves because our willpower has failed us. Or, even worse, maybe we enjoy some success by utilizing the force of our own will. That, my beloved, is the greatest failure of all, and it grieves me. I hear people summoning up their will to accomplish some task and I know they will ultimately experience the greatest failure of all.

Success is in surrender. I know this will make you uncomfortable. It does me as well but then, I find that a great many of the things our Father asks of me make me uncomfortable, initially. It is more comfortable to rely on our own strength and determination than to meekly and humbly surrender control to anyone, even God. It takes humility in our hearts and honesty to surrender control to God. It is truly a humbling experience. It is also one of those experiences which is best lived daily. Every time we surrender a bit of ourselves, if we are honest and truly give in to the process, we find there is more surrender needed.

Our greatest strength is in admitting we have none. Even Jesus said he could do nothing without the Father and yet somehow, we believe we can lose weight, resist sin, be kind to others, and so on, in our own strength.

Please, take a moment to think about the goals you set for yourself for this year. What are you going to do to accomplish them? The answer you should now know is that you are going to give them to God and ask Him to show the way. Give him your goals, dreams, and ambitions. Ask Him to help you be the person you want to be. You cannot change yourself. You make think you can, but you are fooling yourself. He is the master and creator and if we will give our hearts to Him, He will create all that we want. Let Him work in your heart. Lay yourself open in surrender. Give Him the problems you would like to see changed. Vanquish willpower. Give away all your power because it is vanity and futility anyway. The Lord said only by His Spirit shall a thing be done, so there is the one sentence instruction and command for succeeding in all things.

Willpower and self-determination are idols raised up against the will of God. The power of self is an affront to the command of God but also to the love, grace and saving blood of our Lord Jesus. It’s not what you can do that is important. It’s what you can let go of that makes the difference. Surrender your power. Surrender your heart. Let Jesus be Lord.

Did this make sense to you today? Do you have questions or need help? Engage in personal coaching at Ivey Ministries.

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Help My Unbelief

On January 29, 2024   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mark 9: 24

Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

This is one of the most important prayers we can learn. We know we are not perfect yet nor filled with all knowledge. Guess what! Father knows that too, so, He stands ready to help us in all our imperfections.

I hope you will read the entire story for yourself but, briefly, a father took his son to Jesus for deliverance from a demon which had plagued the boy all his life. He begged Jesus to help, if he could. Jesus replied, “If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes (v. 23).” The father made an immediate declaration of faith. At the same time, though, his heart faltered because he knew that he also had doubt. Faith did not reign in his heart. He did, however, have enough faith to turn to the one who is faith and ask for help with his unbelief.

Sometimes, this is the only prayer we have. Sometimes we want to believe with our whole heart, but we feel the tremors within as we attempt to extend our faith. It is then we must call upon our faith in his faithfulness. Does that make sense to you? Sometimes all we have is our belief in who he is and that is enough to ask him for the help we need in increasing our belief level.

Are you believing for something that is beyond your faith level? Do you have a desire for something that challenges your faith? When you think of this thing you want, do you feel a shutter in your heart because you can’t quite believe for it? Don’t feel alone. Most people experience the same thing. However, you do not have to stay in that space. You can help yourself by letting Jesus help you.

This boy’s father had the right idea. Help me in my unbelief. Replace my unbelief with faith. Jesus wants you to believe for the impossible. He said all things are possible to the one who believes. Therefore, to do the impossible, we must believe. That is why he must help our unbelief. He wants us to become believers so that all things will become possible. Don’t be overcome by the impossible. That is Jesus’ specialty. If a thing is possible, then just make it so. If it is impossible, now you are in the realm of walking with Jesus. If it’s impossible, you are right where you need to be. Fill up on faith by praying this very simple prayer. Let Jesus fill you up. Walk with him. Talk with him every morning. Ask him, every morning, to help you with your unbelief. Ask him to give you another measure of belief. Then you and Jesus go do the impossible.

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