Heal and Restore

On October 7, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Chronicles 7:14

And My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Two different people have sent me this scripture lately. They, like you, wish to see the healing of a nation. This devotional goes out around the world so let’s recognize that we are in different places and having different experiences. Even within a country, the experience can be quite diverse. Still, nations around the world have need of healing.

The keys for national healing are the exact reflection of what we need on a personal level for healing. Let us look at these three important elements to national and personal healing. First, most people will easily see the sin component in this verse. As a nation or as an individual who desires healing, we need to confess our sin. You cannot be healthy knowing you are carrying around sin. It will damage your emotions, relationships and ultimately find expression in your body. So, release your conscience of sin by humbling yourself before the Lord and turning from any form of sin for sin is a cruel task master. Be free of any sin because it is a toxin, then allow the healing to take place.

The part that jumped out at me from this verse is that God challenges us to seek His face. I think it is easy to get caught up in the sin component and overlook the next two pieces, i.e. seeking and praying. God did not say He would heal our land nor heal us without involvement on our part. He calls us into a deeper engagement with Him. “Seek My face,” it is a necessary part of healing individually as well as on a national level.  When God’s people seek HIs face and engage with Him, good things happen.

Lastly, of course, is prayer. Well, how do you seek the Lord’s face and not involve yourself in prayer but . . . I do not think God is talking about petition prayer. What is that you ask? It is my moniker for those prayers which are about what we want Him to do for us: Father, heal me, bless me, pay my bills, care for my children, etc. Those are all good prayers but not what God is talking about here. The kind of prayer referred to in this passage is that which is involved in seeking God’s face. It is about getting quiet and contemplative and looking for Him in your heart, listening to Him speaking out of your own spirit. This is what we do too little of, myself included. If a nation, a family or a person will seek God’s face with heart engagement, then He can move in our realm and bring healing and deliverance.

“Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually,” Psalm 105: 4

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Fear, Faith and Wisdom

On October 6, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

1 Corinthians 1: 30

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God.

My friend, Ann, brought up a really good point recently. She expressed concern over whether we are walking in faith or fear. This is always a good question but especially now during the corona virus situation. The virus is a real thing and has impacted every life. However, we must stand in faith if we are to eradicate it. Fear will undermine our fight. So, are you praying in faith or fear?

Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word,“ (John 14: 23). If this means anything it means we walk in a way which is consistent with his teaching. This necessarily means we must walk in faith. This is where Ann’s concern lies. Are we praying about our health, the virus, etc. and feel that we are praying in faith but then cowering in fear in our daily walk? Do we expect God to protect us and our families or are our actions colored by fear? Jesus teaches us faith and wisdom and that is the model which will get us through.

No one is suggesting that any of us go expose ourselves to the corona virus intentionally and dare it to infect us. That is not faith. It is foolishness. We are to be led by God in Godly wisdom. When you walk in God’s wisdom there is no reason to fear. Fear contaminates faith. We are either in faith or fear but not both. If we pray in faith and then succumb to fear, it will contaminate our faith. So, we must build ourselves up on our most holy faith (Jude 1: 20), but how do we do build ourselves up in holy faith? Jude says it come by praying in the Holy Spirit (ibid). If you feel fear arising in your heart, pray in the Holy Spirit. Allow the Spirit of God to fill you.

Let’s be smart. Let’s walk in wisdom. Take your vitamins, eat a healthy diet of whole foods, drink plenty of water, wash your hands, wear your mask, etc. but don’t let those things be an excuse for failing to feed your spirit with the faith it needs. Then stand in your most holy faith knowing that your God is for you and with you. Let faith and wisdom speak to your heart and guide your prayers. Sing in faith and let not fear have a root in your heart. Your faith overcomes mountains. Let God guide your prayers and devotional time. Let Him speak to your heart and build you up. And, bless the Lord.

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Confidence

On October 5, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 120: 1        GW

When I was in trouble, I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me.

The psalmist here has experience with the Lord, enough experience that he is likely confident that if he calls out to the Lord again, he will again receive an answer from God. This is a confidence we all need. Have you ever been in trouble, cried out to the Lord and received His answer? If you have, then you can draw on your own experience for the confidence that He will help you when next you call. For those without personal experience there is still a source of confidence. 1 Peter 10: 34 gives us that confidence, “Then Peter said, “Now I understand that God doesn’t play favorites.” In other words, what God has done for one, He will do for another. This is a foundational Biblical principle. Because God does not show favoritism, then any scripture in the Bible, any story or experience you find there is applicable to your life. You can appropriate any and all Bible promises, including this from today’s psalm, because they all belong to you. So, now you can have complete confidence that when you cry out to the Lord, He will answer you.

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Statutory Lamp

On September 28, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 119: 105

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

This is a long psalm and all of it has to do with the ordinances, the statutes of the Lord. The psalmist knows that peace, strength, and blessing are in the precepts of the Lord. He finds his strong tower and his shield in the law of God. The statutes of God are not laws to be despised to this psalmist. He understands that God has given the law as a means to aid and protect His loved ones. They are life and healing to those who find them. Today’s verse shows that God’s word is a guiding light.

I am reminded of John 8: 31 where Jesus is recorded telling believers that true disciples are those who hold to his teaching. To what teaching does he refer? You could say this means everything which is in red ink in the New Testament but when I read it in light of John 1: 1 & 14 where Jesus is revealed as the Word, and alongside today’s psalm, I know that Jesus meant that we should find him in the Old Testament as well as the new. Today’s passage certainly leads us to that conclusion because safety and light are in those old passages.

Delight in the Lord and in His Word and you are sure to find peace and comfort.

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Rocks and Stones

On September 21, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 118: 22 – 23

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

Today’s psalm has several famous verses in it. I chose this one because of the imagery of it. Among the ideas presented by this verse is the representation of Jesus, the rejected stone, as something hard and unflappable. He is the rock upon which we stand and the stone upon which the whole building is built.

Wikipedia says of the cornerstone, “The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.” As the foundational stone, the integrity of the whole building relies upon the cornerstone. It determines the strength of the whole building.

This is a more important concept than one might, at first, realize. Three of the four gospels quote this passage. It is also quoted in Acts and Paul referenced it in his letter to the Ephesians and it shows up in Peter’s first letter. Consider this from Peter:

[ As Living Stones ] And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. 1 Peter 2: 4 – 8 (See also Romans 9: 32 – 33).

This “chief corner stone” is also the rock of offense over which some will stumble but as for us, we are living stones; stones being transformed into the church of the living God through Jesus who is the principle stone upon which the entire structure depends.

I hope you find this as fascinating as do I. Since we have headed down this path, I wish to share one other verse with you that you may think about differently in light of the foregoing. “For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone,” (Psalm 91: 11 – 12). This is commonly thought of a protection verse as, indeed, all of Psalm 91 is, but consider that Jesus is the stumbling stone, the stone of offense. Could it be that one of the angels’ duties is to help us to recognize Jesus as the corner stone so that we do not stumble over him to our eternal peril? At minimum, it is an interesting question.

I hope this Psalm Monday has found you well and that this excerpt from the psalms is a blessing to you. The Word of the Day will resume in October albeit in a slightly different form. We will continue our Psalm Mondays, but the other days of the week will be more brief. They will, as always, focus upon God’s Word as it is the life and breath we all need. I will, therefore, continue to send you a Bible verse daily. My elucidation thereof, however, will be shorter. It should make it easier for you to receive a dose of the Lord everyday without unduly burdening you. There will, of course, be the occasional message that needs a bit more but in any case, the Word of the Day will take five minutes or less to read. I hope this will aid you in your hectic schedules. Of course, I am always interested in your feedback. Simply reply to this email, use the comments section or leave us a comment on the website at https://iveyministries.org.

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Laud

On September 14, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all nations; laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!

This was an easy Psalm Monday. The entire psalm is two verses and every word is wonderful. Two things struck me, though. First, this psalm is directed towards all nations and all people. Think of that. Imagine all the people of the world praising Yahweh, lauding Him with praise. Is that not a beautiful image? That day will come. We can meditate on it now, rolling that image around in our minds. All the peoples of the world will sing praises to the Lord, our God and we will praise Him in unison, many languages in harmony. Wow!

The other part of this psalm that spoke to me was, “the truth of the Lord is everlasting.” I was thinking, “All the people of the earth will know His truth, the fullness of truth.” We will have our questions answered and see truths we never perceived before. His truths are unchanging but still being revealed. Every day we can bask in more and more of His truth. We may find we didn’t have everything right but that is okay too. Our egos do not need to be right in the light of His revealed truth. It will be a joy just seeing more and more of His everlasting truth.

Of course, it is great news that His thoughts are loving and kind towards us. This is an important meditation. It might be the most important part of the psalm. We need this revelation of a God who is always loving and kind towards us. He is not hateful, angry, vengeful, or spiteful. He isn’t trying to kill us. He is salvation and grace. Hallelujah! Surely that is good news to a world struggling with any number of challenges. The ultimate answer is that God’s lovingkindness is great toward us, towards all of us; all people, all nations. That’s beyond good news. That’s great news and He is worthy of much praise. Praise the Lord, all you people. Shower Him, right now, with your message of thanksgiving. Worthy is the Lord!

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Peace My Soul

On September 7, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 116: 7 – 8             TLV

Return to your rest, my soul, for Adonai has been good to you. For You delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

This is a good psalm and I think you will find comfort in many of its verses. I chose these two verses because they shouted to me about the peace we can find in our Lord.

To be honest, it is not always easy to walk in the Lord’s peace. There is trouble in the world. We’ve got problems we’re dealing with and decisions that keep us awake at night. This psalm, though, reminds us of peace we can enjoy when we sink into our relationship with Jesus. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that he gives us immeasurable peace. We have to stop in the middle of our thoughts and remember that he left his peace with us (John 14: 27). In all our reminding, let us be reminded of this from Philippians 4: 7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” God’s peace is so big, so comprehensive that it defies understanding.

Anytime our souls get anxious, we can turn to some of these magnificent verses and remind our inner self to relax, be at peace. Today’s psalm begins with praise and thanksgiving that the Lord, Adonai, hears our prayers. He hears our cries, our petitions, our worries and concerns and He answers and comforts us. Let us, therefore, speak to our own souls the way the psalmist talks to his. “Return to your rest.” Be still and calm O my soul. The Lord has been good to you.

Our God has delivered us. He has been on the site for us in times we don’t even know about. I know this to be true and knowing it helps me to remain confident that I can greet tomorrow in the peace of the Lord for He is with me and will not fail me. He will not fail you either. Let this be your refrain and confession. Bless the Lord.

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