Praise The Lord

On April 6, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 95: 1 – 7       NIV

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice.

This passage is good in every translation, enjoy reading it in several. I could easily write on this passage for a week. What jumps out at you? How about that our God is still the rock of our salvation. He will save us in this and every other situation.

I had on my list of things to share with people that though this may not be the easiest time to praise God, it is certainly one of the best times, so when I saw this theme in the Psalm of the day, there was no doubt as to what to write on. Praise shakes up hell and tortures the devil. Those are reason enough for me. In my writings on Spiritual Warfare, I have written that praise is one of the biggest and strongest weapons you have. So, take out a good praise album and let the devil have it, with both barrels. If you don’t have praise music go to Amazon Music, or iTunes. I know Amazon has some you can stream for free and there are plenty of buy options at both places.

I do want to add one thing about praise that I may not have shared with you previously but that is appropriate, especially now. Praise is good for your soul. I sincerely believe that is why God coaches us to praise. I don’t believe for an instant that our Beloved is an egomaniac who needs millions of people to praise Him all day. No, the better description of Him is as a loving Father who tells us all things for our own good. So, if you believe that, then His directive for us to praise is for our good, not His own.

Praise does have a way of unblocking your own heart. It really and truly does set you free. Music and praise come from the heart, from your spirit so it gives you a better opportunity to connect with God in your heart than even praying in your known language. Song especially frees the spirit. Now, more than ever before in your entire life, you need praise. You need that sensation of feeling free, unburdened and joyful. It will absolutely be medicine for your soul. Moreover, in that space of an unburdened spirit, you will be able to commune with God more easily and more freely.

I know there are plenty of you out there who either don’t know how to praise or feel encumbered. I get it. Here is my advice. Music! But, not hymns so much. I love the old hymns too and was singing The Old Rugged Cross just last week. However, the music that moves your heart to praise even more easily is the “praise” music you can find. I strongly suggest praise compilations. They are the best of the best. This music is easy to sing to and extremely easy to learn the lyrics.  Within a refrain or two, you are able to close your eyes and just set your spirit free.

There has never been a better time to learn how to praise God. There has never been a time when the whole world needed your praise as it does today. You will find God speaking into your heart like never before and you will release pent up emotions you didn’t even know were there. And, if you are embarrassed or awkward, well, there has never been a better time than now for us to practice and become adept. Heed this advice because it is good for your heart. Praise the Lord our God. Sing a joyful song of worship to Him. Give Him the deepest part of your thoughts and emotions. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

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What are you Saying?

On April 3, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 4: 17        God’s Word

Abraham believed when he stood in the presence of the God who gives life to dead people and calls into existence things that don’t even exist.

This is a good time to teach about Abraham. We will visit him next week as well. Today’s verse continues the thoughts of yesterday’s Word of the Day. And so, here is the question, “What are you saying?”

I love this version of the Bible and its rendition of this verse. Abraham is called the Father of faith because he believed even when the promise of God seemed ludicrous. One of the things that made it a bit easier to believe is that he stood in the presence of God. I find that the more time I spend in God’s presence, the easier it is for me to believe too. So, now I am thinking, “I just need to spend more time in God’s presence.” It’s true. When I slow myself down and mediate in him, my ability to hear Him is improved and understanding and faith increase. The hard part, at least for me, is in quieting everything about me: my physiology as well as psychology. Mind and body can be unruly partners, but I have decided that I am lord over my body and my mind, and they will behave. Further, the more I submit them to Jesus’ lordship, the more peace I enjoy physically and mentally. That’s phase one, getting quiet in God’s presence.

The next thing I need to model about God and Abraham is “calling those things.” What is this? Abraham took his cue from our Father. We not only model Abraham, but we can see what he learned from the Father. Therefore, we have two very good role models. What we see when we observe them is that they said what they wanted before the thing even existed. They actually called those things which were not into existence. This is where it gets sticky for some people, but it needn’t.

Some people say, “Well, I can’t call myself healed when I am sick. That isn’t true.” Here’s the thing, when you shift your gaze you find it is true. I wrote a piece about shifting the frame just a little. It is amazing what you will see when you move the frame. Make a frame with your hands and then narrow your focus to only that which is inside the frame. What do you see? Now shift the frame. What do you see now? If you’ve played the game with me, you will find a totally different picture within the frame. Now, here is the question, “Which one represents truth?”

Here’s another way to play this game. Do you have something you can use as a frame and fix it in place? If not, you have to do this with your brain. Fix the frame either literally or figuratively and take a picture of what you see with your internal eye. Now remember that picture. Do not move the frame, move yourself. Move your body. Now what do you see? Again, if you played along, the picture has changed although the subject neither moved nor changed. You changed your perspective. You changed your vantage point. Now, again, which picture represents the truth? Of course, truth has not actually changed, only our perspective and perception changed. This is the greater reality. This is (T)ruth with a capital T.

Abraham was able to call himself the father of a multitude because he had a new perspective. It was one of faith and belief. He could close his eyes and see this truth. It is the most natural thing in the world to say what you see. We do that all day long. We assume that which we perceive with the natural eye is “true” although we know it’s not always so. Why, then, is it so challenging for us to believe that what we see with the eyes of our spirit is truth? In this, we have identified the real work of faith that Jesus spoke of. This is the “work” that he wants us to do. Once we see his truth, it becomes an easy thing to speak that reality.

One last thing before I let you go, and it is another question. Speaking both literally and figuratively, who is in control of the placement of the frame and the perspective of viewing? Who is the director of this film? If you answered Jesus, you are half right. Hopefully you also recognize that ultimately you are the director of the film. You have to set up the camera and shout “action.” Then you sit back while Jesus rolls out a movie for you. If you will keep your camera focused on him, he will show you are version of reality that you can sink your heart into and speak with confidence.

This leads back to the beginning. What are you saying? We must listen to what comes out of our mouths and police it, if need be. That isn’t all though. Phase two might be tuning our eyes and spirits to Jesus’ version of truth but ultimately we must transition to phase three which is intentionally calling those things into existence which do not currently exist in the natural realm. That is the point we want to get to. That is the meaning of this verse, but sometimes you have to fix your believer first. This is exactly, how your Father created the earth. He called things which didn’t exist into existence. Was he not speaking truth? He was speaking the truth He saw in His spirit and it had to come into existence. That is your charge. See what Jesus wants to show you and then speak it out in confidence. See your protective shield, see your healing. Say what Jesus says about you. Amen?

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Not My House

On April 2, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 91: 10

No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.

This verse was written for today. There are many great utterances from the Lord which are appropriate for our current situation and I will be sending them to you over the next weeks but is there any verse more timely than this?

Psalm 91 is such a great chapter anyway. If you have not read it in a while, take some time to read it. You will find it greatly encouraging. You may find yourself thinking that the author was looking through a crystal ball when he wrote it. You know, sometimes working with God is that way. You are in the present, but He also has His mind on the future.

We can use this verse a couple of ways. First, as a prayer, and while I am in this thought, “Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray these words over every single person who reads this devotional. Lord, put a bubble of protection around them, their families and their homes. Father, I declare in the authority I have in the name of Jesus, that evil will not befall them and that no evil, plague or virus shall come near their abodes.”

Now, you can pray that every day – which brings me to the second use of this verse. Simply speak it over you, your family and your household daily. That is how we activate the gifts of God. First, of course, believe them and believe they are for you even if written a very long time ago. Second, believe these God utterances which have been captured in the Bible have actual meaning and power for you and for today. Then, speak them as if they are true, as if you believe them. What does that look like? “No evil shall come nigh me nor shall covid-19 or any other dis-ease come to my house.” Or, “I will not contract covid-19 nor will I get the flu.” It’s all about positive declarations made continually.

And here is one time I use them which sometimes puts people off, but we are talking about life and death here. If someone speaks fear in my presence or if someone asks if I am worried, I come out with “No evil shall come near me and no disease may enter my house.” Does it make you sound a little weird? Well, yeah. I don’t care. My health and my relationship with my God are more important than anyone’s opinion. This is key. It is very nice to receive the great verses, but it is critical that you know how to use them. That is why I am spending the extra time to write to you about application. You are getting training on how to walk in them and I am very much hoping you are applying yourself to using these teachings. I know this makes the devotional longer, but I feel a strong responsibility towards you. I am going to work hard to deliver to you the good news and a fresh Word from God daily.

God wants you safe. I want you safe. He has given you His good word and I am going to teach you how to wear it like a holy robe of His grace. You are clothed with the Word of God and it keeps you. Blessed be the Lord and praise to His name.

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Prayer Time

On April 1, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Pray without ceasing.

Never was there a more appropriate time for this verse, at least in our own lives. The world has suffered many challenges throughout history, but the coronavirus has touched almost every country in the world and that is big. This is our time. Wherever you live in the world, your nation needs you to pray. For once we do not have the excuse of being too busy. For once, we have time to spend with God.

Before too long, we will look back at this period in history and we will either be able to say we excelled and grew, or we wasted the time we had. I have made a personal decision to make this a time of personal improvement and acceleration. Rather than give into convenience foods, we have decided to come through this crisis having eaten well, exercised and weighing less. It would be the easiest thing in the world to use this predicament as an excuse to live on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cereal. It would be just as easy to use the extra time I have in my calendar to feed my flesh. My household has decided to feed our bodies and our spirits wholesome food and use this time to grow in the Lord. I will be better at praying than ever before.

What are you going to do with your time? Are you going to spend it on Facebook and television? Today is the day to decide. If we are not careful, we will slide, unnoticed into apathy, wasting our time on frivolities when we could be nurturing our spirits, bodies and minds. We could be positively affecting the globe and our neighbors.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think you are going to need some down time, whatever that means to you. For me, it usually means exercise and computer games. That is okay. These are stressful times and you need to know what destresses you. However, prayer is the absolute best thing you can do for your spirit, your soul and your body. They all feed on the connectivity with our Father. Your country, state, province, county, town, village, etc. needs you to have time with your Father too. We all need you praying. I need your prayers.

We can overcome coronavirus, and we can even come out stronger on the other side. I hope your spirit is sensitive to the loss of life and human suffering that are facts of life right now. Let it move you to prayer. Pray without ceasing. Never in your life has there been so great a need for believers to call upon the Father of all. The entire world needs us to stop talking about being Christians and get down to the serious business of being Christian. Cry out to the Lord with a loud voice. He is listening. He is waiting. Pray without ceasing. It’s what Paul told the church at Thessalonica.  It is good enough for us too.

What will the world say about Christians when we look back?  I hope they will see a faith filled group of praying people, people who believe in the saving power of their God.

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Carried Away

On March 31, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 8: 16 – 17

And when evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES, AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”

What do you love about this verse? We’ve read this before, but it has taken on new meaning in this current viral situation. Or, at least it’s importance and meaning are more present in our thinking. Personally, I love the part that says he carried away our diseases. Now that is something we can pray. In this verse, our Father has given us a prayer for eradicating the Corona virus. Do you see that?

I am in the mountains for a prolonged period of study and prayer. I was about to pick up the book I brought to read but saw my Bible lying there and just had a desire come over me to pick it up and hold it in my hands. I wanted to feel the leather cover and hear the sound the pages make. As I picked it up, it fell open to this verse. I was immediately impressed with this verse and God’s goodness.

He is sending us a verse so that not only can we be encouraged but also because it is a tool, even a weapon if you prefer. We have a new prayer. It is not only about having been healed, receiving our healing or even praying for the health of others. God, our compassionate Father, is telling us that we can pray for Jesus to carry away this disease. He is sending us a prayer and asking us to get into agreement with Him. Who can see this? Please shout back to me to let me know I am getting this through as the Lord is showing it to me.

How can I say it other than our Beloved Father and Lord has sent us a prayer for us all to pray, together? Jesus will carry this virus away. Where he carries it, I don’t know or care. I just know that Yahweh has sent us a point of contact. We can visualize Jesus and his angels roaming throughout the earth collecting all of the contagion and carting it out of the earth. You can see the angels destroying it with their flame throwers. There is a way out of this, and God has, this day, provided it. Use it.

We have transitioned from an Ivey Ministries prayer team to a prayer army. It is a necessary step at this time, but we need you. We need collective prayer, an army of pray-ers all praying in unison, praying the same thing from the same vision. Join our warrior army. Do not be bashful, be faithful. You have been called for this time. Now pull out your prayer guns and let’s get to work. This is not hard work either. I will send you an email of prayer requests – you pray. Easy peasy.

Reply to this email telling me you are willing to join our prayer force. Alternatively, email me at irorie@nulliveyministries.org. And, get your friends of faith to join us. This is a time for us to join together, so solicit every faith person you know. Together we can overcome this much faster than if we let the world deal with it. Our Father has indicated that He is ready if we will only cooperate with Him. Let’s do this!

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Confidence Pill

On March 30, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 94: 14

For the lord will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance.

This verse does not need a lot illumination. It is understandable on its face. It is some good news though and that we need a lot of right about now. Also, this is a verse which may be easy to share with others. It is simple and straight to the point.

Probably the best use of this verse is as a confidence builder. I am reminded of medicines you take by holding them under your tongue until they dissolve. This verse is like that. We might hold this in our hearts until it becomes a part of our chemistry. If we simply swallow this pill, it will only impact our minds for a small time. In order for it to be effective and to change our situation, we must ingest it slowly and deliberately. Holding a pill under your tongue until it dissolves is not as easy, not as simple as just swallowing it but in this case, it is far more effective and that is what we are after.

This is a time for transformation for the church and for us individually. We could look back at these troubling times and see how we followed God and became stronger personally and corporately. We will accomplish that and become a healthier church if we will take our medicine daily. Mediate on this scripture until you are convinced, in your spirit, that our God has neither forsaken nor abandoned us. Meditate on it until you are strong enough to share it with others.

Bless you.

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Immune Boost

On March 24, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Proverb 4: 20-23

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their whole body.

I know I said I wasn’t going to send out the Word of the Day this week but there is something that is really nagging me. There are a couple of things which seem to be missing from the national dialogue. One of those is that there are things you can do to boost your immunity. This is not an exhaustive list. To the point, you may think of other things you would add, including anything which increases inflammation in the body. This is a good starting point, however.  I consulted my friend, Ann Musico https://www.threedimensionalvitality.com, on what we can do to boost our immune systems. Here is our collaboration.

• Drink lots water: of course, purified, filtered water is best. Alternatives to water are unsweetened tea and unsweetened coffee. If you must have a sweetener, use stevia. We make our iced tea with decaffeinated green tea and love it. No sugar at all and it’s still good to this southerner.

• Dr. Don Colbert advises drinking hot fluids.

• Use probiotics: they build gut health where most of your immune system resides.

• Take a good multi-vitamin: that means not man-made but derived from natural sources.

• Vitamin C – Ann says she takes 5-6,000 mg on a regular basis and more when fighting something off. Check with your doctor on dosage amounts.

• Get good sleep: It is best to sleep during the nighttime hours and get 8 hours of sleep.

• Eat wholesome food: meaning whole real food. If it is a box, it’s not a real food. I think of it this way, eat it like God made it. An apple should still look like an apple.

• Do not stress or panic: stress, worry, anxiety and panic suppress the immune system. Pray and get your believer level up.

• Avoid sugar: it suppresses the immune system.

• Get regular exercise: just move your body. There are lots of ways you can move. Sit in a chair, but just as your bum touches, stand back up. Clean the house, clean the garage, walk around the exterior of your house. You get the idea. Don’t make this difficult. Just get off the couch at least every hour.

• Add zinc to your diet.

• Also, check out Dr. Axe online: He has additional suggestions.

The short and long of it is that you do not have to be a sitting duck. You can defend yourself and your family. Need I say, pray. That is your first line of defense but additionally, do the things Yahweh has taught us in order to support and strengthen your immune system. Drink lots of water, it bears repeating. When God gives us wisdom it is Him protecting us. Apply His medicinal wisdom and be whole.

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