Praise

On March 9, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 92: 1 – 4

It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night, with the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, with resounding music upon the lyre. For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

How good is your praise? When I read passages like this, I am both encouraged and disappointed. I am encouraged because I see what praise can be and I am reminded how great our God is. I am disappointed, though, that I do not routinely engage in good praise. Even though I think and speak about how great God is, I don’t find myself praising Him like I could.

So, maybe like me, you choose to take today’s verse as a dose of encouragement. We too, can praise like David did but it means loosening up, letting go of some inhibitions. I think it also takes practice. You can always sing a song written by someone else but I would encourage you to really let go and allow your own words and sentiments to tumble out. And, praise doesn’t have to be sung. Maybe you just want to tell the Lord how much you appreciate Him. Tell others too, how great He is. It is good to give thanks to the Lord.

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Healing Virus

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

Jeremiah 30:17

For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds.

Okay, I will admit that today’s title sounds a little odd. Blame your Dad! That is just the way He said it to me. The point is, Jesus is on site, in your body, healing you.

Have you ever had a fever blister (cold sore)? If you ever have or ever do, the virus that causes the sore remains resident in your body forever. That struck me. Why does it not always cause a sore but sometimes will. Then our Father showed me a spin on this.

Isaiah 53: 5 says, “By his stripes we are healed.” Whose stripes? Remember the lashings Jesus took? Every part of his body was striped by the whip and in those wounds was your healing. 1 Peter 2: 24 confirms this, “by His wounds you were healed.” So, as I thought through this in an instant the Father showed me that Jesus healed us thousands of years ago and by his stripes we were and are healed, right now. If you are healed, then you are not working on getting healed. Yes?

Because Jesus lives inside of you, his healing power is in you too. It is like that virus that causes fever blisters. The virus is always there even when you cannot see evidence of it. In the same way Jesus and his healing power are always resident in your body. None the less, sometimes we do not manifest Jesus’ healing in the same way that the virus doesn’t always manifest a fever blister. Under what conditions does the virus activate and create a fever blister? How do we activate the resident healing within us so that it produces health? That is the question.

Father wants you to know that all of Jesus’ healing power is in you right now. It lives in you like a resident virus just waiting to be thrown into service. Some people catch a cold bug, but you have a healing bug that attacks any sickness that invades your body. I like that. Healing lives within you. It is always there. You were healed; you are healed. Connect with that healing virus, activate it with your faith and Be Healed!

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Obedience

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

Exodus 24: 7

Then he (Moses) took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!’

We know that the Israelites did not always do everything as God directed. In addition, they often complained bitterly to Moses. And yet, they did have the best intentions at this point in time. Is this like many of us? We have the very best of intentions but somehow, we get off track. Then we need a reminder so that we can renew our conviction. The quote in the above message is really strong and it would be great if we would all live up to it all of the time but sometimes we do lose our way.

What was the last thing that God told you to do? Are you doing it or did you get side tracked along the way? Renew yourself to doing all that God has directed. This, of course, includes all that we see in His Word. As you will notice, Moses read to the people the words that God had given him. We have those words and more. You cannot do all that God has spoken if you aren’t spending some time in the word finding out what he has said. Re-commit yourself today just like it is January 1st again. Every day you get the chance to start over, so take advantage of it. Commit yourself to reading His Word and doing all you find there. Let the Holy Spirit guide you. Let Him show you passages you need for your life and journey and then declare that you will do all He said and be obedient.

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Restful Presence

On March 4, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

“My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Lest there be doubt, this is the voice of God speaking – to you!

What a fabulous statement and promise. Perhaps this is one of those “promises” that you want to claim as your own. Maybe post it in your office or on in your car.

Even while you are the go, while you are active, God is not only with you, but He will give you rest. You do not have to go in the power of your might, but rather by His. He will be the fuel in the gas tank. As much as I love biking, this is the perfect time to realize that you don’t have to pedal. He is giving you rest while you go.

The more I see of the Bible the more I see how God has always intended to be an active partner with us. We remind me of young adults who are so intent on their independence that they do not realize they have willing partners. It is as though, in our spiritual life, we never outgrew adolescence. Somehow, we have the idea that we must make our own way in this world. That was never the plan. God always intended to walk with us, daily.

I know that when people hear that, they have little appreciation that those words could speak of a real world, tangible partnership. We get so spiritual and have such spiritual ideas that we have forsaken the reality. “I know God is with me daily,” we say but we have such a distant, ethereal viewpoint of that partnership as to relegate it to the world of fiction.

The promise that He will go with you and along the way give you rest has real world, everyday implications. It is the way we get things done, especially when we have neither the time nor the energy. I remember once when a friend was over-taxed with work and simply did not have the time to do all that needed doing. I advised her to take a few minutes and focus on God. Now, what sense does that make? She didn’t have enough time as it was and yet I recommended spending time on something other than the myriad of tasks on her burgeoning list. She heeded my advice and guess what, it worked. Somehow God was able to multiply time. She was able to get more done in less time with less stress. I am telling you; this stuff really works but you have to remove it from the realm of fantasy to real world application. You have to believe that God is here with us, right now, ready and willing to make things happen. If you can do that, you will be amazed at the results.

God wants to give you rest even as you go. He wants to be the wind beneath your wings and a shelter from the storms. These sound like clichés; I know, but they are not. They are reflections of how God thinks. Let Him be your strength today, while you rest.

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Year of Prayer

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

Acts 6: 4

But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

At the beginning of the year many ministers seek the Lord for a word about what the new year will hold for believers. Some of you may have noticed that I was quiet on the topic this year. The reason was that I did not seek the Lord on the subject, I rarely do, but He often speaks something to me. I didn’t feel like I had heard Him this year, but now I am certain that I did, and have.

I actually had the sense on January 17th that many of us were being called into a deeper prayer life (See the Word of the Day for January 17th). Coupled with that is a Word of the Day from December 20th, 2019. That was when I first began to talk about the new year. Now two months of the new year are behind us and I have a very clear idea about what God is saying to us about this year. We are called to prayer: to deeper prayer, different prayer and more prayer. He wants to change the way we have prayed in the past, add to it or maybe deepen it but there is definitely a call to prayer for this year and this call is to every one of the saints. I thought initially that it might be to just some of us. As I have pondered Lent and meditated on other topics the same answer keeps arising, “Pray.”

Each of us must approach God for ourselves and ask what He wants for us individually. Some of you have already told me you are being encouraged to spend more time in prayer. Others, it’s about the depth of prayer. For me, the Father wants me spending more of my prayer time in tongues. So, you see, it is not one size fits all. You cannot go wrong with any of those options, but it is best if you ask the Father what He has in mind specifically for you.

I am convinced, though, that this is the Year of Prayer and each of us are being called to prayer. Lives change, circumstances are altered, and revival is ushered in by prayer. We will be adding more members to our prayer team too. If God is calling you to help us by praying over the prayer requests we receive, then please connect with me by simply replying to this devotion or emailing me directly. Be blessed!

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Going Viral?

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

Psalm 91: 3

For it is He who delivers you from the . . . deadly pestilence.

Here is what I have to say about and to the coronavirus, “For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you,’” (Isaiah 41: 13). God has faced this problem before, and He has already spoken to the problem. He tells us to put our trust in Him because He is our shield and refuge. He delivers us from the pestilence. He guards our homes and health. When the plagues tormented the Egyptians, our Father held His people within the shelter of His wing.

Now, if you believe this, if you are with me here, then it is time to pull out what we learned last week from Romans 4: 17 (See the Word of the Day for Tuesday, February 25, 2020). It’s time to speak what you believe. The blessings of God do not rain on you from the sky. They are already yours, yes, but you have to move them from the spiritual realm to your life by the exercise of your faith and your words. This is the critical bit. Of course, you must believe that what God has said is true and that He is well able and willing to back up His Word with His faith and with action, but you must remember that we are in a partnership with God AND that He will not violate your freewill. You can be sick if you choose. You can go to hell if you want. It isn’t God’s will. It isn’t what He wants, but He will respect your choices. So, that means that you must be an active member of the partnership. The blessings are yours, but you must accept them. You must requisition them from the provision warehouse that Yahweh has already stocked for you. How do you know what the inventory is within that warehouse? There is an inventory list. It’s called the Bible and the way you get your order filled is by speaking words which are in accordance with the inventory.  If your words match the inventory list then the order is filled and shipped to your house.

If you fear the coronavirus guess what – you will attract it to you. I am not saying that you will contract the disease, but you certainly will not repel it. Do you remember what poor old Job said, “For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me,” (Job 3: 25). That which you focus upon is attracted to you. Then, God forbid that you say something like, “I catch everything that comes around so I will probably get the flu.” Dear One, please don’t confess anything remotely similar to that! Say, “By his stripes I am healed!” Say, “My Father delivers me from every deadly pestilence including coronavirus.” Get a stiff backbone and refuse to receive the curse. Stand in the blessing. Go read the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy and claim the blessing for you and your household.

Be healed, be whole. Reject the pestilence and remember the Word!

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Sacrifice

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

Hosea 6: 6

For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

I have been thinking about Lent a lot this year. Often, we think about what we might give up for Lent. Some people give up a particular food. For others it might be giving up a sport or recreational activity or even television for a time. Those sacrifices are about moving things out of the way which may interfere with devotion.

In the same vein, but perhaps the other side of the coin, I have been thinking about what we might pick up rather than what we lay down. I very much believe this is the wind of the Holy Spirit and the calling He is issuing to us. I have had several people speak or write to me about their Lent experience for this year and it is exactly what I have been thinking about. So, let’s think about what we can pick up for Lent this year.

The first thing many of us will think about is an increase in prayer. Prayer not only changes circumstances, it changes us, and I very much believe it is an extremely healthy activity.

Second, maybe in your time with the Lord you feel Him leading you to spend more time in the Word. Oh, hallelujah! You know I love that. I know that when you spend meditative time with the Word, it grows you. Problems receive answers. In fact, you might even find answers to problems you didn’t even know how to pray about. The Word is restorative and invigorating.

Third, speaking of meditative time, I hope you will consider spending some quiet, meditative time with the Lord every day. It is how you hear from the Lord. It is how I find out what to write about and what to write. When you give time to hearing the Lord, it is amazing how loquacious He can be.

How about singing or writing. Journal what you hear the Lord speaking or write to Him your thoughts. It is very fun to record your dialogue. When you begin to write your thoughts, He chimes in and directs those ruminations. Write that down! Sing a song to Him. Did you know that Dad and I have a song? Do you remember when you were young and falling in love? Most couples have a song that became important to them during the courtship. Imagine my surprise when one day Dad told me to sing “our” song. I said, “I didn’t know we had a song.” Immediately a song came to my mind and my response was, “Oh.” If you and Dad don’t have a song together, get one. Which one do you want to sing to Him?

I am sure you can find other ways to pick up something for Lent that will serve your relationship with the Father. As you see from today’s verse, He really is not looking for sacrifice but rather relationship. He wants you to get to know Him better and better so that you can trust Him fully. That is what we can take away from Lent this year.

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