Awe Inspiring

On August 19, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 65: 2, 5          TPT

You are the God who answers prayer; all of humanity comes before you with their requests. You answer our prayers with amazing wonders and with awe-inspiring displays of power. You are the righteous God who helps us like a father. Everyone everywhere looks to you, for you are the confidence of all the earth, even to the farthest islands of the sea.

Even people who don’t know God, even people who say they don’t believe there is a God, know whom to call when the chips are down. I like to say, “There are no atheists in the oncology ward.” While that may not be 100% true, it is substantially true. When it comes down to the real issues of life, people know who to turn to in the time of need. Even people who have never been taught about a God, instinctively turn to Him because inside of each of us is embedded the truth. We know there is a God and we turn to Him to answer prayers.

Everything that has breath will praise God. The complete truth of His deity will reign gloriously over the earth. There will be none who deny the truth of His existence and His divinity. We shall all revel in that day, but you can have a piece of it now. This psalm is a good place to meditate and as you do you may even feel the glory of who He is welling up in your heart. Your breath may catch a little and then you realize that this benevolent, beatific God is your very own Father; your love and best friend. It does snatch the breath away. He who created all the galaxies and universes, wants, more than anything, to walk with you today. He wants to answer your prayers and lead you to success and liberty.

David knew Him as the one who answers prayers with displays of His power. The Father wants to show Himself to each of us just as He did to David. He wants to be our strong right hand and our ever present helper. That is pretty amazing.

Let yourself fall a little deeper today. Not just deeper in love but deeper into your inner-self and your relationship with Him. Think about the words from these verses and let them give you encouragement and hope. The God who answers prayers; the God of all humanity is waiting to visit with you today.

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Ashamed

On August 16, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

To fully appreciate this verse you have to first remind yourself what salvation means to the Jewish writer. Salvation to the Jew is much broader than our narrow view. Many people think of salvation only in terms of not having to spend eternity in hell. Yes, that’s part of it but to God and to Paul salvation would be akin to Shalom. It means that we are saved in every aspect of our lives. And that clearly means the here and now.

To a person that is sick, the gospel is the good news about a healing God. To a person with an addiction, it means released from the bondage of that substance. Salvation is applicable in a marriage, in your emotions, and truly, every aspect of life. So, the good news about any brokenness is the gospel.

Paul was not ashamed to tell people the good news when he saw their lives broken. He knew that the good news about Jesus would save them from financial devastation, from a broken heart, would heal their bodies and their relationships. He wasn’t ashamed to let people know that falling in love with Jesus would be good news for their bodies, souls and spirits.

He also recognized that both the Jews and the Greeks needed to hear the good news about Jesus’ restorative power. To my way of thinking, I could say, we need to share the good news about how Jesus can touch a person right now to both Christians and non-Christians. Too often we think salvation is only for those who have never met Jesus but there are a lot of hurting Christians who need to be reminded that God loves them and has healing power in His wings. The need to be reminded the God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have very present power for everyday problems.

Yahweh is an everyday God. Jesus is the good news about every problem we face this day. His earthly ministry and sacrifice did way more than just assure us a place in heaven. He came to earth to give us abundant life right here and right now. That is salvation, that is Shalom – nothing missing, nothing broken.

When you see someone hurting, whether a Christian or not, share the good news of the gospel with them. It is power. If you can’t quote scripture, just tell them the good news that God loves them, Jesus loves them, and the Holy Spirit has been sent into the earth to help them with their problems today. Pray with them, pray for them. Encourage them to start reading the Bible and hearing the good news for themselves. Don’t be ashamed to share the gospel with them for it is the power of God, it is the power they need for their hurts and injuries.

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Placement

On August 15, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 16:8

I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Did you know you have a choice in where God exists in your life? David was the one who set the Lord before Him and at His right hand. Where do you want God? David put God where He was always in sight. That was how he combatted the fear which could have so easily overwhelmed him. It is how he had the confidence and faith that his enemies would be vanquished. Every day, he saw problems in the light of God with him. He saw God every time he looked up and the enormity of his God made his problems shrink.

The beauty of this is that you can put God wherever you want. You choose! Is He in His throne room? Is He hovering over the earth on a cosmic cloud? Or do you decide to have Him seated right next to you? David said that because God was at his right hand, he could not be shaken. Sometimes it pays to keep Yahweh close to you. It’s good to have His power right beside you. It’s good just having His presence there because His presence reminds you of all that He is. It boosts your confidence. His presence with you reminds you of who you are in Him.

It’s wonderful to visit the Lord in His throne room. I highly recommend it but don’t lock Him up in there. His plan was to be with you. You are His temple, remember. He wants to walk every step with you. Today.

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Peace

On August 14, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 14: 27           TPT

“I leave the gift of peace with you – my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts – instead, be courageous!”

There is no version of this verse which is not excellent. I chose the Passion Translation because it makes clear that Jesus gave us the gift of peace, his own peace he gave to us. Not only is it superior to the peace the world has to offer, it is perfect. Imagine that – perfect peace. See yourself in perfect peace.

Now, if Jesus has given us this perfect peace why would we let anyone steal it from us. That is the point I want to make today. Don’t let anything or anyone steal your peace. It is Jesus’ gift to you.

I have known people who aren’t happy unless they are upset. I know that sounds like an oxymoron but you probably know someone like that too. No matter how things are in their lives, they find a reason to be upset – either angry, hurt, sad, etc. That’s craziness if you ask me. Why does anyone want to live that way?

Here is the reality. Being angry, worried, injured, offended; all these things steal our lives from us. Peace is where we find health and wholeness. Every minute we spend in turmoil is hazardous to our bodies. Why should we let some goofball steal minutes of life and health from us?

Sometimes you need to change your associations. I like my friends at the YMCA I attend because they are uplifting, positive people. They are intentional about edifying others, not tearing them down. So, it is a good group to be associated with. There are other people you can’t get away from easily, such as co-workers or family. You may sometimes need to, kindly, let people know what you will accept and what you will not. I don’t like to be a party to gossip. It is an insidious habit that can easily suck me in, so, I try to break off conversations that head in that direction and I will just tell the person I am with that I don’t like to get into that. It is a sin after all and one that I know would be all too easy for me.

The greatest tool for maintaining your peace, though, is the quiet time you share with Jesus. That time seems to reinforce the gift of peace he gave us. It is easy to get upset with someone but if you value Jesus’ peace it makes it much easier to hang on to it in the crunch. And remember, one of the reasons we should hang on to peace is for our health. None of us wants our heart affected by someone else’s junk invading our peace. There is no health issue that is desirous, yet so many of them begin in the stress that we allow other people to create in our emotions.

Make the peace of Jesus a sacred part of your soul. Be jealous of it and don’t let anyone steal it from you.

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Wall of Separation

On August 13, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 58: 3

Why have we fasted and thou dost not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and Thou dost not notice?

This is an age old question. Father, we are doing what we should do. Behold our righteousness. Yet, you are far off. You do not hearken to the voice of your people. Why is the Almighty God silent and impotent?

I love the book of Isaiah. He shows us that each one of us is Zion. We are that piece of the nation of Israel encapsulated in the guise of one person. As Isaiah speaks about the nation of Israel, our own names ring through the heavens. We are Israel. We are Zion. We have been given the keys to the Kingdom and the responsibility that goes with them.

One of Israel’s obvious problems was their favorable impression of their own righteousness. We are doing everything right Father. See our fast. See us in church every week. Why is God not answering our prayers? Anytime we rely on our own rightness, rather than the goodness of the Lord, we have immediately gone the way of pagans. Though we may not intend to hold our righteousness up to God in a demand for service, we so often do just that in subtle ways.

The Holy Spirit, through Isaiah offers additional answer. We have an uncomfortable way of isolating God by our actions. In Chapter 59, verse 2 Isaiah wrote, “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God. And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.” Doesn’t that chill your bones? People don’t like to hear pastors talk about sin and iniquity, but the truth is that many of us have things that we are doing, or not doing, that keep us from approaching God openly. Our own guilt drives a wedge between us. Maybe we didn’t spend enough time in our Bibles last week and feel guilty because of it. That guilt can be deep down in a person’s soul such that they are hardly aware of it in their mind. It separates them from God though.

Jesus took all of our sin upon himself so that we could commune with the Father. However, whatever we are doing or not doing, that convicts our souls will separate us from God. One strategy people employ is to keep moving so fast, stay so busy, never take the time to slow down and meditate or quietly be with God so that we never feel the sting of our shortcomings. They stay buried deeply enough that our shallowly lived life is immune. Unfortunately, those buried truths are a hazard to our health, our relationships and of course, our relationship with the Father.

If you feel like the Father is far away, ask yourself if you are isolating Him by some action of your own. Ask yourself if you have guilt embedded in your soul. Is there sin putting a wall of division between you? Notice in the scripture that it is we who have separated ourselves from God. Not the other way around. He is waiting for you to clear up what is in your soul so that you can hang out together. He loves you more than you can even comprehend. Do some soul searching and make sure there is nothing separating you from your beloved.

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Snakebite

On August 12, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 64: 8

So they will make him stumble; their own tongue is against them.

David wrote this psalm as a complaint against a group of people who were gossiping about and plotting against him. In the end, it is their own words and schemes which will trip them up. That is the way with gossip, the outcome of treachery.

You may feel vindicated if someone has been badmouthing you. Take solace in the fact that their words will eventually turn around and bite them. If you are prone to gossip, heed this warning. Gossip is like a snake, you may think you have it by the tale but it finds a way to turn and bite you.

For that matter, gossip just isn’t kind. Our Father is kindness, gentleness and goodness. It is hard to imagine that gossip would fit in with Him and if it doesn’t fit with Him, then it doesn’t fit with us. We are supposed to live our lives in Him, after all.

This psalm also reveals that the schemes and traps we plot against others, ensnare us. Again, great vindication if you have been the subject of such plots. Not such good news if you are the architect of schemes.

There is not grace, no goodness is talking about others or devising ways to trip them up. Our job is to show the love and mercy of God to everyone. It’s not always the job we would choose but it is the one to which we have been appointed by our Father. Let only good proceed from our mouths, O Lord.

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Non-profit

On August 9, 2019   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 4: 2

For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

God’s Word is powerful and has the ability to set people free from any enslaving condition or circumstance. Only, however, if they mix the Word with faith. It is faith which energizes the Word you hear. Think about that for a moment. Do you remember the story about the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed? Jesus said of her, “Your faith has made you well,” (Matthew 9: 22). She mixed her faith with the Word she had heard.

Apparently, she had heard about Jesus and the great works he performed. She probably had heard about other people being made well. I imagine her friends had heard this same news. They probably sat around discussing him. Things were different for her though. She took hold of the good news that was preached about Jesus and she mixed it with faith saying, “If I only touch His garment, I will get well,” (v. 21). What makes the difference between people like her who receive God’s miracles and those who don’t?

The God’s Word translation shows today’s verse in a light which answers that question. “We have heard the same Good News that your ancestors heard. But the message didn’t help those who heard it in the past because they didn’t believe.” Many people have heard the good news preached. Many have read the words in the Bible. Not all believe. One time I heard a pastor say from the pulpit that the miracle of feeding the five thousand was not as represented. His explanation of feeding the multitude was that the good women in that crowd were smart enough to pack provisions and they, therefore, fed the crowd. He is a preacher, but he is not a believer. He doesn’t believe the Bible. So, he is not going to reap the blessings of the Bible.

God said that He sent His Word and healed them, (Psalm 107: 20). His Word healed. All God had to do was send the Word. The Word did the rest. It heals, saves, delivers, restores, blesses, leads, and anything else we need.

The Word can work for any one of us too. However, we need to believe it like the woman in Matthew 9. It takes more than one reading or one message. Those who receive have thought about the Word until their hearts are assured. They are beyond persuasion having passed over into convinced. That same belief and victory is available to each one of us. Spend some time with the Word and with the Father and persuade yourself to belief.

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