Ditto

On February 26, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 7: 7 – 8          GW

Ask, and you will receive . . . Everyone who asks will receive.

Yesterday I wrote about speaking the result you desire when you pray. That is a very important part of prayer. No sooner had the email gone out than did God prove his word to me and to a grandmother who relied on her profession of faith for her grandchild.

My friend, Ann, wrote that her son sent her a message that his newborn was having digestion issues. Ann says she began praying that the child’s digestive system works perfectly and commanded his digestive tract to behave properly. She didn’t stop there though. She says she closed her eyes and pictured her grandchild exhibiting healthy characteristics. She said, “I just thanked God and knew.” Her son texted her 30 minutes later with the good news. It witnessed to her son as well and is a testimony to all of us that what was in the Word of the Day yesterday works. What is funny about this is that the encounter with Ann’s son and grandson was happening at the time I was writing the Word of the Day. Do you think God knew what He was doing? Was He bringing a point home for us?

Look at these components again. Ann spoke the end result. She didn’t beg and plead. She knew God’s will that we all be healthy so she could begin to speak, with confidence, what she knew to be God’s will. She visualized. Remember how God gave Abraham visual images related to his promise? Ann saw her grandchild exhibiting all the signs of a healthy baby with a healthy digestive system. She didn’t stop there though. She also thanked God. In her mind’s eye she saw the baby healthy and whole and thanked God for that result. She spoke it and thanked God for it before it “existed” because in her mind it was a done deal. She spoke health rather than complaining of sickness. She thanked God because she believed in the end result. Thirty minutes it took for that particular miracle. Thirty minutes, and her son called her with the good news!

There is one more component here that may not be obvious but is very much present. Look at this scripture, “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive,” (Matthew 21: 22). Did you see it, the extra ingredient? Ann is a believer. She believes the Word of God; she believes God will do what He has promised, and she sees it fulfilled.

Get your promise from God. Just go to the Bible and pick one. Try the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy if you don’t have a verse you are focusing on. Imagine what it would look like if that promise was fulfilled. See your child healed, your finances whole, your home blessed. Picture what your life will look like when that prayer is answered. Then, open your mouth with a positive profession of faith. “I am the father of many, legs work as you were designed, etc.” Speak to that mountain and command it to obey the Word of God. Talk about the problem in the resolved state rather than in the broken state. “I am healthy and strong.” Then believe it. If you really do believe it, then gratitude to God will naturally come out of your mouth. If you don’t believe it, hibernate on that picture and God’s Word until you know that Yahweh is a god of His word.

Get the promise, get a picture, believe, speak the end result, command obedience to the Word, praise God. And, keep speaking the end result rather than the symptoms until the result you believe for is fully manifested. Don’t talk about the brokenness; speak the answer. See things fixed, not broken and let the words of your mouth reflect that picture.

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Sand and Stars

On February 25, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 4: 17                Tree of Life Version

He is our father in the sight of God in whom he trusted, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence that which does not exist.

This verse speaks about Abraham and says that he is our Father in faith. He is our faith example. We learn from him as he learned from God. God had to teach Abraham how to stand in faith. It wasn’t an intrinsic trait, but God was the example to Abraham teaching him that he must speak the end from the beginning. He had to learn to emulate God in calling those things which aren’t as though they were, speaking the end result instead of the appearance of things.

This is actually a prayer model. God made Abraham a huge promise, but it took years to bring it to pass. So, God had to teach Abraham how to stand in faith. Part of that involved teaching him how to pray and how to speak. Let’s see how this unfolds.

First, you get a promise from God. That is one of the important uses of the Bible. It could also be a dream God has given you which is anchored in the Word. Then, get a picture of it. God took Abram out to look at the stars and told him his children would number as many as the stars. He also gave him the imagery of sand telling him his children would be as numerous as the grains of sand. Every time Abram thought about sand or looked at a night sky he was reminded of God’s promise. The most important bit was yet to come though.

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. Abram means, “exalted father.” Abraham means, “father of many or father of a multitude.” Abram didn’t even have one child at the time, and both he and Sarah, his wife were well advanced in years. Besides that, she was barren. How was he to be the father of a multitude?

What Abraham did have, though, was a promise from God and to Abraham, that made all the difference. So, he had the promise, two images (the sand and the stars) which represented the fulfillment of that promise and now, he had a new name. Every time anyone called him, he heard, “Father of many.”

However, there was one thing remaining. His confession. First, we pray to receive God’s vision for us. That’s where the real asking takes place. Once we have the promise then we don’t have to ask and wonder anymore. We certainly don’t need to beg and plead. He has already said, “Yes.” Abraham had to learn to call those things into existence which didn’t exist. This is called standing in faith and it is the final component of prayer. This is where most of us miss our answer.

The message I wish to convey today is that this is part of the prayer model. We don’t need to keep on asking the father to do something for us once he has said okay. That part is done and it is time for us to stand like Father Abraham. This last part is crucial and as I said, I believe this is where most of us are losing our prayer answers. After you have an answer from God, it still takes faith to bring it in. He has already said, “Yes,” to healing you but what are you saying? He has already said, “Yes,” to prosperity but what are you saying? If you are still begging God to do something for you, you might be missing your answer to prayer. Pray to get His answer but then stand on that promise like Abraham did. Believe with all your might that what God has said is truth and is yours. Become stubborn and resolute. By his stripes, were you healed? Did God promise to prosper the work of your hand, or not?

This is the hard stuff but right here is where we can make a difference in our lives and the lives of our families. Find your promise. If you are having trouble finding a scripture to stand on, contact me. I will help you. Then, you’ve got to speak the end result. Forget the circumstances. Speak the result. Quit begging God and start thanking Him. Praise Him that He who promised is well able, and willing, to deliver. Call those things which are not until they are.

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Hold Fast

On August 15, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Hebrews 10: 23

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

The book of Hebrews is known for its sound teachings on faith and this is one of the resounding statements which reveals faith, what it looks like and how it behaves. It is easiest to build your faith paradigm by beginning at the end, “He who promised is faithful.” Our first step is to resolve, in our hearts, that God is faithful. Along this line you may remind your heart that God is unable to lie. If He said it, He will do it. What has He said though?

This is the second point of assurance. We can speak to God directly. He will speak with you personally. He also often speaks through another person. However, there is an anchor for these means of communication which will give you greater confidence. It is His Word. If God tells me something that contradicts His Word, then I know immediately it was not Him speaking. It was probably my flesh wanting Him to say what I wanted to hear. If, however, what I hear Him speaks is consistent with Biblical principles, then I may have confidence in what I heard.

You need to be convinced that the Bible is for you. It is a personal letter from Him to you. If you find a promise in the Bible, then it is yours for the taking. This is a point in our faith walk which can really make us strong. If you have convinced your heart that the Word is true and that God is speaking to you, then it becomes easier for you to hold fast to the confession of whatever it is that you are hoping for. So, as an example, say you are confessing healing when you find this verse from Deuteronomy, “And the Lord will remove from you all sickness,” (7: 15). If you accept that this verse pertains you and you have trust in the one in whom the promise resides, the Lord, then it becomes easier and easier for you to hold on to your confession.

It is easy, though, for us to skim right over these passages and not believe God meant them for us. In the back of our minds we think they were only meant for some person who lived thousands of years ago in the Middle East. If we are going to see God’s will fulfilled in our lives we have to first have a promise, and second, believe the one who promised is faithful. If you don’t have a direct word from God, then you have to rely on what He has said before.

So, there is a good tenet of the faith walk. Believe in the one who promised and hold on to the promise without wavering. Do not go back and forth between believing and not believing. Okay, easier said than done, but convince your heart that God promised it and that settles it. Then be like a bulldog and don’t let go of your positive confession.

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Overcoming Praise

On October 3, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 107: 8                (Amplified)

Oh, that men would praise [and confess to] the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!


We have plenty we can celebrate about the goodness of God. He has freed us from every burden and sin and has set us up on the high places with Him. Now let us boldly praise His name and tell of his goodness. Also, confess the victories of the Lord. Confess his victories in your life and over all the works of the devil. Confess His healing in the face of the devil’s sickness. Proclaim your liberty. Say it aloud. “My God has overcome every evil thing in this and in the age to come. He has set me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8: 2) and I praise you Lord that you have. I praise your name and glorify you because you are worthy of all praise.”

It’s that easy, though I admit that it sometimes takes practice. Confess His word. Let it come out of your mouth. Thank Him from the bottom of your heart. Give Him praise. It all works together for your overcoming in His name.

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Calling Things

On September 2, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 4: 17        (KJV)

God … who calleth those things which be not as though they were.

As Christians, there are several ways we can affect the situations around us. One way is simply to pray and ask our Father to intervene. There is another means by which the Lord has meant for us to affect our lives and the entire world. That is through the power of our tongue; the power of confession. God has given us His power so that we might go into all the world doing good even as Jesus did. Our confession is the basic tool for this process. This is the means by which the Father created the earth, the universe and all creation. He spoke them into existence. There is something so primal and so basic here that if we, as the body of Christ, can get a hold of it, we will be the means of change.

God calls those things that aren’t as if they already were. In His confession is creation. Thereby it becomes reality. So, His saying it makes it real. Isn’t that awesome? He has given this same ability to us because we have now been recreated in His image.

I would love to declare a National Words of our Mouth Day. On that day everyone would speak only positive, life giving words about any and every situation. For that one day we would all say aloud those things which we want to see come to pass. I would call you healed and prosperous and you would agree with me. It would be very easy to have the second National Words of our Mouth Day because people would be filled with expectation from the great success they saw in the first one. Expectation would make the second even more momentous. Maybe we could start tomorrow.

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Testify!

On May 5, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Revelation 12: 11

And they overcame him (the devil) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony.

Jesus told us that the devil comes “to steal, and kill, and destroy” (John 10: 10). But we are over comers (1 John 2: 13) through him that came to bring us the victory. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith” (1 John 5:4). You see, Jesus overcame the world. He has done his part. In John 16: 33 he told us to take courage for he has overcome the world. And yet some of us are not walking in the full measure of Jesus’ victory. Why? How can that be?

It seems that we have a part in this victory as well. While Jesus has overcome the devil and all of his minions through his blood we must include ourselves in that victory through the use of our testimony, or our confession, and our faith. This means that our words have something to do with the measure of Jesus’ victory we will walk in. Satan is overcome by Jesus’ shed blood and our confession. Faith is believing God’s word, even in the face of contradictory evidence. The expression of faith is the confession of our mouth. What comes out of our mouths demonstrates exactly where our faith is. Are you sick, going to get healed, getting healed or healed? You see, those words indicate levels of faith. There is no condemnation if you are not yet confessing the greater part of faith. It just shows where you are currently. Tomorrow you can be in a different place altogether. Further, the more your confession matches the Word of God, the more of Jesus’ victory you will experience. 

We must all learn to order our words aright. Every one of us must be vigilante regarding the words that proceed from our mouths. Proverb 18: 21 says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. We need to learn to wield that power to our benefit. We will thereby overcome the devil and all of his machinations.

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Speaking, Believing and Truth

On October 26, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 10: 9      (New Living Translation)

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

This verse shows how the Kingdom of God works. In order to receive salvation we must believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths. Now, how do you suppose we are to receive anything and everything else? We are to believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths. You see, since this is how the Kingdom of God operates you understand that the same way you receive salvation is the exact same way you receive everything. Once you know the will of God for a situation, the methodology is the same. Keep confessing the scripture that covers your situation until the promise of God materializes in this earth. He has already given us everything in the heavenly realm (Eph. 1: 3) so all we have to do is appropriate it, transferring the blessing into the physical earth. We do that by speaking faith filled words. Our faith in God’s promise is what translates that blessing into the earth. We must continue to say out of our mouths that which God says about the situation. Then we shall have the promised blessing.

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