Give What you Have

On January 24, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Genesis 40: 8

“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”

Just one more lesson from Joseph’s life. Do you remember where Pharoah found Joseph? He was in prison. Joseph was imprisoned for assaulting Potiphar’s wife. Egypt did not have a legal system like we are used to. Joseph was presumed guilty because of the words of Potiphar’s wife. Her advances to him were not new but Joseph never exposed her deeds to Potiphar, not even when she accused him of trying to rape her. So, Joseph sat in prison for something he did not do.

Joseph could have been bitter and indeed, I am sure there were days when he doubted the dreams God gave him. He persisted though, and he gave what he had to give. When the baker and the cup bearer had dreams, he interpreted them for them. Joseph told them that it is God who reveals dreams. He did not take any credit for the gift at operation within him. He did ask a favor though. The cup bearer was going to be restored to Pharoah’s service. Joseph asked the man to remember him when he was again in good graces and to help him get released. Unfortunately, the cup bearer’s gratitude did not remain, and he promptly forgot both Joseph and the grace God had shown him.

Hold on though, for the next thing that happened is that Pharoah began to have dreams. Pharoah called for all the wise men in the kingdom, but none could interpret his dreams. Then, the cup bearer remembered Joseph. So, Joseph was taken from the prison to stand before Pharoah. From there, Joseph was elevated to the second most powerful person in Egypt second only to Pharoah.

The point of the story is that Joseph always gave what he had. He knew he was wrongfully imprisoned, that his brothers had done him wrong and that he had only tried to serve Potiphar to the fullest extent of his abilities. He thought he was always doing the right thing but he suffered multiple injustices. He might have become so bitter that he no longer trusted God nor used his Godly gifts to bless others. Had he not agreed to interpret the dream of the cup bearer, there would have been no one to testify about his gift to Pharoah.

The moral is, regardless of the fairness of your circumstance, always give what God has bestowed upon you. Service should be its own reward. I know how hard that is, especially when you are not being treated fairly. Just give as if you are giving to God and do not let God’s promises escape you. Sometimes the vision does not manifest quickly but, hang on. Jacob never thought to see his son again, but he did. God isn’t through with you. Keep believing in the vision, the dream, the Word and always give what you have to give so that it may produce a crop.

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Home Town

On December 17, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 68: 18       TPT

He ascends into the heavenly heights, taking his many captured ones with him, leading them in triumphal procession. And gifts were given to men, even the once rebellious, so that they may dwell with Yah.

Yesterday we saw that when we accept Jesus as Lord, God comes and makes His abode in us, Immanuel, God with us. Today’s verse leads us to an end time message which is pretty funny when you consider it was written before Jesus even came to earth. It is about Jesus, though, that this verse is written. This verse talks about us living with God. When we move into the next phase of life, we will go live with God. Jesus said that though he was leaving, he was going to prepare a place for us (John 14: 2).

There will be a glorious day when we will be set completely free from captivity. Finally, there will be nothing which holds us back. You will enjoy a level of liberty that you cannot even understand. You will say, “I really didn’t even realize I was captured and held prisoner until just this moment when the truth of complete freedom overtook me.”

David looked into heaven and received a vision of Jesus’ ascension. He saw us in his procession. Then God showed him that gifts were bestowed on humans. These would be spiritual gifts. What does that look like? Use your imagination but I think it is the gift of instantaneous travel, of seeing spirit beings, of different languages. Maybe there are gifts of patience and tolerance.

This verse reminds me of the Exodus from Egypt. Not only were God’s people set free, they left carrying gifts of great wealth given to them by the Egyptians. God’s idea of setting the captives free involves fitting them with the accoutrements of a good life.

One surely appreciates that even the formerly rebellious people were given good gifts. David might have been surprised but also gratified for none of us is without some blame. All of those failures are left behind as we enter the wake of Jesus’ glorious ascension. You can now ask the Father about your gifts and you can request gifts. Do you want the gift of tongues? How about the ability to see angels? They are called gifts because Father is giving stuff away. He has an unlimited supply and no interest in holding back his good gifts. Even if you were once rebellious, you now qualify for God’s best. Crazy, right? I am glad God plays by a kinder set of rules than we do. Everything is now available to us, including a home with the Father.

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Leadership Altars

On October 28, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Kings 3: 3 – 5, 15

Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David. . . And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there . . . Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish Me to give you.”

Then Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and made peace offerings, and held a feast for all his servants.

The point of this story is the bookends. The story begins with Solomon’s sacrifices to God. Then, God appeared to him in a dream offering to grant any wish of Solomon’s desire. Then, at the end of the story, Solomon appeared before the Ark of the Covenant and made more offerings and threw a feast. It is a story of honor and sacrifice, of devotion and blessing. It is also a story of leadership. The two points I wish us to take away from this story is first, the relationship between offerings and sacrifice and God’s outpouring and two, Kingdom Leadership.

I have to believe that God showing up and speaking to Solomon in the dream was directly related to Solomon’s sacrifices and offerings. The offerings reveal Solomon’s earnest seeking of God’s wisdom. He was overwhelmed by his responsibility as the leader of the nation. Knowing it was a monumental responsibility, he sought God, making offering upon offering, humbling himself before his God. And God responded to Solomon. What would you ask for if God told you He would grant your desire? Solomon asked for the wisdom to rule God’s people justly. Wow! Not what I would have thought of.

Solomon’s leadership position drove him to prayer and to seeking God. There is no leadership teaching more impactful than this truth. Leadership should mean seeking God’s face on behalf of one’s flock. Second, in Solomon’s seeking, he made offerings to God. He laid thousands of gifts upon the altar believing that the God of Israel would honor his sacrifice. He was right. Third, Solomon’s response to God’s grant was to give more offerings and to throw a party for his servants. He blessed his servants with the blessing God gave him. He both honored God and blessed his people.

God gave Solomon what he asked for and much more besides but on both ends of this enormous blessing we find Solomon filling the altar with gifts to his King. Is it coincidence?

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Worthy

On February 23, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   2 Comments

Luke 7: 7

For that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You.

I promised you last week I would write on worthiness. It is often difficult to accept all Jesus and the Father have for us because in the deepest part of our spirits/hearts, we don’t believe we are worthy of their gifts. Let me cut through all the theology for you and make this easy. The way to deal with this feeling of unworthiness is to accept a simple truth. You are unworthy. Whew! Now that is over, and we can move on.

This is the way I was able to get free of my feelings of unworthiness. Once I accepted that I was unworthy, I looked to Jesus to be worthy for me. I never again have to worry about being worthy because he already did it for me. I can never earn even the smallest of the gifts they give me. I can’t earn the right to salvation, the right to talk with God or anything else. I am unworthy of their kind attentions. They love me anyway and that is where we must bask.

In a way, it is arrogance that keeps me thinking I need to be worthy. Once I understood that I wasn’t, I was able to take my eyes off myself entirely and put them on Jesus. Looking at who he is and what he has done is an absolute cure for feelings of insecurity, unrighteousness and unworthiness. If I have any worth at all, it is because of who I am in him. Wow! That is a lot of pressure off our shoulders. Love never required us to be worthy. Look at the world. We do not deserve God’s goodness. He loves us anyway and, brother, that is some good news.

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Three Magi

On December 15, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 2: 11

Then they opened their treasures and presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

In western culture, the gifts of frankincense and myrrh hardly seem on par with the gift of gold. Is this, then, a dialogue on valuable gifts? Or, perhaps, invaluable gifts? It turns out that historically, frankincense and myrrh were at least as valuable as gold and many historians believe them to have been more valuable than gold.

I got this from Dr. Axe regarding these ancient oils. Visit his website at draxe.com.

Myrrh is a resin, or sap-like substance, that is one of the most widely used essential oils in the world. Historically, myrrh was used to treat hay fever, clean and heal wounds and stop bleeding. Studies conclude that myrrh strengthens the immune system with its antiseptic, antibacterial and antifungal properties.

A 2012 study validated myrrh’s enhanced antimicrobial efficacy when used in combination with frankincense oil against a selection of pathogens. Researchers expressed that myrrh oil has anti-infective properties and can help to boost your immune system.

What’s more, new research indicates that these two essential oils are even more effective in combination. Two things of interest I noted as I researched frankincense in myrrh are that they are useful in treating blood disorders. In fact, I was surprised how often blood came up in the articles I read. Secondly, myrrh was used as an embalming fluid. Both of these facts seemed to foreshadow Jesus’ future. How poignant is it that the baby Jesus would be given a gift commonly used in embalming? The two were also ingredients of the incense Jews burned in the temple.
Frankincense and myrrh were very expensive and highly sought after. The trees which produce these resins could not be grown in Israel. Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt greatly sought the two, one article claiming that conquest of foreign lands was sometimes motivated by the desire for the plants which yield the sought after resins. Since the trees would not grow in all climates, the Egyptians would seize territories where they would grow so that they could have their own supply of frankincense and myrrh rather than having to pay exorbitant prices for it.

Today, many medicinal uses have been identified for these two oils. Some believe the potential benefits number in the hundreds. They can be applied directly to the skin but are often burned. Inhaling the essential oils is another healing methodology which has to be a point of interest when considering that the ancient Jews used these two resins in the temple incense. So, going to church really could be good for your health!

I hope as you read the Christmas story this year you will have a better appreciation of how valuable the gifts of frankincense and myrrh really were. It turns out that the offer of gold was likely the lesser of the three gifts. Frankincense and myrrh were very expensive, extremely hard to get and medicinally beneficial. wealth alone, did not secure the valuable oils. Three “Gentile” magi travelled from afar and gave Jesus invaluable gifts. Perhaps the fact that three non-Jewish people travelled a long distance to take the Messianic baby such valuable gifts was a prophetic message in itself.

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Unto Me

On December 8, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 25: 37 – 40

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’

I hope you all took advantage of Giving Tuesday. If you haven’t yet, you still can. Regarding giving, I had someone say something very disturbing to me recently. I want to share it with you.

Because things are hard for so many people right now, this believer wanted to do something to help someone in real need. As we talked, she told me her ideas. She said she thought about taking money to the local church, “But,” she said, “I am not sure they will do with the money what I want.” She had doubts that the church would actually give the money to a person in need. How tragic! And yet, I fully appreciate her concern. She said, “I am supposed to give my gifts to the church and then the church is supposed to take care of the needy.” Yep! That is how it is supposed to work. Why do we doubt it actually does work out that way? So, I wanted to let you know some things about this ministry.

First of all, Ivey Ministries tithes. We give at least 10% of every dime that comes into the ministry and always have. Furthermore, we believe in giving and helping others. We give of our time and our resources. Part of the dynamic of ministry is that it is an organization of believers. Because we join together and join our resources, we are able to accomplish more and affect more people than any of us can individually. When five of you give twenty dollars to the ministry, we are able to do more than one person giving twenty dollars, say, to the food bank. Combined we can buy cases of food instead of cans. That is the idea of giving to the church, that collectively we can have a great impact. The church is supposed to be here to serve you and the community.

Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, for the rest of the story. This saint asked if she could send me the money and me use my resources to find someone to help. Absolutely! I will receive her donation within the week and the entire amount is going to help people in need.

If you ever feel like you want to do something tangible to help people with real needs but don’t know what to do, I will do my best to meet your need to be kind and generous and direct your gift to someone who needs God’s touch. Call me, email, put a note with your check. Tell me what you wish to accomplish. We can always find ways to bless people and meet real needs.

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Caught Unaware

On February 10, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Corinthians 12: 1

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.

Here we find Paul writing to the church, which he established in Corinth. He had a pastor’s heart towards the people in Corinth. He wrote them letters in order to encourage and instruct them. This statement from him makes my pastor’s heart grieve though, for one thing is sure, we are unaware concerning spiritual gifts. Many people who are Christians, even people who attended church for 30 years or more are not even aware that there is such a thing as spiritual gifts much less what they are and how they operate in the lives of believers. In truth, they are not operating in the lives of believers because we are predominantly unaware of even their existence. There clearly is not enough time or space in a devotional to explore this topic at any depth but at least we can make ourselves aware.

Paul lists nine gifts of the Spirit in this chapter. The first important point to notice is that these are gifts of the Holy Spirit of God. Not one of us has to be a special saint in order to exercise these gifts. The Holy Spirit simply manifests his gifts through each one of us. The nine gifts are: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, effecting of miracles, prophecy, distinguishing of spirits, a variety of tongues and interpretation of tongues. All of these work through individual believers and every single believer is qualified in the Spirit of God. They have been given to the body of Christ for our edification. Isn’t that great?

Jesus told us when he was about to leave the earth that he was going to send the Holy Spirit to us who would be with us forever. Obviously, the Spirit of God IS God. He is part of the Holy Trinity. He was with God in the beginning and when God created the earth. The Holy Spirit has specific roles which are described throughout the Bible but most specifically in the book of John. One of the words which often accompanies any Biblical discussion of the Spirit is “power.” He is the creative power of God. This is most clearly observed in Genesis where the Spirit was hovering until God spoke the word. Then the Spirit manifested what God envisioned. That is powerful imagery.

The Holy Spirit has come to manifest God’s presence in the earth. These gifts, Paul writes about, are part of that manifestation. One of the key concepts that seems to elude us modern day Christians is that they are “gifts.” They are presents from God to us. I mean, “Happy Birthday! Have a gift!” I am all for gifts and presents. I love them. Even the simplest gift brings me pleasure. Maybe some of you are like me. How is it, then, that we have allowed gifts from God to go unnoticed? It is a little frightening when I contemplate it.

The most amazing thing to me in this chapter is that Paul spends no time explaining these gifts. He does not write a treatise on what they are and how each one is distinguished or used. He seems to expect his audience to understand their uses. How far I feel we have fallen. If you are hungry for a good Bible study, researching the gifts of God’s Spirit would be a great one. Send me a copy when you are done, please!

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