Healed by Grace

On August 29, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 107: 20

He sent His word and healed them.

Query – does this mean supernatural, divine healing? What comes to your mind as you carefully ponder this verse? I believe in the supernatural power of God to touch you such that your healing manifests instantaneously. I have also learned, however, that there is an additional type of healing that our Father provides.

This type of healing is spiritually significant in that it takes prayer and communication with the Father to effectuate it. As you spend this extended time in the presence of the Lord you begin to learn about changes you can make in your life which will speed your healing on its way. Maybe in your quiet time with the Lord the thought floats upon your mind that you need to drink more water. Perhaps there are dietary adjustments Father would like to make with you. If you begin to feel better; if your joints work better from implementing God’s advice, does that make the solution any less spiritual? I think sometimes we want to continue in abusive patterns but expect the healing power of God to flow anyway. Is it possible that we, by our habits, are interfering with the healing power of God which is flowing in our veins? Worse still, do we pray on Sunday, have God start His flow of healing power and then quench it on Monday morning?

Speaking for myself only, I used to skip breakfast Monday morning, get to the office and start drinking coffee, drink coffee all day, rarely drink a glass of water and if I did it was not from a good clean source; then I would have junk for lunch and sit at my desk for 8 – 12 hours straight. Now, why was I surprised that I was physically challenged? My joints felt like they had concrete in them. It took me several minutes to straighten up after sitting or lying down. Was my problem that God’s healing power doesn’t work? Was it because when He sent His Word and healed them, He skipped me. And now that I have made many changes and feel amazingly better, is it because of my brilliance, my effort or is it simple obedience to God’s Word and guidance? Did He in fact heal me or did I?

Believe me, it has been a long journey back from the precipice and I am not done but I am so relieved not to be where I was. There is healing in the Word. God told us to give Him our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice (Romans 12: 2). Surely, He has also provided the means by which we can do so. He also told us that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth (John 14: 13). Now all truth must mean truths even beyond spiritual things, although, I am not sure that our Father would consider your health anything less than a spiritual matter. In fact, when it comes right down to it, is not everything ultimately a spiritual matter? My point is that the Holy Spirit has wisdom from the Father on every single thing in the world. So, the answer you need for your physical health and well-being may be found in prayer, no doubt, but do not be surprised if God gives you practical, earthly things to do.

You were meant to live a long, healthy life. This rubbish about beginning to fall apart at age 40, 50 or whatever arbitrary date people use is just that, rubbish. Moses was climbing mountains at age 120. I can make you this promise, God’s vision for you includes a healthy, well-functioning body. Now, let’s get in line with His Word and His counsel and grow strong in spirit and body.

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The Spirit

On July 8, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

John 7: 39

But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
But now the Son of God is glorified and seated at the right hand of God. Now the Spirit is a gift to all those who believe in the Son. The Old Testament people met God though they knew very little about the coming Messiah. They only knew that He was promised. In the New Testament, we meet Jesus, the Messiah; the once promised, now come Son of God. Jesus then told about the promise of the Holy Spirit. He even said that it was to our advantage that He go away so that He could send us the “Helper” (John 16: 7). There were many who did not recognize the promised Messiah once he came. Let us not miss the promise that has come in our age, the promised Holy Spirit. He is our helper and our teacher and we really need His help. Call upon Him just as you would our Father and our Lord Jesus to help you in a time of need. Let Him lead you and guide you into all knowledge. He is your constant help in a time of need. Call Him.
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Where you lead . . .

On April 8, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Exodus 40: 34 – 38

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.

There is so much which could be said about this passage but my favorite part is that the Israelites did nothing unless the Lord went before them. This reminds me of Jesus in John 5: 19 where he was quoted as saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” Do you see the correlation between today’s verse and Jesus’ admission in John? No one is moving until God moves, then they follow His lead. One would speculate that this is the model our lives are to follow.

Another thing which screams out from this passage is that God rested on the tabernacle day and night. Wow! To get the revelation of that you have to acknowledge what the New Testament tabernacle is. In case you don’t know, it is you! There is nothing, other than your belief, which is preventing you from the glory of God resting on you day and night. Honestly, this is what the new dispensation is about. The glory of the Lord has come and it makes its abode with you.

This passage’s meaning, or inspiration, is pretty simple; follow God, let Him lead you, wait for Him to move before you pack up your tent. If you will make it a point to watch and wait for His spirit to lead you, you will abide in the glory of the Lord. How great is that?

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New Threshing Sledge

On December 1, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 41: 15

Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges; you will thresh the mountains, and pulverize them, and will make the hills like chaff.

The aspect of this verse which is so profound to me is that our heavenly Father said that He has made us a threshing sledge. He said that within us is the power and the ability to thresh mountains, to pulverize them and to make hills as chaff. That power is within us in the person of the Holy Spirit. No thing is now impossible to those who believe because the Spirit of God has come to live inside of each of us.

There are two cautions I would give you in regards to your ruminations about this verse. First of all, some wish to argue, foolishly, that this verse was meant only to the nation of Israel. Well, my first argument to refute that is, “My name is Israel” and so is yours! We are now standing in the shoes of Israel thanks to our Lord, Jesus.

Secondly, why is the book of Isaiah in the Christian Bible if it isn’t for Christians? Let’s get a revelation here and cease with foolish semantics. Your God had you in mind before there even was an Israelite nation, even before there was an earth, so doesn’t it seem downright stupid to suggest that He didn’t mean these words for us?

The second caution I would give you is not to minimize these words or to make them so metaphorical that they lose all their power. So the mountains in your life might be a mountain of bills or medical issues. That is to look at these mountains metaphorically and that is okay. A mountain to Isaiah might be a relationship challenge to your or me. However, I want you to allow you mind to expand to encompass exactly what this verse says the way God gave it to Isaiah. I sincerely believe He was talking about real, physical mountains and that if we understand and embrace who we are in the Kingdom of God that truly there is nothing impossible to us.

So, consider what mountains you are facing today. Are any of them too big for your Dad? Now, the really big question, are any of them too large for you? Your father has given you power from His own hand to make you a “new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges.” You don’t have to let the mountains loom over you and weigh you down with their shadow. You can, and should, rise up and tell that mountain to jump into the sea and if it doesn’t, then thresh it, pulverize it, take it down! You are the power of God in this earth through His indwelling Spirit. Let that truth fill you.

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All My Birthday Presents

On October 16, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

1 Corinthians 1: 7

[S]o that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Imagine that it is your birthday. The dining room table is decorated beautifully and upon it you see a good-looking cake with your name on it, but that’s not all. The table is laden with festively wrapped packages. There must be twenty or more and they all have your name on them too. Wow! Now, here is the question – which one do you want? What is your answer?

Well, I am just a kid. I love birthdays, especially mine and I will confess I love getting presents. I love opening the presents and seeing what is inside them. So, since I am just a kid and pretty unrestrained when it comes to my birthday my answer is, “I WANT ALL MY BIRTHDAY PRESENTS!”

That is the way I approach my relationship with Jesus, Dad and the Holy Spirit. I very much think of Jesus having provided me with another birthday. Through him we have all been born again. His death, blood, crucifixion, but mostly his victory have provided us with so many wonderful gifts like salvation, redemption, grace and so on. Now which one of his many gifts would I choose not to receive? How about this one, “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 38). I want that one most of all. How shall I leave off the third person of the trinity? The Spirit is the power of God first unto salvation but then for victory in every area of life.

How about this one? “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance” (Acts 2: 4). Boy, this one makes people flip out and it did me too. I had no understanding about tongues at all and it just freaked me out. But here is the thing, I was not about to let one of Jesus’ gifts to me go unclaimed. So, I sought out wise counsel and guess what? It was all over the Bible. I had no arguments left and I absolutely will not be left out of anything Jesus has for me. I want it all so if it is of Jesus, then I mean to have it!

What about you? What are you leaving on the table? Have you failed to receive his gift of forgiveness? How about the bestowment of grace? Maybe like me you stumbled over tongues. Well, here is my advice. Consult with Jesus about all of these things. Consult with your pastor. Call me. Find out to what you are entitled and then begin unwrapping all those presents. Don’t let one single thing slip through your fingers. Jesus’ ministry is and was all about providing you with birthday presents. Let us not make his sacrifice of no consequence. Rather let us be enraptured with all Jesus did for us and make the fullest use of it all. Do not deny yourself the Holy Spirit, do not deny yourself praying in tongues through the Holy Spirit. Don’t let grace pass you by. Be vigilant to receive the good things of God which he has provided you through the person of Jesus Christ. For goodness sake, open all your birthday presents and enjoy them with the joy of a child. This is why Jesus came, why he died and why he sent the Holy Spirit to us. Be a child and receive.

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Pondering the Impossible

On October 8, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Acts 2: 1 – 8

And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because they were each one hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and marveled, saying, “Why, are not all thee who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we are born?”

So this is that pouring out of the Holy Spirit which we have been discussing and which the Father promised and Jesus foretold. This is the Spirit’s great debutante ball, if you will, His debut. Since this great event, the third person of the trinity has come to us. Glory!!

Doesn’t this event sound a bit like when God put His Spirit on the seventy elders (see the Word of the Day from Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at www.iveyministries.blogspot.com)? The Spirit is the power of God and through him we can do things which we cannot do in our own abilities. He is empowerment, strength and wisdom. When we allow our spirits to connect with the Holy Spirit, truly nothing is impossible to us.

Just think about it for a moment. This is the power that created the earth. He was hovering over the void and then God said, “Let there be” and there was. The Holy Spirit brought into existence everything the Father said. Amazing! That same power, that same force which was hovering over the void is now living inside you if you have invited him in. What does that say for who you are now? What can the two of you do? Ponder that for a while and then start doing the impossible.

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Seek and Find

On October 7, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Ezekiel 39: 29

“And I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord.

Wow! You have God’s promise that He will show you His face. Isn’t that what He says? As you think on this verse, don’t get hung up on the language “the house of Israel” because we have seen in Joel 2: 28 that God said he was going to pour out His Spirit on all mankind. Besides, if you want to know the whole truth, you have been adopted into the family of Abraham so this definitely applies to you.

I really love how God had this all planned and how He was anticipating the pouring out of His Spirit. I can almost sense His eager anticipation. The sending of the Holy Spirit really was a huge deal. I often think that the modern church does not understand what a major event this really was. I have said it before – I believe we are living in the age of the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament was mostly about Yahweh, God the Father. It looked forward to the coming of the Messiah and foretold that happy event. The New Testament is mostly about Jesus and the effect of His coming. Jesus foretells of the coming of another. He is looking forward and telling us of the new age to come. In fact he said, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you but if I go, I will send Him to you (John 16: 7). I can well imagine myself disagreeing with Jesus if he told me it was to my advantage that he go away. None the less, Jesus understood these things and knew the huge effect sending the Holy Spirit into the world would and could have.

This, then, is the age of the Holy Spirit. There is so little we know about him, so much we can learn. We don’t teach, preach or talk about him nearly as much as we should and there is such huge revelation just awaiting those who will seek it. God said He wouldn’t have to hide His face from us anymore because of the poured out Spirit. How huge is that? It is bigger than I can teach because I certainly have not grasped the enormity of God’s statement and the truths behind it.

I want to encourage you to seek the Spirit of God. He is the third person of the trinity so he is God. You can pray to him, you should talk to him. Invite him to fill your home and your body. Invite him to permeate your workplace. Let’s all invite him to be with us and to teach us. There is a great awakening, a mammoth revelation just waiting for us. Seek and find.

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