Opened Ears

On March 24, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 50: 5                    Index Card 8

The Lord God has opened my ear.

There is no prayer I have prayed more than, “Lord, let me hear you.” I was desperate to hear the Lord. I listened to ministers talking about what God told them and it really annoyed me. I couldn’t hear God speaking. So, when I found this verse I held on to it like a drowning person would cling to a life ring. This is my promise. I knew that anything God would do for Isaiah, He had to do for Ivey because “God shows no partiality” (Galatians 2: 6).

I actually chased God 2500 miles one year because I was sick and tired of not hearing His voice. If anyone else was hearing Him speak then I was going to hear Him too. I declared to God that I was going to get Him and by God, I did, or more accurately He got me. I heard Him, I saw the Holy Spirit, I had a prophetic dream, I had words of wisdom and words of knowledge all over the place. Now if I struggle at all in hearing God’s voice, I know I can hold this verse up to our beloved and He will open my ear again.

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No Weariness Here

On March 23, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 40: 28     (paraphrase)                               Index Card 7

I do not faint or grow weary, or tired.

This is a good word that most of us need to hear weekly if not daily. Our strength really isn’t in our bones and muscle. It is in our interconnectedness with the Lord. When I am in Him, I am strong. When I rely on my own strength I get run down and bone tired. That makes me think that if I am complaining about being tired, it is probably a good indication that I am relying on my strength rather than the Lord’s.

The slogan for Ivey Ministries is “Intertwined with Jesus”. The image in my mind is of an Ivy vine being inexorably intertwined with Jesus so that you cannot separate the two. The Lord, our God, showed me this while pondering Isaiah 40: 31 which reads, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” The word “wait” in that passage means to become intertwined with. The fruit of becoming intertwined with Jesus is much more expansive than in this context alone but here is our promise of physical strength and vitality. You know, when Moses was one hundred and twenty years old the scripture says of him, “his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated” (Deuteronomy 34: 7).

There is one other thing I would like to point out about this passage. If you look it up you will find that I have paraphrased it rather than quoting it. Remember, I am taking these from my index cards. So, what I have done here is make this personal. This is a personal promise from God to me. Father never grows weary, tired or faints and since we are inextricably intertwined, I don’t either. No weariness here!

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Never Forsaken

On March 22, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Hebrews 13: 5 – 6                 Index Card 6

He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”

This verse speaks about confidence and I find myself thinking, “Yes, this is the kind of confidence I need.” I want to be unafraid. I want to abound in radical trust in the Lord. Life will certainly take on a different flavor when we trust the Lord that extensively. We will answer His call on our lives. We will believe we can do what he says we can do because he is our helper. We are not alone. He will not abandon us.

I used to often feel lonely. Now I almost never do. I have grown in my awareness of God with me, Jesus in me and the Holy Spirit leading me. I certainly am not in the full radical trust in the Lord Jesus that I would like to live but I have learned that he is always with us and thus, we never have to feel alone or lonely. His word is good and it is true. He will never leave us nor forsake us. You will never be abandoned or left to fend on your own. Amen.

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Strong Guards

On March 21, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   1 Comment

Psalm 141: 3                   Index Card 5

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.

Well, here we are again, back to my mouth. Remember, this series is from my own set of index cards. These are the verses I have transferred to cards so that I can post them in front of my eyes continually.

If I can lasso the words of my mouth, then my entire walk is easier, “For, ‘The one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit’” (1 Peter 3: 10). The truth is, though, “no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison” (James 3: 8). So, I failed time after time, and I still fail today if I don’t keep God’s guard over my mouth.

This is a good reminder for me today. I should pray daily for God’s help with my mouth. O Lord, send a big angel to guard my mouth and keep watch over my lips.

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Byways and Highways

On March 16, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 25: 4 – 5                         Index Card 2

Make me know thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth and teach me.

Well, I figure if I can know God’s ways, walk in His paths; if He leads me in truth and teaches me, then I will pretty much have it made. Whenever I don’t know what to do; whenever I am overwhelmed with the enormity of a assignment, or a too long task list, I fall back on this verse.

The Bible gives us all of these rich verses and they are to me like taking a magic tonic. Whatever my situation, there is always a Bible pill I can take and I immediately feel better. There is a verse for every woe, every worry and every ailment. When we endeavor to know God’s ways, allowing Him to lead us and teach us, then we always have what we need for the occasion. Our cup is filled and overflowing because He leads us to the land overflowing with milk and honey.

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