Unshakable Love

On July 26, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 54: 10

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” says the Lord who has compassion on you.

You’ve got to love this verse. Some of you are going through challenges right now so this must be really good news for you. No matter how rough things get, even if there is a calamity so great that the mountains are reduced to rubble; even if the hills quake, you will remain in God’s loving embrace where He can look after you. No matter how dire the situation, God’s love will not be shaken. In your loneliest of times, in the most stressful situations, the Lord our God, loves you. His devotion to you cannot be shaken despite the circumstances. Even when you are paying Him no attention, He is alert and watching over you. He awaits your return.

This verse says that no matter what, His lovingkindness will not be removed from you. That means there is no power strong enough, no situation dire enough to shake His love from you. There is no darkness deep enough or pain strong enough to separate you from His love. The only power in this earth or beyond that can separate you from the love of God is you. As long as you are steadfast and do not reject Him, then you can trust that His love and affection are present for current circumstance.

Did you know that Father has a covenant of peace? It goes back to the beginning of time however, it was fulfilled in the person of Jesus, our Messiah. Jesus is the prince of peace so as long as you are holding on tightly to him, no one can steal your peace. Sometimes you just have to whisper his name to remind yourself that no power or person has authority over the peace Jesus left for you. You may have to write out John 14: 27 on a 3 X 5 card and place it in a prominent location while you are working through the challenge.

Be reminded, daily, that nothing can remove Dad’s love from you nor steal the peace pact He has with you. Keep today’s verse in front of you and realize there is not one moment of any day that the Father does not love you with all He is. His devotion to you is larger than the universe and it is a source of great strength. Be safe and secure in the absolute knowledge that your Father loves you and has provided peace for you. Let Him love you and hold you in His safety.

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That’s Life

On June 9, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 8: 5 – 6

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.

I hope you have been enjoying this abbreviated look at the life Christ bought for us and I hope you have a bigger idea of what your life now is supposed to be like. It is a Deuteronomy 28 and beyond lifestyle and it is all yours in Christ. Once you die to your old ways and thoughts, you can move into the new life in Christ.

The Greek word used here and translated as “life” is zoe. There are other Greek words which also are translated as life. The use of this particular word is significant, though. Zoe, means the God kind of life. Vine’s Expository Dictionary says this is “life in the absolute sense, life as God has it, that which the Father has in Himself.” We have become partakers of God’s life through belief in Jesus as the Messiah.

We had one kind of life before Christ. We can continue to live in that kind of life even after salvation if we so choose but for those who decide to crucify the flesh, there is newness of life and that is this zoe, or God life. The life force of God is available to those who decide to give up self and live to Christ.

I don’t think we are even beginning to understand this life of God and the impact it can have on us when it becomes resident in us. I know I cannot fully appreciate it yet because I still worship self too much. I still think my old way at times, react in old ways and have my wants and desires enthroned in the temple of Ivey instead of making Jesus the absolute center of my world.

What happens in a life that truly is abandoned to God? What could our lives really be if we could learn to crucify our self-centeredness? I don’t know but I believe we could live way beyond anything we are currently experiencing, beyond what we can imagine. I don’t think it would be life as we know it. It is easy to think that if we have God’s actual life force at work in us then nothing would, or even could, be impossible.

I hope this week’s verses have caused you to ponder the possibilities. As Christians, where are we now? Where could we be? What could life hold for us and those we may impact if we could wrap our heads, or better, our spirits around the concepts found in these verses? What would it mean to your personal existence if the life of God filled you to overflowing? I want that for you, for all of us. I would also love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Post a note or send a reply. I pray zoe for you.

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My Plan

On May 30, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Jeremiah 29: 11

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

God had a plan for us from the beginning. Before He created us He made a plan for our success and well-being. I intend to use this week’s devotions to show the plan He had for us and how it has unfolded with time.

It really begins before the Garden of Eden when He conceived us and the earth. He made us an ideal place to live, learn and grow. That was only the beginning, of course, but all through time He had a plan for our welfare, a plan that was not for calamity. By His own admission, it was a plan designed to give us a future and to bathe us in hope continually. Never were we to feel hopeless, mired down in tragedy and misfortune. His plan was for perfect peace, “Shalom” in the Hebrew, which is the all encompassing fullness of everything being as it should be. Shalom is rendered welfare in the New American Standard because the word peace doesn’t incorporate the fullness of meaning, and in fact, paragraphs of text cannot fully convey the complete provision, health, wellness and blessing which is included in the word “Shalom”.

It is a pinnacle word for us though, one which is at the very peak of expression because it describes the plan God had for us. His plan was for a perfect environment provisioned with everything we need and want. More than anything, His plan had us walking hand in hand with Him daily so that we would never have a want in our hearts. We should have never experienced one moment of loneliness, isolation or one unfulfilled second. His plan met all of our physical, emotional and spiritual needs and desires. His plan for us was heaven, heaven here on earth, a safe place where we could bask in His radiance and skip around like hinds on the heights.

The plan became corrupted, but stay tuned as we venture forward, looking deeper into God’s plan for us. Through this brief, but exciting journey, you will come to know, in your heart, where your life with Him is meant to reside today.

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Perfect Peace

On March 20, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 26: 3               (NIV)

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

There are three elements to this verse. First perfect peace, second steadfastness and third trust. Perfect peace is the conclusion – that is where we want to arrive. We find that the way to that perfect peace is through steadfastness and trust.

So, what is steadfastness? The Tree of Life version reads, “You keep in perfect peace one whose mind is stayed on You.” People who keep their mind on God are kept in perfect peace. For some of us it would be enough to taste perfect peace every now and again but these people, those who keep their thoughts with God, abide in perfect peace. Honestly, though, it is no big surprise that perfect peace is in God. Jesus said that one of the things he left for us was his peace (John 14: 27). How can we not be in peace when we keep our thought lives enveloped in God? Jesus is the Prince of Peace. So, when we keep ourselves, our minds and our thoughts on God; when we are steadfast about what we let our minds meditate on then we will abide in that perfect peace.

Isaiah also revealed that keeping our mind stayed on God produces trust in Him and that trust leads to perfect peace. We might also speculate that the more we trust God, the more we do think about Him and about His way of perceiving things. Of course we experience more peace as our trust in Him increases. The more we keep our minds on Him and learn of Him, the more we trust Him. Then our peace increases.

So, it might be fair to say that in Him is perfect peace so that our only task, really is just to remain in Him. When we think about Him instead of thinking about the latest junk we heard on the news, then it is much easier to abide in peace. He is confidence and assurance. Think on Him instead of thinking on the things of the world and have joy and peace, perfect peace.

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Harmony

On October 18, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 22: 24


Do not associate with a man given to anger; or go with a hot-tempered man.

Truth be told, it is no fun being around someone who is prone to angry outbursts. Should it be a surprise that God has specifically given us instruction to avoid associating with these people?

Some people walk around full of anger. They do their best to contain it, they wrap iron bars around their hearts in an attempt to control their anger but it always turns out to be in vain. The smallest thing sets them off and their reaction goes far beyond what is merited. The reason they have such uncontrollable and out of scale reactions is because of the hurt which is within them every minute of the day. They have nursed these hurt feelings for years or worse, have stuffed them down into their subconscious. They lie to themselves saying they have it all under control but you only need be around them for a short time to see that they are far from in control. It is easy for these angry people to become further crippled by substance abuse as well. They will look for any remedy for anesthetizing the hurt.

What happens when you associate with these people? You will get hurt and you will be influenced by their anger issues. You may even find yourself responding in anger because of the need to defend your sensitive spirit from harsh and angry language and behaviors. There is a larger concept involved here too. Jesus is the Lord of peace. A brief search of the New Testament on the word peace yields 93 instances where it was used. I like what Jesus said in Mark 9: 50, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” We are to live in peace. He also said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace (John 16: 33). We could go on and on because Jesus is the Prince of Peace but let me end with something Paul wrote, “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8: 6). Here we begin to see the crux of the argument revealed. Jesus is peace and the mind, or the person, set on the Spirit of God is peace. Another way of saying this is that peace follows the one whose mind is stayed on Jesus and the Holy Spirit. You cannot intertwine your life with Jesus and be a person of anger, turmoil and chaos. Jesus brings order and peace. So God recognizes that the person who is angry is not surrendered to the Trinity. These people sow friction and discord wherever they go.

This is not the way which the Lord has ordained for us. We are meant to live in peace and harmony. So, don’t go with a man given to anger. You will not be in the presence of the Holy Spirit but rather with a spirit of conflict. It is not good for you; it is not good for your spirit or even your health. Pray for those people but do not associate with them. So says God.

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Trust Me

On October 6, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 26: 3                 NIV

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Father God will keep your mind in perfect peace. How does that sound? Imagine, no matter how much stress or turmoil is going on around you, your mind will be abiding in perfect peace. But wait a minute, does that describe you and every other Christian you know? Are we all perfectly peaceful? No. This promise comes with a condition. God will give us perfect peace when we trust in Him. So, to state it a bit differently, “For those who trust in you, Father, you will keep their minds in perfect peace.”

There are a lot of verses which encourage us to trust our Father. The most well-known is probably Proverb 3: 5 – 6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” That is such an inspiring verse that you would expect us all to make a Herculean effort to put all of our trust in God. So why don’t we?

We have learned too much from the world and we just hold on too tightly. It is hard to let go of the things about which we have concerns. However, we can begin by acknowledging Him in everything and that will help us to move into deeper trust. That means that we include Him in everything we do. You know, the Bible says that we are to pray at all times (Ephesians 6: 18). Praying all of the time makes perfect sense if you are going to acknowledge Him in everything you do. Of course, prayer has to get real if you are going to do this. If you think and expect prayer to be amazingly eloquent and formal, you are never going to make it. Prayer is just talking with your Father. When you make it an ongoing conversation, as if you are talking with a friend who is going to accompany you all day, then it becomes really easy to pray at all times. There is another verse which says to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5: 17). How are you going to do that if you ritualize prayer? The answer is that you are not. This relationship with the Father needs to get out of church and into your life.

Another big factor is just lack of experience. Once you begin giving Dad your trust it becomes easier to do it next time. A friend of mine just sold a house. She had written down exactly what she wanted and expected in a buyer. Well, there were two contracts which fell through. What? This had been prayed over. Here is where trust comes in. She never lost her peace, never left the facts dissuade her from what she believed God was going to do. She placed her trust in the Father and He kept her in a constant state of peace and her mind tranquil. Do you want to know the end of the story? Yep, the house sold for the full asking price and everything else she asked for when she wrote down what she wanted also came through. Her trust and faith had been built by years of trusting God with small things and then bigger things. How much easier do you think it will be for her to trust Him next time? Nothing breeds success like success.

Trust me in this as I attempt to entice you into trusting the Father. I am being honest with you. The Father can keep you in perfect peace but first you must let go. You’ve got to give Him the reins and expect, and trust, that He is going to come through for you.

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Hope

On September 15, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 15: 13


Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our God is hope. We have an uncommon peace because it is the peace Jesus left for us. It is the peace that comes from having faith in the Holy One; from knowing that He is on your side and is watching over you.

I feel for the people who do not know God. They are without hope. But no matter what our problems; whether sickness, a lost loved one or any of a multitude of things, we have hope because we have God. There are people out in the world who have no hope. They have no expectation that things are going to get better. We can have hope even when we do not see any way for our circumstance to improve because we know God and know Him to be a miracle worker. Maybe you have been in a hopeless situation and seen God deliver you. In Him there is always hope and that is a truly great thing. Our hearts need not be burdened with the worry because we know He is there for us.

I pray, along with Paul, that you will “abound in hope” and be filled to the fullest by the Holy Spirit. Don’t let the problems get you down because where there is God, there is always hope. May you be filled with the joy and peace that comes from believing in Him. May you overflow with gratitude that you always have a hope and a prayer.

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