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.

Back to Top

Goodness in my Heart

On June 22, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 31: 19

How great is Thy goodness, which Thou has stored up for those who fear Thee, which Thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in Thee before the sons of men!

By now we are getting this. God is good. He is good all of the time and all that He has is good. So why send you another “God is good” scripture? I think we are ready to move into God’s goodness emotionally and spiritually. We have gained an intellectual acceptance of His profound goodness. Now what is wanting is to connect that knowledge to a heartfelt belief. We need to know in our hearts and in our spirits that God is good.

There is an expression I would love for us to adopt. It is “radical trust.” Wouldn’t it be great if we all lived in radical trust of all that God is and all that He says? In order to move into this dimension, we must embrace His goodness such that there is no doubt remaining in our hearts. If there is the slightest doubt, then when God speaks, you will hesitate. If we are to walk in the fullness of what Jesus came here to win for us then we can have no hesitation. We have to know in the deepest part of our being that God loves us and always wants what is best for us.

He does not give us problems in order to make us stronger. That is a purely humanistic perspective. He wants to be our strength. His desire is to fold us in the refuge of His embrace, protecting us from the storms. You were meant to live above the fray. He told us that the world has problems but for us to have no worry on that score because he has already overcome the world. Yahoo! So why does Dad need to make us strong when Jesus has already won? Do you see how people’s theology has gotten twisted? Your Dad loves you and that is the $1,000,000 take away. That is the truth that is to be written on your heart. He has stored up good things for you so that you can live in them and all people will see the goodness of your Father in your life. Amen.

Back to Top

Lean on Me

On April 12, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 41: 12

You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, those who war with you will be as nothing, and non-existent. For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”

How can you not love the book of Isaiah? There is so much encouragement in this book. In fact, if you haven’t read the entire 41st chapter recently, I strongly recommend it. It will lift your spirits.

One of the things I know about each of you is that there is some sort of challenge pressing on you right now. If you sit and talk with a person for even a few minutes you will often discover some area of their life which needs God’s blessed touch. Therefore, when you read this verse I want you to read the first sentence in a particular way. Do not focus only on people who quarrel with you or who are thorns in your flesh. Think also of the situations in your life right now that are trying. Your Father is every bit as cognizant of the situation as He is of the people who are bothersome.

Now, hear Him saying about that situation that He will help you. “Do not fear,” He says, because He is right there in that circumstance with you. Those challenges will be as nothing and non-existent because He is the Lord; He is your God. It is He who holds up your hand when you are too weary or even just because you are smart enough to use His strength instead of your own. Do not fear because He is going to help you with this. You are not alone. He is right beside you right now and He will not leave you. Lean on Him.

Back to Top

Help!

On September 3, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 28: 20

I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

I have a friend who is very mannerly and unimposing, so much so in fact that she doesn’t like to impose on God. You have to admire her consideration. However, Jesus says, “Hey, I am here with you anyway.” Therefore, we can involve him in the smallest issues of life as well as in the big things.

To tell you the truth, there is no such thing as a big problem or a little problem to God. They are all the same to Him. When you consider the creation of the universe, the earth and even our own bodies with all the delicate balance throughout them all you begin to realize that even our “big” problems are miniscule to Him. He can weigh a star in His hands so balancing your checkbook is no big deal to Him. Neither is finding your car keys.

The other perspective, the one that Jesus wants us to understand, is that he is with us every minute of every day. Whatever challenge you are having, Jesus is right in the middle of it with you. Since he is there anyway, wouldn’t it just be reasonable to let him help you with it? Imagine riding in a car with some friends when the car breaks down and you need to push it off of the road. Would you say to your friends, “I don’t want to trouble you with this. I will just push this heavy load all by myself.” 

Jesus’ idea of friendship is that you and he do everything together. He is there with you all of the time and there is nothing he wouldn’t do to help you. Not only that, but also he is well equipped to assist you in all matters. That was kind of the point of his ministry, to bring humanity and deity back in union. Besides, there is an easy way and a hard way to do everything. Why not choose the easy way letting Jesus aid you in everything?

Back to Top

Vanishing Enemies

On March 24, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 41: 11

Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; those who contend with you will be as nothing, and will perish.

Trouble comes. You know that. Even for Christians there are challenges. Sometimes I think we ought to be able to live charmed lives where nothing can touch us but that is fantasy. In reality problems affect everyone. The secret is in how we deal with those issues and how we let them affect us. We really can live above the fray, above the chaos if we will let Jesus be Lord of our entire day rather than just our philosophical Lord. What do I mean by that? We have all given our lives and hearts to Jesus. We have asked him to be Lord of our lives and we are sincere in our surrender to his lordship. However, Monday morning always comes and in the clamor of all that must be done we lose sight of our position with Christ. That is why it is so good to give the Lord even just a few minutes in the morning before you are confronted with the tasks of the day. We need to re-establish first thing in the morning Jesus as Lord over our lives and, significantly, over every minute of our day. Then throughout the day when issues and questions present themselves we take them to Jesus. If he is Lord then he ought to have a say in what goes on. When we systematically apply Jesus’ lordship to everything we do and to everything that invades our lives then we can move from the center of the tumult. Jesus fights the battles, completes our task lists, multiplies our time and does everything else we need.  

You can’t fight the battles on your own because your detractors will lie and cheat. You need the supernatural power that the trinity can provide. If you want to look around and find the enemy just gone, then you need to put the problem in Jesus’ hand and leave it there. Sometimes that is a minute by minute process but when you allow the lordship of Jesus to prevail over the problems of your life then it becomes his problem rather than your own. That is when you will look around and find that those who contended with you are as nothing. We don’t pray against them, of course. We don’t have to. And if you truly understand today’s verse you will understand very clearly why Jesus told us to pray for our enemies. Those who attack, criticize and condemn us are walking into a hornet’s nest of their own making. The bad seeds they are sowing are going to sprout and produce a bountiful crop of trouble for them. We need to pray for them because if they mess with you they are going to be shamed and dishonored, be as nothing and perish. Okay, not a good forecast.

God is on your side. He is in your corner. Let Him be your fight manager. Let Him be the boss, the Lord and then the outcome is assured. You will arise and your enemies are going to suffer. Pray for your enemies because they have signed a destruction order over their own lives. Get a big revelation of Jesus as Lord of your challenges and step out of the turmoil and into his glorious victory. Amen.

Back to Top