How Long?

On April 20, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Joshua 18: 3

So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?

God had already given the land to the Israelites. They had only to take possession of it. What held them up? Why did they delay?

The question applies to us as well. What land has the Father already given you that you are not taking possession of? I imagine that we delay for the same reasons as the Israelites. Perhaps fear constrains us. Could it be that we are not certain of God’s word or confident in His support? How are we to know that He is with us? Sure, the Bible tells us time and again that He is with us even until the end of the age and that He will never forsake us but those are words. It is when we have the experience that God’s Word is truth rather than simply a belief that His Word is reliable, that we find the courage to forge ahead into the land.

The land God has given us all is strength, courage, stamina, health, financial well-being, friends, family, redemption, spiritual gifts, faith and more. Anything promised in the Bible is yours. Beyond these things, though, there is something which God has or is speaking specifically to you, a land He wishes to lead you into. Perhaps there is a job opportunity or a position in your church that He has opened for you. In all promotion, there is a tremendous risk. Sometimes you are so aware of the risk that you fail to grasp the opportunity.

Wherever God is leading you, no matter how risky or frightening, that is the land of opportunity. Did you know that two and a half of the Israelite tribes stayed on the eastern side of the Jordan? They never crossed over into the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey. That is so amazing. It staggers the mind. Don’t let this be you. Take the land. Whatever God has promised, wherever He is leading, that is the land of promise and just as He did Israel, He has empowered you to walk the land victoriously.

Too many of us are living below God’s intention for us. We are not walking in His will which is life in the blessing. I declare that you are not of the tribe of Reuben, Gad or the half tribe of Manasseh. You are the tribe of Judah with Jesus. He has already won all the territory God promised. Now, go in and stake claim to your inheritance. Do not leave it to the locusts and wild animals. It is bought and paid for. Go in! Take what belongs to you. Seek God’s will and go boldly where the Spirit leads.

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Poised for Promotion

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

Ephesians 6: 5

Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ.

Just in case you thought Friday’s word was a fluke and could ignore it, here is another book in which God commands us to be good employees. God is concerned with the condition of our spirits and our testimony. In everything we do, we are representatives of Him. If we talk about others behind their backs, then we are being bad stewards of the faith God has placed in us. That is especially detrimental when that person is our boss or pastor or some other person God has placed in authority. You are damaging your own spirit and spiritual growth as well as sowing bad seeds and disobeying the directions of the Lord.

Your boss or whomever that person of authority is, will account to God for their actions and that really is none of your concern. Your calling requires you to be the best employee you can and to pray for all of those who are in authority positions. God wants to be able to use you. He wants to be able to send you into situations where you can do His work. You have to take your eyes off of yourself first. Do not be self-concerned but instead pray. God might have put you under that person just because they do need help. How is God supposed to move in the earth if every time he sends a Christian into a situation, they gripe and criticize, worrying only about themselves and their rewards? If the circumstances are not perfect where you work then maybe it is that very brokenness that has attracted God’s attention and the reason why He has sent you there. Be faithful in your current position. Show God you have what it takes to be one of his lieutenants. Then you will be poised for promotion.

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He Cares For You

On June 16, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Peter 5: 6 – 7

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.

We spend a lot of time and attention on verse seven which tells us to cast our anxiety on the Lord, the King James Version says to cast our care. We devote little time and attention, though, to verse six. In that these two verses comprise one sentence it would likely behoove us to read them together on occasion so as to perceive the light which each phrase shines upon the other.

When we read the two verses together it would seem that Peter is revealing that there is a relationship between our humbling ourselves to the master and promotion as well as the cure for anxiety. He who gives his care to the Lord is wise. I wonder, though, if some of us have trouble casting that care over to the Lord because we have failed to recognize Him as Lord over our lives in the deepest part of our being. We have all said those surrender prayers and of course we mean them when we utter them but it is in the trenches of life that quality decisions are truly made. A quality decision is one from which there is no retreat. It is not wishy-washy but rather strong and determined and I find that they empower a person to walk the path elected. They do not, however, come easily. Sooner or later, though, if we are to live the lives that we have longed for we are going to have to make the big decisions. Life can be wonderful and beautiful but it is not free. We must lay aside those things which keep us in the low life and one of the largest burdens that is preventing us from rising to the heights God has determined for us is our own ego. In our heart of hearts have we really relinquished our lives to our Lord as master? Do your hackles arise just thinking of someone being your master? Don’t feel alone if you answer that question honestly and find that submitting yourself completely to another’s lordship is difficult. It is how we have been indoctrinated but we must understand that the training which has elevated ourselves in our eyes is not of God and is not going to promote us. In the beginning it appears to be effective but there is story upon story of people who have risen to a certain level of success only to find ultimate failure.  

Success truly does come from surrender. Honestly, how can we fully cast our care upon the Lord, allowing Him to carry away the anxiety if we have not released ourselves into Him? There is a huge element of trust in this surrender and if we do not fully trust God then we will be unable to give Him our burdens. Therefore, humbling ourselves to the Lord our God is an essential element of casting our care upon Him. We will be unable to do the one if we have not first done the former.

Now, here is the crux of the matter. We may find it difficult if not impossible to completely surrender ourselves to our Lord and Father without first receiving healing. Those things in our past which have made it hard for us to trust people must be healed. Growing in our relationship with our God is a process and it is all interconnected. One cannot just choose the prosperity portion of a relationship with God without it affecting other parts of their lives. Prosperity, healing, well-being, blessing and all the rest are part of a package deal that comes along with a life with God. This is not a la carte ordering. We give God our lives and He gives us a grand, abundant life. He carries our heavy burdens and supplies our needs and wants above and beyond all that we can think of or believe for. 

We have longed for a good life, we greatly desire God to take away our troubles but we must put ourselves fully in His hands. He will not, cannot, usurp your control and will. As long as you are Lord of your life, then He will have to sit in the backseat while you drive. Keep surrendering your heart to the Lord. Every time you find an unsurrendered relationship, give it to the Lord. Each time you find a strong-hold in your life, give it to God. This is a process. We don’t renew our minds just once, but rather we are in a constant state of renewal. That is good news. Let your life go and with it the anxiety. Live free, give your life more fully to God today.

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