Getting Happy

On August 1, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 37: 18 – 19

The Lord knows the days of the blameless; and their inheritance will be forever. They will not be ashamed in the time of evil; and in the days of famine they will have abundance.

Hey, let’s get happy today! There is so much blessing in these two little verses that it wants to bust out all over the place.

In this thirty-seventh psalm, David contrasts the wicked and the righteous. The righteous are those who are no more perfect than anyone else but rather their hope is in the Lord as is their trust. They are looking to God while the wicked are contriving and scheming in their own brilliance and in the world system. How brilliant can they be, really, if they eschew the guidance of the Lord. Well, anyway, we get a look at the blessings we can expect to enjoy in this earth but we are also told that the blessing will continue beyond this mortal life.

How exciting is that? The blessing God is pouring out for you is forever! It is only going to get bigger and better as time goes on. The part about the time of evil and the days of famine describe how the blessing works in the earth. There is no evil, no famine in heaven. You have not only a promise, but a statement about what you should expect. We should not shutter as we face evil times. We just lean in on God knowing He has already prepared a haven for us so that we will not be ashamed or forsaken. The wicked will make plans for prosperity and power but their own schemes will be the source of their destruction. Meanwhile, the children of the King will look to their Father and He will be their fortress and their strong right hand. He will provide for them so that they shall not be ashamed. They will not be humiliated by poverty. Instead, they will sing the praises of the Father who shows them grace, love and abundance in all things.

When the world suffers violence or famine, the children look to their Father and actually prosper. In 2008 while many people sang songs of woe, those whose trust was in the Lord took steps forward. Your life is not at the mercy of the world or even its economic systems. The children of God have always prospered in the time of famine when they trusted Him and listened to His counsel. We are just as vulnerable if we listen to the 5:00 news and try to glean wisdom there. If, however, we will turn to the Lord and seek His counsel we shall be safe and secure in all ways.

Let the Lord speak to you today about how He wishes to lead you. Today could well be the day you enter a new level of relationship with the Father. He has big things to show you as He leads you into all goodness and blessing.

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In Hot Pursuit

On August 25, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 21: 21            NIV

He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Yesterday we saw from verses 17 and 18 of Proverb 21 that the pursuit of pleasure leads to poverty. Today we are fortunate to get to see the other side of the coin. If we wish to have abundant life, prosperity and honor then we must pursue righteousness.

Now, before we fall on our faces, let us review our thinking on righteousness. Many of us were trained in the notion that righteousness equates to good works. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, that kind of “righteousness” is repugnant to God. It is a rancid odor in His nostrils. Righteousness, in a word, is Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5: 21 reads, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” This means that Jesus, who is and was the righteousness of God, traded his righteousness for our sin. He became our sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. Therefore, our pursuit of Jesus, is necessarily a pursuit of righteousness.

There is an interesting passage about this very topic from the Apostle Paul. “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone” (Romans 9: 30 – 32). The stumbling stone was Jesus. I find this passage amazing. The Israelites, the chosen ones, who pursued righteousness through their works failed while the Gentiles who by faith sought Jesus attained righteousness. Wow!

Shall we, though, take it one step further? The verse for today also says that those who pursue love find life, prosperity and honor. This one is really easy, isn’t it. “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4: 8). Yeah, you don’t need a theology degree in order to knock this one out of the park. God is love. Therefore, if one pursues God, then that is a pursuit of love and thus the result is life, prosperity and honor. 1 Corinthians 14: 1 says “Pursue love . . ..” It really is that simple.

So, what is the conclusion of all this? Our happiness, prosperity, peace, joy, well-being, life, and honor are found in the pursuit of the Father and the Son, merely in the pursuit. It is not in the tracking down or even in the finding. Your Father and God does the revealing. Your only part is to pursue. “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him” (1 Chronicles 28: 9).

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A Full Life

On May 19, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

3 John 2

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.
This passage of scripture portrays the image of a victorious Christian. This is the picture of who we are all destined to be because of the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. First of all, our souls are to prosper. That encompasses our emotional life, social life, and our intellectual life. It is the transformation of the human soul through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps this is best thought of as the intangibles. It is all of the things that make a life full. It is part of what Jesus meant when he said that he came into the world to give us abundant life (John 10: 10).

As we allow the Holy Spirit to work within our spirits, setting us free from every sort of bondage, we are supposed to also evidence physical well-being and financial prosperity. You see, to God and to Jesus, it is a package deal. We are supposed to have it all, not just one little portion. You are supposed to be well in your body and well in your finances. Your soul is supposed to be healed from any emotional scars and you are to be free. Jesus said that he was anointed to set the captives free (Luke 4: 18). So, his ministry and his word do free us from our former bondage so that we might live in abundance of every sort and pass that blessing on to others. 

It starts in your spirit and manifests in every part of your life. Do not let the devil steal any part of it from you because Jesus came to set you free.

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No Cause for Stumbling

On June 2, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 73: 2 – 5, 12

But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; my steps had almost slipped. 3 For I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no pains in their death; and their body is fat. 5 They are not in trouble as other men; nor are they plagued like mankind. 12 Behold, these are the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth.

I suppose most dedicated Christians have almost stumbled over this stone at some time or another. You dedicate yourself and your life to the Lord and you fully expect that you will fare well in your service to Him. The next thing you know, you look around you and it seems the heathen are succeeding while the Christians are suffering.  

Well, don’t lose hope if that is where you are now. It is only an appearance. When you read this passage in its entirety, you see that the wicked get the fruit of the seed they have planted. The good news is that you will reap the fruit of your good seed as well. While it looks for a while like the good guys are losing, it is just an illusion. The universe produces fruit after its own kind. You cannot sow broccoli and get tomatoes. Galatians 6: 7 reads, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” The wicked will fall and you will succeed if you do not faint. Do not envy their success because it is short lived and laden with sorrow and pitfalls. Do not stumble over the apparent success of the unbelieving. God is faithful. Hang in there.

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Success in the Word

On January 14, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Joshua 1: 8

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

There is a very good reason that this devotional is called the Word of the Day and why it begins with God speaking. Each one of us has a definition of success for our lives and each of us aspires to attain that success. Every one of us wishes to be prosperous in various ways. It would be ridiculous for us to be otherwise. Joshua was no different from us in this respect. He wanted to be successful at the task which God had given him. However, he was a little overwhelmed too. His job was to fill the shoes vacated when Moses died. One can imagine that Joshua was a bit concerned about his ability to lead the people into the Promised Land. So, God gave him this advice. Keep the Word of God in your mouth; meditate on it day and night. 

So, I send you God’s Word every day because I know that it has power to positively impact your life. The text that I write is for the purpose of elucidating what God has said. My writing is meant to explain a bit more of what is imbedded in the scripture and sometimes to bring out background information that we may not all have. And sometimes, it is meant to bring to you a revelation that God has shown me during my studies. However, it is not the most important part of the devotional. It is my intense desire that what I write blesses you but what God wrote is much bigger. 

I realize that you are busy people. Everyone is very busy these days. I also understand that sometimes my comments get long and that you may not feel you have time for the full text. I can appreciate that. I read daily devotionals too so I encounter the same emotions. My advice is that you open the Word of the Day devotional email everyday and read the scripture. Look to see what God is speaking to you even if you do not have time to read what I have to say. I am not offended. His Word ministers life. It will generally take you less than 2 minutes to read the scripture and I think it is pretty safe to assume we can all scrape together 2 minutes to receive a Word deposit from God. The Word is our secret to success so we need to have those deposits daily. And then throughout the day perhaps that verse will turn over and over in your mind so that you receive the inspiration of the Word.

I want you to read the full text of the Word of the Day everyday but that is not always possible so just allow yourself to ingest that most important part. Read the “Word” of the Day, the scripture, and let Dad minister its deep meaning to you.

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Righteous Reward

On October 22, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 13: 21

Adversity pursues sinners, but the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.

Let’s talk about prosperity for one moment. There are some people who think that prosperity is not part of the Christian ethic or that God is against prosperity. When you read the Bible, though, you find prosperity verses all over the place. It was a given by the time of the New Testament that prosperity followed the people of God. That is why Jesus’ disciples were so surprised when he said that it is hard for a wealthy person to enter the Kingdom of God (Luke 18: 24). They were astonished in fact saying, well, if the rich cannot get into the kingdom, then who can. You see, they had an expectation that the people of God were rewarded with prosperity.

Even in our own culture we have the same underlying expectation even if we have not cognitively accepted it. We expect the Jews to be the diamond merchants, bankers and generally to be people of substance. Why? It all goes back to this verse and others like it. We understand that wealth is part of the blessing of God.

But let us go a bit further. We are so obsessed with financial wealth that we do not receive the fullness of the prosperity verses. Half of us are consumed with the hope and belief that this verse means that we can have money while the other half of us fight against the idea. Ultimately all of us have missed the real point. In God’s eyes prosperity is a much bigger idea than money alone. That is one part of it, yes, but true prosperity is so much larger. In fact, the Strong’s concordance says “in the widest sense.” In other words, prosperity touches every area of one’s life. It is wellness (the state of being well) in every area of life. In truth, prosperity is most fully recognized and expressed in “Shalom” which means everything in place, nothing missing, nothing broken. It is wholeness. Interestingly, if you look up prosperity in your Strong’s concordance and you look up the word peace you will find that both refer you to key word 7965. Looking up word 7965 reveals Shalom – well, happy, health, prosperity, peace, favor, welfare, all is well, wholeness. To be in God is to be in shalom, complete wellness. It means family, health, finances, everything is well. Nothing is sick, nothing is broken. That is the blessing of the Lord. That is the reward of the righteous. And we know that we have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, not of ourselves, but because we are in him (2 Corinthians 5: 21).

So, we are entitled to financial prosperity. We have not been left orphans without an inheritance. We are also guaranteed wholeness in all areas of life. Don’t deny yourself any part of God provision, of His blessing. Don’t live out in the barn when God has prepared a place for you in the big house. You are an heir, a child of the king. Live like it.

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The Blessing of the Lord

On August 25, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 10: 22

It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it.

Upon what are you dependent for you prosperity? I hope it is not this economy because the present economy is sure to let you down. We are blessed in the Lord with every blessing under the sun. Part of that blessing is the wealth of God. Having a hard time believing that? Look at Kind David or his son Solomon. Solomon was the richest man ever to live. He was so wealthy that he didn’t even bother to count silver. It just wasn’t worth his time or effort.

Modern day Christians have a hard time receiving all that God has to give because we have bought into the lie that it is wrong for Christians to be wealthy. That doesn’t even make sense and it certainly isn’t biblical. You are the kid of the Almighty, you should be abundantly blessed. Deuteronomy 28: 6 says that we are blessed coming in and going out. 

Do not worry about this present economy. It only means that the world system is failing. Your prosperity and the provision for your needs are not in the hands of the world but rather in the hands of the Almighty. Lift up your eyes and your voice to him. Tell him that you are putting all of your trust in him for your financial well being and you will be able to look back on these times and say that in the worst economic climate since the great depression you prospered.

   

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