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Scripture: II Corinthians 10:4-5 "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God."

Satan is the enemy of God's people and his main attack is to come against their minds. He knows his battlefield very well and knows that if he can plant just a few thoughts in the mind, the imagination will begin to reinforce those negative thoughts. The thoughts and imaginations will then unite and become strongholds in the mind. These strongholds can't be dealt with in the natural; for there is no way that you can physically pick something out of your mind. You must deal with it spiritually and come against it with the Word of God.

Adam and Eve fought this same battle when the devil tempted them in the garden. He sowed doubt in their minds by saying, "Did God really say, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?'" They began to look at the fruit that he showed them and ultimately fell into his subtle devises. Jesus had the same experience, but He did not fail. Just after God announced that Jesus was His beloved Son, Satan attacked Jesus with the thoughts, "If you be the Son of God." Jesus immediately responded with the Word and refused to dwell on the deceptive thoughts. He cast down the imaginations that came against His mind and disallowed Satan to build any stronghold that would exalt itself against the knowledge of God. Satan attacked Jesus three times with the same thought in the wilderness, but Jesus continued to say, "It is written".

Satan comes against all Christians and sometimes we can't seem to find the victory in our lives. We are tormented, defeated, and cast down because of the devil's deception.  We are waiting for a victory that will never come unless we come to understand that it is our own responsibility to guard our thoughts, rise up, and use the weapons that God has given us. The Word of God is our weapon, our sword of the Spirit, and is mighty enough to cast out the thoughts of the devil. We do not have to understand how the power of His Word works just as we are not required to understand how electricity works to enjoy the benefits. We are only required to speak the Word. God is the One who does the work, empowers the Word, and defeats the devil. God declared that His Word would never return to Him with VOID marked on it (Isaiah 55:11). Satan doesn't have the authority to disqualify the Word of God.  When you are challenged by the enemy, find a scripture that pertains to that battle and take your thoughts captive with that word. Then use that word to cast down your imaginations and pull down every stronghold. God has provided the weapons. His Word is valid and will stand forever. Follow Jesus' example and simply say, "It is written." Here are just a few scriptures to help you.

IT IS WRITTEN:
Salvation - "I am saved by grace through faith." (Eph 2:8)
Healing - "He heals all my diseases." (Ps. 103:3)
Prosperity - "God wants me to prosper." (III John 2)
Forgiveness - "If I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
    my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)
Protection - "God is my present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1)
Rejection - "He has made me accepted in the beloved." (Eph. 1:6)
Fear - "God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, and of
    love, and a sound mind." (II Timothy 1:7)
Depression - "God heals my broken heart." (Psalms 147:3)
Persecution - "I am persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but
    not destroyed." (II Cor. 4:8,9)

Loneliness - "Lo, I (Jesus) am with you always." (Matt. 28:20) +++

Scripture: Proverbs 16:33 "The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom: and before honor is humility."

In I Samuel chapter fifteen, the prophet Samuel came to anoint Saul to be the king over Israel. Later when Samuel met with Saul, he discovered that Saul had not followed the specific instructions that Samuel had given him earlier. The prophet Samuel had told Saul to destroy the enemy and everything that they had. Instead of obeying these words, Saul spared the king, the best of the flocks, and all that was good. Verse thirteen says that when Samuel met Saul, Saul lied and said, "I have performed the commandment of the Lord," but Samuel could hear the noises of the sheep and the oxen in the background. When Samuel confronted Saul concerning the matter, Saul blamed the people for his disobedience. He said that he had spared the livestock because the people wanted to use them for sacrifices. Yet as noble as this excuse sounded, it was in direct opposition to God's instructions.

Saul's actions indicated that he didn't reverently fear the Lord. And by refusing God's wisdom and instructions, he allowed pride to reign in his heart. God's knowledge of the situation was much higher than Saul's. God knew that the enemy would eventually come back and destroy His people if they were not totally annihilated. Samuel told Saul, "It is better to obey God than to make sacrifices to Him." Because of Saul's disobedience, God repented for choosing him to be king over Israel. God emphasized His feelings in verse seventeen when He asked Saul, "When you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head of all the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you to be king over Israel?" In the beginning, Saul's humility had exalted him, but now rebellion and pride had displaced humility in his heart and caused the kingdom to be taken from him.

God speaks to us and says, "Before honor is humility." God desires that we reverently fear Him and that we humble ourselves under His hands and be obedient to His will. He is not pleased when we disobey Him, and then try to cover it up with offerings and sacrifices as Saul did. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. He honors those who yield to His wisdom and walk in humility. I Peter 5:5-6 tells us to be completely "clothed in humility." We must make a conscious effort to clothe ourselves in humility and become little in our own eyes. When God sees our heart wrapped in sincere humility, He makes a way to exalt us in His due time. +++

Scripture: Psalms 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer."

Our concerns about righteousness are usually about what we have done or said, but God is interested in much more than that. He considers not only our words and actions but also the meditations of our heart, for it is the thoughts and feelings of our heart that determine who we truly are. The truest measure of integrity is explained as doing the right thing when no one is looking. It is obeying the laws of life and also the laws of the heart when there is no one there to judge us. If our hearts are right, it won't matter if we have an audience or not, we will always choose to do the right thing. We will give knowing that we will gain nothing from the receiver of our gift. We will be kind to the unlovely when there is no glory to be received and we will be honest even though no one will ever know the difference. We will be discreet in every respect and walk out what we profess to believe.

Yet there is much more than just doing the right thing. I recently had an incident in the work place that is a good example. I had a request from another associate to explain some information in our files to him. It was a simple question, but time consuming to research and explain. I was overloaded in my own work and really did not want to deal with this trivial matter. Besides that, the information was in our files because the original instructions had come from the person who was now wanting an explaination. He just didn't remember. However, I responded with the correct words and the right attitude. Later, I notified my supervisor of the time that I had spent dealing with this matter. His response to me was that he appreciated me being so patient. In humility, I had to confess to him that I really was not patient. In truth, I was frustrated at the lost of time and had only pretended to be patient. It looked good on the outside, but in reality, it was an outward manifestation of false patience. It was certainly not an inward fruit of the Holy Spirit.

David prayed concerning the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart. He wanted both to be acceptable in the sight of God. David knew that we could have our words right but that the meditations in our heart could be very wrong. He also recognized that God was his Strength and Redeemer so he called out to Him. We must understand as David did that God is very aware of the intents of our hearts. He sees our actions but He also knows our thoughts and meditations. He discerns the evil and is saddened but He rejoices in the goodness that is within us. He desires that we live in truth and manifest the fruit of His Spirit. Like David, before the words of our mouth and the meditations of heart begin to conflict with the heart of God, we can call out to the Lord. God is always near and He is there to help. He will give us strength in our weakness and be our Redeemer in every situation.+++

Scripture: Proverbs 22:19 "That your trust may be in the Lord."

God wants us to simply trust in Him with all of our heart and not lean upon our own understanding. He told us that if we would acknowledge Him in all of our ways, then He would direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Trusting God is a simple formula that brings health to our bodies and peace to our souls because it allows God to deal with all of the stress that challenges our lives.

God gave us these excellent words of His counsel and allowed us the knowledge of His truth, but many times it is difficult to simply trust in Him with all of our hearts. Frankly, most of us do not want to give up the control of our own lives and lean upon someone we can't see regardless of how powerful He may be. For me, I tend to analyze everything and seek desperately for solutions, and it is frustrating not to be able to take some sort of action. I want all things to work out in a sensible way, but I found that God usually does not work in that manner. His wisdom is confusing to the minds of men and His ways overshadow their plans. He rolls back the massive waters of the Red Sea for Moses instead of building a bridge. He shuts the mouths of the lions instead of simply rescuing Daniel out of the lion's den. He calms the raging storm when He could have warned the disciples to wait a while before trying to cross the sea. He raises Lazarus from the dead instead of getting there in time to just heal him.

Who can explain God's ways, for His ways are never the same as ours? Yet we can rest assured that He always has a better plan because He is our Father and He cares for us just the same as we care for our own children and loved ones. We are God's main interest and He wants the very best for our lives. We must come to the place that we trust Him enough to cast every care upon Him and then leave our burdens in His hands until He works everything out. When He is finished solving the problem, we will find that He did all things well. We must resist the temptation to analyze everything and how it should be. One of the greatest truths that I have learned is that God is smarter than I am. When I received the revelation of this awesome truth, I was able to trust in the Lord with all of my heart and not lean upon my own understanding. The Lord now sits as the King over the kingdoms of my heart and every chamber belongs to Him. I have never been disappointed in His decisions for my life. My prayer for you is that you would find this wisdom and even when you don't understand what is going in your life that you can still declare, "Lord, my trust is in You." +++

Scripture: Isaiah 54:2-3 "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations: spare not, lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes; For you shall break forth on the right hand and on the left ..."

After God spoke these words to the Israelites, He followed up by telling them not to fear or be confounded with respect to what was about to happen in their lives. He was right in their midst and He was working His plan. All that was required of them was that they were to enlarge and stretch themselves to the full so that they may be able to receive His salvation and blessings.

Many times God wants to do something new and different in our lives, but when He speaks a promise to us, fear and doubt also chime in. They begin to voice all the reasons why God's plan can't happen. Their arguments are strong as they tell us that we need to stay on familiar ground and that we must not get ourselves into something that is too big for us to handle. They discourage us from stepping out in faith and furnish us with excuses to keep us from walking through the doors that God is opening for us. They paint a dismal picture and challenge every ounce of faith that God has birthed within our spirits. All the while, God continues to speak His fresh and new word to us, "Enlarge, stretch forth, spare not, lengthen, and strengthen yourself, for I am getting ready to use you. Don't fear or be confounded, you are going to break forth on the right hand and on the left hand."

What a mighty promise this is, but it comes with much responsibility. It is never in God's plan that we become stagnant in our relationship with Him or our ministry to others. As He instructed the Israelites to make their tents larger, God instructs us to get ready for His plan and purpose to be fulfilled in our lives. He desires to grow our faith and take us from glory to glory, but we must do our part. We must discard the negative words of the devil and stretch our faith to come into agreement with God's promise. We must make ourselves vulnerable in every way and allow His Holy Spirit to empower and strengthen us for the task ahead. If we want to break forth into the new dimensions that God has prepared for us, we must take the initiative to enlarge our thinking to see His vision. +++

Scripture: Galatians 6:7 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he reap."

In both the natural and the spiritual realm, the principle of sowing and reaping is very simple. There are three basic laws that operate. First, you reap what you sow. If you put a bean seed in the ground, you will reap beans. If you plant potatoes, you will harvest potatoes. You can't plant peas and expect to reap corn. It just doesn't work that way. God established this law in the beginning when He said, "Let it bring forth after it's kind." You will always reap whatever you sow.

Second, you reap more than you sow. Sowing operates exponentially. God didn't tell the seed to double, He told it to multiply and bring forth. It only takes one small kernel of corn the size of the end of your smallest finger to produce an eight-foot stalk with twelve to fifteen ears of corn on each stalk. Each ear of corn contains hundreds of kernels with the same ability to reproduce themselves after their own kind. Finally, the third law of sowing and reaping is that you sow now and you reap later. There is a long period of time between sowing and reaping. During this silent time, it appears that nothing is happening.

George Washington Carver said:

"How far you go in life depends on your being

Tender with the young,

Compassionate with the aged,

Sympathetic with the striving,

And tolerant of the weak and the strong

Because someday you will have been all of these."

Carver was in essence saying be careful how you live your life. Job 4:8 says that if you sow wickedness, you will reap the same. Hosea 10:2 also says if you sow righteousness, you will reap mercy. Like the natural seeds, God also established boundaries in the spiritual. You'll never reap mercy if you sow wickedness. You may get by with something for a while, not realizing that you are in a time of silent grace. God is very patient and will wait for your response of repentance. However, do not be deceived. There will always be seedtime and harvest, and your season to reap will eventually come. Both sin and righteousness have consequences so be very careful of the seeds that you sow, for they will produce fruit after their kind. +++

Scripture: Romans 8:31 "If God be for us, who can be against us? Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?"

When we were young and played games we always started by dividing into teams and choosing sides. I was usually one of the last ones chosen because I was not very big nor athletic. In fact, my abilities in sports were no asset whatsoever, and I was usually a hindrance to the team. I can still remember hearing the sighs as one of the team captains was forced to take me onto their team.

As adults we are able to move on from these simple games of childhood, but we now experience the more complicated game of life. The first thing to realize in this game is that God is on our side and with Him on our team there is no way that we can lose. When He is for us, no one can stand against us. Notice that God doesn't play a half-hearted game. He puts everything that He has into the game because He is determined to win.  He loves us so much that He sacrificed His very best so that He could invest in our lives. Romans 8:32 says, "God gave His Son so that He could freely and graciously give us all things."  Sometimes we think that God is just waiting around for us to do something wrong so that He can condemn us, but the truth is that He is our team captain and He is not against us, He is for us.  In the next few verses (Vs. 33-35) Paul asked three thought provoking questions:

    "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?"
    "Who is there to condemn us?"
    "Who shall ever separate us from the love of Christ?"

Paul then gave his answers to these questions:

"No one can make charges against us as God Himself

"Jesus will not condemn us as He died for us."

"There is absolutely nothing that can separate us from God's love."

Hebrews 13:6 says, "So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, I will not be seized with alarm - I will not fear or dread or be terrified of what man can do to me." We never have to be anxious about anything that life has to offer when we are on the same team with God. There is no foe that can stand against us, for the Lord makes us more than conquerors. +++

Scripture: Genesis 37:22 "... cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness."

Jacob had twelve sons, but he showed special favor to one of his sons named Joseph, and also made him a beautiful coat of many colors. The special favor and the coat provoked Joseph's brothers to envy. To make matters worse, Joseph told his brothers that he had a dream in which his entire family bowed down before him. Joseph's dreams only infuriated his brothers more, and in a jealous rage, they made plans to kill him. They called Joseph the dreamer and said, "Let us slay him and then we shall see what will become of his dreams." The eldest brother, Reuben, saved Joseph's life by suggesting that they put him into a pit in the wilderness rather than killing him. Reuben's intent was to come back later and rescue Joseph, but while he was away, Joseph's brothers sold Joseph into slavery.

This incident would have been frightening to anyone at any age, but Joseph was just seventeen years old when this event occurred. Being physically cast into a dark and lonely pit in the wilderness would have been hard enough to bear, but Joseph also had to deal with the emotional side of it. He not only had to come to terms with the evil actions that had been committed against him, he also had to acknowledge the rejection that was dealt to him by his own brothers. Joseph was their flesh and blood but they didn't want him in their lives and they hated him so much that they want to kill him. They wanted to destroy the dreamer and his dream. The bruises of the heart many times are harder to bear than the wounds to the physical body. Yet, the evil that transpired with this situation proved in the end to be a part of God's sovereign plan. God had an enormous purpose for Joseph's life and this pit in the wilderness was necessary to bring about that plan.

Most of us have seen the car races and watched as the race cars periodically dropped out of the race to make what is known as a pit stop. During the pit stop, the car is refueled, the tires are changed, other maintenance is done, and the driver is refreshed. Without the pit stop, the vehicle and possibly the driver would not be able to complete the race. So it is with our lives, for we find ourselves in a pit or in a wilderness place and wonder what we did to deserve it. Nothing seems to be happening at the present. Our lives are not moving forward and it seems that we are losing valuable time. We even use the expression, "This is the pits." None of us like for our lives to slow down in this fashion. Instead, we want everything to keep moving at top speed. Yet, God has planned divine pit stops for us. He calls us away so that He can make necessary adjustments in our thinking and form us into the person that He wants us to be. Pits and wilderness places are never fun but they are powerful, and after the experience, we are never the same. In the wilderness, we learn to be attentive to God. When we find ourselves alone, God gives us rest so that our bodies and spirits can be regenerated for the next leg of the race. The hard places make us stronger and the challenging places increase our faith. The spiritually lean and dry desert places cause us to hunger and thirst after God. Trials develop patience and dark places cause us to long and search for the true light.

Joseph had many pits and prisons to experience before he finally made it to his ordained destiny in the palace, but God used all the evil intended for Joseph to bring about good for a multitude of people. Keep this reminder in your soul. The devil is not only after you, the dreamer, he also wants to destroy your God given dreams. You may be in a pit of despair or alone in a wilderness place, but God knows all about your needs and desires. He knows the hardships that you are facing right now and He wants to encourage you. What the enemy intends for evil, God will turn around for good. God's hand is upon your life and nothing the devil can do will cause God to lose His grip. Trust the Lord, for He is faithful! At the appointed time, He will lift you out of the pit that you are in or visit you in your wilderness. +++

Copyright © 2007 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
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03/20/07
SUBMITTING YOUR WILL

Scripture: Luke 5:5 "At thy word I will."

Obeying and acting on God's word sometimes can be very challenging. Peter and his men had spent the night fishing and were tired and weary. When they brought their boat to the shallow waters of the shore Jesus asked them to allow Him to use it as a platform to teach the people. When Jesus finished teaching He told Peter to "Launch out into the deep." This command challenged Peter and his men as it meant greater self-sacrifice. They wanted to go home and rest, but Jesus was asking them for more. Yet Peter said, "Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." He was saying, "I'm going to submit myself to Your word. I'm going to trust in You." They obeyed the word of the Lord and because they did, they were blessed and their nets were filled with fish.

Have you ever noticed that God usually calls you to do something when you are too tired, too busy, or feel too inadequate to do the job? The Lord usually starts by giving us something to do in the shallow part of the lake that is near the shore. He knows that it is something that we can handle. He tests our faithfulness in these small and shallow things and then calls us into a place of greater responsibility. Often the shallow waters have proven to be a challenge and we can't imagine being able to handle the deeper waters. Yet our desire to please God and do more for His kingdom draws us to obey His voice and do His will.

As we obey God's word and launch out into the deep, we discover several things. Going out into the deep means that we must give up the security of the shore, and sometimes it means that we have to leave others behind. To go into the deeper water requires greater commitment and a greater dependence upon God. We find that we can't jump ship at the first sign of trouble. There will also be stronger winds of adversity to face and increased responsibility, but this greater challenge means greater opportunity to see God work as we exercise "water walking faith." Psalms 107:23-24 says, "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep." Another translation says, "When you are in great waters, you see God in action." The call that God is now extending to you may be far greater than your experience, but as you obey His word, He will bless you beyond measure. Take the challenge! At His command, launch out into the deep. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and say as Peter said, "Nevertheless, at Your word I will do it." +++

Scripture: II Timothy 1:12 "For I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."

Shortly before the Apostle Paul was martyred, he wrote these words to Timothy, his son in the faith. He wanted Timothy to understand that to know God is to love God and to trust Him with every detail of your life. When you choose God, you choose a life of commitment and fulfillment. When you walk with Him, it leaves no room for fear and intimidation. You place your very life in His hands and come to the same conclusion that Job did, "Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him." You stake your faith in God's wisdom and you rely upon Him to keep you in all situations. Even when you sense that bad things are about to happen, you trust God to cause everything to work together for your good.

True knowledge of God comes by a relationship that is bound together by times of communion and experiences that are shared. When you watch God intervene in your life and see Him push back your own personal sea of difficulty, like He did the Red Sea for the Israelites, you become acquainted with His power and faithfulness. You begin to be persuaded that even though you can't see it, God is at work for you in the darkness of the hour that you are facing. When you have been nourished daily by supernatural manna or have actually watched God multiply your food when things were scarce, you become persuaded that He will continue to take care of all of your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. When God walks with you in the midst of the fire or keeps you safe in the lion's den, you accept it as an indication that He will be there beside you in the next danger that you encounter.

In the midst of a raging storm, Jesus asked His disciples "Where is your faith?" He wanted to know who and what they believed in. Was their faith in the circumstances of the fierce hour that they were facing or was their faith in the Son of the Living God who was right there in the boat with them? Were they persuaded that the storm would take them or were they persuaded that Jesus would keep them in this moment of present danger? The Lord has not changed. He is still very interested and moved by the persuasion of our heart. He is touched when He knows whom we believe in and He honors our faith when we believe that He will keep those things which we have given and committed to Him. +++

Copyright © 2007 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
=================================================================================
03/22/07
PUT ON THE NEW MAN

Scripture: Revelation 1:5 "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood."

We can do nothing to wash our sins away except to "confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead" (Romans 10:9). However, once we have been washed in His precious blood there are things that we can do to stay clean.

Can you imagine putting your dirty clothes back on after you have taken a refreshing shower? The dirty clothes would cause you to still look and feel unclean. The Apostle Paul tells us that if we have been born again, we are a new person. We have been raised to new life through Christ Jesus and we are to set our minds on the things above and think differently. Once cleansed by the blood of Jesus, we are not to go back and put on the old filthy deeds that oppose the will of God in our lives. Paul lists these deeds in Colossians 3:8-9 and says, "Put away and get rid of all the old ways such as anger, rage, bad feelings toward others, curses and slander, foulmouthed abuse, and shameful utterances. Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old unregenerate self with its evil practices." We are not to even consider putting these things back into our cleansed lives. Putting dirty deeds over a cleansed heart would be like putting dirty clothes over a cleansed body. The unclean sinful ways destroy our witness and testimony for Christ because people are not able to discern that we've been born again. Our outward sinful and unclean nature hides our cleansed and reborn spirit.

Paul then tells us to put on the new man, or to "clothe ourselves with the new spiritual self ... after the image and likeness of God" (Colossians 3:10). In the next few verses, he tells us what our new spiritual clothes are to be. He says to put on behavior that is marked by tenderhearted pity and mercy. We are to be kind, gentle, and patience. We are also to be long suffering and have the power to endure whatever comes with a good temper. We are to have a lowly opinion of ourselves and be ready to pardon and forgive as Christ forgave us. Above all, Paul said that we must "put on love...and let the peace of God rule in your hearts." Paul speaks the same message in Ephesians 4:22-32. He says that WE are to put off our former nature and old self, and WE are to put on the new nature that has been created in God's image. Jesus redeemed and washed us on the inside with His blood but we are the ones who have to decide to put on the new nature that has been provided for us. +++

Scripture: Luke 19:42 "If you had known ... the things which belong unto your peace."

In this setting, Jesus was weeping over the city and desired that they had come to know the things that pertained to their peace. Who would know better about peace than Jesus, for He is the Prince of Peace? The words of the Lord are so powerful. In fact, they are sharper than a two-edged sword. Just one phrase or one sentence from His lips can speak peace to our storm, drive away our darkness, and turn our lives around. We can learn a great truth from these simple words that speak to us even today, which is to "know the things that belong to our peace."

Jesus came to give all of us peace, but receiving His peace is an individual and personal issue. There are some spiritual things that we need to know to have peace in our hearts and soul, but there are also some natural things that we need to understand and then do so that we may obtain peace. In the spiritual realm, we must first receive Jesus into our lives as Lord and Savior, for without that security, we will never have true peace. The knowledge of our salvation settles the question of who we are, who we belong to, and where we will spend our eternity. Peace will also be ours when we spiritually cast all of our cares upon the Lord and allow Him to carry our burdens for us. To continue in peace, we need to confess our sins daily and allow the Holy Spirit to wash us with the water of God's word, for forgiveness generates peace. We also need to keep ourselves from worrying about the future. Instead of allowing anxiety to torment our minds, we must rest in God's promises and believe that He will take care of all of our needs.

On the other side of the coin, if we want to have peace we must also deal with things in the natural. For different people, it may mean different things. Many lose their peace when they are surrounded by clutter because they find it hard to concentrate or can't find things when they are needed because they are not in their proper place. Simply misplacing your keys can steal your peace. It causes you to be late and makes you have to rush in order to make up for lost time. Neglecting to pay your bills on time can hinder your peace because this habit brings undue stress into your life. It steals your finances through late fees and forces you to deal with collection agencies. This is not to mention the havoc that is caused by the worse case scenarios when the bill is so delinquent that the water or lights are turned off. Then too, simply not eating right or getting enough rest can hinder your peace because you will become agitated when your physical body is suffering from lack of care. If you do not obey the laws of the land a multitude of problems can occur that will steal your peace. Being at odds with your friends and family will create tension that will destroy your peace, and engaging yourself in battles that do not have eternal value will frustrate you and drain you of your peace. Sometimes, you must stay quiet and allow God to fight for you if you want to keep your peace.

Ask God to help you to recognize the things that will bring peace into your own life. When you know what creates peace for you, then make yourself available for change. God will be there to help in the spiritual, but you will have to deal with the physical. The Lord will not pay your bills, clean up your clutter, exercise for you, or force you to obey the laws of the land. You will have to do your part and deal with the natural things, and then God will be faithful to do His part. Jesus has already paid the price for your personal peace. He said, "My peace, I leave with you." It is not a peace like the world gives but a peace that passes all understanding. His peace is a great gift, so come to know the things that belong to your peace and allow Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to rule over you. +++

A Word In Due Season
5th Week of March 2007

03/26/07
STRENGTH IN ADVERSITY

Scripture: Proverbs 24:10 "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small."

The scriptures teach us that once we are born again, we enter into a major warfare with the enemy, for Satan goes about as a roaring lion seeking to devour us. He doesn't have any good intentions towards the children of God who shine as lights upon his darkness and bring the message of God's peace and hope to a troubled world. John 10:10 says that Satan's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. The more you try to serve God, the greater Satan's attack, or like Joyce Meyer says, "New Level - New Devil."

Yet, God does not leave His people helpless against this spiritual adversary. Through the Apostle Paul, God instructs us that we are to stand against the devil and having done all to stand. God provides us with spiritual armor and weapons consisting of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God (Ephesians 6:13-18). God then exhorts us to pray at all times with all manner of prayer. The armor protects us and prayer empowers us for the battle. Our battle is not won on the battlefield, but on our knees in our prayer closet.

Just before His toughest battle, Jesus spent His time in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. His disciples could not stay awake and pray with Him. Sleep overtook them and when adversity came, the disciples forsook Jesus and fled. Their faith became weak and their strength fainted. When Jesus had found them sleeping earlier, He warned them, "Watch and pray, so that you do not enter into temptation." But they were too tired to pray. "Their spirits were willing, but their flesh was weak" (Matthew 26:41). Weariness is a great hindrance to prayer, but prayer is the only way to maintain spiritual strength when the day of battle comes. If we find ourselves too weary and too tired to pray, we will find ourselves too weak to fight the enemy. Hebrews 12:3 tells us to look at Jesus, who was able to endure, so that we don't become weary and faint in our minds. Our strength comes from the Lord. And if Jesus found it necessary to pray, shouldn't we? In the day of adversity, we will not faint if our strength is not small because we have been empowered by His presence in prayer. +++

Copyright © 2007 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved
www.widsonline.com
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03/27/07
MEASURE OF FAITH

Scripture: Matthew 9:29 "According to your faith be it unto you."

Two blind men followed Jesus, crying out for help and deliverance from their blindness. Jesus asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They both responded, "Yes, Lord." Jesus then touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith be it unto you." And they were healed because their faith was working.

Notice first that Jesus asked the blind men a question, "Do you believe that I am able?" He then declared, "According to your faith." Faith is simply believing God and acting on His word as though it were true. We have to believe in the "I AM" and believe that He is able. Paul tells us in Romans 12:3 that God has given to each man a measure of faith. What we do with this measure of faith governs what happens to it. We can either cultivate that faith or we can allow it to lie dormant within us. Our measure of faith will grow as it feeds and meditates on God's word, or it will shrink and be useless in obtaining God's blessings. The responsibility and results rests upon us.

Faith is like a muscle. As it is nourished and exercised, it grows stronger and expands. But if neglected, it remains small and weak. Spiritual power is always in proportion to the strength of our faith. We should be able to believe God in a stronger way today than when we were first saved. However, if we haven't been renewing our minds in His Word, then our thoughts are going to naturally conform to doubt and unbelief.

The two blind men followed Jesus even though they could not see, and according to the faith in their hearts, they were healed. Like the blind men, faith is following after that which we cannot see. It's speaking and acting as though we had the answer before it ever comes. In II Thessalonians 1:3 Paul told the church, "We thank God always because your faith is growing exceedingly." Personal faith grows when it feeds on God's word and it must be exercised on a daily basis. When you truly believe that God is and that He is able you become pleasing to Him (Hebrews 11:6), for God can only work in and through you according to your faith. The more faith you have in God, the more you can accomplish for God. +++

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need."

God's promise of mercy and grace for the time of need is offered to each one of us individually. Under the old covenant, only the priest could enter into the Holy of Holies once a year. When Jesus was crucified the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom signifying that every believer could go into the Holy presence of the Lord. No longer did they have to depend upon their priest but were provided direct access to God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews now tells us that we not only have the privilege to approach God but that we can do it with boldness and without fear and trembling.

Whatever you face today, God gives hope in all situations. He offers you healing, prosperity, forgiveness, and blessings in many other areas. These provisions of God are not only sufficient, but they are also personal. He wants all of your needs met. We would fill up many pages if we began to list all of the good things that we know God has in store for us. Yet, Ephesians 3:20 tells us that His bounty is beyond our knowledge. It says that God is able to do exceeding abundantly more than we could ask or think. His promises are faithful as they have been signed with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and dated nearly 2000 years ago when He hung on the cross and said, "It is finished."

Although God's provisions are there waiting for us, it remains our responsibility to go before His throne of grace to receive them. James 4:2 tells us that we have not because we do not ask, and that when we do ask, we ask amiss. It is time that we consider our real needs and also the enormous price that has been paid to meet those needs. The work is finished! We can come to God at any time for any thing. Let us not waver in our faith but come boldly before God's throne of grace in the time of need believing that He will answer our prayers (James 1:6). +++

Scripture: Matthew 21:28-31 Jesus said, "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He came to the first and said, Son, go and work today in the vineyard. And he answered, I will not; but afterward he repented and changed his mind and went. Then the man came to the second son and said the same thing, and he replied, I will go, sir; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of the father? They replied the first one."

Doing God's will is simply walking in obedience one step at a time. It is starting at the point where we are and following the Lord, our Shepherd, wherever He may lead. It is a simple matter of putting our foot into His footprint along the pathway of life. There are times, however, in all of our lives that we fail to do God's will either because of rebellion, compromise, or simple neglect. When we find ourselves in these places we need to call out to the Lord for help, be quick to repent, acknowledge our fault and sin, and search for the will of the Father.

When my oldest son was about three years old, he was playing in the yard. We lived in a safe neighborhood and the yard was enclosed with a cyclone fence. There was no way that he could unlock the gate and get out so I felt that he was very safe. I needed to go into the house for just a few minutes so I told him not to try to climb the fence. A few minutes later, I heard him calling from the yard, "Mommy, Mommy." His cry was loud, but not frightening. I immediately went out to find him hanging on the fence. The hood of his winter jacket was ensnared in the wires at the top of the fence and he was hanging there like a picture on a wall. He was not hurt or even uncomfortable, just stuck in a situation that he had created. There was no way that he could help himself get out of this dilemma. I asked him if he had climbed the fence against my word and He said, "No, Mommy. Just get me down." He knew that I still loved him and that I was able to fix this situation for him. I asked him this question several times and each time he denied that it was his fault. Finally, he realized that his denial was not helping the situation and that he was not getting off the fence until he repented and promised never to do it again.

I laugh today as I remember this episode and wonder how many times do we find ourselves in a similar predicament. We fail to obey God and find ourselves hanging on a fence. We know that we've stepped out of His will and God knows it too. Yet we try to deny that we have made a mistake or that we have sinned. We just want God to fix the situation for us and get us down from the fence. Like my love for my own son, God's love is still there for us and He wants to fix everything in our lives that concern us. He is well able to get us down from the fence, but He waits for us to repent. He wants us to promise that we will not repeat the wrong action or that we will do those things that we have neglected. Take note of your situation. Are you hanging on the fence of rebellion or indecision? If you are struggling with doing the will of the Father, confess your unfaithfulness to Him. He will forgive and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9.), and He will deliver and set you free to fulfill His will. +++

Scripture: Psalms 92:13 "Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God."

Trees that are planted and stay planted grow and flourish. The tree itself grows stronger and taller as their roots take hold, make their home in the soil, and spread in every direction. Its height grows in proportion to its root system which gives it the life support, stability, and the security that it needs. However, if the tree were to be moved around every other season, the instability would hinder its growth, for it would never be able to take root nor to bear fruit.

In this psalm that was written as a Song for the Sabbath Day, the psalmist emphasized that God's people are like trees. We need to be planted in the house of the Lord and we need to stay planted. If we are going to grow properly, we need to be nourished on a regular basis. Therefore, God gives us anointed pastors and ministers who give us balanced nourishment. When we stay under their covering, God honors our faithfulness and causes them to minister to our every need. As we find this place where we belong, we begin to flourish. Not only do our own leaves become green because we are being fed, but the nourishment we receive causes us to also bear fruit for others.

In verse twelve, one of the trees that this psalmist compared the righteous to was a palm tree. Some of the characteristics of the palm tree are that it grows from within and has 200 uses. It has deep roots, is always green, and doesn't grow wild. It is able to sustain seasons of drought without wilting. It also bends gracefully with the winds of the storms and does not break under the pressure. What a wonderful analogy of those who choose to be planted in the house of God. We should never allow the devil to distract us but should base our choice on God's call and allow Him the privilege of planting us where He wants us. Like the palm tree, when we are in the place where we belong and where God wants us, we will flourish. +++