| ............ | A Word In Due Season Feb 2016 2/1/16 FAITH IN GOD Scripture: Mark 11:22 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Have faith in God." Jesus instructed His followers to "Have faith in God." He then proceeded to tell them to, "Speak to the mountain to be removed and cast into the sea." He said, "If you do not doubt in your heart, then you will receive those things which you say." Jesus made it very plain that we must first have faith before our confessions of faith will come to pass. Yet, we tend to complicate and reverse His instructions. Instead of developing our faith in God, we base our faith in our own abilities and presume upon God to honor our confessions. We have developed our formula and even titled it "name it and claim it." Yet, God is not obligated to bow to our presumptions. According to Romans 10:17 faith does not come by hearing our own words. It comes when we hear what God is saying to us. In other words, if God "names it," then we can "claim it" for we know that He is speaking His will into our lives. I John 5:14-15 says, "This is the confidence that we have in God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us; and if we know that He hears us, we know that we have whatever we ask of Him." If you are in a place of adversity right now and are facing an enormous mountain of difficulty, don't just try to cast it into the sea with your own words and confessions. Find out what God is saying about your situation. Faith is not of yourself. It is a gift that God instills in your heart (Ephesians 2:8). The father who requested healing for his son in Mark 9:24 had to ask God to increase his faith. He cried out to Jesus, "I believe, but please help me overcome my unbelief." The faith that is created by God's Word is the faith that will bring your destiny into being. When God speaks, His voice will give light to your vision and life to your faith. His Word in your ear will drive out doubt and unbelief and His Spirit will empower you. The Lord says, "It will not be by your might, nor by your power, but by My Spirit" (Zechariah 4:6). When you make true confessions that are in line with God's Word and in agreement with His will, His Spirit will tear down the great mountain that is in your life by crying, "Grace, grace unto it" (Zechariah 4:7). Don't lean upon your own strength, but have faith in what God has spoken to you and then allow Him to use that faith as you speak to your mountain. +++ 2/2/16 A BREATH AWAY Scripture: Genesis 2:7 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." God formed man from the dust of the ground and endowed him with everything that he needed to be able to live and function as a normal being on this earth. Yet, it was only when God breathed His supernatural breath into man that man actually became a living soul. The simple breath of God is full of life and power and when He breathes upon anything, it is eternally changed. Even the dry bones came alive in Ezekiel's vision as the winds of God breathed upon them (Ezekiel 37). Nothing is impossible with God. When He passes by His glory follows after Him, and when He speaks everything within the sound of His voice obeys. That includes the Earth, the Heavens, and the entire universe. At His Word, darkness becomes light, the seas roll back like a scroll, and the storms cease. With His Word, He sends manna from Heaven to feed the millions and causes water to come from a rock to quench their thirst. When the breath of His Words go forth, the dead rise, the lame walk, the blind see, and the deaf hear. His mere presence protects those who trust in Him. He stops the mouths of the lions and disallows the fire to consume those in the fiery furnace. No weapon formed against His mighty Words can prosper because the breath of God has no limitation. As you think about these thoughts, ask God to breathe upon your situations that seem dead or hopeless. His breath will give your circumstances new life and hope. He has promised to perfect those things that concern you, regardless of what they are. He has said that you could cast every care upon Him. Casting your care upon Him means that you have to let go of it and allow it to leave your hand. He has promised to receive your burden and take care of your needs. He will breathe provision into your financial situation, hope into your relationships, health into your body, and life into your spirit. Trust the Lord to resurrect and restore all things that concern you. He is the creator and almighty God. He can be depended upon and He is only a breath away. +++ 2/3/16 DECISION TO CHANGE Scripture: Luke 15:17 "And when he came to himself ..." The prodigal son reached the very bottom of his circumstances and found himself sitting with the pigs. He was so hungry that he desired their food. It was then that he came to his senses. When he came to himself, he saw the results of his own choices and decided that he had been in this mess long enough. This wakeup call caused him to change his thinking and he made the decision to go back to his father's house where he belonged. Regardless of the humiliation that he would face and the unrighteous judgment that he would receive from others, he depended upon the mercy of his father and hoped to enjoy the benefits of his forgiveness and faithfulness. His intentions were to repent, ask for forgiveness, and possibly get a job as a hired servant in his father's house. This was the best that he hoped for. The ways of the prodigal son are not foreign to us, for we have all failed and come short of the glory of God. We want to think that we are spiritual enough to be beyond that point, but the truth is that the desires of our heart and the lust of our flesh many times lead us astray, if not for long seasons at least for brief moments. The prophet Jeremiah said, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). There have been times that I have asked my own self, "Can I get any more confused about the desires of my heart than I am right now?" My true desire was to walk wisely in the things of the Lord but the foolishness of my heart was pulling the other direction. Like Paul, there was a war going on in my spirit. The things I wanted to do I did not do and the things I didn't want to do, I did (Romans 7:19). The Lord searches our hearts and He knows the secrets that lie in every chamber. We cannot hide anything from Him, for His Spirit not only discerns our thoughts but also the intents of our heart. We may put up a good front but the Holy Spirit knows if our hearts are in the right place or if we are like the prodigal son and are actually sitting in a spiritual pigpen, estranged from our Heavenly Father. Solomon said, "He that trust in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walks wisely, he shall be delivered" (Proverbs 28:26). If we want to walk wisely, we cannot allow ourselves to trust in our own hearts or follow after our own desires. Like the prodigal son, we must come to ourselves and make a decision to find our way back to the Father and ask Him to help us walk down the narrow paths that He has ordained for us. When He sees us turn from our own ways, He will welcome our submission to Him and celebrate our choice to fulfill His will. +++ 2/4/16 REAPING JOY Scripture: Psalms 126:5 "Those that sow in tears shall reap in joy." God's laws do not change, and for every principle that He has established, He has set in motion rewards and consequences. For the law of sowing, He guarantees a harvest. This principle is true in the spiritual as well as the natural realm. You will reap whatever you sow and it will always be of the same kind or manner. In the natural, if you sow corn, you will reap corn and if you sow beans, you will reap beans. It is a fairly simple process and the law works each and every time without fail. You cannot sow corn with the hopes of gathering beans. It just will not work that way, for the law has been established by Almighty God who created the corn and the beans and commanded them to bring forth after their own kind. Nature functions by God's Word and cannot go against His commands. In the spiritual realm, it is the same. If you sow good, you will reap good and if you sow evil, you will reap evil, but be sure that every seed you sow will produce a harvest of the same kind. Every prayer that you have spoken in faith into the ears of God will receive an answer. For His Word says, "Whatever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive" (Matthew 21:22). Every gift that you have given in the Name of the Lord will come back to you, for Jesus said, "Give and it shall be given unto you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over shall men give unto your bosom. For with the same measure that you give, it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:38). Every burden that you carry for someone else will generate spiritual strength in your own life and every tear that you sow will reap a harvest of joy. What mighty promises these are to encourage us to pray and to share with others, and what a comfort and sweet assurance to our hearts to know that when our tears are falling like rain we are sowing seeds for a harvest of joy. We may think that holding back our tears in our distress and discouragement displays strength. In reality, it takes much more strength and energy to cry. If you have ever grieved over a personal loss or shed tears of sorrow because of the pain in your soul, you know how weak it left you. Tears completely drain your body's strength and leave your soul and spirit spent. Yet there will be a harvest from those tears and you can rest assured that when you have nothing left within, God will begin to use those tears to bring something beautiful into your life. The Lord is a keeper of His promises and watches over His Word to perform it. Just like the flowers that come forth after the spring rains, God creates new life within you, waters it with your tears, and He causes a harvest to spring up within your soul and spirit. You can be sure that the Word that God has spoken is true and where you have sown tears, you will reap joy. +++ 2/5/16 JESUS WEPT Scripture: John 11:35 "Jesus wept." These two words give us a picture of the love and compassion of our wonderful Lord as He stood at the tomb of Lazarus who had been dead for four days. Jesus, the Son of God, wept. The Word of God who was made flesh wept for His friend whose earthly body now had no life. The Light of the World wept in the darkness that surrounded the situation. The Bread of Life shed tears for those who stood around the tomb declaring that they wished that Jesus had come earlier so that Lazarus could have been healed. Jesus was the resurrection and the life and this Life of God groaned within Himself as He experienced the sorrow that sickness and death brought. Jesus was deeply moved emotionally, yet at the end of the matter, He spoke resurrection life, light, and healing into the dead body of Lazarus. Jesus then called Lazarus forth from the tomb and commanded that he be loosed from the bondage of the grave clothes. Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead He spoke to the Father and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard me and I know that You hear me always." This same Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for you and for me. He is there continually. His Word, His Life, and His Light are waiting to raise you from the sorrow and grief that you are enduring. There is no storm in your life that Jesus can not speak peace to and cause it to cease. There are no waves that He can not calm with one word from His lips. There is no water that is so deep that He can not walk upon it in order to rescue you. There is no meal so scarce that He can't multiply it. There is no valley so long and so deep that He can not shepherd you through it. There is no desert so dry that He can not be a well that springs up within you to quench your thirst. Jesus is there all the time and in every situation to meet every need that you have. He is waiting to raise you from the death of your situation into new life. He wants to dispel the darkness with His light and stands ready to command that you be loosed from things that hold you in bondage. There is nothing too great for Him, not even death that has laid in a tomb for four days. His Spirit of Life exceeds all. His love is boundless. His mercy is new every morning. Remember that God hears Jesus always and that Jesus is interceding for you. He is touched with the feelings of all of your infirmities so go to the Lord in prayer and agree with Him on your own behalf. Then listen and obey as you hear His voice call you forth into new life. +++ 2/8/16 FAITH AND PATIENCE Scripture: Hebrews 6:12 "Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." God's work at Calvary is complete, unmovable, and eternal. Our Christian life is based upon our acceptance of this finished work and our own personal faith in the promises of God. God's promises are sure, for He is not a man that lies with His lips or repents and changes the decisions of His heart. God's Words are facts that have been established from the foundations of time. They stand steadfast and remain true in all circumstances and at all times. Whatever God says will come to pass, for His Words never return to Him void but accomplish what they were sent forth to do. The only variable in the situation is our faith and our patience towards what God has spoken, for it takes both faith and patience to receive His promises We have heard of the patience of Job, but we must remember that Job also had great faith. He had enough faith to place his life in God's hands and declare, "Though He slay me, I will still trust Him" (Job 13:15). That is unconditional faith that is not based on God's performance. Faith doesn't say, "Give me the answer, then I will believe." Faith says, "I believe and trust God regardless of what happens." Job had enough patience to make it through the trial that he was selected to endure, for God Himself spoke to Satan and said, "Have you considered my servant Job?" He brought Job to Satan's attention and then allowed Satan to take Job through an enormous test. Passing this test was not easy for Job, yet Job's faith and patience survived and he received more at the end of his ordeal than he had at the beginning. When difficult pressures come our way, we may wonder about the status of God's promises and our own personal faith may tend to waver. It may seem that life itself is just one painful problem after another. Like the account with Job, the current trial that we are in may not end before another one begins. And if we experience disappointments and failures in the midst of these challenges, we may even want to give up because our faith may not have enough patience to endure the process. Yet, it is only as we follow the example of Job and the other mighty saints of the scriptures that we will inherit the promises that God has left to us. We must not be slothful but exhibit the same kind of faith and patience they had. God has faith in us and we can be confident that He will not allow anything to come against us that is greater than we can bear. Faith and patience is our banner of victory and as we stand steadfast, we will inherit God's promises. +++ 2/9/16 GOD'S VOICE IN DIFFICULT TIMES Scripture: Isaiah 30:20-21 "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction ... your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it." No one wants to eat the bread of adversity or drink the waters of affliction. Yet there are seasons in our lives when this seems to be the only diet that is offered to us. Adversity and afflictions come to us for many reasons. It could be due to our spiritual walk, as we may have strayed from God's will and forsaken His covering. Another reason could be because of our geographical location, like the natural disasters that are happening all over the world. The adversities and afflictions could possibly be a trial to test our faith so that we can be promoted to a new level. It may also be an attack of evil forces or simply be that we have ignored and neglected the laws of nature and caused our own selves to be physically ill. Nevertheless at some point in our lives, we can be sure that we will have hard circumstances to face or barren places to endure. The encouraging thing is that the prophet doesn't leave us with just the bread of adversity and the water of affliction. He puts a silver lining behind this dark cloud by giving us an encouraging promise to hold on to when we are in the midst of these challenges, which were designed to either discourage or destroy us. He says that the Lord will speak a word in our ears and let us know what we are to do and which way we are to turn. It is a comfort to know that we are never without instructions when we trust in the Lord. Isaiah said that God will be very specific and tell us whether to go to the left or to the right. We have nothing to fear when times are uncertain, for God will make our directions very clear. We just have to be sensitive and listen to His voice. Many times we wander around in a wilderness of despair and we cannot find help because we will not stop and listen to any of God's instructions. We are tired of the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but we are too busy struggling to follow God out of our dilemma. Everything may have been lost in the fire or swept away in the flood, but God is still God. He has prepared a new place for us and is guiding us down a new path, but we can't go there if we don't obey His voice. Things simply cannot and will not change until we follow God's instruction. So let us determine to be sensitive and listen to God's voice during these difficult times and trust Him enough to go to the right or left at His command. +++ 2/10/16 RENEWING THE INNER MAN Scripture: II Corinthians 4:16 (Amplified) "Though our outer man is progressively decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being progressively renewed day after day." The Apostle Paul reminded us that our outer man, which is our physical body, is progressively decaying and wasting away. We don't like to think about those words, but the older we get, the more we come to understand that our bodies are not capable of lasting forever. Even though we may go to great lengths to maintain them and try to extend their lives, we know that we cannot stop the aging process. From the moment we exit our mother’s womb, we are headed towards death, and like Paul said, our natural bodies will progressively get older and weaker. Our spiritual man, as believers, is just the opposite. Paul said that our spiritual man is progressively renewed day by day. From the time that we experience the new birth, our inner man is headed towards eternal life. And much like our outward bodies that have to be cared for, our spiritual inner man has to be nourished and exercised. If it is neglected, we will experience leanness within our souls, just as a physical body becomes malnourished when it is without food and care. In the natural, when you are trying to strengthen your body, you eat proper food and drink plenty of water, exercise, and get sufficient rest. You don't work on just a couple of your muscles and let the others go, you work your entire body so that your strength is not warped and out of balance. The entire body has to be fit for you to be in good health and to be able to function properly. In the spiritual realm, the same process must occur for your spirit man to be renewed. The nourishing and strengthening of your inner man is a work of the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit can only work with the materials that you give to Him. You must eat of the bread of life daily, feasting on God's Word. Without applying yourself to the diligent study of the Word, the Holy Spirit is unable to teach you or transform you into the image of God's dear Son. Just like natural food, you cannot live off of someone else's nourishment. You must take God's nourishment in for yourself and drink of the living water, refreshing yourself from the wells of salvation. You must build up your own self on your most Holy faith by praying in the Spirit (Jude 20). And you must always stay within the boundaries that God has set so that His love can reach and bless you (Jude 21). These are just a few of things that will start you on the road to a renewal in your spirit. As you do these things, God will reveal other things for you to do, and in a short time you will find that your inner self is being progressively renewed day by day. +++ 2/11/16 HE HEALS THE BROKEN HEARTED Scripture: Psalms 147:3 "He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds." There is an old saying that declares, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." I have to say that the writer of those words must have had a different kind of heart than most of us possess. For words truly are capable of bruising the tender soul with deeper wounds than the assault that comes against the flesh with sticks and stones. Our flesh heals much easier and quicker than our spirits, for once the flesh is healed, the injury is usually forgotten and left in the past. We don't recall the thorns in our flesh, the bruises on our body, or other physical injuries that we have sustained. We treat them and nurture them back to health and go on with life. They teach us to be careful, but once they are healed, we never cry again because of their pain. The heart and soul of man is much different. Within the heart it seems there is an everlasting fountain of grief and sadness for those who have been wounded in their spirits. In one moment, one word or situation can bring the past injuries into the present and re-create the pain of the things that we thought we had buried within our spirits. We thought we had hidden our grief and pain in the deepest chamber of our heart and locked the door, but the feeling is just as fresh and the hurt is just as deep as it was in the past. It is amazing how this can happen so suddenly. Without warning and unannounced, these wounds are resurrected and take us by surprise. Our heart aches and our tears flow and no one seems to understand our grief or why we cannot let it go. King David experienced this and spoke out concerning his own broken heart saying, "I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none" (Psalms 69:20). Your physical body cannot function well with a heart that is not working right. When your physical heart is not well, your whole body suffers. Your breath is short, your strength fades, and other parts of your body fail. The same is true with your spiritual heart, for when your spirit is injured, your entire being suffers the loss. There is only one person who is able to come to your rescue, heal your spirit, and mend your broken heart. That person is the Lord, Himself. Jesus is not only there for those whose bodies are wracked with pain but has promised to be near to those whose hearts are broken (Psalms 34:18). Look to Him, for He is the only who can see your real pain and deal with the true issues. The Lord understands the tenderness of your soul and knows how your heart aches. He takes pity and will comfort you in your pain, for He loves you with an everlasting love. Trust in the Lord. Put your heart in His hands, and allow Him to heal and bind up your wounds. +++ 2/12/16 LOVE, A MORE EXCELLENT WAY Scripture: I Corinthians 12:31 "Covet earnestly the best gifts ... yet I show you a more excellent way." The Apostle Paul spoke of the gifts of the Spirit that were available to the believer and told us to covet the best of those gifts. He then said that there is something more excellent than any of the gifts and began to talk about love. He told us that love was far more valuable than any gift, including faith and hope. He also told us that if we displayed gifts without love, we would be like noisy gongs or clanging cymbals. We would be useless and unprofitable because faith could only work by love. (Galatians 5:6) Even in our natural life, gifts that are received from someone who does not really love us hold little or no value. Yet, how precious we hold the most insignificant gift when it comes from someone we love or someone who loves us. My most treasured items are the things that my children presented to me in love. The paper angel, colored with crayons, that is placed at the top of our Christmas tree each year is of little monetary value, yet it is very special because it was presented to me in love about 44 years ago by my little boy, who is now a grown man with children of his own. His love made this gift special. God is love. The greatest gift He presented to us was His beloved Son, Jesus, who then gave His life for us because of His great love. If we want to be like our Father God and our Master, Jesus Christ, rather than like a loud gong or cymbal, we need to develop the characteristics of the love that They displayed. In I Corinthians chapter thirteen, Paul identifies these characteristics of love. 1) Love is patient. 2) Love is kind. 3) Love is never envious nor boils over with jealousy. 4) Love is not boastful or vain. 5) Love does not display itself haughtily. 6) Love is not conceited, arrogant, and inflated with pride. 7) Love is not rude and does not act unbecomingly. 8) Love does not insist on its own rights or its own way. 9) Love is not self-seeking. 10) Love is not touchy, fretful, or resentful. 11) Love takes no account of the evil done to it, and pays no attention to suffered wrong. 12) Love does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness. 13) Love rejoices when right and truth prevail. 14) Love bears up under anything and everything that comes. 15) Love is ever ready to believe the best of every person. 16) Love's hopes are fadeless under all circumstances and Love endures everything without weakening. 17) Love never fails - never fades out, becomes obsolete, or comes to an end.+++ 02/15/16 GOD'S LOVE Scripture: John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." How tremendous this statement is. God loved us so much that He gave His most treasured possession so that everlasting life could be provided for us. There are several wonderful facts about God's love. First, His love never fails. Natural love relationships with family and friends often fail at some point and time, but God's love is eternal. In Jeremiah 31:3 God says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love." The Apostle Paul listed seventeen things that were unable to separate him from God's love: "tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, height, depth, nor any other creature" (Romans 8:35, 38, 39). Second, God's love is not influenced by who we are. Deuteronomy 7:6-8 tells us that God did not choose Israel because they were a large nation, for in reality they were the smallest. He chose them to be a special people because He loved them and wanted to establish His covenant with them. He chooses us in the same fashion. He looks at us as individuals, but it doesn't really matter who we are, it matters who God is. Third, God's love is also free. In Hosea 14:4, God says, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely." We cannot earn God's love, for we have nothing to offer to God that would be able to merit the sacrificial gift of His Son's life. We must come to God just as we are. Fourth, His love is not just for a select few, but is offered free to whosoever will believe in Him. This includes the rich and famous and also the poor and the needy. Finally, Ephesians 3:19 says, "The love of Christ passes understanding." Our natural minds simply cannot comprehend how God could give His own Son to die in our place. Nor can we understand why Christ, Himself, would suffer the shame of the cross so that He could redeem us, for none of these enormous sacrifices make sense. This information goes beyond our human understanding. Yet, God showed us His love by His sacrifice. We do not deserve God's awesome love, which is eternal and free. Neither are we required to understand it or to figure out how His love works. All we must do is believe in Him and receive His love sacrifice, then we will not perish but have everlasting life. +++ 2/16/16 NO SIN TOO GREAT Scripture: Psalms 103:3 (Living Bible) "He forgives all my sins." God is faithful and He continually surrounds us with His loving kindness and tender mercies. He extends His love and compassion to us even though we do not deserve it. He knows our shortcomings and there is no sin so great that He will not forgive except that of total blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Whenever and whatever we confess, He promises to forgive and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is the good news of the gospel because our lives are marred with sin every day. Even the Apostle Paul was engaged in the battle for righteousness. Although he had been converted, he declared that he couldn't make himself do right. He wanted to do good, but he just could not. When he tried to do good, he didn't. And when he tried not to do wrong, he did it anyway (Romans 7:19). He counted himself as a total failure as far as his sinful nature was concerned, yet he knew that God's grace was sufficient for him. We may think that the forgiveness and redemption of our sins and the sins of those about us is hopeless. Yet our sins will never be greater than the blood of Jesus, for His blood is able to wash away every stain and make us whiter than snow. We can look through the scriptures and find forgiveness on every level. After Peter declared the awesome revelation that Jesus was the Messiah, he cursed and even denied that he knew Jesus, but Jesus forgave him and caused him to be a great apostle. The woman at the well was living with a man that she was not married to, but when she encountered the forgiveness of Jesus, she became a witness to the entire city. Another woman was caught in the act of adultery, yet instead of condemning her, Jesus forgave her and rescued her from her accusers. King David found forgiveness not only for his sin of passion and adultery with Bathsheba but also for the premeditated murder of her husband, Uriah. The Apostle Paul did many things contrary to the Name of Jesus, and without mercy he persecuted the church. Yet Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, forgave him, changed his life, and called him to the ministry. Even in Jesus' most difficult hour, He extended forgiveness not only to the thief who hung on the cross beside Him, but also to the multitudes who had crucified Him without cause. This is the wonderful Savior that we serve. Jesus looks beyond our sins and who we are and He continues to be who He is. He is faithful and forgiving and doesn't turn us away when we fail. He looks at us through His eyes of love and remembers that He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. He paid a great price for our forgiveness. He is our Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, and He always forgives all of our sins. +++ 2/17/16 SUPPORT THOSE WHO ARE WEARY Scripture: Exodus 17:12 "Moses hands were weary ... and Aaron and Hur held up his hands." While Joshua and the army of Israel fought against the armies of Amalek, Moses stood at the top of the hill with the rod of God in His hand. Aaron and Hur stood by his side and as the battle raged, Moses lifted the rod that was in his hands as God had instructed him to do. When Moses lifted the rod up, Joshua and the armies of Israel prevailed in battle, but when he lowered his hands, the Amalekites prevailed. After a length of time, Moses finally became weary and could no longer hold the rod up. Israel was destined for defeat, but Aaron and Hur got a stone for Moses to sit upon and they stood on each side of him and held his hands up. Because of their effort and support, Joshua and the people of God prevailed and defeated the army of Amalek. God calls each of us to act in the same way toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we see that they are in a battle with the enemy, we need to stand by their side and support them. We don't have to engage ourselves in their actual battle but we can intercede in prayer, give encouraging words, send a card of comfort, cook a meal, or do something to let them know that we care. It may also be that we need to restore them in love if they have been overcome in sin. In Galatians 6:2, Paul tells us to bear or carry one another's burdens. It's in sharing each other's troubles and problems that we fulfill the command of the Lord. There are all kinds of battles that rage against believers and there are needs that surround us every day. All that we have to do is open our eyes and see them or allow our ears to be attentive to their cries. Yet, we often walk in denial and try to ignore the obvious, because acknowledgement requires some sort of personal response and self-sacrifice. Yet, meeting another person's need could be the one thing that brings victory in our own lives. Job's captivity turned when he prayed for his friends who had judged him harshly. And Isaiah 58:7-9 says that when we take care of the needs of others, our own light will break forth and health will come to our own bodies. It's as we sow blessings that we reap and as we give that we receive. Luke 6:38 says that whatever we share, it will be given back to us in a good measure, pressed down, and shaken together. So when you discern that your brother or sister is weary in their battle, be the one to hold them up. Your one soft word or your one kind deed may be the very thing that gives them the strength and help that they need to overcome and defeat their enemy. +++ 2/18/16 HIS WITNESSES Scripture: Acts 1:8 "You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me ..." Many times we become burdened with a false sense of responsibility concerning situations and problems in the lives of those around us. As we see their hurts and pains, we become deeply involved in their crisis. In the midst of their adversity and stress, we sometimes experience a "Messiah Syndrome," forgetting that we are but frail humans ourselves. Because we want to help those who are hurting so much, we forget that we are not their savior and that their deliverance is not held in our hands. We try to act as god in their life rather than merely interceding in prayer and being the witness that we are called to be. Eventually after much anxiety and wasted effort on our part, we come to this startling realization: I did not suffer shame - therefore, I can not deliver. I did not bear the stripes on my back - therefore, I can not heal. I did not sweat drops of blood - therefore, I can not relieve anxiety. I did not wear a crown of thorns on my brow - therefore, I can not give peace. I did not die on a cross - therefore, I can not redeem. I did not rise from the dead - I am not God. Jesus was the one who suffered these pains for humanity and He is the Messiah who is anointed by God. Only He can set the captive free, for all power is held in His hands. He understands the needs of those who suffer pain and He is touched by their feelings and weaknesses. He loves them and is just as concerned for them as we are and He is waiting to help. As the Lord's witness, our purpose is to simply point those who are hurting to Him. We must put them in His awesome hands and trust Him for their deliverance. Hebrews 4:14-15 says, "Jesus, the Son of God, is our great High Priest who has gone to Heaven itself to help us; therefore let us never stop trusting Him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses because He had the same temptations that we experience, but He never once gave way to them and sinned. So let us come boldly to the very throne of God and stay there to receive His mercy and to find His grace to help us in our times of need." Jesus is the answer. We are simply His witnesses. +++ 2/19/16 FOCUSED AND FIT FOR THE KINGDOM Luke 9:62 "Jesus said to him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God." Jesus spoke to a man to come and follow Him. This was a lifetime opportunity but the man requested that he first be released to go and bid his family good bye. Jesus dealt with this natural mindset by telling the man not to look back at his old life. This seems like a harsh instruction but Jesus knew that the man would be returning to relatives who would probably ridicule and scorn his decision. They may have been unbelievers whose influence could cloud his faith with doubt and instill fear within his heart. They may have tempted him to give up such a ridiculous idea. They may have questioned where his life's support would come from, pointing out that Jesus Himself said that He had no place to lay His own head. We want God to enlarge our borders, take us to higher levels, and open new doors. Yet, we have a tendency to respond in fear when those things began to occur because they can create challenges. The new territories offer us new problems to solve and an unfamiliar protocol to follow, which requires greater physical and mental strength on our part. It may also require a financial investment or risk. The unknown is all too taxing because our past failures remind us that we could end up in defeat again. So it is often tempting to look at the safety and luxuries that we possess in the present rather than to press towards the future with its risk and rewards. Yet as we look at the examples that are in the scriptures we realize that the men who were able to achieve their goals and fulfill their callings were determined and focused. Regardless of the obstacles they faced, they never looked back. The Apostle Paul focused on the prize of the high calling of Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). He was beat, stoned, imprisoned, and left for dead, but he allowed nothing to stop him. He continued to press towards the mark. Abraham was called to leave his country and family to go to a land that God would show him (Genesis 12:1). He had no map to the blessing or written contract from God but he stayed focused on the words that God had spoken, which gave him direction and instilled faith in his heart. Joshua and Caleb did not look at the size of the giants in the land but focused on the size of the grapes. They were of another spirit and followed God fully (Numbers 14:24) until they reached the Promised Land. Daniel did not consider the lions that were in the den. He believed that God would deliver him and focused his attention on the angels of the Lord who shut the mouths of the lions (Daniel 6:22). And Jesus focused upon God's will by setting His face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). These examples are not just intriguing stories for us to enjoy. They are given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit to encourage us to also keep our focus upon the Lord and His high calling for our lives. The Lord speaks to all of us to come and follow Him. Yet, He wants us to know that when we put our hands to the plough we must never allow ourselves to look back or be distracted by the good or bad that we have left behind. Jesus was not giving instructions that He was not willing to follow for Himself. He willingly gave up all that He was and put His hand to the plough to complete the Father's will. He stayed focused all the way to Calvary and died on our behalf. His victory is now our strength. Now we must endeavor to remain focused on Him so that we can become fit for the Kingdom of God. +++ 2/22/16 HARVEST TIME Scripture: John 4:35 "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." Jesus said, "Lift up your eyes and look." Many people are asleep and do not see that things are changing very rapidly around us. Those who are awake and aware walk around in awe because of what surrounds them. There is a new awareness of the glory of God. It is as though there is a new sound in Heaven, one that we have never heard before. It is telling us to press the limits and to go where we have never gone before and to do what we have never done. It encourages us to enlarge our borders, expand our horizons, and get ready for the day of the greatest harvest that we have ever seen. Yet, Jesus tells us that even though the harvest or the mission field is truly great, the laborers are few, and He instructs us to pray for more laborers to be sent into the fields (Luke 10:2). Jesus' Words are a personal mandate for each of us, for we all have been called and chosen for such a time as this. This is our day and this is our hour. God has ordained and anointed us at this time in history to minister to the hurting souls that are being held in bondage. In the beginning, God spoke all things into existence and commanded everything to multiply. All of creation obeyed His voice because of the power of His Words. His very breath brought light and life. The same is happening now in the spirit. The fruit of God’s fields are multiplying and becoming ripe because of His command and He is depending upon us to reap the harvest by sharing His light and life with the world around us. God is releasing a fresh awareness, but we must respond. We can't just look at the fields. We must share and minister to those in need. Like gathering a tender crop, our words must not be loud and empty but full of love, grace, and truth. If Jesus is living within us, His essence should emerge when we talk and His witness should show forth in every area of our lives. Everything about Him should be portrayed through our image because we are an epistle known and read of all men (II Corinthians 3:2). In this dark hour, the world is looking for people who are walking in the supernatural peace of God; a peace that is only birthed by the presence of God. The more we see the day of the Lord approaching, the greater our influence will be. We must submit to God and allow the power of His voice to speak into our lives, changing us and rearranging us for His glory so that we can see His fields and become laborers in His harvest. +++ 2/23/16 NO COMPLAINTS Scripture: Philippians 2:14 "Do all things without complaining or arguing." Does this scripture really mean that we are to do everything without complaining and have a right attitude in every situation? That sounds a bit hard. Our first thought is that the Apostle Paul, who wrote these words of instructions, probably did not understand all the hardships that we would have to face. He must not have known that we would have people on the job, our families, and others in our social life to contend with. He must not have realized that we would have assignments that we did not want to do. The trash would have to be taken out and the lawn kept. There would be meals to cook and dishes and clothes to wash every day. Paul should have made allowances for some of the complaints that we would want to voice. Yet we fail to consider that Paul went through much worse tribulation and persecution than we will ever experience, and he still remained without complaint. These few words, "Do all things without complaining or arguing", lay a lot of responsibility upon us, yet they are not meant to be burdensome. Instead, they are meant to be for our good. The apostle Paul spoke these words knowing quite well that God was working in us to do His will and His good pleasure (verse 13). When God speaks, He wants His believers to simply obey His Words. Verse fourteen through fifteen tells us the reason why we are to obey without complaining. It is because our very actions speak of Jesus to a world that Paul described as crooked and perverse. When we live without murmuring and refuse to engage in disputes, we become blameless and harmless before them and without rebuke. They can find no legitimate cause in their refusal to hear our message concerning the gospel. One minister suggested that the way to break the habit of murmuring was to write each complaint on paper. Then, when we saw all of our complaints written out, we would realize how much we complained and understand how trivial our thoughts really are. Without a doubt, we must work to control our tongue and keep our attitude intact so that our labor is not in vain (Verse 16). When we do all things with joy, our witness will become as a shining light. We will be like stars in the universe to all those around us and they will respond to us as we hold forth the Word of Life. +++ 2/24/16 WHERE'S GOD? Scripture: Psalms 42:5 "Why be down cast? Why be discouraged and sad? Hope in God?" God is your heavenly Father and He wants you to feel safe, protected, and loved. He wants you to know that you have nothing to fear because He is in control of every situation in your life. You are to be as a small child in His loving arms. He said that He would never put more upon you than you could bear. And He promised you grace and strength for every challenge that life has to offer. You will never have to face hardships and disappointments alone because He said, "I am with you always, even until the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20) The writer of this psalm was discouraged and sad because of his circumstances. He was exiled in a foreign land and his enemies mocked him continually, saying, "Where is your God?" He longed to return to Jerusalem so that he could worship God in the temple again. He was so thirsty for the presence of God that he compared himself to a deer panting for a water brook. He revealed the depth of his oppression and despair as he spoke of being in tears night and day. There were times that he even questioned God saying, "Why have you forgotten me?" His emotions took him on a roller coaster ride. When he was down, he poured out his soul to the Lord in despair and then when he was up, he remembered the goodness of God and began to praise Him. He spoke of his adverse circumstances, then memories of past victories flooded his mind and he rejoiced and sang in the darkness of his hour. The doubts of his mind challenged the faith in his heart, but immediately his spirit rose within him and he finally came to this conclusion and confession of hope. Speaking to himself, he said, "Don't be discouraged. Don't be upset. Expect God to act! ... He is my help! He is my God!" Do you wonder where God is in your situation right now? He wants you to know that He is in the same place He was when He created you. God is sitting on His throne and is high above the confusion and turmoil that you are facing right now. Although you may feel like you are held captive by circumstances that are beyond your control, remember that God is still God. He is your help! Don't be discouraged if your finances don't take a sudden turnaround the moment you pray and don't be confused when your health doesn't spring forth immediately. Don't allow your emotions to stretch you from high to low because you don't have all the answers. Isaiah 50:10 says, "Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the Name of the Lord and rely on his God." When you have no answers, submit to God's deeper work and simply trust in Him. Instead of being cast down or discouraged, be encouraged knowing that God is your Father and He is there in the dark with you. +++ 2/25/16 FIRM CHOICE Scripture: Luke 9:61 "Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me first go and bid them farewell which are at home at my house." Jesus extended an awesome invitation for men to follow Him in His ministry, but His offer was met with excuses. The reasons may have sounded legitimate but Jesus wanted total surrender to His call and His voice of direction. Jesus' answer to this man's plea to wait until later was, "No man who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Jesus was looking for more than faith; He was also looking for a determined focus to His agenda and immediate commitment to His will. The most limiting thing in life is a firm choice to be totally submitted to God's will. Total submission means that we must continually deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord. It is a forward walk in His foot prints every step of the way. There is no time to look back at the failures or successes of yesterday and there is no room to wander from the straight and narrow path. Think about yourself and the circle that is about you. A circle has 360 degrees. As you position yourself at the edge of that circle, see yourself standing on the first degree. This means there will be 359 degrees remaining or in other words there will be 359 other directions that you could go. Most of us would never think of turning and going 180 degrees in the opposite direction of God's will, but many times we do alter our course by a slight degree. We fail to realize that if we go one degree in the wrong direction for a length of time, we will eventually be very far from the presence and purposes of God. There are many distractions and temptations in life. Jesus declared that if we are considering any options other than following Him, we are not ready for His kingdom. Being human is a challenge because living in the natural conflicts with life in the spiritual. So we need to understand that God's ideas are better than ours and then walk as wise servants of the Most High God. Our present season is a seed for our future. What we do today will determine our tomorrow. We have a choice to either follow our own way, the persuasions of others, or the voice of the Living God. We must ask ourselves these questions, "What did God tell me to do?" and "Am I doing it?" When we discover the answer, then we must put our hand to the plow, follow Him, and never look back. +++ 2/26/16 EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in His time." God orchestrates our lives and fashions it for His purposes. We do not always understand what He is doing, but we do know that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. God's timing is also a great mystery in our lives. He ordains not only the seasons, but also the individual moments that we experience. Everything is held in His hands. We often think that we are waiting upon God when in reality He is waiting on us, for we are not yet prepared for the journey that is set before us. God is wise and will not send us into battle until we are prepared and He will not use us for His glorious purposes until the spiritual fruit is ripened in our lives. Each phase of our life is a preparation time for the next level. We must learn that when we are not doing exactly what we want to do or seemly not accomplishing very much that if we will use that waiting time wisely, we will be ready when God is ready. We should be encouraged as we look at the men in scriptures who experienced long waiting periods before God allowed them to complete their purposes. Moses was sent to the backside of the desert for forty long years before God spoke to him from a burning bush. Joseph endured the pits and prisons for sixteen years before his dreams and visions came to pass. King David waited patiently upon the timing of God for his kingdom to be established and in one of his psalms he declared, "My times are in your hands" (Psalms 31:15). The Apostle Paul spent eight years in the desert preparing for the ministry set before him. God, Himself, also waited four thousand years after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden before He sent His Son to redeem the world from sin. God may have wanted to do something earlier but He waited until the fullness of time had come before He released Jesus to complete His divine purpose (Galatians 4:4). We must put our faith in God and forget about the timetable of our life, for God is aware of our limited life span. In His perfect way, He will put everything together at the right time. He will see to every detail and arrange every circumstance. He will even change the hearts of others who need to be involved in our dream. And He will order every step of our way to bring to pass the things that He has planned. So until your dreams actually come to pass, wait on God and realize that wherever you are and whatever you are doing right now, you are actually on the way to where you are going. Don't try to push or rush God because He will get you there at your appointed time. He has a special timing for every event in your life and as long as you wait for Him, He will make everything beautiful in His time. +++ 2/29/16 ENDURING THE PRESSURE II Corinthians 1:8 & 9 " ... pressed out of measure, above strength ... that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God." The Apostle Paul identified his own sufferings with those that Christ suffered and declared that his own suffering had a special purpose. He believed that the hardships that had come to him because he preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ were not in vain but were meant to encourage other believers. Even though he had been pressed out of measure and pushed beyond his strength until he despaired even of life itself, he was still confident that God would deliver him in all situations. Instead of trusting in himself, Paul put his trust in God and believed that the things he was experiencing would be a testimony of God's grace, mercy, and comfort. We love to hear music played on a piano but did you know that it takes eleven tons of pressure on the strings of a piano to keep it in tune? Each of the eighty-eight keys must be dealt with separately and each string must be stretched to its limit until the right tone is sounded. It takes an expert to accomplish this feat. In the end, no string can be loose, for just one key that is out of tune can disrupt the melody of the whole song. If the piano were a living being, it would probably shout out a protest against this painful process, saying that the pressure was too much to endure and that the results really weren't worth it. Yet, when the piano is perfectly tuned, it makes beautiful music. I have a piano that has several keys that are out of tune, and when played, the most noticeable notes are those that need to be corrected. Anyone, even those who do not know music, can determine that the keys are not in tune. Our lives are similar. God works with us very patiently in an effort to tune our lives so that we are able to make the right sounds in His kingdom. It takes much faith to submit to God's tuning process, for many times it is an unpleasant ordeal as He takes us through things that are quite painful. He allows pressures that we do not understand and that we think are unbearable, and just like the piano tuner, He works on us one string at a time. He tightens our situations, stretches us to our very limits, and then listens carefully to the tones that are coming forth from our lives. God doesn't want anything within our being to be out of tune. When He strikes a key, He wants our heart to be in harmony with His will and His purposes. He has designed us to be an instrument of excellence in His kingdom. There are others about us who are also listening and taking notice of the melodies of our lives. They can discern when our lives are out of tune and they respond to the harsh notes they hear. They also rejoice with the beautiful notes that come forth when our lives are submitted to God. If we want to be an instrument that sounds forth Heaven's melodies, we cannot trust in ourselves. We must trust in God and submit ourselves to Him. We must allow Him to finely tune us and remember that the things in our lives that bring pressure in the natural will be the same things that will shape our lives and give beauty in the spiritual. +++ Copyright © 2016 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved www.widsonline.com |
.............................. | ||