| ............ | A Word In Due Season June 2017 6/1/17 FROM FAITH TO FAITH Scripture: Romans 1:17 "From faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." God has an extraordinary and powerful plan to rescue the believers who trust in Him. From faith to faith and from start to finish, God works within us to bring about His awesome plan. His plan is the glorious gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. This gospel of salvation has three facets. First, His salvation redeems us from past sins and gives us eternal life in Heaven. Second, it also equips us with God's strength to help us live in Heaven's victory while we are still here on Earth. Third, the gospel of Jesus Christ never changes. Jesus and His gospel of salvation is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8 ). The just are to live by faith and that faith will come by hearing the Word of God. Only the Word of God will set us free and bring us total salvation for the past, present, and future. Many are born again and can believe that their salvation experience will take them to Heaven. It is wonderful that they have received faith's assurance for tomorrow's future, yet, these same born again believers cannot seem to operate in the faith that allows them to forgive themselves or to believe that God has forgiven them for the sins of their past. Their spirits are saved and they are on their journey towards glory, but their minds are not renewed and their souls linger in the pits of doubt. They carry much baggage of guilt and shame because they cannot let go of the memories of what they have done. There are others who have faith to believe for eternal salvation and are also able to receive forgiveness for the things of their past, but they have no faith to live in today's victory. They flounder around in the sea of unbelief when it comes to trusting God for their present deliverance, protection, preservation, healing, and provision for their needs. When we gave our hearts to Jesus, He did a total work in our lives. He immediately began a work in us and we can "be confident in this one thing, that He Who began a good work in us will complete it unto the end" (Philippians 1:6). For that reason, when we look at our lives, we should not become discouraged. We must realize that the Lord is not finished with us yet. His work is progressive as He takes us from faith to faith. We are made just by faith in Him and then our faith in Him becomes a daily process. We can be assured that the Lord will not desert us on our journey or stop in the middle of our progress. He will continue to develop us right up to the time of His return. Faith springs from faith. The initial faith that we received leads to more faith. As we receive the Word of faith daily, the Lord transforms us and renews our mind. Faith arouses greater faith so that we no longer waver in any area of life. We must understand that it is only as we have faith in God and totally trust our past, present, and future lives to Him, that we, being justified, will really learn to live. +++ 6/2/17 REMEMBER THE SABBATH Scripture: Exodus 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." In six days God created the heavens and the earth, all of nature and the universe, and man and woman. When He had finished, He was pleased with His work and declared that it was good. He then rested on the seventh day from all of His labors. When God gave us the Ten Commandments, He told us to follow His example and consecrate the Sabbath to Him. The animals were not to be put to work and the land itself was to rest. Seed was not supposed to be sown in the fields and the vineyards were not to be pruned. Taking a day of rest was not just a suggestion. Instead, it was a command for the entire creation of God. Yet often we violate this commandment to rest, even though most of us would never think of violating the other nine commandments. We love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and do not take His Name in vain. We would never make or worship idols. We honor our fathers and mothers and we do not kill or steal. Neither do we bear false witness against our neighbors or covet our neighbor's spouse or material goods. But we are busy people and do find ourselves at times transgressing the command of God to rest one day out of seven. God set aside the Sabbath for our time of rest, which was actually the last and seventh day of the week. But since Jesus' resurrection on the first day of the week, we now celebrate Sunday as our day of rest and we call it the Lord's Day. It is our day of worship and we consecrate it as holy unto the Lord. Yet, it also becomes a day to catch up on all the left over chores of the week. When I was growing up it was much easier to find a day of rest because most of the businesses were closed in honor of the Lord's Day, which left nothing else to do but rest. It also seemed that life was not as busy and there was more time to take care of all of our business during the week. However, there came a day when more businesses began to open on Sunday, and I remember that they established a law in effort to keep Sunday from becoming just another day of the week. It was called the "Blue Law" and this law made it illegal for merchants to sell anything on Sunday that was not necessary. You could only buy food and medicine that was marked with a blue symbol. I wonder what happened to that law, which was established to honor the Lord's Day? It just seemed to fade away. I also wonder what happened to the law of God that is supposed to be written upon the tables of our heart that says, "Six days you are to labor and do all of your work. The seventh day, you are to rest." God did not just randomly think of the Sabbath rest. He knew from own His own experience that we too needed the rhythm of action and rest. It is a spiritual and biological necessity that we allow ourselves to be dormant, for if we do not find times of rest, just being alive will become an enormous burden. God said that man was not made for the Sabbath, but that the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27). He made one day out of every seven just for us. He intends for us to consecrate that day as holy unto Him and find rest and regeneration for our body, soul, and spirit. Remember the Sabbath, for is a personal gift from God, which we should receive and enjoy. +++ 06/05/17 WALK IN INTEGRITY Scripture: Proverbs 20:6-7 "Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness .... The just man walks in his integrity." We title our daily devotional A Word In Due Season because it is not "The" only word that God will speak to you today. It is simply "A" word, for the scriptures declare that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word of God will be established (II Corinthians 13:1). God's Word will come to you through many voices and experiences to confirm His desires so that His purposes can be established. Your pastor, family members, teachers, and friends will speak into your life. Even the situations that surround you will confirm your direction. Our devotional is written a few days in advance so that it can be edited, posted on the website, and then attached to the many address lists. Often it surprises me when one of my own devotional writings comes back to me a few days later and it encourages me or speaks a confirming word that I personally needed to hear for that day. The experience is like being a mother who prepares a meal for her family and then gets to sit down and enjoy it with them. We are all partakers of God's wonderful words of grace, which are new and fresh every day. As I write this devotional, this was one of those special days because the Word that was published was about allowing Christ to be the umpire of our peace. Today the enemy tried desperately to take my peace in regard to a matter of integrity, but he was unable because God's presence filled my heart and His love surrounded my emotions. The Lord reminded me, "Your righteousness is of Me, says the Lord" (Isaiah 54:17). There are so many situations to deal with on a daily basis and everyone's battle will be different, but Jesus can give all of us personal peace. When someone tells an untruth about you or falsely accuses you, if you cast your care upon the Lord, peace will come into your heart. You will have an assurance because you know that you can trust God to give those about you discernment so that your integrity is not tarnished in their eyes. The truth that resides in your heart will set you free. You will retain your joy because you know that God sees and understands the entire situation and that He will honor and reward your personal integrity. The writer of this proverb said, "Most men will declare their own goodness, but the just man walks in his integrity." Integrity is the highest standard, for the integrity of a just man makes its own statement. Integrity is solid and it proclaims truth, creates peace, and produces joy. The world about you may not know who is right or who is wrong, but you have this assurance that there are several people who do know the full truth. The two that are at variance against each other surely know the truth concerning the situation. Plus, there is the all knowing God, Himself, along with His Son, Jesus Christ, and God's precious Holy Spirit. There will also be family members, friends, and acquaintances who know the truth and will stand with you in adversity. With these witnesses of truth and integrity on your side, it will be easy for you to walk in the midst of your disconcerting situations with praise in your heart to God. So whatever comes your way in life, I encourage you to walk in integrity every step of the way and allow the Lord to be the one to faithfully proclaim your goodness. +++ 6/6/17 YOUR HEART'S TREASURE Scripture: Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." In this verse and the verses following, Jesus speaks to us about being focused. He talks to us about our heart's attitude concerning material things, our spiritual vision, and our service. He exhorts us to lay up heavenly treasures rather than earthly ones. He tells us to keep our vision single so that our whole life is filled with light, and then concludes by telling us that there can be only one master in our life. He makes it very clear that our hearts, vision, and service will revolve around only the things we count as treasures in our lives. All of us have treasures of some sort that we are concerned about. When we were kids, our minds and hearts were not the least bit concerned about the security of the banks or the stock market. Our treasure was wrapped up in a few coins in a piggy bank in our room, but we guarded that small bank because it was our personal treasure. As we matured, however, our treasures began to change and our hearts became concerned about the national and global economy. For some of us, our career became our prize and priority. For others, our children remained our most treasured possessions. We were there for every school program, sports event, and band concert, not because we wanted to be there for the game or performance, but because our personal treasure was involved. We counted the sacrifice of our time a joy and a privilege because we were supporting our personal treasure. Regardless of what we count as most dear in our lives, whether money, position, or relationships, our hearts will lean in the direction of that treasure, for just as Jesus said, where our treasure is, there will be our heart also. Jesus said that whenever He is the true treasure of our life, our hearts and minds will be stayed on Him and there will be no other gods in our lives. Our vision and attention will become single and nothing will be allowed to interfere, as our heart follows after our treasure. We will joyfully dedicate all that we are and everything that we have to the Lord to fulfill His will and complete His purpose. This is the simple truth that Jesus wanted us to understand, which is that our heart will always remain with our treasure. He exhorted us to choose God as the utmost treasure of our hearts. Then He promised that as we seek God and His kingdom before anything else, the lesser treasures will also be added to us. +++ 6/7/17 THE PROMISE OF BLESSINGS Scripture: Deuteronomy 11:13-14 "Love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, ... I will give you the rain on your land in due season ... so that you may gather in your corn, wine, and oil." This is a powerful promise from the Lord our God, but notice what the order of our relationship with Him needs to be. We are to love Him first, and then serve Him. Our love for God should be the catalyst of our service for Him. Yet, there are times that we get the process reversed. We start out loving and our love motivates us to serve, but then serving overtakes our personal relationship with God and our focus becomes distorted. We become like the church at Ephesus, which did good works, had patience, and could not bear that which was evil. Yet, regardless of their wonderful works and righteous deeds, the Lord said that He had something against them. They had left their first love (Revelation 2:4). They were so busy doing things for God that they did not have time and energy for a relationship with God. Service should never be a substitute for our intimate communion with God. Love is so simple. When you love someone you long to be in their presence, to hear their voice, to share their interest, and to feel their touch. You are driven to have personal contact with them. When you truly love God, you will feel these same desires and you will find time to fulfill them. You will create a space in your busy life to pray and commune with God. You will read His Word and listen intently for His voice. You will push things to the side to be in His presence so that you can feel His tender touch on your life. You will glory in the moments that you share with Him, and then your service for Him will be birthed out of that experience. You will serve Him because you love Him, not in order to fulfill a duty or obligation. We must examine our lives from time to time and see where we stand on this issue. We must determine if our first love has become our ministry and our good deeds or if our first love has continued to be for God, Himself. If we find that we have drifted away or grown cold because of our busy schedules, we need to simply return to the Lord and find the time to make Him first in our lives. We can renew our commitment to the Lord at any time. We can start today wherever we are. God said that if we draw near to Him, He would draw near to us. He confirms this promise again and says that if we seek Him, we will find Him. When we renew this place in our hearts and choose the Lord to be our first love, He will shower His blessings upon us and we will find new strength for our souls. +++ 6/8/17 HE GOES BEFORE YOU Scripture: John 10:3-4 "... the sheep hear His voice: and He calls His own sheep by name, and He leads them out ... He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him for they know His voice." You never have to fear the path that is set before you because the Lord Jesus goes before you each step of the way. You never have to tread where His feet have not been or suffer things that are foreign to His knowledge. He leads you out and then He goes before you, discerning every situation. He notes the paths that are too narrow and the rocky steeps that are too dangerous. He will lead you around every pitfall and protect you from every foe. As he goes before you He encounters every obstacle that you will experience along the way so that He can understand your feelings and be touched by your infirmities. His presence makes the crooked way straight and His mighty hand opens every door that needs to be opened and closes every door that needs to stay shut. Jesus will never lead you into a place that is too difficult and you will never find His grace to be insufficient. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He cares for His sheep. He loves you individually and does not get you confused with someone else. He calls you by your name. He also allows you to know Him in an intimate way so that you can recognize His voice. He does not disguise His voice or speak foreign words to you but makes Himself very plain. All you must do is listen for His still quiet voice saying, "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). His voice will gently bring repentance and scatter the sounds of condemnation. His Words will give direction and drive away the spirits of confusion. He will never lead you astray and the simple knowledge that He is leading the way should give you great hope and confidence in your journey. The Lord's presence will bring peace in the midst of your turmoil. As you follow Him one step at a time, you are not to look sorrowfully at your past, be confused about the present, or fear the future. Tomorrow is unknown but His voice says, "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for it will take care of itself." He is God and if He can feed the birds and clothe the flowers of the field, He can take care of you. Jesus goes before you. Just follow Him without doubt and fear, for He is already there in the future that you are about to experience. +++ 6/9/17 LIFE AND BREATH Scripture: Job 33:4 "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life." There are two special things about us that we need to understand so that we can enjoy life the way that God intended for us to enjoy it. First, the Spirit of God made us and that makes each one of us special in our own individual way. We did not evolve from some lower beings, nor were we were created by chance. We were made in God's own image and according to His special design. Our voices are different and we do not act or think the same as anyone else on Earth. We are individuals and this is a marvel of God. God has created millions of people since the Earth began and yet we all look different and each of us can be identified by our own personal fingerprints. It is a miracle that God could make a half inch square on our thumb totally different from that of the other millions of people that have lived and still not duplicate Himself in the process. God is an awesome Creator and we are His awesome creation. Most of the times, we do not think in these terms and may even look at ourselves and wish that we were someone else or wish that we could at least be like them. Yet, God's choices are sovereign and we should never question His work. The same people that we admire may be looking at us in the same manner. We cannot afford to be envious of each other or complacent about who we are. Red roses are my favorite flower but it would be sad if all the flowers of the field were red roses. Where would the variety be? Can you imagine every floral arrangement being a dozen red roses? God is creative and His work is never boring and that includes you and me. The second special thing about us is that the breath of the Almighty gives us life. We were alive within the womb, but the first gift that we received when we exited our mother's womb was breath. God was there at our birth and He, Himself, breathed His breath of life into our being. Without His breath, there is no life. Yet we seldom think about our ability to breathe or give thanks for our breath. We take it for granted and it is only as we experience some sort of episode where we are unable to breathe that we give thought to this awesome gift. As we make our way through today, let us realize that life should be exuberant and exciting. God loves each and every one of us and we should love ourselves just the way that He created us. We are definitely one of a kind, fingerprints and all. So let us acknowledge and give thanks to our Maker, cherish our life and breath, celebrate who we are, and enjoy every moment of the day. +++ 6/12/17 MULTIPLYING YOUR TALENTS Scripture: Matthew 25:29 "For to everyone that hath, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance." A man divided several talents between his servants according to their individual ability before he went on a journey. When he returned, he found that the servant to whom he entrusted five talents had put his talents to work and had gained five more talents. Likewise, the servant who received two talents gain two more. However, the servant who had received only one talent fearfully hid it in the ground. Because of his fear and laziness, his talent did not produce an increase and he had nothing to offer to his master. The lord of these men was pleased by the two servants who had put their talents to work, but he was so displeased by the fearful and slothful servant who had hid his talent in the ground that he took his talent from him and gave to the faithful servant. This wise servant now had eleven talents because he had shown himself diligent in managing the five talents that had been originally given to him. Did you ever wonder why the people who have, seem to be able to get more, or why the people who lack never seem to be able to gain and move forward? Jesus shares the reason in this story. It is a simple principle of putting what little you have to work so that God can bless it. He has promised to bless and multiply whatever you sow or whatever your put to work. But if you do nothing or sow nothing, then when your nothing is blessed or multiplied by God, it still remains as nothing. It is easy to identify with the fearful servant because it is difficult to sow when you have little, but we must remember that everything belongs to God, and Jesus declared that He was able to reap where He had not sown. The Lord knows if you are able to handle five talents, two talents, or just one talent and He will never ask you to go beyond your ability. He does not expect you to give what you do not have or to exercise a talent that you are not gifted with, but He does expect you to take the little that you have and put it to use. It will take faith to reach forth and sow the gift that God has given you, but miracles only happen on the other side of the comfort zone. If you only have a few dollars, it is hard to let go and sow it into the life of someone else. It intimidating to play an instrument in public if you know only one song. Yet, you cannot be like the man with one talent and hide your gift. Small ability does not negate responsibility. Multiplication does not come by hiding, but by sharing. Even the trees of the field have to bear fruit and give forth of themselves to be able to multiply. Trust God for increase and ask Him to help you move out of your comfort zone. When you stretch yourself in this fashion, you will be surprised as God begins to multiply your talents. +++ 6/13/17 POWER AND STRENGTH Scripture: Isaiah 40:29 "He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might, He increases strength." This promise of power and increased strength from God is a wonderful scripture to hold on to in times of stress and fatigue. In the verses following, Isaiah tells us that those who were once weak will mount up with wings as the eagles. They will be able to run without growing weary and they will walk without getting faint. Notice that there are three levels where we may find ourselves; soaring as eagles, running, and walking. It's great when our journey with God takes us to new heights and the winds of His Spirit lift us above the mundane obstacles of daily life. As we soar through life, everything seems so special and it's as though we can reach out and actually embrace the heart of God. There are no obstructions, our vision is clear, and all storms are beneath us. It seems that Heaven is just a breath away. Everything appears beautiful in its own way, and we are at ease as we are carried on the winds of God's wings. When we soar, the mountains do not threaten us for they are our resting place, and the valleys do not frighten us for we are not having to walk through them. We face no shadows or immediate dangers, and one glance in any direction reveals our provisions. Soaring as eagles is a wonderful place with God, but we all know these seasons do not last forever. There are times that we must come down from the heavenlies, walk through the valleys, climb the mountains, and run the race that God has set before us. Running and walking do not seem to be as grand as the heights that we once experienced, yet God still meets us in these places and gives us added strength to endure. As we run, the journey goes fast and our thoughts are kept busy. There are no wasted efforts or long delays. We have no time for our patience to be tried because our efforts bring quick rewards. But then comes the times that we are only allowed to walk. These are the more difficult places where progress is slow. We know that God is with us, but it seems as though nothing is really happening. Our vision is limited and we have no idea what is just around the bend. The scenery changes very slowly as we can only take one step at a time, and desperation begins to cause our faith to faint. This is the time to remember the words that Isaiah prophesied to us. He explained just how the power and strength would come to those who are desperate for help. Whether you are young or old, you must understand that failing strength happens to everyone. Isaiah said when you find that you are weak and have no might, wait upon the Lord and He will cause you to grow stronger. When you feel that you cannot go on, rest in God's presence. Wait upon Him for He will give power to the faint and increase the strength of those who are weary. +++ 6/14/17 MAKE YOUR DAY COUNT Scripture: Psalms 90:12 "Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." These words were spoken by Moses in a prayer that he offered to the Lord. He wanted every day of his life to count. In the previous verses, he stated that man is only given seventy to eighty years to live. Moses realized that regardless of his natural strength, human life is limited here on earth, so he asked the Lord to show him how to number his days so that he could use his days wisely. This should also be our prayer and our goal. We should endeavor to be good stewards over each moment that God has entrusted to us and filter out the things that devour our time. It is only as we spend our time wisely that we will be able to fulfill the purposes and plans that God has ordained for us. When you visit those who are near death, most often they do not speak of their great accomplishments and successes. As they see the end on the horizon, they speak of those things that they never got to do or the places they never got to see. Their regrets are their unfulfilled dreams and the ventures never taken. It is sad to think that many songs were never sung, many poems never shared, and many words never written. They were buried deep in the hearts of those who died with a dream but who had never found the time or the courage to step out in faith and follow through with action. Consider the following words by Marilyn Hickey: "There are 1,440 opportunities every day to succeed. That is how many minutes there are in each day. I find that putting God first in my day enables me to use my time wisely and accomplish the goals that I have set. It is He Who gives me the wisdom to plan my day, the intelligence to carry out each task, and the energy to do it. And then He gives me the joy and satisfaction of achievement." Like Moses, ask the Lord to help you number your days and make each one of the 1,440 minutes count. Strive to finish your course like the Apostle Paul with no regrets or unfulfilled wishes. God has good plans for your life. He can give you wisdom, intelligence, and energy to bring your dreams out of the forgotten past and make them realities of the present and the future. +++ 6/15/17 DEEPER DIMENSION Scripture: Jeremiah 29:13 "You shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart." We are standing on the threshold of change. The Lord is moving in a more powerful way than ever before and an entirely new dimension is opening before us. God's Word is made available to us daily through many different mediums so that we are able grow in His wisdom and understand His will. His Spirit is calling us into a place of deeper intimacy with Him so that we can know His heart. When we understand God's will and yield our lives to His heart's desire, our prayers will reach into eternity and bring His infinite power to Earth. Our lives will show forth His glory and our witness will bring honor to Him and Him alone. Yet as with anything that is worth having, there is a price that must be paid in order to enter this place of intimacy and experience the deeper dimension of God's glory and grace. Jeremiah said that we would only find God when we search for Him with all of our heart. God is not playing hard to get, but He will not be found until a diligent search is made. He is looking for total commitment and He will not show Himself to us until He sees that our heart is desperate for Him. We will not experience God if we approach Him with prayers that are inspired by our own foolish desires and notions. If we intend to find God at all, His kingdom must be our main interest. He must become more important to us than our next breath, the food that we eat, or the water that we drink. Our entire lives must communication to God that He is life to our being and that we love Him for who He is, not for what He gives. Fathers and mothers always rejoice to see their children learn and they celebrate each new level of growth. So it is with God, our Father. He rejoices over us as we experience spiritual growth and is very pleased when the borders of our territory are enlarged. Yet, it is evident that we cannot travel alone or open the doors by ourselves. We need the Lord to direct our path and help us step over the threshold so that we might experience this new place that He has prepared for us. God, Himself, is the greater and deeper dimension that we seek, and beside Him, there is no other. He invites us to come and experience His awesome presence. He even gives us the formula of how to experience this place of intimacy, but there is a price to be paid before we enter this deeper dimension of His glory. It will require effort to seek for God, true faith on our part to find Him, and personal sacrifice as we search for Him with all of our heart. +++ 6/16/17 FATHER'S DAY Scripture: Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Fathers, as well as mothers, have an awesome responsibility to train their children in the ways that they should go. They are to continually mold, instruct, prepare, and point their children in the right direction. There will be many challenges, but the Apostle Paul encouraged particularly the fathers, not to provoke their children to wrath, but to bring them up in the nurture and loving discipline of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). Parents must be an example to their children everyday of the year. Following is a poem, which reveals the results of our every day actions. CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE Author Unknown If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight. If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy. If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty. If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient. If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence. If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate. If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice. If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith. If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself. If a child lives with acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world. We honor all fathers and encourage them to listen to the wisdom of these words.+++ 6/19/17 ALMOST Scripture: Acts 26:28 "Then Agrippa said to Paul, you almost persuade me to be a Christian." Paul gave a moving testimony of the blinding light and his heavenly vision that he experienced on the Road to Damascus. He also witnessed about Christ and spoke of the things that Christ had suffered because He came to this earth as the Savior of the world. Paul was so passionate and shared so many convincing details that King Agrippa declared that he, himself, was almost persuaded to become a Christian. Yet, King Agrippa fell short and never followed through with a definite decision or action to receive Jesus in his heart. To say "almost" in any situation is never enough. God calls us to completion. When Jesus had completed His assignment on Earth, He said, "It is finished." When the Apostle Paul came to the end of his life, he said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (II Timothy 4:7). For King Agrippa to say that he was almost persuaded to become a Christian was the same as saying that he was almost rescued from the fire or almost saved from drowning. A person who is almost saved from the fire or from drowning is still dead and without hope. Likewise, King Agrippa's soul was still lost and going to Hell no matter how close he had come to receiving Jesus as the Lord and Savior of his life. There is no joy if you are almost delivered or almost saved from destruction. There is only defeat. There is no reward if you almost refrain from sin. There are only consequences. There is no virtue if you almost tell the truth, for your words are still considered to be lies. There is no such position as almost fair, almost righteous, almost justified, or almost sanctified. Almost is not enough. You cannot go halfway or just nearly make it. The work has to be completed. For true victory in your life, you must go all the way with God and refuse to stop at the place that is called “almost”. +++ 6/20/17 AGE IS IRRELEVANT Scripture: Psalms 71:9 "Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength fails." Several years ago I went to an estate sale of a woman who had died in her late nineties. When I entered the woman's home, I noticed that it was filled with beautiful oil paintings that she had painted. I wanted to buy one of the paintings but their appraisal value was far beyond my means. As I viewed this awesome art, I was amazed to learn that this woman, who was obviously a talented and brilliant artist, had not started painting until she was 82 years old. Even though she neglected her gift for most of her many years, it was very admirable that in her old age, she gave birth to her hidden gift and left a treasure for others to enjoy. I imagine that when she first started painting at 82 years of age, she may have thought that she would only achieve one painting because of her limitation. Yet because she was not afraid to start something in the limited time that she had left, she was able to leave this world with much beauty and a part of herself. I heard someone say recently that age is irrelevant and that it does not matter how old we are but how much time we have left. If we are sixty years old and God's appointed time for us to die is at the age of ninety-five, we are not old because we still have thirty-five years of life remaining. However, if we are thirty years old and are ordained to die at age thirty-five, we are old because we only have five years left. So, wherever we are in life, we may be considered old or young, not based on our age, but based upon the years that we have left. For that reason, we must live each day as if it were our last day but also look to the future as if we were going to live many more years. Throughout the scriptures, God used many people who were advanced in years. Moses was eighty years old and his brother, Aaron, was eighty-three when they began their journey across the wilderness to the Promised Land. Abraham was one hundred and Sarah was ninety when Isaac was born, and Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist in her old age. Caleb was eighty-five when he said, "Give me this mountain that the Lord promised me" (Joshua 14:12). He declared that he was as strong this day as he was in the day that Moses sent him out forty years earlier. Caleb was ready to fight for what belonged to him. We can be no less aggressive than these courageous souls. When we are eighty-two, it is no time to sit down and give up. It is time to stir the gifts within us whether it be creating beautiful paintings, writing books, composing songs, or using other talents that God has endowed us with. As long as we have breath, we should express praise to the Lord with the gifts that He has given to us. We must believe that no mountain is too high for us to climb and no ocean is too big for us to cross. God, Himself, will help us accomplish anything that we set our hearts to do. Like the psalmist said, God will not cast us off in our old age nor forsake us when our strength fails. +++ 6/21/17 SEED TIME AND HARVEST Scripture: Genesis 8:22 "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." From the very beginning of time, God set irrevocable laws into motion. One of those laws is that there would always be seed time and harvest. God has established a season to plant seed and also a season of harvest for us to enjoy the fruits of all of our labors. The law of seed time and harvest is as sure as the night that follows the day or the promise of summer and winter. Another part of that law is that we will reap what we sow. We cannot plant a bean seed and hope for a corn crop any more than we can plant an orange seed and expect to produce an apple tree. Seeds are limited to the laws of nature and respond to the commands of God. In the beginning, when God created the Earth and everything in it, He spoke to every plant and told them to bring forth after their own kind, and that law is still in force today. God's eternal Word still controls the harvest. The law of seed time and harvest sounds so simple, but many times we fail to remember that it works just as well in the spiritual realm as it does in the physical realm. The Apostle Paul spoke to the church in Galatia and said, "Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." The Amplified Bible makes a firmer statement saying, "that and that only is what he will reap." When we think about Paul's words, we must consider more carefully what we sow, for every deed that we do and every word that we speak is going to bring forth a harvest after its own kind. Even the thoughts that we allow ourselves to think will eventually bear some kind of fruit, for every kind action starts with a kind thought and every evil action starts with an evil thought. Another law of seed time and harvest is that there is a space of time before the seeds begin to produce a harvest. Seeds are placed in the ground and hidden from view and for several weeks it looks as though nothing is happening. And then suddenly, life springs forth from the ground and whatever has been planted will make its way through the soil and expose itself. Sometimes the seeds lay dormant and the crop is slow in coming. Three years ago, I planted some yellow iris seeds in my flowerbed. I was very disappointed the first year because they did not come up. I thought they were totally lost so I just forgot about them. The next year, to my surprise, a few of them came up and bloomed. Finally, the third year, I had a large harvest of yellow irises. It was slow but the promised harvest did come. The same is true with the spiritual seeds that we sow. We may not see immediate results for the good or bad seed that we have sown, but we can be sure that ultimately there will be a harvest. We may even think that we are getting away with sowing bad seed, but when we least expect it, our seed will yield fruit and it will be according to the kind of seed that we have planted. Our good deeds will produce rewards and likewise our sins will surely find us out. Let us keep these thoughts in our minds and remember that every choice is a seed. For that reason, we must be careful to sow only what we want to reap, for a harvest will surely follow our seed time. +++ 6/22/17 WISE COMPANIONS Scripture: Proverbs 13:20 "He that walks with wise men shall be wise." What we gather into ourselves determines who we are. Our physical bodies are formed by what we eat and how much we exercise, and our spirits and souls are molded and shaped by the knowledge we obtain, the things we experience, and our communion with God. Solomon, a man gifted with wisdom, said that if we desire to be wise, we must walk with wise men. He continued to say "a companion of fools shall be destroyed." He understood the principle that worked in human nature; that is, we eventually become like those who surround us. We've all seen people who have handled their lives in wisdom and discretion, but later fell into a sad state as they began to associate with the wrong crowd. Even King Solomon, who wrote this proverb, fell when he married heathen wives and began to worship their gods. It can happen to anyone. James 4:4 tells us that we cannot make friends with the world. If we do, we become enemies to God, because the flesh will work against the Spirit, and foolishness will work against wisdom. Gaining Godly wisdom is a choice in life. You have to make an effort to be transformed into the image of Christ and be renewed in your mind with His wisdom. It is a daily process of looking at yourself through the Word of God just as you would examine yourself in a mirror. As you see truth, you determine the changes that you need to make so that you will measure up to His image and not conform to the world (II Corinthians 3:18). You must make the decision to walk with the wise and not the foolish. It is a steady and gradual process. Even Jesus, Himself, grew and increased in wisdom (Luke 2:52). Jesus was not born full of wisdom and His wisdom was not given to Him as a sudden endowment from God. Wisdom came as He searched the scriptures, sat with the wise men of God in the temple, and as He walked with a wise God. Walking with the wise allows you to hear their speech, see their actions, and witness their examples. As you do, wisdom will manifest itself in your own life and you will begin to think as the wise think, talk as they talk, and act like they act. If you truly want to be wise, you must make a conscious choice to walk with wise men, and above all, you must walk with the God of wisdom. +++ 6/23/17 FAITH WORKS Scripture: Mark 5:34 "Your faith has made you whole." Jesus spoke these words to a woman who had put her faith to work for many years. She was plagued with an issue of blood and had sought desperately for healing but obtained no results until she had an encounter with the Master. In her quest for healing and her refusal to stay ill, we see how her faith progressed. First, she placed her faith in the physicians until she had spent all the money that she had. By the time that she had exhausted all of her finances, she had suffered many things just trying to get healed. When all natural help failed and there was no hope medically, her heart began to open to the supernatural. She started hearing reports about a man named Jesus who could heal the sick. The more testimonies that she heard about this man, the stronger her faith grew. Romans 10:17 says, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word." Finally, she began to make her way towards this healer named Jesus. As she moved towards Jesus in hopes of receiving a miracle, she heard another testimony of faith. Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, ask Jesus to come lay His hands on his own daughter who was dying. As she heard these words, she may have thought, "If Jairus believes that his daughter will be healed when Jesus touches her, then I believe that I shall be made whole if I can only touch Jesus' clothes." Her final steps to victory were to get her confession to agree with the faith that was in her heart, and then to reach out and touch Jesus. As she did this, she was healed. Mrs. Charles E. Cowan in Streams In The Desert quoted this selection: "We cannot create the wind or set it in motion, but we can set our sails to catch it when it comes; We cannot make electricity, but we can stretch out the wire upon which it is to run and do its work; We cannot, in a word, control the Spirit, but we can place ourselves before the Lord, do the things He asks us to do, that we may come under the influence and power of His mighty breath." The faith of the woman with the issue of blood was not just a simple thought. As in the words of this quote, she set her sail to catch the wind. She ran the necessary wire to carry the electricity. She put her faith to work. James 5:26 says, "Faith without works is dead." Similarly, your personal efforts alone cannot cause your miracle to happen. However, you can move in faith towards the victory like the woman did who had the issue of blood. Start by doing all that you can do in the natural. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word. Listen to God's Word and the testimonies of others and allow faith to arise in your heart. Move towards God, not away from Him, and confess positive words concerning your situations. Most importantly reach out to Jesus and allow your faith to touch Him. Then you will discover that faith works. +++ 6/26/17 GOOD IS ON ITS WAY Scripture: Luke 4:13-14 "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Jesus for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and there went out a fame of Him through all the regions round about." The devil's plan was to cause Jesus to fail when he tempted Him in the wilderness. He sought to kill, steal and destroy Jesus and the purposes of God for His life, but the devil's plan did not work. Jesus came out of the temptations stronger and more determined to do God's will. He chose to suffer for the sins of men rather than to receive the earthly glory that was being offered to Him. After successfully resisting the temptations, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. He began to teach in the synagogues and was glorified of all. The anointing was so strong upon Him that His fame spread throughout all of the regions. Jesus went through a very negative experience before He entered in and received God's best. He had to pass some very hard tests, but in the midst of the temptations, He did not lose hope, become critical, or get depressed. He just kept standing in faith and quoting the Word of God. Notice that when the temptations were finished, the devil departed from Jesus for a season. The devil was only allowed a short time to do his work, and then he had to leave. When negative things begin to happen in your life, you must be assured that something good is on its way. Tests are not meant so much for God's benefit so that He will know how strong you are. He knows you better than you know yourself. Tests are meant for you. Each test completed and passed brings you up to a new level, reveals to you your own strengths and weaknesses, and empowers you for the next challenge. When Jesus came out of His temptations, He knew that He was the Son of God, for Satan continually challenged Him in that area with the words, "If You be the Son of God." Jesus hung on to His true identity and did not let go. When the tests were ended, the knowledge and security that Jesus received in the midst of the tests caused Him to come out in the power of the Spirit. Like Jesus, you too must establish in your heart your true identity and purpose and not allow the devil to misrepresent you or manipulate you in any way. You may have to go through some very negative experiences before you receive God's best. Yet, you must remember that temptations will only last for a season and that good is on its way. The choices that you make in the midst of the temptation will determine the level of responsibility that God will entrust to you. Like Jesus, you can choose to either give in to temptation or come out in the power of the Spirit. +++ 6/27/17 POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS Scripture: Isaiah 50:7 "For the Lord God will help me; therefore I shall not be confounded." We take pride in our accomplishments so defeat and failure in any area of our lives can become confounding and confusing for us. It can cause us to be frustrated not only in front of our critics but also ashamed in the face of our close friends who are really standing with us. Failure can also be so discouraging and disappointing that we do not want to try again. Yet, failure is a necessary part of life because it is a natural consequence of trying. If we never try, we will never fail, and likewise, we will never fail if we never try. On the other hand, we will never succeed if we do not try, for success demands that we attempt the goal. Sooner or later everyone who does anything will fail at some point in their lives. It may be with a career, a relationship, or the hopes and dreams for the future. When these failures occur we can allow them to either destroy us or teach us about the frailties of our own abilities. If we work with our failure, it can add strength to our character by allowing us to understand others when they fail and it can also teach us the importance of offering them a second chance. Failure will show us that life is very unpredictable and that the road to tomorrow will have many twist and turns. It will present unexpected challenges, but we must not allow the uncertainty of the path to deter our journey or keep us from reaching our destiny. Regardless of adversity, we must continue to press towards success. Michael Jordan, a famous basketball star, acknowledged his failures in life, but did not allow his failures to keep him from his potential success. He missed more than 9,000 shots in his career and lost almost three hundred games. He said, "On twenty-six occasions I have been entrusted to the game's winning shot ... and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is precisely why I have succeeded." He recognized that his success came because he refused to be destroyed and defeated by mere failure. He refused to be confounded and instead, he pressed on to victory in the midst of shame. Like Michael Jordan, you must remember that you are not destroyed or defeated regardless of how many times you miss the goal. You only stifle your dreams and limit your potential for success when you, yourself, give up. You must not lend yourself to this mindset or allow yourself to be confounded, but realize that the Lord is for you and not against you. God has given you a potential for success so look to Him for help and keep trying until you obtain the victory. +++ 6/28/17 SPIRIT OF TRUTH Scripture: John 16:13 "When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come He will guide you into all truth." Truth in these last days is becoming a rare commodity, whether it be from those in the advertisement field, politics, news media, or the ministry. Many times we do not know what to believe and sometimes even our personal relationships fail in this area. Yet, God has not left us helpless. He has endowed us with His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, which is a discerner of men's hearts. One of the Holy Spirit's main responsibilities is to lead us down the right path and bear witness with our spirits to confirm the truth and expose the error that we encounter. In Matthew chapter twenty-four, Jesus warned us of several voices that would seek to deceive even the very elect of God. He spoke of the deception of men, those who would come in His name, false prophets, and even those showing great signs and wonders. We must realize that everything supernatural is not always spiritual. The Apostle Paul warned us of the deceptions of good words, fair speeches, and doctrines of men that would attempt to deceive the simple (Ephesians 5:6; Romans:18). He also said that we could even deceive our own selves (Galatians 6:3). Scriptures declare that Satan comes as an angel of light to deceive, which means that he makes things look nearly correct. This tactic makes his deception more dangerous for us because when something is blatantly wrong we are more apt to recognize it. Consider a clock that is incorrect. If it is off by just a few minutes, we may not recognize the error until precise timing is required of us. However, if the clock is off by several hours, we would immediately recognize that it is wrong because our routine habits would conflict with the time displayed. Even a clock that is not running is still exactly correct twice a day. The spirit of error tells us just enough truth to deceive us, but notice that John said that the Holy Spirit guides us into ALL truth. ALL means that the Holy Spirit is not sometimes right and sometimes wrong. He is the Spirit of Truth and is one hundred percent correct - one hundred percent of the time. He will not force us along the way, but will gently lead and guide us. We must be very sensitive to His voice and yield to His leading so that we can walk in His truth. +++ 6/29/17 EMBRACING THE MOMENT Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:12 (Living Bible) "There is nothing better for a man than to be happy and to enjoy himself as long as he can." Life on this earth is as a vapor, and compared to eternity it is as a moment in a day. James 4:14 tells us that our life "appears for a while, then it vanishes." Not only is the span of life that we are given very short, it is also divided into many unpredictable seasons. Some of them are joyful and some are sad. Solomon said there are seasons to laugh and seasons to cry. There are times to love, to hate, to build, to tear down, to have peace, and to be at war. He lists many other seasons that we will encounter in our lifetime, but he says, "God makes everything beautiful in His time." For so long, we have murmured and complained and taken so many things for granted. We are often dissatisfied because we see our glass as half-empty instead of half-full. It is only when we encounter sickness that we begin to appreciate health. Or when we come face to face with death that we see life as a gift, and our every breath becomes precious to us. We give very little thought to our vision and mobility until we see a close friend suddenly lose their eyesight or another become paralyzed due to injury. We never think of the blessing of being able to hear until our hearing grows dull or is gone. Our voice and ability to communicate is considered mundane until we are unable to speak or sing. And it is only when a loved one is stricken with a fatal disease that we come to the realization that we should cherish our loved ones and thankfully hold on to each and every moment that we have together and spend life very carefully. Solomon told us to learn to be happy and enjoy life as much as you can. Whatever season you find yourself in, even in the midst of a trial, rejoice knowing that God is sovereign and God is in control. Do not murmur and complain about insignificant things. Instead, be thankful and embrace the little things of life that you have taken for granted. In the midst of your disappointments, do not consider what you have lost, look at what you have left and praise the Lord. Right now, if you have breath and life, embrace the moment and appreciate what that moment has to offer. +++ Copyright © 2017 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved www.widsonline.com |
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