| ............ | A Word In Due Season March 2023 03/01/23 BREAK UP THE FALLOW GROUND Scripture: Hosea 10:12 "... break up the fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord ..." Fallow ground is ground that has not been plowed and turned up for some time. Because it has been neglected, it has become hard and crusty. Nothing can grow or flourish in it because of its condition. Seeds cannot be dropped into it because of the soil's hardness. Even if the seeds were forced by some means into the hardened soil, they would not survive because the rains that came to water them could not be absorbed into the soil. The ground itself becomes a monument of hopelessness to others until the keeper of the ground decides to break up the soil and prepare it for a fruitful harvest. Once the decision is made and the process is started, it demands time and involves much labor and effort. It is not an easy job, but the fruitful rewards are priceless. The condition of the fallow ground is like the condition of the spiritual state that we find ourselves in at times. Because we have not diligently sought the Lord, read His Word, and lingered in His presence, our hearts have become hard and cold. The further we fall away, the worse the condition of our hearts becomes. Eventually, like the hardened soil. We cannot seem to receive anything from God's Word and our prayers cannot get past the ceiling. We lack the enthusiasm that we once had for anything spiritual in our lives. The lust of the flesh and other things consume our very being. Only thorns can survive in the gardens of our hearts because of our hearts' lack of nourishment, and we find ourselves in a pitiful state. Oh, but God is good. His Word says, “Break up the fallow ground. It is time to seek the Lord." The Lord leaves the initial effort up to us. We must repent and seek Him. We must turn over the hardened clods of soil in our hearts and expose ourselves to the Lord. We must allow Him to discard the weeds and hard pebbles and deal with anything in our lives that prevents our spiritual growth. As we draw near to Him, He promises to draw near to us. As we allow our hearts to be broken and contrite before Him, God will again minister to us. He will pour out the seeds of His Word and rain His Holy Spirit upon us. He will touch our hearts and cause us once again to flourish in His presence. Others will rejoice because of the bounty of blessings upon our lives that not only touch us, but also reach out to them. So today we must begin to break up the fallow ground of our heart, for this is the season to receive the good things that God has for us. +++ +++ 3/2/23 ASKING IN LINE WITH HIS WILL Scripture: I John 5:14-15 "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us ... we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." When we were young, we knew the hearts and minds of our parents and usually, without a doubt, we knew the things that they would allow in our lives. Even before we asked them for something, we knew whether or not they would grant our request. We had great confidence to come boldly into their presence and ask for something when we knew that it met their approval. However, when we knew that our request would conflict with their approval, we were forced to become a little more creative. We would ask a friend to go with us when we approached our parents with our request. If we received a negative response, we continued our efforts to pressure our parents by trying to make them feel guilty. We would tell them that our friend's parents were responding positively to the same request. We did everything in our power to manipulate our parents into allowing us to have our own way. But our parents always had our best interest in mind and many times felt it unwise to give in to our demands. If we continued to badger them about matters that were beyond their means or desires, they would just quit listening. A former U.S. President once said, "God always answers prayers. Sometimes it is, 'Yes'. Sometimes the answer is 'No'. Sometimes it is, 'You've got to be kidding'." How many times do our prayers, like our youthful requests, fall into the third category? They sound like a joke. Yet, because of our desperate needs or passionate desires, we presume on God to answer us. We fail to seek His face and refuse to allow our hearts to discern His perfect will in the matter. We follow a prayer formula but become confused when we do not receive our answer. All the while, God is sitting on His throne and echoing those words, "You've got to be kidding." Like our earthly parents, God is lovingly watching over our lives and setting gracious limitations. He does not always give us what we want, but He always gives us His best. Our disappointment may not see His wisdom working for us, but Isaiah 55:9 says, "God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts." As God's children, we need to become so acquainted with Him that we know and understand His will, and then trust Him to give us what He knows to be best. When we reach this place in our walk with God, we will find that our prayers will agree with His eternal plan. When our prayers line up with His will, we can be confident that He will hear us when we talk to Him. He will listen to our petitions, and He will answer our prayers. +++ 3/3/23 WITS' END Scripture: Psalms 107:27 "Ships in great waters reel to and fro .... and are at their wits' end." Like the ships in great waters, there are problems and situations in our lives that bring us to our wits' end. We do all that we know to do, but our resources are insufficient to deliver us from the storm or to spare us from the difficulty that we are facing. Just like the mariner, it seems that our ship mounts up to the heavens on the high waves, and then descends into the depths of the ocean. Our lives are tossed to and fro and our souls melt because of the trouble that we are in. We can no longer navigate the ship and like the seaman our wisdom is to no avail. There is no time to think because of the turmoil of the restless sea that surrounds us. Yet with God all things are possible if we look to Him for the help that we need. Verse twenty-eight tells us what to do when we are at our wits' end. It says, "Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble." When we begin to cry out for help, God will calm the storm, cause the waves to be still, and bring us into a safe haven. There are examples throughout the scriptures of people who were at the end of themselves and their situations, but God intervened with His plan. Following are four examples for your own life. You may have come to your wit's end regarding your finances. The widow in I Kings 17 had come to the end of her provision in a great time of famine. She planned to make a cake for herself and her son and then just die. But the prophet came with God's plan and challenged her to give. As she gave and met the prophet's need, God met her needs and sustained her through the famine. So be obedient to the Lord's request and He will sustain you. You may be facing a serious health issue. The woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years in Matthew 9:20-22 had spent all that she had on the physicians and had not become better, but grew worse. She was at the end of her finances and health. But in her desperation, she put her faith into action, pushed through the crowds and reached out to Jesus, and was healed. So when you are at the end of your health, reach out in faith to the Lord for healing. Your relationships with others may be at their wit's end. The prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 had abused his relationship with his father, squandered all of his inheritance, and eventually found himself eating the swine's food. He was at the end of his own devices, but when he finally came to himself, he returned to his father and repented. As he cried out to his father, his father responded in love and restored him. For since the day the son had left, the father had been waiting for his son's return. Remember that your friends and family are waiting for reconciliation so be the first to return and reach out in love. You may be at the end and ready to give up on ministry. Joseph in Genesis 37-47 was treated unjustly many times, lied about, and rejected by his brothers. Even the chief butler and baker forgot about Joseph when they were released from the prison. Many times Joseph must have come to his wit's end, thinking that the dreams and visions that God had given him had no chance of ever coming to pass. However, God fulfilled the dream and in one day's time Joseph was raised from the prison to the palace, and from obscurity to fame. Continue in faith and you will reach your God ordained destiny. Just like these examples, God is always there when you come to your wit's end and will rescue you when you turn to Him for help. When your desperation brings you to this place, you will find that God is there and you will discover that He is smarter than you are. When you come to the end of yourself and put your complete trust in Him, you are at the beginning of God and at the edge of the miracle that He has planned for you. +++ 3/6/23 SIFTED LIKE WHEAT Scripture: Luke 22:31 "Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." Aren't you glad that this was not the final word? In the next scripture, Jesus finished His thought by saying, "But I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail." Have you ever felt like you were being put through a sifting process? Even your faith was beginning to falter as you felt yourself losing control of your own life. Circumstances were causing you to feel just like grain being threshed. In the threshing process, the grain is first trodden on by animals so that it can be broken up. Then it is thrown into the air with forks so that the wind can carry away the chaff. When you are trodden on, broken up, and tossed about like the grain, you begin to realize that if God does not help you, you will be lost with the chaff in the whole process. If you are in the process of being tossed about, you should take courage. God knows what is happening to you right now and what will happen in the future. He knows the enemy is after your soul, but with every temptation, God has already made a way of escape for you. Jesus told Peter in advance that the enemy was going to try to sift him as wheat. But Jesus also gave Peter a wonderful promise that He would pray for him during the whole process. It is a great relief and a comfort to know that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God and that He is praying and making intercession for us (Romans 8:34). Romans 8:35-39 asks, "Who can separate us from the love of Christ?" There is nothing and no one who can sift and separate us from God's love. Paul listed seventeen things that the devil used to try to separate him from the love of God, and Satan will use the same approach on us: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things to come, heights, depth, or other creatures. We must not lose hope when these things come against us and we feel like we are being crushed, beat down, thrown in the air, and then sifted in the wind like the wheat. Jesus is praying for us, and He never slumbers or sleeps. If we call to mind and meditate on the Lord's amazing love and grace and His prayers of intercession for us, it will help us endure the sifting process and protect us from Satan's desire. +++ 3/7/23 GOD CAN AND GOD WILL Scripture: Psalms 78:19 "Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?" God did many signs and wonders in the lives of the people of Israel as He led them out of Egypt. They saw Him divide the Red Sea and cause the water to stand in a heap on each side of them as they passed through on dry ground. They witnessed their deliverance as God used those same waters to destroy their enemies. God miraculously guided them with a cloud during the day and a fire by night. He provided water from a rock to quench their thirst and angel's food, or manna, to satisfy their hunger. Each day for forty years He sufficiently met every need that challenged them. Yet, they forgot God's marvelous works and spoke out against Him saying, "Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?" The chosen people of God continually provoked Him as they journeyed in the wilderness. They grieved, tempted, and limited the Holy One of Israel by their words and actions. From one miracle to the next, they would forget what God had done for them. It would seem that their faith would have grown stronger with each passing miracle. But instead, they questioned God's ability with each new event, often speaking out against Him and their leader, Moses. They never came to the place where they really knew God or truly trusted Him. Because of the cruel bondage that they had suffered for so long and the anguish in their spirits, it was difficult for them to believe for anything better (Exodus 6:9). How many times have we questioned God's ability to take care of our needs? We think our problem is too great or it has gone on too long. Because of past hurts and anguish, we just cannot seem to come to the place where we can trust God to furnish a solution. The current turmoil distracts us and we fail to rely upon God who has always been there and has never failed. We do the same thing the people of Israel did. We grieve, tempt, and limit the Holy One of Israel. Like the people that Jesus ministered to, even though God has proved Himself in the past and is quite able to meet our present need, He cannot do very many mighty works in our lives because He is limited by our unbelief (Matthew 13:58). God wants to move mightily in our life and furnish a table in our wilderness. We must trust in Him for every need and instead of asking the question, "Can God?" start believing and declaring, "God can and God will." +++ 3/8/23 FAITH TO GET UP AGAIN Scripture: Proverbs 24:16 "A righteous man falls seven times and rises again ..." Have you ever looked at your life or your current situation and felt like things were not turning out like you planned? Your hopes and dreams were falling apart, and on top of all that, you were not getting any younger. Comparable to taking the wrong exit off the freeway, you made one bad choice, and before you knew it you were going down the wrong road and had no way to turn back. Situations then forced you to make other bad turns. Finally, things got to the point that you did not even know where you were, much less how to get back to the main road. God never promised you that you would never make mistakes or face disappointing circumstances, but He did promise that He would be there to comfort you and deliver you out of all of your afflictions (Psalms 34:19). If you give God all the pieces, He will take your fragmented life and put it back together again for His glory. He says that you will not be overthrown by calamity if you are in right standing with Him. But you are the one who has to make the effort to rise up from the fall. The Message Bible says, "The righteous man is not down long." Consider your response to your child when he was learning to walk. You counted those first few unsteady steps as a magnificent feat even though your child fell down after his effort. You never told your friends about your child's fall or failure, but bragged about the fact that he had walked even though it was just a step or two. Each time that he tried again and failed, it was a grand victory because you knew that sooner or later your child would get it together and walk perfectly. You encouraged him to try again because you did not want him to give up and have to be carried around for the rest of his life. God is your Heavenly Father and holds this same view. He created you and knows that you are only common flesh and bone and that you are going to fall as you make an effort to walk through life. In fact, He said the righteous man will fall and may even fall seven times, Yet God does not want you to fear, get discouraged, or be overcome defeat because of your failures. No matter how many times you trip and fall, your Heavenly Father wants you to rise up and try again. Psalms 37:23 says, "God delights in our way and He busies Himself with our every step." When you fall, God will always be there to help you get up. Falling is not a failure ... failure is refusing to get up and try again. +++ 3/9/23 GOD WILL BE WITH YOUR MOUTH Scripture: Exodus 4:12 "Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to speak." When God called Moses to deliver the children of Israel from bondage, He spoke to Moses from a burning bush. This was quite an unusual event. Yet even with this supernatural call, Moses still had to deal with his own insecurities. He responded to God and said, "Who am I? ... What shall I say? ... The people will not believe me ... I am not eloquent ... Lord, send someone else." He wanted to flee God's mighty call because of the anxiety that was taking hold of his soul. He had no self-confidence that he could fulfill God's plan because of the lack of his own abilities. How many times has God called us to a task and we have responded in like manner? Our insecurities have overshadowed the plan and purposes of God. Like Moses, we feel inadequate and tend to forget that God created us. We assume that our lack is too great and neglect to consider that He is able to add, multiply, and even create when necessary. God is not limited in any fashion. When God chose Moses, He knew that Moses did not know what to say and that even if Moses did have knowledge, his speech was not eloquent. God also knew that Moses’ credibility would be challenged. God made plans ahead of time to do signs and wonders to convince the people that Moses was speaking on His behalf. It certainly did not matter who Moses was or what he could do. It only mattered who God was and what God could do. Throughout the scriptures, God always used the less likely to succeed. He chose a small young man named David to fight a seasoned warrior, a giant named Goliath. He chose an old man and woman, Abraham and Sarah, to have a child. He chose Gideon and three hundred men to battle against thousands. When Jesus' Disciples were chosen, it was not the priest and Levites who were called. It was the unlearned and common men such as fishermen and tax collectors. God does not choose many wise, mighty, or noble. He chooses the foolish and the weak to convey His message (I Corinthians 1:26-27). When God chose you, He was simply looking for a vessel that would be obedient and would willingly yield to Him. He knew all about your inabilities and shortcomings. They were no surprise to Him. So when He calls you, there is no need for you to be concerned, for God is the one who will complete the work that He has called you to do. Just trust Him and rest in His wonderful promise, "Go, and I will be with your mouth and I will teach you what to say." +++ 3/10/23 WRITTEN LOGOS OR REVEALED RHEMA WORD Scripture: Matthew 16:17 "For flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but My Father which is in Heaven." Jesus asked His Disciples what men were saying about Him. His Disciples responded that some thought that Jesus was either John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. They did not add any other personal conclusion. Jesus then asked them, "But whom do you say that I am?" He was interested in their personal revelation of His identity and deity. Peter replied, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." It is obvious that Peter had a greater understanding and deeper revelation about Jesus than the other Disciples. Yet the other Disciples had been with Jesus and had experienced a close communion with Him just as Peter had. Something had made the difference in Peter's recognition that the man they had hung out with for over three years was not just another man who had taught them the scriptures or showed them where to fish. Jesus was not just the local carpenter’s son. He was Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus told Peter this revelation did not come to him by flesh and blood but by the Father in Heaven. The written Word of God is truly awesome. It came to us through many writers who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Yet it all comes together in unity, and it all speaks about Jesus. No other words, written or spoken, can bring faith, healing, strength, hope, direction, and comfort like God's Word. This is because when the Spirit of God breathes upon the Word, it becomes a living organism. Jesus said, "The Words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). Because God's Words are Spirit, they cannot be revealed to us by flesh and blood. It is true that God will use natural teachers, but like Peter's revelation of Jesus, the Father, Himself, must supernaturally open the eyes of our understanding. We can read a scripture a thousand times, and then one day, it will come alive as supernatural revelation and understanding illuminates our spirits. This is the difference between the Logos Word, which is the written Word of God, and the Rhema Word, which is the revealed Word. Most of us can discern that this is a special season in history and many of us believe that God has called us to His Kingdom for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). The Word has declared that “those who know their God will be strong and do exploits” (Daniel 11:32). God is Spirit and we were created in His image. God has mysteries that He wants to make known, but He will only speak to us as He did to Peter, that is Spirit to spirit. To fulfill His mighty promises for our lives, each one of us will need to have a personal revelation from God because flesh and blood cannot reveal the things of the Spirit. Likewise, flesh and blood cannot receive the things of the Spirit. So let us ask God to give us supernatural revelation, which will cause His written Word to come alive as a Spirit revealed Word within our hearts. +++ 3/13/23 RULING OUR SPIRIT Scripture: Proverbs 25:28 "He that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down." When this scripture was written, cities were fortified by walls and gates, which gave the inhabitants privacy and protected them from the outside world. Watchmen who were placed on the walls decided who came in and who went out of the city. A city that was broken down was a city whose walls and gates had been destroyed by the enemy, leaving it open and vulnerable. This same sort of situation happens in the spiritual realm. When we do not discipline ourselves and exercise self-control, King Solomon said that we become like a city that is broken down and without walls. Imagine our spirit as a city without a wall around it. When we are in this state, we are vulnerable not only to the temptations of sins, but also the evil attacks of Satan. We become less discerning and watchful because our own addictions, desires, and impulses begin to take charge and rule over us. We also lose control of what comes in and out of our spirit because our flesh is ruling. How can we take charge and restore our spiritual walls? Galatians 5:24-25 tells us to "crucify the affections and lusts of the flesh." The Apostle Paul said if we want to "live in the Spirit, we must walk in the Spirit." Walking is a continual effort, meaning that we rule our spirit, step by step, by submitting to the rule and will of God moment by moment. We allow His fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control, to dictate our lives. They become the walls that not only protect us from within, but also protect us from the harm that is without, allowing us to live in health and happiness. If we allow the enemy's fruit, which is hate, grief, anxiety, impatience, doubt, arrogance, and lack of self-control, to rule and control us, we allow ourselves to be destroyed from within. When the enemy is able destroy us from within by tearing down our walls and gates of protection, he is then able to attack us from without. He takes advantage of the emotional stress that he has caused in our life and uses it to plague us with physical illnesses. We must arise, resist him, and disallow him to break down our walls. It takes strength to conquer our passions, but God has given us the ability to rule our own spirit by walking in His Spirit. When we reach this place of ruling our own spirit, we will be mightier than one who is able to conquer a city (Proverbs 16:32). +++ 3/14/23 PRESSING TOWARD THE MARK Scripture: Philippians 3:13-14 "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark ..." Life is a series of choices. In the Apostle Paul's instance, his sole ambition was to know Jesus and to be conformed into His image. In an effort to achieve this standing, Paul made the personal choice to lay aside all of his credentials and everything that he had done in the past. As Paul took inventory of his life, he noted that he had been circumcised according to the law. He was also of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and a Pharisee. Paul had position and power and even legal authority to persecute the churches. These were the things that made Paul seem important to himself and to others. Yet, when compared to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he had met supernaturally in the spirit on the road to Damascus, Paul counted all of his own accomplishments as nothing. Paul had other things that he had laid aside as he pressed toward the mark of the high calling of God for His life. These were the wrong choices that plagued his mind with guilt and his soul with sorrow. He had stood by and watched Steven being stoned. The memory of Steven's face as he was being martyred must have flashed into Paul's thoughts many times. There was also the memories of the other members of the church that Paul had persecuted with such zeal and passion. How could he forget their cries and the agony on their faces? He had much to forget as he pressed toward God's plan. And even though Paul realized that he had not attained perfection, he was determined to press toward the mark of the high calling of God on his life. What if Paul had not laid aside these things to fulfill God's calling? What if he thought himself too great to bear the cost of becoming an Apostle of Jesus Christ? Why should he sacrifice his credentials and honor to become a minister, who would be beaten, stoned, enslaved, shipwrecked, and suffer hunger and thirst? What if he thought himself to be too lowly to serve Jesus because he had persecuted the churches? If Paul had never moved beyond the shame and burden of responsibility for his failures, he would have never written nearly three-fourths of the New Testament. Nor would he have ever shared the information that is so vital to the church today. Paul's great achievements for his own life and the instructions, revelations, and spiritual legacy that he gave to the church are the result of his choice to forget those things that lay behind and to press toward the mark of the high calling of God. Like Paul, we must continue our walk with the Lord regardless of our own accomplishments or our past failures and regrets. We must follow his example and forget those things in our past that try to distract us from completing God's plan and purpose for our life. We must not only move beyond our failures but also choose to let go of the achievements that we are proud of. If we want to reach God's highest goal for our life, we must lay aside everything in order to press toward the mark of the high calling of God for our life. +++ 3/15/23 WORRY IS VAIN Scripture: Psalms 127:2 "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for He gives His beloved sleep." There are issues in life and many times it seems that things are spinning totally out of control. Our jobs come to an end, our health fails, our finances are depleted, and we unable to resolve problems with our relationships. Many sorrows afflict our souls, and we find ourselves earnestly trying to remain patient in these situations, hoping that relief will come soon and free us from our dilemma. Yet, we find ourselves staying up late and pacing the floors in the midnight hours as we search for solutions. The scripture above tells us that it is useless for us to allow our problems to bring us to this state because God is able to give us rest in every situation. We are His beloved children and even though we may face times of adversity, the Lord does not want us to be held captive by a spirit of worry and stress. When it is time to sleep, He wants us to lay down and rest in peace. There were two birds that were held captive in a cage. One flew around and beat his wings against the bars in an effort to escape, continually crying, "I don't know what to do. I can't get out. I can't get out." He did this daily and all that he accomplished was frustration, bruises, and torn feathers. The other bird sat on his perch and gently chirped and sang his songs. Somehow he had found an inner peace and was able to find joy regardless of his current state. He understood the vanity of beating himself against the bars that surrounded him, and even though the same bars held him captive, the praise in his spirit allowed him to be free. We are always going to face problems and lack, but we have an assurance that God is our source and that He is sovereign. We are not to sit idly by and do nothing but we are to make a decision to trust the Lord in every situation. We must allow Him to give us rest in the midst of our conflict, having the confidence that He is still in control and that no problem is too difficult for Him to solve. We are to pray for deliverance and release, yet understand that every affliction gives us a fresh glimpse of God and His glory. We are to glean from every situation, knowing that in the midst of captivity, God is going to show Himself strong, for He never fails. There is no valley too low nor any hurt too deep that Jesus cannot restore our soul and bring joy to our hearts. He is able to turn every situation around and make it work together for our good. There is no desert so dry that He cannot find us a place of green pastures and still waters to nourish our hungry and thirsty spirits. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord is with us and never leaves us. His rod and His staff comfort us and His Spirit anoints our head with oil. He prepares a table for us right in the presence of our enemies. When the Lord is on our side, His love covers it all and there is no reason for us to beat our wings against the bars of captivity. We must receive the wisdom of Solomon and understand that when we give our worries and our sorrows to God, He gives us rest. +++ 3/16/23 REVERSING CAPTIVITY Scripture: Zephaniah 3:20 (Amplified) "I will reverse your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord." God's judgments come when we are willingly disobedient and rebellious against His Word. Yet, regardless of our unfaithfulness, God remains faithful. He said that if we would confess our sins, He would forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). God wants us to know today that He loves us, and He wants to deliver us from any bondage that is holding us captive. Zephaniah 3:14-17 says, "Sing, shout, ... rejoice, be in high spirits and glory with all your heart. The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, He has cast down your enemy. The Lord your God is in the midst of you ... He will rejoice over you. He will rest in silent satisfaction. And in His love He will be silent and make no mention of past sins, or even recall them; He will exult over you with singing." Doesn't that sound just like a loving Father? Because of His love, He forgives and forgets all our sins. Not only does He forgive and forget our sins, but He also is silent about them. He does not broadcast our sins to others or keep reminding us of them. He only sings praises concerning us, for we are His joy. We as parents understand how true this concept is. As parents, we would never allow others to condemn our children. We may have to correct our children, but we are also the first to defend them. If someone asked us to tell them something about our children, we would point out all the good and wonderful things about them. We would not dwell on their faults or failures and would be very silent concerning our disappointments. We love our children and would sing over them with songs of joy and praises. However, we may act very differently with our neighbor's child. We would find it easier to acknowledge their faults and may not hesitate to point out the things they did wrong. Like a loving parent, God is singing over us today with joy and is not rehearsing all our faults because we are His child. God does not want to remember our sins, so He removes them as far as the East is from the West. He then washes us with the blood of Jesus and covers us with His love. God loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for us and anointed Him to set us free. The Lord is in our midst. If we allow Him to minister to us, the love of Jesus and His forgiveness will reverse our captivity. He will rejoice over us, and His grace will set us free. +++ 3/17/23 WALKING BY FAITH Scripture: II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight." Our journey with God goes beyond what we can see with our eyes or imagine with our minds. It is a walk of faith, not of sight; a journey that begins with a simple recognition and belief that God is God and that He is always present with us even though we cannot see Him. As we walk with this unseen God, we begin to develop a trust that understands that He is not only God but that He is also a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 says that when we walk in this kind of faith, it pleases God. Tremendous things have happened when men have walked in faith. Enoch was translated in the spirit and never saw death. Noah built an ark at God's command and saved his family from the flood. Abraham left his country in search of a city made by God and his ninety-year-old wife, Sarah, received strength to conceive and give birth to Isaac. Moses acted on God's Word and saw God roll back the sea and do many other mighty miracles. Testimonies of faith's rewards are endless. Walking is a process. It is not just taking a step and then sitting down. It is taking a step and standing on that one foot until you place your other foot on the ground. Then repeating this same routine until it brings you to the place that you need to be. Sometimes walking is monotonous and tiring. While other times, in the darkness or unknown territories, it can be unsteady and unsure. It is extremely hard if you try to pull back in the midst of the process of going forward because it throws your entire body off balance. It is the same with your spiritual walk of faith. Walking by faith is a continual lifestyle, for Romans 1:17 says, "The just shall live by faith." It is a daily process of moving forward one-step at a time. You have one foot firmly on the ground and the other foot in the air unsure of where it is going to land. You just keep following God and going forward. Your faith declares that you believe God and your actions demonstrate that you really do trust the Words that He has spoken to you. Faith is substance to your own soul and functions when there is no visible evidence, for faith itself is the evidence of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1). The depth of your faith depends upon the depth of your knowledge. Faith is conceived and increased as you hear God’s Word. It is then birthed by experience. Experience comes when you go through situations that make a demand on the faith that is in your heart, for faith is action and is dead without works. As you act upon the things that you believe, faith’s goals are accomplished. Learning to walk by faith is not quick or easy. Walking in faith is much like the process that a child goes through when he is learning to walk. In your faith walk you may fall a couple of times. You may also experience a few bruises and setbacks as you endeavor to walk. Yet, as you continue to believe God and walk by faith and not by what you see, your steps will become stronger and more determined. God will then reward your faith and bring His Words to pass in your life. +++ 3/20/23 THAT WHICH IS NOT Scripture: Proverbs 23:5 "Will you set your eyes upon that which is not?” King Solomon, the richest and wisest man who ever lived, wrote these words concerning riches. In this same verse, he continued to say, "Riches certainly make themselves wings and fly away as an eagle towards heaven." Riches are fleeting and elusive, so Solomon advised in verse four, "Labor not to be rich and cease from your own wisdom." Solomon wrote these words several hundred years before Christ was even born, yet they are just as true today as they were when he wrote them. We see secure jobs terminated, retirement benefits lost, bank failures, and market investments diminished. The hopes and futures of many innocent people have been dashed to pieces through no fault of their own. We had set our eyes on the security of our riches and found as Solomon so wisely stated, "they were not." The riches and security of many took wings as King Solomon described and suddenly “flew away as an eagle towards heaven.” These events have been devastating and very sad. As we think about Solomon's words and have witnessed the losses that many have experienced, we come to the same conclusion that he did. We must not labor to be rich, for the security of riches "is not." The only riches that are secure are the eternal ones that we have in God, and the only labor that is not in vain is the efforts we extend for Him. The only investments that are secure and that will never be lost are those that we invest into His Kingdom, and the only treasures that are secure are the ones that we put into God's hands for Him to hold. God is our only hope and security and without Him, we are left very lacking. We must set our eyes upon God and not upon the things of the world, "which are not." We must cease from our own wisdom and acknowledge the Lord in all our ways. Solomon also said in Proverbs 3:5-6, we are to trust God with all of our heart and not lean upon our own understanding. As we put our lives into God's hands and diligently trust in His wisdom, He will direct our paths. Even in the times of great loss, when our riches have taken flight, we will have nothing to fear. God will remain our security and our labor will never be in vain. +++ 3/21/23 LABOR TO ENTER INTO REST Scripture: Hebrews 4:11 “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest..." These words encourage the believer to find the place in their walk with God that allows them to cease from anxiety and to enter a place of rest. Verse nine says that this place of rest would be like the Sabbath that God experienced when He finished His creation and all His work. He labored six days and rested on the seventh. This rest in our walk with God is to be a place where there are no more struggles with faith and no more struggles with religious works. It is a place where we come to understand that God's promises are sure and that His work of grace is complete. To labor so that we enter into rest sounds contradictory, for the concept of rest indicates no work. Yet in this sense, it simply means making a conscious effort to believe and to set our will against doubt so that our soul can rest from it. It is the same as when we set our will against sin. Time and again, we overcome the temptation to sin because our convictions are established. We must be the same way with doubt and unbelief. If our beliefs are established, our soul will rest in them. We must also do away with murmuring and complaining, knowing that if we allow discontent to linger in our hearts, it will eventually blossom into unbelief, bring struggles in our spirit, and destroy our rest. Even in the natural, we labor to enter into rest. Think about the different things we do to be able to rest at night. We check the locks on the doors of our home. We get dressed for the night, brush our teeth, and fluff the pillows. We darken the room dark so there are no distractions, snuggle into the covers, and get ourselves comfortable so we can rest. We diligently labor and make an effort to resist interruptions in our routine. Yet if we lay down to rest and discover that we have forgotten one of these details, we will often get back up to take care of the distraction. Our routine becomes a labor to enter into rest. God left us with many promises and said that we could trust Him and rest in His Word. He promised salvation, healing, provision of needs, peace, joy, comfort, and hope for the future. Many times, these wonderful blessings are not experienced simply because of our unbelief, for they must be received by faith. Where there is faith, there is always a heart full of rest, for even though faith cannot be seen, it is substance. Faith links us to God and His eternal faithfulness. When we are able to receive His righteousness, which is by faith, we will be able to rest from our own feeble righteousness. When we can trust in Christ and the finished work of Calvary, we can rest from depending upon our own good works. When we can put all of our trust in God and His grace, we will be able to cast our cares upon Him and find rest and help in the time of our need. When we reach this sabbatical place in our faith and are able to put everything into God's hands, we can say, "Now, I can rest." +++ 3/22/23 WAITING ON THE LORD Scripture: Psalms 25:21 "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on You." In this psalm King David mentions waiting on God three separate times. He says that those who wait on God will not be ashamed (Vs. 3) and declares that God is his salvation and that he will wait upon God all of the day (Vs. 5). He then speaks of integrity and uprightness preserving him while he waits (Vs. 21). It is difficult to wait upon anything in life, but waiting upon God can truly generate some challenging moments. When God first speaks a word to us, we hear it clearly in our spirit and it excites us. Amazingly, with just a quiet simple word, we begin to prepare to receive what has been spoken into our spirits. Our strength is fresh, and we are ready to run with the vision. However, the answer does not usually come right away and we find that we have to exercise our faith if we want to receive the fullness of the promise. It is as though we are viewing a bend in the road and we cannot see around the corner. We have no idea how much longer the journey will be once we turn that corner. We only know that our destiny awaits even though the complete picture is not in view. David experienced these same situations. He knew God's voice, but he too had to wait for God to fulfill His plan. David's enemies no doubt mocked him, but he refused to be ashamed of waiting on God's perfect timing for his deliverance. However long the day or how tedious the season, David was determined to wait. He knew that God was bigger than any mountain of adversity, for David had seen God deliver the giant into his own hands. He knew that his bond and relationship with the Lord was stronger than all of the sins that he had committed because he had experienced God's forgiveness and grace. David knew that God's love was greater and deeper than any sea because he had felt it on the mountainsides when God created songs within David’s heart as he tended the sheep. Like David, God is our salvation and we must endeavor to get into the mainstream of His will for our lives. We must not allow ourselves to get emotionally involved with any situations that will draw us away from His divine purposes. As we walk in the light of what God has said, we have confidence instead of shame. The integrity and uprightness of our faith will sustain us because we know that we are waiting on the Lord and that He will watch over His Words to perform them. +++ 3/23/23 NEW SHARP THRESHING INSTRUMENT Scripture: Isaiah 41:15 "Behold, I will make you a new and sharp threshing instrument, having teeth: you will thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and make the hills as chaff.". What a promise God gives to His people. God spoke of the dilemma of His people in the previous verse, comparing them to a worm, but He assures them not to fear because even in their low state, He is going to be their helper. Their Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, is going to come to their rescue and make such a change in their lives that they are going to be transformed from a worm into a threshing machine with teeth. God has given this same promise to us. II Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable to us." God sent His Son not only to save us from our sin and give us eternal life, but also to give us a life that is abundant and free. God does not want His children to be in a state of bondage and lack. When He looks down and sees us struggling as a worm in the hard places of life, it hurts His heart. As our Redeemer and as our Heavenly Father, He wants to see us to rise out of the place we are in. The Lord desires that we live above and not beneath our circumstances and that we be the head and the not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13). He wants us to prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers (III John 2). The Lord has designed for us to be a king and priest in the earth, for we are the hope of His glory. Our soul prospers by hearing God's Word. As we hear His Word, we gain insight into the heart of God. Our faith grows and we begin to understand what the will of the Lord is for our life. We realize that the Father does not want His sons and daughters to be as the worms of the earth but to walk in the boldness that He has provided through His Name, His Word, and His Blood. He wants us to arise and use our mouth as a new sharp threshing instrument. He desires to hear His Word coming from our lips in faith. Faith is a force that is released through our prayers and our words. Jesus said, "Speak to the mountains to be removed and cast into the sea. If you do not doubt in your heart, but believe those things which you say, it will come to pass, you will have whatever you say" (Mark 11:23-24). Think about those enormous words. The mountains of sickness, financial lack, and hardships are at the mercy of our faith filled words because when we speak God’s Word, we release Him to work for us. All we must do is speak in faith. God will transform our mouth into a new sharp threshing instrument through His power and enable us to tear down the works of the enemy. +++ 3/24/23 FAITHFUL IN THE FEW THINGS Scripture: Matthew 25:21 "You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: enter into the joy of the Lord." In relating this story, Jesus lets us know that our destiny and joy depend upon our faithfulness to be good stewards over the things that God has set before us. God places within our hearts a dream and endows us with the gifts and talents to fulfill that vision. However, before the vision comes to pass, it is met with many challenging circumstances, and we find ourselves in positions that are far from the dream that is in our heart. Many times, our place of service to God seems so small and our area of ministry seems so limited in our own eyes. Like Jabez in (I Chronicles 4:10), we pray for God to enlarge our territories but instead of granting our request immediately, He tries our faith and tests our motives. Throughout scripture, we see men who waited for the promises of God to come in their lives. Meanwhile, they remained faithful in their place of service regardless of how meager it may have seemed to them at the time. They exercised diligence and patience, waiting until God's appointed and appropriate time. Joseph was enslaved and bound in prison before God's dream came to pass in his life. He could have given up, but instead, he worked hard and gained favor with everyone around him (Genesis 39:4). Joseph was faithful in the small things and God made him ruler over much. Elisha was plowing in the field behind twelve oxen when the prophet Elijah cast his mantle upon Elisha and called him into the ministry (I Kings 19:19). The Prophet Elisha could have become discouraged as he worked daily in the hot sun following behind dirty oxen, but he remained faithful in the place where he was until God called him. King David was also found faithful until God promoted him. He cared for a few sheep that were entrusted to him even though he had been anointed by Samuel to be the king of Israel (I Samuel 16:13). Jesus even waited until He was thirty years old before His ministry took shape and form. Just like these great men, God has a time and a place for us. He wants us to continue to walk towards our destiny regardless of how long the journey may seem. We must not allow ourselves to become discouraged by our seemingly small and insignificant assignment. We must remain faithful as we look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. We must continue to plow the fields that He has placed before us and faithfully care for His sheep. At the appointed and appropriate time, the Lord will acknowledge our faithfulness and hard work and will make us ruler over much. +++ 3/27/23 ENCOURAGING OURSELVES Scripture: I Samuel 30:6 "David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." There may be times that we become so discouraged that we cannot cry anymore about our situation. Our whole world seems to be falling apart around us. We have lost possessions for one reason or another, and our health has failed. We have been separated from our loved ones and even our best friends have turned away from us. No one understands our situation or what we are going through. These are the circumstances that King David found himself in when he and his men came home from battle to their city, Ziklag. They found their city burned and their wives and children taken captive by the enemy. "Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep" (Verse 4). They had spent all their tears and grief had depleted their spirits. Further discouragement came to David when his men blamed him for this disastrous situation and talked of stoning him. David was grieved because of his own losses and greatly distressed because of the many unjust accusations against him. However, David did not allow himself to stay in this place of discouragement, distress, and grief. He rose above the negative circumstances and began to encourage himself in the Lord. He did not wait for someone else to get him out of the pit of depression. David ministered to himself and reminded himself of the goodness and mercy of the Lord. Then he asked the Lord what to do about his desperate situation. God instructed David to pursue the enemy. He gave David a promise that he would "overtake the enemy and that without fail, recover all." God's promise was true, and it came to pass just as He said it would. Like David, no matter how desperate our situation may become, God has a promise of victory for us. When we find ourselves in a place of discouragement and there is no one else to turn to, we must encourage ourselves in the Lord. When we feel that we do not have enough strength to shed another tear, we must remember that God specializes in things that seem impossible. God has not changed, and He will not change. He is still God and He always will be God. We must encourage ourselves with these thoughts and believe that He will deliver us. +++ 3/28/23 MASTERPIECE Scripture: Philippians 1:6 (Amplified) "He who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ - right up to the time of His return - developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you." God is not finished with us yet. Right up to the day that Jesus returns, God will still be working to complete us. It is amazing that in just one day He created man in His own image and then with one breath caused life to come into his being. Yet, God loves to perfect things so He will spend the entire lifespan of that one individual developing them into the nature of God Himself. Our lives are in the hands of the Master Artist and He is painting a grand masterpiece. From the beginning, God envisioned His work of art. He may start our life with bright and beautiful colors, but as He paints, He must use dark colors for contrast and shadows to affect the mood. These are the hard times and the sad places that touch each of our lives when death, disappointment, and misunderstandings occur. It is the desperate times that we do not understand when our heart breaks and our tears flow. Yet, these dark places are the ones that give depth to our soul and meaning to the entire picture of our lives. There are also discouraging times in our lives when it seems that nothing is happening. There is no progress being made and no obvious promotion. We may even go through a spiritual desert. But like any good artist who covers the canvas for a season, God is allowing His masterpiece to rest and dry before going on to the next phase. He does this so that the colors do not run together and distort the image that He is tying to acquire. If we are not careful during these times when our patience is being tested, we will grab the brush ourselves, spill the paint, and make a mess that only God can clean up. Yet, even though we become impatient and make a mess with our life, we can still trust God. He began this good work in us, and He will always be faithful to forgive us. Our interference may delay His work, but He will continue to work with us and He will complete us. Hebrews 12:2 says, "He is the Author and Finisher of your faith." Whatever God has started in us, He will finish. He is going to work on us right up until the time Jesus returns. So, we must not take His brush from Him. He has "good thoughts and plans to give us hope in our final outcome" (Jeremiah 29:11). We must submit to the Master as He works with us and allow Him to complete His masterpiece. +++ 3/29/23 FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH Scripture: Psalms 84:6-7 "Who passing through the valley of Baca, make it a well ... They go from strength to strength." The psalmist knew quite well what it was like to face adversity on every level. He spoke of those who do not allow themselves to be overcome when they pass through the valley of Baca. The valley of Baca did not refer to a specific place but a place of weeping, crises, misery, and pain. Those who experience victory when they pass through these places of despair are the ones who do not focus on the negative. Instead, they choose to turn their valley of distress into a season of blessings. They go from one level of strength to a higher level of strength by creating wells in their difficult places, which refreshes and sustains them. They embrace their losses and learn from their own disappointing circumstances. The wisdom gleaned from their personal crises gives them wisdom for the challenges of their next season and also teaches them how to help others make it through their time of misery and pain. Going from strength to strength in the spiritual realm is like going from strength to strength in the physical realm. It takes effort. Strength will only come as you exercise yourself in the spirit. When you find yourself in the valley of Baca and all that you want to do is sit down and cry because of the misery and pain that you are going through, it is time for you to arise and take action. Wisdom and knowledge will teach you how to increase in strength (Proverbs 24:5 and 8:14). You must learn what God has to say about the matter and what He is saying to you. Knowing that you are in agreement with God will infuse you with strength and keep you from wasting your time and efforts. One of the most important things to do when you are in a valley of Baca is to recognize that God alone is the strength of your life (Psalm 27:1). You must stay in His presence and continue to worship in His sanctuary. As you wait upon Him, you will renew your strength. You shall run and not be weary and you shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31). Even though there seems to be no hope and your life is crumbling around you, you must retain your passion for God. Do not look to yourself or depend upon others for the strength that you need. In the midst of trials, troubles, and tribulations, cry out for the Living God and believe that He will not withhold any good thing from you because you are walking uprightly before Him (Psalm 84:11). Another source of strength is joy. (Nehemiah 8:10). Develop joy in your life and laugh, for medical science has proven God's Word to be true that laughter does do good like a medicine. Stress is a real killer and drains your energy, but laughter and joy releases endorphins into your system that energizes your strength, relieves you from stress, and rids your life of the negative consequences that stress produces. Quietness and confidence will also generate strength (Isaiah 30:15). Rest in the Lord. Your physical body needs rest, and your spiritual man needs rest. In a military battle it is hard to engage in combat when you are suffering from physical fatigue. Likewise, the spiritual man also needs physical rest lest it suffer battle fatigue. Many times, we fail a spiritual challenge because our physical bodies are worn out. Even Jesus told His Disciples to come apart and rest. Finally, confession of God's Word creates strength. God created all things with His Words of power. He said, "Let there be light" and it was so, and He then declared that the light was good. The Prophet Joel said, "Let the weak say I am strong" (Joel 3:10). Words are powerful. We are created in God's image and there is life and death in the power of our own tongue. If you talk weak, you will become weak. If you talk strength, you will become strong. Begin today by confessing God's Word over your life and let His power filled words of truth be the answer to every challenge of the enemy. You will find yourself coming out of the valley and your defeat will turn to blessings as you go from strength to strength. +++ 3/30/23 ON THE EDGE Scripture: Exodus 15:1 "The Lord has triumphed gloriously." When God's people fled from Pharaoh, they found themselves trapped between their enemy and the Red Sea. Their situation seemed hopeless, and fear consumed their thoughts. They reacted to the circumstances that surrounded them and began to wish that they had never left Egypt but had stayed in the cruel bondage that they had been in. At the moment, serving the Egyptians seemed a lot better to them than facing death in the wilderness. Challenging times bring a reality check. When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they saw God do amazing things and were excited about their deliverance until this first impossible situation came along. At the edge of the Red Sea, they failed to understand that the same God who had brought them out of Egypt was the one who was going to make a way for them and also keep them from perishing at the hands of Pharaoh and his army. In fact, instead of standing on the edge of destruction, they were standing on the edge of a miracle, for God had a magnificent plan of deliverance in His mind. The Red Sea that frightened and challenged them was going to be the instrument that God would use to destroy their enemy once and for all. If you have been in a place where it seemed you had a Red Sea on one side and the Egyptians on the other, you can understand the turmoil that went on in the hearts of the Israelites. You know what it was like when your mind and emotions began to reel totally out of control because you had no valid options. You have experienced the sinking feeling of hopelessness when you realize that you cannot go forward, and you certainly cannot turn back. Yet, impossible situations have a purpose in the heart of God and He uses these places to work His wonders in our lives. God wants to do something awesome in your life that will destroy the things that have plagued you for so long. All He requires from you is that you put your trust in Him and go forward in your commitments. When you do, it becomes the Lord's responsibility to deliver you from the enemy that has held you in bondage. So, instead of viewing the future with fear, realize that you are on the edge of God's miracles. Declare that the Lord reigns in your life and believe that He has a magnificent plan for you. As you trust God and allow Him to work in your life, He will triumph gloriously by making a way for you where there seems to be no way and He will destroy your enemies in the process. +++ Copyright © 2023 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved www.widsonline.com |
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