Divine Direction Mindset From Our God

Forever Enjoying God

 

We may sometimes have more questions than answers about eternity, but the closing chapters of Scripture describe a future that is far from boring. Imagine the moment when we see the face of Christ (Revelation 22:4). We won’t cower in fear before His blinding glory (Revelation 21:23), for He will gently “wipe every tear from [our] eyes,” assuring us that “there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4).

We will never have seen anyone so beautiful, nor feel so loved and embraced. When Jesus claims us by writing His name on our foreheads (Revelation 22:4), we will finally belong. Part of God’s family from every “language and people,” we will naturally sing praises to the King who redeemed us (Revelation 5:9-14).

And we will enjoy God here—because Jesus is returning to live forever with us on a restored Earth (Revelation 21:3). As exhilarating as that joyful worship service will be, when Jesus returns, singing will likely not be the only form of worship. Just as Adam and Eve walked with God yet also made time to garden and name the animals, so we will worship Jesus through all sorts of human activities (Revelation 21:24-26). We will have eternity to do what He’s prepared for us. As we reign with Jesus on a restored Earth, we can enjoy Him and every good thing—forever

 

Keys of the Kingdom

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 16:19

The kingdom of God has keys. The purpose for keys is to limit access to particular rooms, closets, or containers. I have a set of keys to the church I pastor in Michigan and those keys will let me into places most people can’t go! Keys keep things protected; they also allow access to whomever the keys are given!

People don’t use keys to lock up their garbage! Keys secure valuables and precious belongings. The kingdom of God has treasures beyond your natural comprehension that can be accessed with the keys to the kingdom!

Everything in the kingdom of God is protected from those for whom it wasn’t intended. However, those who are part of the kingdom of God have entry privileges, and when you go inside, you will find everything you need for life and godliness.

Jesus said that the keys to the kingdom of God have something to do with binding and loosing on earth and in heaven. The word heaven in this verse is ouranos in Greek. It refers to the atmosphere around the earth. Nothing needs to be bound in the third heaven, where God’s throne is. However, much needs to be bound on this earth, where Satan is the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Practical Application

Thank God for the precious valuables that are locked away in His kingdom. They aren’t locked away from us; they are locked away for us, and God has given us the keys. We are to use those keys to rule and reign in this life in Christ Jesus!

Treasures That Last

 

 

 

When writing to Timothy, Paul warned him that amassing money and material wealth were unworthy goals in life. The apostle, probably referencing Job (Job 1:21), David (Psalm 49:17-18), and Solomon (Ecclesiastes 5:15), provided clear logic for his instruction: “After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it” (1 Timothy 6:7).

Paul wanted his protégé to know that a correct perspective on material possessions—money, houses, clothing, vehicles, jewels, and land—remained eternally the same: They don’t last forever, and you can’t take your possessions with you when death comes calling. Any wealth and possessions we have on earth are for this life only.

Instead of amassing material possessions, which are temporary in nature, let’s spend our limited time here on earth amassing the spiritual treasures: knowing God and His wisdom, knowing and obeying His Word, pursuing His rule in every aspect of our lives, and using what we have to bless others and to tell them about Jesus. As we rest in Him, we find treasure that lasts!  

 

You Got Power

They [believers] shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

Mark 16:18b

You can lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Even if you are the one who is sick, you can lay your hands on your body as a believer, and you shall recover!

I flew back to Texas recently, and when I got on the aircraft my body was in pain. The aircraft was extremely cold. It was so cold in that airplane that I wondered if they were storing meat in there! As you can imagine, the cold seemed to magnify the pain I was feeling in my body! I suffered for about an hour on that plane, and then suddenly the light bulb went off in my head! It dawned on me, "I've got the power." So I reached up, and I put my hand on my shoulder and I said, "In the name of Jesus." That pain got out of there. 

 

Believer, you've got the power. You don't need a super spiritual evangelist, bishop, apostle, or so-and-so that comes from out of town so that you can get healed. You've got the power. You don't have to wait on "super spirit" to minister to you. You are a super spirit. You have the dunamis, power of God Almighty, on the inside of you! Why don't you use it? Lay hands on your own head. Lay hands on your own back. Lay hands on your own knees and expect the power to do the job. Don't wait. Don't put up with the sickness, disease, or pain like I did for the first hour on that plane. Lay hands on yourself in the name of Jesus and command your body to be healed. You shall recover.

Gods Covenant

2 Corinthians 3:6

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

 

Thoughts on today's verse

 

A new covenant -- God willingly entered into a new agreement with us, his creatures, sealed it with the blood of his Son Jesus, and sent the Spirit to give us the power to live the life of this new covenant. God has made a covenant of love and grace with us. The Almighty has then turned around and made us worthy and competent to share that covenant with others. Now wonder it is life-giving: it brings life to us and through us!

We are The salt

 

 

ACTION POINT:

We need to confess and turn from our wicked ways.  We need to speak up and stand up for what is right. Let your speech be seasoned with salt.But stand up, speak up and come out from under the rock. Stand on the rock and speak up for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Remain Open to receive

 

 

Jesus schooled naysayers on a fundamental principle: you can’t legislate a move of God.

When God is ready to deliver, heal and work miracles, He doesn’t stop and ask others how they feel about it. He is sovereign. He does what He wants to do, when He wants to do it.

The Lord doesn’t need permission to grant a breakthrough. He doesn’t check man’s schedule to see if it’s convenient. God does not confirm man-made protocols before implementing His plan.

Friend, those who will receive what God is releasing in this season must remain open.

He is loosing chains, breaking down strongholds, releasing harvests, working miracles, opening doors, destroying yolks and doing a new thing.

Here’s what you have to know: what you’re waiting for won’t happen the way you’re expecting it to. God’s will rarely falls in line with our way.

If you can prepare your mind and open your heart to accept God’s will, you will be perfectly positioned to reap the next harvest coming your way.

To remind you to submit to God’s sovereignty, I’m stirring Romans 11:34 NLT into your cup of inspiration, which says, “For who can know the LORD's thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, know that your destiny is in the hands of an all-wise, all-knowing God who never makes a mistake.  

In His perfect timing, your divine release will come. But you must remain open to receive it.

Now please join me in praying for the following individuals on our “Thoughtful Thursdays” intercessory prayer list. As you believe God for their breakthrough, know that yours is on the way.

 

Stretch your hand forth

 

 

Friend, wherever your “xéros,” or dry place may be, God will restore it. No matter how long you have been deprived of what you need, change is coming your way.

Stretch your faith. Believe God as never before. Expect to see change happen. God is calling you to stretch!

Do you remember when God told Moses to stretch out his rod over the Red Sea in Exodus 14:26-27?

Well, the children of Israel had an expansive body of water in front of them and Pharaoh and his army chasing them from behind. It didn't look good. It seemed that they were trapped.

But Moses obeyed God. He stretched out his rod and that’s when God stretched out His hand, and parted the Red Sea. Moses, just like the man with the withered hand, had to do something first.

In Genesis 22:10, after God commanded Abraham to offer up his only son Isaac as a sacrifice, the Bible says Abraham stretched out his hand to slay Isaac. As agonizing as this must have been, Abraham still stretched out his hand and his faith.

At that moment, the angel of the Lord called out to Abraham from heaven and revealed that there was a ram caught in the thicket that would be used for the sacrifice instead.

Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh, which means, The Lord Will Provide.

Not only did God provide, but in verses 17-18, He pronounced a blessing over Abraham's life. The Lord told him, "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."

Listen, the same God who provided for Abraham and blessed Him, is alive and at work in your life today.

God is still Jehovah-jireh. He still provides. He still makes ways. He still heals. He still restores. He still sets free!

If you want to see Him work, stretch your faith. Stretch beyond limited thinking. Stretch beyond fear. Stretch beyond worry. Stretch beyond the walls those negative voices have erected in your mind.

How do you stretch? You simply put your confidence in the Lord. When you do that, in His way and His timing, He’ll come through for you.

To encourage you to trust Him, I’m stirring Psalm 9:10 NIV into your cup of inspiration, which says, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, put your faith in the Lord. Know that He is faithful to deliver.

Expect Him to do the miraculous in your life.

Don't be afraid to stretch.

Family

 

 

 

Few things in life can bring us as much pleasure or pain as our families. When things are working well in the family, it’s great. When things are not going so well, it’s tough. Parents have tension with children. Children have tension with parents. Husbands have tension with wives. Wives have tension with husbands. Then there are the in-laws. Families are complex. But God established the family.

In the Ten Commandments, before a word is said about how we treat one another, God starts with the family: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12).

In Genesis we have God bringing Adam and Eve together. He started with the family. He created the family. And He—and He alone—defines the family. God loves the family.

There is only one picture that God gives to a lost world to show His love for the church and the church’s love for Him. That is marriage. He says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25), and “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (verse 22).

Effectively, here is what God is saying: “Look at this Christian couple right here. See the way that husband loves his wife? That is how I love this church, My people. See how that wife loves her husband? That is how My church loves Me.”

Because of that, when a Christian family starts to unravel and when Christian people get divorced, that is devastating in many ways to the testimony of believers in a given community.

It has been said that a family can survive without a nation, but a nation cannot survive without the family.

One Body

 

 

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ" (1 Cor 12:12-13).Imagine with me for a moment that you have won a very expensive car. However, in order to receive your prize, you must agree to an unusual requirement. You must agree to remove one major component in that car in order to receive the gift.

Which component will you remove?

Will it be the steering wheel? Perhaps it will be the left front tire or the front seat or the two headlights. My illustration may seem ridiculous, but you get the point. Unless you have the complete car and have the ability to use all of its components, your ability to benefit from that car is going to be severely limited. The Bible says you and I are part of a larger Body - the Body of Christ. We each have our own body, but we are also made up of a larger Body that has a unique function to play. When you are not functioning as God intended, the entire Body suffers because you are not fulfilling your prescribed function.

When you function in a way that is not directly connected to the larger Body, you are only fulfilling a small portion of why the Manufacturer made you. There is a greater mission that you must fulfill. Today, the Body of Christ is fragmented and seeks to do things separated from one another. Our individual church "silos" stand alone - often as monuments to man instead of the greater mission of reaching the city.

Jesus knew the key to fulfilling His mission was getting His larger Body to work as one. "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17:20-21). What is your part in the overall mission? Are you fulfilling your prescribed function as designed by the Manufacturer?

 

 

Help Me Jesus

There are many things we all do unconsciously, right? Then there are other things of which we need to be consciously aware.

One of the main things we must recognize, believe, embrace and walk in is the authority we have as children of God.

David had this kind of awareness long before he became king, which empowered him to speak to that giant Goliath with no fear.

I know this Bible story in 1 Samuel 17:41-54 is very familiar, but it never gets old.

I so love verse 45 where little ruddy David tells this imposing, intimidating, irreverent Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defied.”

David’s awareness of the power and sovereignty of God gave him the confidence he needed to speak to that giant.

Friend, when you know who you are and whose you are, you can walk boldly into the enemy’s territory, fully assured of your victory.

In 1 Samuel 17:26, David called Goliath an “uncircumcised Philistine.”

Circumcision, which God implemented through Abraham in Genesis 17, was a physical sign of a spiritual covenant. David knew he was in covenant with God—one of the Lord’s chosen—but Goliath was not.

This distinction David made signified his awareness that he was in a position of favor with the Almighty, while his opponent was an outsider and enemy of God.

David knew that the size of the obstacle before him wasn’t greater than the size of his God. And since God was for him, he  had no need to fear who or what was against him.

Now, if you and I can remember this while we’re facing seemingly impossible and insurmountable odds, we can behave like David and speak to our giant.

Today’s word comes to remind you that no matter what the name of your struggle is—whether it be disease, lack, depression, or devastation—the name of the Lord is greater.

So don’t focus on the size of the problem, but rather, the size of your God.

He is bigger than the mountain standing in your way.

So speak to it.

Speak to your giant and tell it, you are coming against me… but I come against you in the name of the Lord!

Just as David got the victory over Goliath, you will be victorious over this circumstance. God has ordained it to be so.

You may be wondering, Dianna, exactly what do I speak?

Speak the word of God, which is the will of God.

Speak His promises.

In Matthew 4:4, which is the scripture I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, stop speaking the problem and start speaking God’s promises.

There is power in His word.

So speak to your giant and watch it fall like Goliath fell before David!

As you receive this word, I believe God is shifting your circumstances.

And right now, I'm asking that you come into agreement with me, not just for your breakthrough, but also for the outpouring of favor over the lives of those who have asked to be included on our “Thoughtful Thursdays” intercessory prayer list.

Wisdom Is Key

 

 

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 2:12-22 "Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men '" (v.12)

We touched yesterday on the thought that in the book of Proverbs, particularly in the first nine chapters, wisdom and foolishness are seen as persons. Jesus was also using the device of personification when He said in Matthew 11:19, "But wisdom is proved right by her actions." Some have thought that the personification of wisdom in the Scriptures indicates that wisdom is to be seen as a personality, perhaps a member of the angelic hierarchy, who visits men and women and imparts to them divine wisdom, but this, in my opinion, is taking things too far. The writer is simply using a literary device to make a point. However, it is the opinion of most evangelical commentators that the device of personification as it relates to wisdom is to prepare the way for the apostle Paul's great statement in 1 Corinthians 1:24 that Christ is "the power of God and the wisdom of God." If this is so, then it suggests that the divine purpose underlying the personification of wisdom in Proverbs is not simply to acquaint us with an absorbing set of rules or helpful suggestions by which to run our lives, but to hint that true wisdom lies in a Person, that Person being none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity moves beyond the wisdom of Solomon, which, by the way, commends itself to non-Christians as well as Christians, and points to the fact that the highest wisdom comes from a relationship with the One who is the fount of all wisdom - Jesus. Knowing the principles of wisdom is one thing; knowing the Person in whom all wisdom resides is another.

 

Prayer:

O Father, how can I sufficiently thank You that by faith I am linked to the source of all wisdom - the Lord Jesus Christ? Let the wonder of this relationship - I am in Him and He is in me - sink deep into my soul today. Amen.

Will You receive The Blessings

 

 

"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day." Deuteronomy 11:26-28


DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

God is setting before you this day a blessing and a curse. What determines whether you receive the blessing? If you obey. What  determines whether or not you are going to receive the curse? If you
disobey.

There are six blessings God wants to give you today in exchange for your obedience: plenty (Isaiah 1:19-20), peace (Jeremiah 26:13), protection (Exodus 23:22), power (Acts 5:32), purity (1 Peter 1:22), and perception (Psalm 119:100).

ACTION POINT:

Do you want Jesus to be real to you so that He's not just someone that you know or read about? Maybe you want to do more than just "pray" to Him; perhaps you want to talk to Him, and
you want to relate to Him. Then read John 14:23 and obey Him.

You Are The City of the King

 

 

How great is the Lord, how deserving of praise!... Psalm 48:1

My Holy Daddy is the God of the Universe; I hold His heart in the palms of my hands. He's captivated by thoughts of me, and my mind is brimming with thoughts of Him. Why does He deserve my attentions? Because He loved me when I was unlovable. When no one else approved of me, He called me His priceless masterpiece. In His eyes, I'm precious!

My Father sits in His holy mountain, truly, the mountain of my heart – He reigns as the love of my life. He sits in a place of great authority in my heart like He dwelt in the mountains of Zion. The whole earth rejoices to see Him high and lifted up in His holy people, reigning in the hearts of His children. In dominion, He ascends to take the throne of our hearts like He reigns in the mountain of Zion, the city of our God (see Psalm 48:1-3).

LET lOVE RISE

Psalms 103:17-18

From everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousnesswith their children's children -- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

 

Thoughts on today's verse

 

Forever love is talked about in dime store novels, but only found in God. We tap that reservoir of eternal and divine love through the Holy Spirit, who helps us receive it and share it.

 

Prayer:

 

Everlasting Father, may your love fill your people so the world may know we are Jesus' disciples. Through him I pray. Amen.

The Best To Get Gods Glory

 

The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. - (Genesis 39:2)

When it looked as though life was over for Joseph, in many ways it was just beginning. His brothers had sold him to slave traders, and as it turned out, those slave traders sold him to a very important person named Potiphar, who was the captain of the guard in Egypt. Potiphar was basically the head of the military police and part of the royal body guard. It was sort of like being the head of the Secret Service of that day. Also, as the chief of the executioners, Potiphar was responsible for the execution of all criminals. He was not a man to mess with.

Potiphar became the owner of Joseph and put him to work, and the Bible tells us that the Lord was with Joseph (see Genesis 39:2). God blessed Joseph because of his hard work, faithfulness, honesty, and integrity, and success followed him like a shadow.

It was almost as though Joseph had a Midas touch. He kept his priorities straight, and whatever Joseph did, he did so well that Potiphar eventually put him in charge of everything. Even Potiphar, who was clearly a nonbeliever, recognized that the Lord was with Joseph.

Joseph’s life serves as a reminder that Christians should be the hardest workers and do the best work. Colossians 3:23–24 tells us, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”Whatever you do, do it as though you were doing it for Christ Himself—not for the paycheck, not for the boss, and not even for the promotion.

What to do when Everthings wrong

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Luke 22:31-32

Jesus prayed for Peter. He knew the temptations and the trials that Peter would be facing, and He prayed specifically that Peter's faith would not fail him. Even though Peter's faith hit a bump in the road when he denied Jesus, his faith did not ultimately fail him. Peter's first public sermon on the day of Pentecost resulted in three thousand people getting saved. Jesus' prayers were answered.

When Jesus prays for you, those prayers will be answered, and Jesus is praying for you right now. He is at the right hand of the Father forever making intercession for you. He knows the bumps in the road that you may be hitting. Jesus is aware of the trials and tribulations, the afflictions, and the persecution that may be ahead of you, but you can be encouraged and emboldened to keep on going because Jesus is praying for you. He said that the Father always heard and always answered His prayers. (John 11:42) So lift up your voice, lift up your hands and thank Him today. He is praying and He will make a way!

 

Prayer for Today

Thank You, Lord, for making intercession for me at the right hand of the Father. I lift up my voice; I lift up my hands in praise and thanksgiving for Your tender care for me, in Jesus' name.

Help Us God

Here’s the thing: God never uses fear as a tactic to make us holy. His ways are higher than stooping to that level. If that’s true, there’s no need to panic. No worrying that God has lost control of things. No anxiety over things unknown. Just the calm, confident confession that God is still holy.

And in that holiness, God manages the details of the whole universe … including you, me and the people we love.

God isn’t just the God of the calm and peaceful. He isn’t just God in the happy and safe. He’s God in the chaos. He’s God in the courtroom, the emergency room, the waiting room and the viewing room.

He is always holy. Even now.

Trouble may abound but God is holy still. His sovereignty takes the pressure off of us to control our sometimes scary circumstances and hold tightly to the things we think will bring us comfort. Because God shows up, we can live our lives unafraid.

When the pressure overwhelms, when we’re broken on the floor or feel like we just can’t handle what the world may hand us … may we find God holy after all.

God, I am frightened of far too many things. Things that overwhelm me and cause me to believe You’re really not in control. And You know how I often try to become the savior of my little world, hyper-managing my children and the people I love, because I’m terrified You won’t show up. Regardless of how dark my circumstances feel or how terrifying my personal problems, You are holy. Thank You for being holy — and for being in total control. Let me rest in the peace of that knowledge. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY: Luke 12:31-32, "Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself." (MSG)

We Need Power

   

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

D.L. Moody was a shoe salesman until God moved him into a full-time preaching ministry, often in the streets of Chicago. There came a point in his journey with God that he realized he needed more in his life than what he was experiencing. "At the close of the Sabbath evening services I remember two holy women they would say to me, 'We have been praying for you.' I said, 'Why don't you pray for the people?' They answered, 'You need power.'

'I need power?' I said to myself. Why, I thought I had power. I had a decent Sabbath school and the in Atlanta.   I was in a sense satisfied. But then came these two godly women who prayed for me, and their earnest talk about "the anointing for special service" set me thinking. I asked them to come and talk with me, and we got down on our knees. They poured out their hearts, that I might receive the anointing of the Holy Ghost. And there came a great hunger into my soul. I knew not what it was. I began to cry as I never did before. The hunger increased. I really felt that I did no want to live any longer if I could not have this power for service. I kept on crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day, in the city of Atlanta - Oh, what a day! I cannot describe it; I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to me. Paul had an experience that he never spoke for fourteen years. I can only say, God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to say His hand.

I went to preaching again. The sermons were no different; I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you would gave me all Glasgow.*

WORDS THAT WILL BRING LIFE IN A MARRIAGE

 But if one of you suffers with depression’s telltale signs—low self-esteem, severe fatigue and sleeplessness, lack of concentration—we know it affects you both. And the strain of it has the potential to steadily increase the distance you may feel from one another.

So we encourage you today to love your husband or wife in ways that are intensely real, genuine and sacrificial. Instead of taking all of this personally, realize that the emotional darkness your mate is experiencing likely has little or nothing to do with anything you’ve done or not done. This is simply your chance to listen, to be patient, to go to him or her without accusations or piously offered “overly spiritual” answers. Rather than urging your mate to “snap out of it!” or flip a switch that allows you to get on with life, this may just be a time to crawl up in bed and hold each other. To pray, offer comfort and read the Scriptures. To remind each other of what’s true and eternal and longer lasting than any earthly suffering and hardship. Do you want to be a hero to your wife? Do you want to be the gleam in your husband’s eye? Then be your mate’s most faithful encourager. Be his or her rock to lean on when everything seems dark and cold and purposeless. Don’t lay blame. Don’t become short-tempered. Don’t come down hard and make demands. Just carry the burden . . . “and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

One Man’s Number One Love

Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. PROVERBS 5:18

 

SO MANY MEN OF GOD ARE DIVORCING THEIR WIVES FOR WHATEVER REASON AND VICE VERSA.  I COME TO TELL YOU THAT I HAVE MADE MISTAKES IN MY MARRIAGE BUT I NEVER WANT TO BE WITHOUT THE MAN THAT GOD HAS ADDED AT MY SIDE AND WHAT A GRACIOUS GIFT HE IS.  I AM HIS QUEEN AND HE IS MY KING AND I WILL ALWAYS POSITION MYSELF TO SPEAK TO HIM IN LOVE IF THERE ARE THINGS THAT BEGAN TO CAUSE FRICTION OR PROBLEMS.

THE EASIEST THING IS FOR COUPLES TO DIVORCE ANS MAKE THE LAWYERS RICHER BUT I CHALLENGE EACH ONE OF US IN A MARRIAGE TO PRAY DAILY FOR OUR COMPANIONS AND TO KEEP THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN.

 

 

Pray NOW at PURIM for Israel and America

 

We are entering tonight into PURIM, the Jewish Holiday celebrating the deliverance, through the efforts of Esther and Mordecai – the deliverance of all of Israel from the plots of wicked Haman (see the book of Esther). As we enter into this Holiday and celebration with our Israeli friends and brothers, this important article and revelation from the Lord comes through Robert Stearns, a Jewish brother.

Please see this article as a call to both pray for America, Israel, and the Middle East, plus the simultaneous call to enter into the celebration of Purim and the Worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who delivers His people, Israel and the Church throughout the earth – just as powerfully today as He did in the days of Esther.

One last note:  Robert Stearns hits a very sobering note as he refers to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as Mordecai, and the United States of America as Esther… who was called "For Such a Time as This."

 

Don't Be Led Astray

You have to recognize whether your circumstances are of God and leading you to the next place or to His perfect will, or possibly a demonic attack, which is destructive. When the disciples were on a boat, there was a great storm and eventually out of fear they called Jesus (who was sleeping on the boat). He FIRSTLY rebuked their unbelief and fear and then cursed the storm and immediately it subsided. JESUS NEVER CURSED ANYTHING THAT GOD DID. So the storm and the winds were for their destruction and had to be stopped. 

 

 You have to recognize whether your circumstances are of God and leading you to the next place or to His perfect will, or possibly a demonic attack, which is destructive. When the disciples were on a boat, there was a great storm and eventually out of fear they called Jesus (who was sleeping on the boat). He FIRSTLY rebuked their unbelief and fear and then cursed the storm and immediately it subsided. JESUS NEVER CURSED ANYTHING THAT GOD DID. So the storm and the winds were for their destruction and had to be stopped. 

 

Not Knowing Everything is okay

 

 

Sometimes all we need to do is chill or become a student.  Many times in ministry I have watched leaders that had all the answers they thought, only to find out that they didn't know everything. 

 

God even in my life convicted me of my prideful attitude, and used that situation to teach me an important lessons that has stayed with me:

I need to walk into every new situation with something to learn, not something to prove.

 

Being a know-it-all isn’t God’s way nor is it the wise way. In fact, the book of Proverbs is clear that wisdom comes from humility. Our key verse says, "The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice" (Proverbs 12:15).

As I’ve practiced this approach over the years, I’ve learned it’s much easier to make friends. Plus, I’ve learned I really don’t know the best way for everything. God still has new things for me to learn every day, and He usually uses people to teach me. Even when I’m in my sweet spot.

Father, thank You for teaching me Your ways are always best. Help me approach every new situation with a heart that is open and gentle, ready to learn whatever new things You have for me that day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

A redeeming, healing fellowship

 

 

 

 Hebrews 10:19-25

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another '" (v.25)

 

Yesterday we ended with the thought that the very first thing we ought to do when seeking to break out of the vicious circle of doubt is to go to the house of God. The psalmist has been prevented from falling by considering the consequences of his actions upon his brethren, so now his next step is to go and meet with them in the sanctuary. Whether it be in a cathedral or a cottage, how wonderful it is to join with Christian brothers and sisters.

 

It is not so much the place that is important as the redeeming and healing fellowship we find there. Oftentimes people find release just by sitting down among their brothers and sisters and feeling the healing power of their warmth and love. One famous preacher said: "The house of God has delivered me from 'the mumps and measles of the soul' a thousand times and more - merely by entering its doors.

 

" What is it about being among our fellow believers that is so helpful and encouraging? One thing is the very fact that our fellow believers are there. You see, in our private misery and perplexity we could easily run away with the idea that there is nothing very much in the Christian faith after all, and that it is not worth our going on.

 

But when we enter into the Lord's house and see our fellow believers coming together, often our doubts disappear. We say to ourselves, albeit unconsciously: "Here are people who think the Christian life is worth continuing with. My uncertainties must be wrong - there must be something in it after all."

 

Prayer:

O Father, help me see the power that flows towards me through Christian fellowship. Just as I am encouraged by it, help me to encourage others. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

Prayer changes all things

"The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry." Psalm 34:15 (NIV)

 

When my husband Jay and I got married, we had a tough time transitioning from being two independent people into a unified couple. We didn’t have huge marriage issues to overcome — we had a lot of little everyday annoyances that started to chip away at the foundation of our relationship.

 

Slowly, we stopped seeing all we had and started focusing on all that was lacking in each other.

Honestly, enjoying each other got lost in all the efforts to fix each other. And that can be so disillusioning.

It can open your marriage up to a world of attack and the temptation to think, Did I marry the wrong person? I didn’t know it was going to be this hard.

Do you ever find yourself in this place? Me too.

 

The other day I came across the prayer my spiritual daughter prayed at our wedding. And it occurred to me this is much more than a wedding prayer. It’s a marriage prayer.

As I read back over this prayer, I am amazed at how God has answered so many of the requests intertwined in the words. This was being prayed over two broken, fragile, headstrong, needing-to-learn-a-lot individuals. Individuals who five years into our marriage weren’t sure we were going to make it. But we did.  And so can you.

 

I would encourage you to take your spouse’s hand and either have someone read this prayer over you or read it together. Use it as a reminder and recommitment.

And if your marriage isn’t at a place where that’s possible, pray this in the quiet shrine of your heart. As our key verse, Psalm 34:15 tells us, God hears you. He knows. He loves you. He will show you the way.

 

Father in Heaven, thank You for this husband, ______, and wife, _______, and their commitment to Christian marriage. As we look ahead, we pray that their future will never lack the convictions that make a marriage strong.

 

Bless this husband, ______. Bless him as provider and protector. Sustain him in all the pressures that come with the task of stewarding a family. May his strength be his wife’s boast and pride, and may he so live that his wife may find in him the haven for which the heart of a woman truly longs.

 

Bless this wife, ______. Give her a tenderness that makes her great, a deep sense of understanding, and a strong faith in You. Give her that inner beauty of a soul that never fades, that eternal youth that is found in holding fast to the things that never age. May she so live that her husband may be pleased to reverence her in the shrine of his heart.

Teach them that marriage is not living for each other. It is two people uniting and joining hands to serve You. Give them a great spiritual purpose in life. May they seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, knowing that You will sustain them through all of life’s challenges.

 

May they minimize each other’s weaknesses and be swift to praise and magnify each other’s strengths so that they might view each other through a lover’s kind and patient eyes. Help them every day to be kind and gentle, more like You. Give them a little something to forgive each day, that their love might learn to be long-suffering.

Bless them and develop their characters as they walk together with You. Give them enough hurts to keep them humane, enough failures to keep their hands clenched tightly in Yours, and enough of success to make them sure they walk with You throughout all of their life.

 

May they never take each other’s love for granted but always experience that breathless wonder that exclaims, "Out of all this world, you have chosen me." Then, when life is done and the sun is setting, may they be found then as now, still hand in hand, still very proud, still thanking You for each other.

 

May they travel together as friends and lovers, brother and sister, husband and wife, father and mother, and as servants of Christ until He shall return or until that day when one shall lay the other into the arms of God. This we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the Great Lover of our souls. Amen,  God can work in your midst.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Dear Lord, thank You for the opportunity to come before Your throne with every concern I have and blessing I desire for my marriage. I pray these blessings over my husband and myself today, believing You will do immeasurably more in us than we can imagine. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Where is Light

 

 

If God called down the presence of the glory of the Lord, then what happened since that time? Why isn't it being manifested on the earth today? After all, if we are truly filled with the divine light of God, then wouldn't we be like human, electric bug zappers? This isn't just any light we're talking about here; it's the light of Almighty God! Think about it for a moment: If any darkness or any evil even gets close to the light of God, shouldn't it supernaturally disintegrate, kind of like getting too close to the sun?

 

Unfortunately, after the creation of light in Genesis, we had this problem in the garden called the fall of man, where Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, thus disobeying God. But now we can also experience redemption of all things since Jesus paid our debt on the Cross, reversing the curse from the garden of Eden.I don't know about you, but that inspires me to contend for the light of God, the fullness of His presence, until we see it fully restored in our own lives, and in the earth as well.

Get It

 

 

2 Corinthians 3:16-18, because it gives us insight into beholding God's light and letting it be reflected back out of us:

 

"Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are – face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him."

Do you get it? When we behold His face and stand in His light, any darkness or sin must come out of hiding. It can't stand in the light, for His light exposes all things. And the more we look at Him, the more we look like Him. Every time we're sick, grieved, or hurt, if we can learn to behold His face and bleed worship in the midst of our suffering, a divine exchange takes place.

 

The Lord is asking that there be nothing between us and Him. I recall a vision the Lord gave me of the Bride's veil being lifted off her face, but just to the bottom of her eyes. I believe it is a good time to ask ourselves some tough questions, like What is causing darkness in our lives? What are some of the veils we wear that don't allow God's glory to shine in or shine out in fullness?

 

Perhaps there are veils of sin, infirmities, wounds, rejection, bitterness, and poverty that must be taken care of so the glory of the Lord can fill the earth.

 

God Turns Darkness Into Light

 

 

 

We have to understand that it is only the Lord who causes our light to shine as we yield to Him. In Psalm 18:28, the psalmist declares, "You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

 

"Not only does the Lord turn our darkness into light, but He also wants to fill us with His light. He tells us in Ephesians 1:17-18, which is a prayer Paul prayed for the Ephesian Believers: 

 

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened (illuminated, shining), so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints..."

 

Beloved, 2015 is going to be an amazing year as the Lord removes the veils and allows His light to be seen like never before. Even in the midst of all the darkness surrounding us, we must yield to God and gradually become brighter and more beautiful as He fills our lives and turns darkness into light.

What is light

 

 

The Word of God tells us in James 5 that our effective prayers accomplish much. And wisdom tells us that if we are to grapple for something, then we must know what that something is. If there are things that have been stolen in our lives, how can we expect them to be restored if we don't know exactly what they are?

 

John says, "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:4-5). We know the light that born-again Believers have is in the Lord, and the Lord is in them, causing His light to shine. And we also know from this passage that the darkness can't lay hold of it. In other words, the darkness can't even understand or perceive the light that dwells within us. So we must speak the Word and God will bring light out of darkness, order out of chaos.

 

A good place to gain understanding of the light is at the beginning. In Genesis 1:3, God said, "Let there be light; and there was light." The Hebrew word for light here is owr (ore), which means illumination, bright, and clear. The root word means "to be," to cause, or to make glorious; to set on fire, or to shine. God was calling down the presence of the Lord of Glory on the entire planet in the beginning, causing light to shine forth in the darkness!

 

Later on in the creation narrative, we see the light of the moon, sun, and the stars being created:

"God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth'; and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day" (Genesis 1:14-19).

 

The Hebrew word for light in this Scripture is maowr, which refers to the sun and the moon. The first light God called forth was divine light, and the second type of light was solar light. Of course, we must have both (we couldn't physically survive without solar light), but we desire to be filled with God's divine light and not lose it in the dark.