Monica gave us a book by Max Lucado last Christmas - A Love Worth Giving. It's a book about God's love. Why is that important? It's important because God is love; it's His very essence. The greatest virtue we can experience is LOVE. When we receive and give God's love, we are most like Him.
Please, get this book out and read it! If anything can really change our lives, it's the love of God. I Corinthians 13 is known as the Love Chapter. Max Lucado graciously cuts the love chapter into bite-sized pieces so that we can eat this delicious meal. Then it will become a part of us and we will be changed as Christ is formed in us..
It's sort of weird to think of Almighty God as humble, yet that is exactly what He is. Humility is the opposite of pride. But what does He have to be humble about? He's the Creator of everything, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. God is love (I Jn 4:8) and love is not proud (I Cor 13:4). Therefore, God is humble. He wants us to be humble, too.
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" (Phil. 2:5-8)
Max goes on to say:
"Would you do what Jesus did? He swapped a spotless castle for a grimy stable. He exchanged the worship of angels for the company of killers. He could hold the universe in His palm but gave it up to float in the womb of a maiden.
If you were God, would you sleep on straw, nurse from a breast, and be clothed in a diaper? I wouldn't, but Christ did. . . . If you knew the tongues you made would mock you, the mouths you made would spit at you, the hands you made would crucify you, would you still make them? Christ did.
He humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary's finger. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier.
Why? Because that's what love does. It puts the beloved before itself. You soul was more important than his blood. Your eternal life was more important than his earthly life. Your place in heaven was more important to him than his place in heaven, so he gave up his so you could have yours.
. . . Want to love others as God has loved you? Put others before yourself."
I wept when I read these words. The Holy Spirit convicted me of my own selfishness and pride. When school is out, I always look forward to a vacation from responsibilities and demands put on me by others. For a little while I choose to become unavailable. It didn't happen this year, and I have felt very sorry for myself with much whining and complaining. But these beautiful words from the Bible and from Max Lucado have given me a fresh perspective. I repented of my pride and selfishness. As Max eloquently put it, "in a world of upward mobility, choose downward servility." Phil. 2:3 puts it in a nutshell:
Regard one another as more important than yourselves.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Intercession
I'm reading a phenomenal book on intercession called Beyond the Veil by Alice Smith. She is cofounder and executive director of the U.S. Prayer Center in Houston. She states that the person who is prayerless is powerless. Our Father has called us to unite with Him to bring about His purposes and plans on earth. The Lord will entrust the power of His Kingdom to those who abide in Him in the Holy of Holies. (John 15:7 Eph. 6:12)
"Inter" means between and "cedere" means to go. When we intercede, we go between. Between what??? Intercession is going in prayer between what God wants to do on earth and what satan wants to do on earth!!! (Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Matt. 6:10)
The Lord has chosen us as his covenant partners, but if we refuse to participate, He will find another. In Isaiah 59:16 God saw that there was no one to stand in the gap, and He was appalled that there was no one to intervene!! That is a sad truth sometimes. God is a gentleman, so He will never force us to bear a burden, but what rich rewards we will have if we accept His call to prayer!!
David F. Wells, a professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, writes, "What, then, is the nature of petitionary prayers? It is, in essence, rebellion - rebellion against the WORLD in its fallenness, the absolute and undying refusal to accept as normal what is pervasively abnormal. It is . . . the refusal of every agenda, every scheme, every interpretation that is at odds with the norm as originally established by God." Intercession expresses a holy dissatisfaction with the way things are, taking steps necessary to bring God's will through prayer.
Prayer is not about changing God's mind; it's laying hold of His highest willingness, His best, His Kingdom. It's standing in the gap between what is happening and what God wants to happen.
"Speak, for your servant is listening!" (I Sam. 3:10)
"Inter" means between and "cedere" means to go. When we intercede, we go between. Between what??? Intercession is going in prayer between what God wants to do on earth and what satan wants to do on earth!!! (Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Matt. 6:10)
The Lord has chosen us as his covenant partners, but if we refuse to participate, He will find another. In Isaiah 59:16 God saw that there was no one to stand in the gap, and He was appalled that there was no one to intervene!! That is a sad truth sometimes. God is a gentleman, so He will never force us to bear a burden, but what rich rewards we will have if we accept His call to prayer!!
David F. Wells, a professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, writes, "What, then, is the nature of petitionary prayers? It is, in essence, rebellion - rebellion against the WORLD in its fallenness, the absolute and undying refusal to accept as normal what is pervasively abnormal. It is . . . the refusal of every agenda, every scheme, every interpretation that is at odds with the norm as originally established by God." Intercession expresses a holy dissatisfaction with the way things are, taking steps necessary to bring God's will through prayer.
Prayer is not about changing God's mind; it's laying hold of His highest willingness, His best, His Kingdom. It's standing in the gap between what is happening and what God wants to happen.
"Speak, for your servant is listening!" (I Sam. 3:10)
Saturday, May 8, 2010
If My people . . .
"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, will forgive their sin and heal their land."
Monday, April 5, 2010
We are in Christ
We know we are now "in Christ" but what does that mean? Actually, the term "in Christ' occurs in the New Covenant (Testament) almost 100 times. You could say it's a recurring theme!
The New Covenant was cut between the Father and the Son. It was NOT cut between you and God or God and me; it was cut between the Father and the Son. Then it was confirmed with each of us as we accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord.
According to Phil. 2:5-11 God the Son came to earth to establish the New Covenant. When the time came for the covenant ceremony, Jesus, as the Passover Lamb, was chosen as the covenant sacrifice. Jesus, being fully God, was selected as the Father's representative. Jesus, being fully man, was chosen also as mankind's representative. As the precious blood of Jesus was shed at the cross, the New Covenant was cut between our heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus. That was how Jesus secured all the promises and blessings of the New Covenant.
After He rose from the dead, Jesus entered the heavenly tabernacle and, through His shed blood, He obtained eternal redemption for mankind (Heb. 9:11-12). Then He became the mediator of the New Covenant.
The New Covenant was cut between the Father and the Son. It was NOT cut between you and God or God and me; it was cut between the Father and the Son. Then it was confirmed with each of us as we accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord.
According to Phil. 2:5-11 God the Son came to earth to establish the New Covenant. When the time came for the covenant ceremony, Jesus, as the Passover Lamb, was chosen as the covenant sacrifice. Jesus, being fully God, was selected as the Father's representative. Jesus, being fully man, was chosen also as mankind's representative. As the precious blood of Jesus was shed at the cross, the New Covenant was cut between our heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus. That was how Jesus secured all the promises and blessings of the New Covenant.
After He rose from the dead, Jesus entered the heavenly tabernacle and, through His shed blood, He obtained eternal redemption for mankind (Heb. 9:11-12). Then He became the mediator of the New Covenant.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
IN CHRIST - Restoring what Adam lost
In Christ we occupay a new position and all of the promises of God from both the Old and New Testaments belong to us. every promise in the Bible is yes and amen in Christ!
In Genesis 1:26-30 we see that God had initiated a wonderful plan for humans. Man was to be His representative upon the earth, to be His friend, to fellowship with Him, to take dominion over the earth, and to be richly blessed for all eternity.
When the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, they ate of the forbidden fruit, and sin entered the world. As a result, they were cast out of the Garden and God's purposes for mankind were temporarily thwarted. But through His covenants, God is is restoring all that was lost by Adam.
God's original purpose for us:
REPRESENT THE IMAGE OF GOD
Our new position of being in right standing with God is restoring us back into the image of God.
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD FOREVEr
The veil separating man from God was ripped, giving us free access to God's throne, opening the way for an intimate relationsip with Jesus
ADVANCE THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Through the Great Commission, Jesus has given us the authority to advance the kingdom of God and take dominion over the earth.
FREELY ENJOY EVERY BLESSING IN THE GARDEN
We are blessed with every spiritu blessing in heavenly places.
All the covenants find their fulfillment in Christ. Jesus is the sum of all things, fulfilling every covenant and every covenant promise. We are heirs of the promises of God in Christ Jesus - they are our inheritance!!!!! The New Covenant restores eveyrthing that Adam lost.
In Genesis 1:26-30 we see that God had initiated a wonderful plan for humans. Man was to be His representative upon the earth, to be His friend, to fellowship with Him, to take dominion over the earth, and to be richly blessed for all eternity.
When the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, they ate of the forbidden fruit, and sin entered the world. As a result, they were cast out of the Garden and God's purposes for mankind were temporarily thwarted. But through His covenants, God is is restoring all that was lost by Adam.
God's original purpose for us:
REPRESENT THE IMAGE OF GOD
Our new position of being in right standing with God is restoring us back into the image of God.
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD FOREVEr
The veil separating man from God was ripped, giving us free access to God's throne, opening the way for an intimate relationsip with Jesus
ADVANCE THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Through the Great Commission, Jesus has given us the authority to advance the kingdom of God and take dominion over the earth.
FREELY ENJOY EVERY BLESSING IN THE GARDEN
We are blessed with every spiritu blessing in heavenly places.
All the covenants find their fulfillment in Christ. Jesus is the sum of all things, fulfilling every covenant and every covenant promise. We are heirs of the promises of God in Christ Jesus - they are our inheritance!!!!! The New Covenant restores eveyrthing that Adam lost.
Happy Easter!!!
ISAIAH 53
Who believes what we've heard and seen?
Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?
The servant grew up before God - a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about Him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at Him and people turned away.
We looked down on Him, thought He was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains He carried- our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought He brought it on Himself,
that God was punishing Him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to Him, that ripped and tore and crushed Him - our sins!
He took the punishment that made us whole.
Through His bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins,
everything we've done wrong, on Him, on Him.
He was beaten, He was tortured,
but He didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared, He took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and He was led off -
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried Him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man.
Even though He'd never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true.
Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
to crush Him with pain.
The plan was that He give Himself as an offering for sin,
So that he'd see life come from it -
life, life, and more life.
And God's plan will deeply prosper through Him.
Out of terrible travail of soul,
He'll see that it's worth it and be glad He did it.
Through what He experienced,
My Righteous One, My Servant, will make many "righteous ones,"
as He Himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore, I'll reward Him extravagantly -
the best of everything, the highest honors -
Because He looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
because He embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on His own shoulders the sin of the many,
He took up the cause of all the black sheep.
Who believes what we've heard and seen?
Who would have thought God's saving power would look like this?
The servant grew up before God - a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about Him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at Him and people turned away.
We looked down on Him, thought He was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains He carried- our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought He brought it on Himself,
that God was punishing Him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to Him, that ripped and tore and crushed Him - our sins!
He took the punishment that made us whole.
Through His bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins,
everything we've done wrong, on Him, on Him.
He was beaten, He was tortured,
but He didn't say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared, He took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and He was led off -
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried Him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man.
Even though He'd never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true.
Still, it's what God had in mind all along,
to crush Him with pain.
The plan was that He give Himself as an offering for sin,
So that he'd see life come from it -
life, life, and more life.
And God's plan will deeply prosper through Him.
Out of terrible travail of soul,
He'll see that it's worth it and be glad He did it.
Through what He experienced,
My Righteous One, My Servant, will make many "righteous ones,"
as He Himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore, I'll reward Him extravagantly -
the best of everything, the highest honors -
Because He looked death in the face and didn't flinch,
because He embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on His own shoulders the sin of the many,
He took up the cause of all the black sheep.
God is faithful to His covenant people!
"Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments." Deut. 7:9
God is faithful to His covenant. It is important that we have faith in God's faithfulness! Then we can stand on the promises of God in full assurance that He who promised is faithful.
The blood of Jesus was shed to secure the New Covenant. By doing this, God chose to bind Himself legally to His unalterable word and to be faithful to the promised blessings of His covenant with us. God will not violate His oath. He has bound Himself by covenant.
God is the omnipotent, all-powerful God. All of us know He has unlimited strength. The good news is that out of His lovingkindness, God directs His strength toward His covenant partners.
God never wavers and He never changes His mind. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He can be trusted!
How can God care so much for sinful, weak human beings? LOVE is the primary attribute that motivates God to act on our behalf and meet our needs. His lovingkindness is everlasting.
God is faithful to His covenant. It is important that we have faith in God's faithfulness! Then we can stand on the promises of God in full assurance that He who promised is faithful.
The blood of Jesus was shed to secure the New Covenant. By doing this, God chose to bind Himself legally to His unalterable word and to be faithful to the promised blessings of His covenant with us. God will not violate His oath. He has bound Himself by covenant.
God is the omnipotent, all-powerful God. All of us know He has unlimited strength. The good news is that out of His lovingkindness, God directs His strength toward His covenant partners.
God never wavers and He never changes His mind. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He can be trusted!
How can God care so much for sinful, weak human beings? LOVE is the primary attribute that motivates God to act on our behalf and meet our needs. His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Why did God choose covenants?
The word "covenant" is used approximately three hundred times in the Scripture. Covenants were a common practice in ancient cultures of Biblical setting, although covenants are rare in our modern society.
God chose to use covenants in order to express His desire to have a deep and lasting relationship with His people. It is far more binding than a contract. A covenant is a formal, extremely solemn and binding agreement based upon a common purpose, often secured by a blood sacrifice, which binds two parties together for life, often extending to future generations.
A good example of a covenant today is marriage. (Mal. 2:14) A woman and a man come together to live as one. Their marriage surpasses any other relationship between two people. Married couples lives a one in spirit, soul and body. They take on a common purpose to raise children and face life's issues together. Marriage is an exchange - each draws from all that their partner has and gives their all to the other! Do you see that the purpose of a covenant is for two to live as one? We can become one with God through the New Covenant in Christ!
God chose to use covenants in order to express His desire to have a deep and lasting relationship with His people. It is far more binding than a contract. A covenant is a formal, extremely solemn and binding agreement based upon a common purpose, often secured by a blood sacrifice, which binds two parties together for life, often extending to future generations.
A good example of a covenant today is marriage. (Mal. 2:14) A woman and a man come together to live as one. Their marriage surpasses any other relationship between two people. Married couples lives a one in spirit, soul and body. They take on a common purpose to raise children and face life's issues together. Marriage is an exchange - each draws from all that their partner has and gives their all to the other! Do you see that the purpose of a covenant is for two to live as one? We can become one with God through the New Covenant in Christ!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Hold Fast to the Covenant
We lack knowledge of our Covenant with Christ. "My people perish for lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6
According to Isaiah 56:6,7 God blesses those who hold fast to His covenant. God is calling His people to learn to live by covenant so that even in the midst of very difficult circumstances, we will flourish in the things of God.
Jesus is the way, or as The Message says, Jesus is the road. He doesn't just want to show us the road; He wants to be the road for us. God makes a way where there is no way. We must choose to believe God and His promises to us instead of the circumstances and problems surrounding us.
We need to eliminated a false view of the sovereignty of God. He is the Most High God and He is sovereign. However, many believe that everything that happens in life is God's will. This is not Biblical. God does work all things out for our good when we trust in Him to do so, and He uses every situation to teach us. HOWEVER, this kind of thinking leads to a very passive mindset. On the other hand, if I believe that God wants to bless me and something bad happens in my life, I will exercise my faith by standing on the promises of God until the breakthrough comes. God is for us and not against us. His desire is to bless us, his children whom He loves so deeply.
Jesus taught us to pray (Matt. 6:10) that our Father's kingdom would come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That doesn't happen automatically! Many times, we must pull down the blessings of God in faith, calling forth the kingdom to come from heaven to earth. We want our prayers to be filled with FAITH, not filled with weakness, passivity and unbelief.
God's blessings are the inheritance of EVERY believer, not just the pastors, evangelists and super-Christians. I Cor. 2:9-12 tells us that our eyes haven't seen, our ears haven't heard, and our hearts haven't grasped all that God has prepared for those who love Him. Wow!
Another powerful verse is Eph. 1:3. It states, "Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Notice the past tense of the verb. God HAS blessed us, not "He is going to bless us someday in the sweet by and by." God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing!!! It's not because we deserve it. It's because of the work of Jesus our Lord on the cross. We now have every spiritual blessing promised to us by God.
Galatians 3:14 - In Jesus Christ, the blessings of Abraham have come to the Gentiles.
Psalm 103:1-6 - God forives all our sins, heals all our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion, satisfies our years with good things, so that our youth is renewed like the eagle.
Proverbs 10:22 - The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it.
God is no respecter of persons. He will bless ANYONE who walks in covenant with Him. He is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. "For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing!" (I Pet. 3:9)
God will be faithful to His promises in our lives.
According to Isaiah 56:6,7 God blesses those who hold fast to His covenant. God is calling His people to learn to live by covenant so that even in the midst of very difficult circumstances, we will flourish in the things of God.
Jesus is the way, or as The Message says, Jesus is the road. He doesn't just want to show us the road; He wants to be the road for us. God makes a way where there is no way. We must choose to believe God and His promises to us instead of the circumstances and problems surrounding us.
We need to eliminated a false view of the sovereignty of God. He is the Most High God and He is sovereign. However, many believe that everything that happens in life is God's will. This is not Biblical. God does work all things out for our good when we trust in Him to do so, and He uses every situation to teach us. HOWEVER, this kind of thinking leads to a very passive mindset. On the other hand, if I believe that God wants to bless me and something bad happens in my life, I will exercise my faith by standing on the promises of God until the breakthrough comes. God is for us and not against us. His desire is to bless us, his children whom He loves so deeply.
Jesus taught us to pray (Matt. 6:10) that our Father's kingdom would come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That doesn't happen automatically! Many times, we must pull down the blessings of God in faith, calling forth the kingdom to come from heaven to earth. We want our prayers to be filled with FAITH, not filled with weakness, passivity and unbelief.
God's blessings are the inheritance of EVERY believer, not just the pastors, evangelists and super-Christians. I Cor. 2:9-12 tells us that our eyes haven't seen, our ears haven't heard, and our hearts haven't grasped all that God has prepared for those who love Him. Wow!
Another powerful verse is Eph. 1:3. It states, "Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Notice the past tense of the verb. God HAS blessed us, not "He is going to bless us someday in the sweet by and by." God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing!!! It's not because we deserve it. It's because of the work of Jesus our Lord on the cross. We now have every spiritual blessing promised to us by God.
Galatians 3:14 - In Jesus Christ, the blessings of Abraham have come to the Gentiles.
Psalm 103:1-6 - God forives all our sins, heals all our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion, satisfies our years with good things, so that our youth is renewed like the eagle.
Proverbs 10:22 - The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it.
God is no respecter of persons. He will bless ANYONE who walks in covenant with Him. He is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. "For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing!" (I Pet. 3:9)
God will be faithful to His promises in our lives.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Puzzling Life of King Asa
Asa, the King of Judah, "did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God." (II Chron. 14:1) He was a good king who removed idolatry from his people and commanded them to seek and obey the Lord. Asa even deposed his own grandmother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole (an idolatrous symbol)!! When he went to war, the Lord was with him and gave Asa the victory. Everything went well for Asa until his thirty-sixth year of reign.
Something changed. Asa changed. Asa and his men were surrounded, but instead of going to God for help, as he had always done before, he took silver and gold and bought help from a foreign king. God was not pleased!
Hanani, the seer, told Asa that, because he hadn't relied on the Lord, he would be at war from then on. Asa became so enraged that he put Hanani in prison! What happened to King Asa? The clue is in the famous line uttered by Hanani,
"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those who hearts are fully committed to Him." (II Chron. 16:9)
Actually, the KJV is my favoite. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him."
So it seems the problem with Asa is that he had lost his wholehearted devotion to God. He had ruled Judah well for thirty-five years, but had allowed his zeal for the Lord to fizzle at the end of his life. This is a sad story!! It's sad because it didn't have to end this way. What made Asa lose his wholehearted devotion to the Lord? Bitterness? Unforgiveness? A spirit of anger? The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what happened, but let's learn a valuable lesson from the life of Asa. Let's keep ourselves aglow and burning with the Spirit!
The end of his life came in the thirty-ninth year of his reign. Asa had a disease in his feet, but he refused to seek the Lord for healing. Compare this to Hezekiah, who sought the Lord, and He added fifteen more years to Hezekiah's life. Asa sought the physicians only, but not the Lord, so he died. He had lost his wholehearted devotion to the Lord.
Something changed. Asa changed. Asa and his men were surrounded, but instead of going to God for help, as he had always done before, he took silver and gold and bought help from a foreign king. God was not pleased!
Hanani, the seer, told Asa that, because he hadn't relied on the Lord, he would be at war from then on. Asa became so enraged that he put Hanani in prison! What happened to King Asa? The clue is in the famous line uttered by Hanani,
"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those who hearts are fully committed to Him." (II Chron. 16:9)
Actually, the KJV is my favoite. "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him."
So it seems the problem with Asa is that he had lost his wholehearted devotion to God. He had ruled Judah well for thirty-five years, but had allowed his zeal for the Lord to fizzle at the end of his life. This is a sad story!! It's sad because it didn't have to end this way. What made Asa lose his wholehearted devotion to the Lord? Bitterness? Unforgiveness? A spirit of anger? The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what happened, but let's learn a valuable lesson from the life of Asa. Let's keep ourselves aglow and burning with the Spirit!
The end of his life came in the thirty-ninth year of his reign. Asa had a disease in his feet, but he refused to seek the Lord for healing. Compare this to Hezekiah, who sought the Lord, and He added fifteen more years to Hezekiah's life. Asa sought the physicians only, but not the Lord, so he died. He had lost his wholehearted devotion to the Lord.
Monday, January 25, 2010
If you are serious . . .
Yesterday I ran across this passage in the Bible, and it really spoke to me about our current situation in our own country! I'm sharing this account from The Message because the meaning is so clear.
Then Samuel addressed the house of Israel: "If you are truly serious about coming back to God, clean house. Get rid of the foreign gods and fertility goddesses, ground yourselves firmly in God, worship Him and Him alone, and He'll save you from Philistine oppression."
They did it. They got rid of the gods and goddesses, the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and gave their exclusive attention and service to God.
Next Samuel said, "Get everybody together at Mizpah and I'll pray for you."
So everyone assembled at Mizpah. They drew water from the wells and poured it out before God in a ritual of cleansing. They fasted all day and prayed, "We have sinned against God."
So Samuel prepared the Israelites for holy war there at Mizpah.
1 Samuel 7:3-6
Clean house! Isn't that great? I'm in the mood to do some spiritual housecleaning. I want to get rid of all the weights and sins that are so easily besetting me. I want to put God first in my life!
They fasted all day and prayed, "We have sinned against God." Again, we see those three elements - fasting, prayer and repentance - are necessary for the nation to get right with God.
It's not enough to pray; we must fast. It's not enough to fast; we must repent of our own sins and the sins of our nation. We are waking up and we will arise!!
Then Samuel addressed the house of Israel: "If you are truly serious about coming back to God, clean house. Get rid of the foreign gods and fertility goddesses, ground yourselves firmly in God, worship Him and Him alone, and He'll save you from Philistine oppression."
They did it. They got rid of the gods and goddesses, the images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and gave their exclusive attention and service to God.
Next Samuel said, "Get everybody together at Mizpah and I'll pray for you."
So everyone assembled at Mizpah. They drew water from the wells and poured it out before God in a ritual of cleansing. They fasted all day and prayed, "We have sinned against God."
So Samuel prepared the Israelites for holy war there at Mizpah.
1 Samuel 7:3-6
Clean house! Isn't that great? I'm in the mood to do some spiritual housecleaning. I want to get rid of all the weights and sins that are so easily besetting me. I want to put God first in my life!
They fasted all day and prayed, "We have sinned against God." Again, we see those three elements - fasting, prayer and repentance - are necessary for the nation to get right with God.
It's not enough to pray; we must fast. It's not enough to fast; we must repent of our own sins and the sins of our nation. We are waking up and we will arise!!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Our God is a covenant maker!
Hosea 4:6 tells us "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Our lack of Bible knowledge keeps us from God's richest blessings. We have to renew our minds to the Word! We have the blessings of God available to us, but we may be living in spiritual poverty.
Let's examine how God promises Abraham great blessings in Genesis 12:1-3.
" Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
Wow!! After several years, Abraham hadn't received the full extent of God's Word to him, so he asked the Lord, "O, Lord GOD, how may I KNOW that I will possess it?" (Gen. 15:8)
God answered him by establishing a covenant with him immediately! A covenant is the most binding commitment that two can make. The Lord was making the most powerful statement possible that He would bless Abraham. He wanted Abraham to know that He was serious about fulfilling His promise. God is a covenant-making and covenant-keeping God.
Because of covenant we can also know that God wants to bless us. Indeed, He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. We secure His blessings through covenant. Since we've entered into a covenant relationship with the Lord through Jesus, we can learn to hold fast to that covenant. Then we can live increasingly in the fullness of the blessings we have inherited in Christ.
Our covenant reveals how deeply God loves us and is committed to us. It also reveals to us that God is completely faithful to His own word. God's covenants are the foundation for His blessing!!
Let's examine how God promises Abraham great blessings in Genesis 12:1-3.
" Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
Wow!! After several years, Abraham hadn't received the full extent of God's Word to him, so he asked the Lord, "O, Lord GOD, how may I KNOW that I will possess it?" (Gen. 15:8)
God answered him by establishing a covenant with him immediately! A covenant is the most binding commitment that two can make. The Lord was making the most powerful statement possible that He would bless Abraham. He wanted Abraham to know that He was serious about fulfilling His promise. God is a covenant-making and covenant-keeping God.
Because of covenant we can also know that God wants to bless us. Indeed, He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. We secure His blessings through covenant. Since we've entered into a covenant relationship with the Lord through Jesus, we can learn to hold fast to that covenant. Then we can live increasingly in the fullness of the blessings we have inherited in Christ.
Our covenant reveals how deeply God loves us and is committed to us. It also reveals to us that God is completely faithful to His own word. God's covenants are the foundation for His blessing!!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
These are perilous times!
We've seen horrible natural disasters in our lifetimes, yet there are more disasters to come. Our country has fought many wars, but there are more wars to come. Terrorism has occurred in our country, and more terrorist acts will be perpetrated in the future. The Word of God tells us that evil will become worse and worse in these last days.
Some of these events can be stopped if we will fast, pray and repent! God's promise in 2 Chron. 7:14 says, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Fasting and prayer are not enough - we must really repent of our nation's sins.
Ask the Lord to give you revelations of trouble on the horizon. Repent, fast and seek God in fervent prayer. In Ezekiel, God looked for someone, anyone, who would make up the hedge and stand in the gap, but he found nobody!! We can become a bridge of intercession for our nation and all nations. The Lord can rebuild spiritual hedges of protection around us. The Lord is searching for people who will seek His face. He wants to tell us what the terrorists are plotting. Are we willing to listen?
After all, greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world (I John 4:4). The Holy Spirit within us is our Helper, Friend, Comforter, Advisor, Strengthener, Ally, Advocate. He brings us into the presence of God. He convicts us of sin. The Holy Spirit motivates us to live a pure and holy life. He helps us pray and worship. He teaches us and guides us. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth . . . and shows us things to come!! Yes, He shows us things to come. Hosea 4:6 states that God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. But it doesn't have to be that way.
We desire to be the women God has called us to be, not lukewarm, not half-hearted. We have within us the authority and power to withstand every temptation, every trial, every affliction, and every hour of darkness that is coming upon the earth. We can overcome instead of being defeated.
Let's not become discouraged and lose faith when we see these things happening. We can win every battle through surrender and obedience to the Holy Spirit. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, has made us more than conquerors!
Some of these events can be stopped if we will fast, pray and repent! God's promise in 2 Chron. 7:14 says, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Fasting and prayer are not enough - we must really repent of our nation's sins.
Ask the Lord to give you revelations of trouble on the horizon. Repent, fast and seek God in fervent prayer. In Ezekiel, God looked for someone, anyone, who would make up the hedge and stand in the gap, but he found nobody!! We can become a bridge of intercession for our nation and all nations. The Lord can rebuild spiritual hedges of protection around us. The Lord is searching for people who will seek His face. He wants to tell us what the terrorists are plotting. Are we willing to listen?
After all, greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world (I John 4:4). The Holy Spirit within us is our Helper, Friend, Comforter, Advisor, Strengthener, Ally, Advocate. He brings us into the presence of God. He convicts us of sin. The Holy Spirit motivates us to live a pure and holy life. He helps us pray and worship. He teaches us and guides us. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth . . . and shows us things to come!! Yes, He shows us things to come. Hosea 4:6 states that God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. But it doesn't have to be that way.
We desire to be the women God has called us to be, not lukewarm, not half-hearted. We have within us the authority and power to withstand every temptation, every trial, every affliction, and every hour of darkness that is coming upon the earth. We can overcome instead of being defeated.
Let's not become discouraged and lose faith when we see these things happening. We can win every battle through surrender and obedience to the Holy Spirit. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, has made us more than conquerors!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Beth Moore on Saturday afternoon
Beth Moore taught on learning to mind your "spiritual gut." John 14:15 states, "He will give you another counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of Truth." The Holy Spirit is within each of us. He gives us supernatural power to KNOW. In the New Testament everyone who believes in Jesus Christ and is born again has the Holy Spirit living in them. Allow Him to give you spiritual discernment. Then go with it, even when you can't explain it.
II Cor. 2:16 tells us "We have the mind of Christ." These are epic days on the Kingdom calendar, so we need to wise up. The Bible warns us that there will be terrible times in the last days (II Tim. 3:1). People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. They will have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof (II Tim. 3:12,13) In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse - deceiving and being deceived.
Let's watch out that we are not deceived. The enemy disguises himself as an angel of light. Listen to the Holy Spirit! We want to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. We want to walk in the Holy Spirit. We will live our lives on purpose for Christ.
II Cor. 2:16 tells us "We have the mind of Christ." These are epic days on the Kingdom calendar, so we need to wise up. The Bible warns us that there will be terrible times in the last days (II Tim. 3:1). People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. They will have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof (II Tim. 3:12,13) In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse - deceiving and being deceived.
Let's watch out that we are not deceived. The enemy disguises himself as an angel of light. Listen to the Holy Spirit! We want to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. We want to walk in the Holy Spirit. We will live our lives on purpose for Christ.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Priscilla Shirer
On Saturday morning Priscilla spoke on Ephesians 3:20,21. "Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to His power that is at work in us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations foirever and ever, amen." We already have all the right resources. We just need to open our eyes and see! Now is the time to connect our impossible situations with God's ability. The power of God is "dunamis" - the word "dynamite" derives from this. The dynamite power of God is beyond our beyond.
God's power is:
more than we can ask or think
abundantly more than we can ask or think.
exceeding abundantly more than we can ask or think!!!
We need to take the lid off our God box. When there's a lid on your God box, your ability to accept God's power in your life is limited! Our God is an immeasuably MORE God.
All things are possible with God!!!!!
God's power is:
more than we can ask or think
abundantly more than we can ask or think.
exceeding abundantly more than we can ask or think!!!
We need to take the lid off our God box. When there's a lid on your God box, your ability to accept God's power in your life is limited! Our God is an immeasuably MORE God.
All things are possible with God!!!!!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Notes from Kay Arthur at Deeper Still
Kay taught us on Hebrews - the entire book of Hebrews! "In these last days God has spoken to us by His son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe." (Hebrews 1:2) In these last days, we must pay careful attention to what we have heard from the Lord, so that we will not drift away!
Now is our hour. God is raising up an army! We are to fix our eyes on Jesus and persevere! We will not shrink back and be destroyed, but we will believe and be saved! Even if we suffer greatly, we won't quit. We will receive rich rewards! The Israelites in the desert blew it because they did not mix the Word of God with faith.
The Word + faith = the Rest of God
Of God's Kingdom there is no end. Let's be the women of God who will not look to the right or to the left. Our eyes are fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We will stand our ground for the Lord! We will grow up so that we can get off the milk and eat solid (spiritual) food. We will grow up!
Now is our hour. God is raising up an army! We are to fix our eyes on Jesus and persevere! We will not shrink back and be destroyed, but we will believe and be saved! Even if we suffer greatly, we won't quit. We will receive rich rewards! The Israelites in the desert blew it because they did not mix the Word of God with faith.
The Word + faith = the Rest of God
Of God's Kingdom there is no end. Let's be the women of God who will not look to the right or to the left. Our eyes are fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We will stand our ground for the Lord! We will grow up so that we can get off the milk and eat solid (spiritual) food. We will grow up!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Notes from the conference
In December Ann, Rosie and I went to the "Deeper Still" conference in Oklahoma City. Here are some notes I took.
When we were seated in the Cox Center before the event began, I started to mist up just looking at the crowd of 10,000 women who were assembled there! The Lord has been busy these past ten years uniting His Body in a most beautiful way. There were women from 30 states and probably just as many denominations. They came to praise and worship the Lord, to pray to Him and to hear His Word taught by these anointed teachers!
Jesus' prayer in the book of John was that we would all be ONE even as He and the Father are one. That is happening before our eyes as denominational barriers have crumbled and we're uniting as we major on the important issues. Jesus is not coming back for a weak church, a powerless body. He is preparing us for the future and uniting us to be His Bride!! To God be the Glory!
Travis Cottrell and his band led us into the manifest presence of the Lord as we praised and worshipped God! Everyone really entered in as we sang and praised the Lord! I was reminded once again how important praise and worship are in breaking up the fallow ground of our hearts so that the Word of God can be planted.
When we were seated in the Cox Center before the event began, I started to mist up just looking at the crowd of 10,000 women who were assembled there! The Lord has been busy these past ten years uniting His Body in a most beautiful way. There were women from 30 states and probably just as many denominations. They came to praise and worship the Lord, to pray to Him and to hear His Word taught by these anointed teachers!
Jesus' prayer in the book of John was that we would all be ONE even as He and the Father are one. That is happening before our eyes as denominational barriers have crumbled and we're uniting as we major on the important issues. Jesus is not coming back for a weak church, a powerless body. He is preparing us for the future and uniting us to be His Bride!! To God be the Glory!
Travis Cottrell and his band led us into the manifest presence of the Lord as we praised and worshipped God! Everyone really entered in as we sang and praised the Lord! I was reminded once again how important praise and worship are in breaking up the fallow ground of our hearts so that the Word of God can be planted.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Are you hungry for the Lord?
Are you more hungry for God than you are for food? Our hearts cry to You, Lord. "I love You and want to fellowship with You. I'm hungry for Your Kingdom, Your agenda, Your plan in the earth!!"
1 Cor. 10:7 warns us not to be as the idolators. Then Phil. 3:19 states "Their bellies were their gods." I don't want my belly to be my god. Adam fell from grace because of food. Esau sold his birthright because of food. The Israelites died in the desert because they weren't content with God's food; they yearned for meat.
Fasting brings the flesh off the throne of your heart. In 1 Cor. 9:27 Paul stated that he brought his body under subjection.
Every time we fast unto the Lord, we will grow closer to Him.
1 Cor. 10:7 warns us not to be as the idolators. Then Phil. 3:19 states "Their bellies were their gods." I don't want my belly to be my god. Adam fell from grace because of food. Esau sold his birthright because of food. The Israelites died in the desert because they weren't content with God's food; they yearned for meat.
Fasting brings the flesh off the throne of your heart. In 1 Cor. 9:27 Paul stated that he brought his body under subjection.
Every time we fast unto the Lord, we will grow closer to Him.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Why fast?
Jesus taught His disciples the principles of the kingdom of God which are in direct conflict with those of this world. Jesus said, "When you give" and "When you pray" and "When you fast." He made it clear that fasting, like giving and praying, is a normal part of a Christian life. Even Jesus fasted! He's our example in all things, so why do we think we don't need to fast? We may be missing our biggest breakthroughs because we fail to fast.
Matthew gives us the story of a father who had a demon-possessed son. He took his son to Jesus and cried, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severly, for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." (Matt. 17:15,16)
Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and "the child was cured from that very hour." (v. 18). What made the difference? Matthew 10:1 says that Jesus had already given the disciples power to cast out evil spirits to heal every disease. So why couldn't the disciples cast out the demon and cure the boy?
Jesus told them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." (Matt. 17:20-21)
If Jesus could have accomplished all He came to do without fasting, then why did He fast? The Son of God knew there were supernatural things that could only be released through fasting. How much more should fasting be a common practice in our lives!
Matthew gives us the story of a father who had a demon-possessed son. He took his son to Jesus and cried, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severly, for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." (Matt. 17:15,16)
Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and "the child was cured from that very hour." (v. 18). What made the difference? Matthew 10:1 says that Jesus had already given the disciples power to cast out evil spirits to heal every disease. So why couldn't the disciples cast out the demon and cure the boy?
Jesus told them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." (Matt. 17:20-21)
If Jesus could have accomplished all He came to do without fasting, then why did He fast? The Son of God knew there were supernatural things that could only be released through fasting. How much more should fasting be a common practice in our lives!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
What is fasting?
Simply stated, Biblical fasting is abstaining from food for a spiritual purpose!
Fasting is not just going without food for a period of time. That is dieting - maybe even starving - but fasting it is not. Will we lose weight when we fast? Yes, but that must not be our motivation. Will we fit into our clothes better when we fast? Yes, but there has to be a spiritual reason and purpose for fasting.
As expressed by David in Psalm 42, fasting brings us into a deeper, more intimate and powerful relationship with God. When you eliminate food from your diet for a number of days, your spirit becomes uncluttered by the things of this world and amazingly sensitive to the things of God. "Deep calls to deep." (Ps 42:7)
David was fasting. His hunger and thirst for God were greater than his natural desire for food. As a result, he reached a point at which he could cry out for the depths of his spirit to the depths of God, even in his trial.
In Acts 13, as the disciples fasted and prayed, they ministered to the Lord! Do our hearts cry for a closer walk with the Lord? Do we need answers to the crises in our lives? Victory over habits and addictions? Breakthroughs in certain areas in which we're stuck in a rut? Do we need cleansing? direction? healing? deliverance? Do we need to take dominion over something that is blocking our way?
Our motivation for a fast is important! There will be many, many side benefits, but let's make sure were fasting for a spiritual purpose. Soon we will realize that fasting is a joy that is overlooked by many!
Fasting is not just going without food for a period of time. That is dieting - maybe even starving - but fasting it is not. Will we lose weight when we fast? Yes, but that must not be our motivation. Will we fit into our clothes better when we fast? Yes, but there has to be a spiritual reason and purpose for fasting.
As expressed by David in Psalm 42, fasting brings us into a deeper, more intimate and powerful relationship with God. When you eliminate food from your diet for a number of days, your spirit becomes uncluttered by the things of this world and amazingly sensitive to the things of God. "Deep calls to deep." (Ps 42:7)
David was fasting. His hunger and thirst for God were greater than his natural desire for food. As a result, he reached a point at which he could cry out for the depths of his spirit to the depths of God, even in his trial.
In Acts 13, as the disciples fasted and prayed, they ministered to the Lord! Do our hearts cry for a closer walk with the Lord? Do we need answers to the crises in our lives? Victory over habits and addictions? Breakthroughs in certain areas in which we're stuck in a rut? Do we need cleansing? direction? healing? deliverance? Do we need to take dominion over something that is blocking our way?
Our motivation for a fast is important! There will be many, many side benefits, but let's make sure were fasting for a spiritual purpose. Soon we will realize that fasting is a joy that is overlooked by many!
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