Shalom,

Today's devotional on The Spoken Word Church website is simple and very powerful!

Expect Your Miracle

Expectation is acting as if your miracle has already happened. Organize your life around your expected miracle. Plan it. Talk it. Believe it.

Expectation qualifies you for receivership. It separates you. It transfers you from the masses who need miracles to the chosen who receive them.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

AMEN! NEVER let go of your expectancy! HE want to bless YOU more than YOU want to recieve those blessings! Here is Brandon Lake with "Count 'Em":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share the devotional from Rick Renner's website! 

Let It Go!

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering…  — Colossians 3:12

Let me challenge you today: Set aside some quality time to be alone with God and make this specific request of Him: “Father, I ask You to show me what areas of my life need to be adjusted so they more accurately represent the attitude of Jesus Christ.” And as you begin a search with that question in your heart, I suggest that you begin with Colossians 3:12, where Paul described the Christ-like attitudes we need to implement in our lives.

Paul wrote, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.” Paul’s choice of wording for each character trait is very specific, so let’s take time today to deconstruct them to better discern his exact meaning of each one.

To begin, I want to focus on the phrase “bowels of mercies,” which sounds very strange in today’s vernacular but conveys a powerful message. It is a translation of two Greek words, splagnon and oiktirmos. The word splagnon refers to the inner organs of a human body, or more specifically, the bowels, and the word oiktirmos denotes compassion or a deeply felt urge to help relieve some kind of pain or sorrow.

Before I elaborate further on the Greek word splagnon (“bowels”), I must ask you to pardon me in advance for being so blunt with my explanation. However, it is important to consider the function of bowels in order to understand the reason why that word is used in connection with “mercy” and “compassion” in the New Testament.

Physically, when your bowels move, you feel it deeply. When the process is done, the bowels have made a physical deposit and rid the body of human waste. The purpose of these feelings, however, is not superficial — they are a sign that the intestines are working to push waste through the system and out of the body.

Thus, by using the word splagnon, Paul was saying that deep feelings of compassion should do more than merely provoke pity for a person’s situation; they should spur you to action. When these feelings begin to well up deep within your spirit, you must surrender to them and let them work through your inner man until they manifest through your words and actions. As you do this, God’s Spirit simultaneously works through you to reach out and make a spiritual deposit into those who are suffering, sorrowful, or going through a difficult time in their lives. To feel that inner pain without taking any action simply produces no benefit.

It’s interesting to note that “bowels of mercies” is the very first Christ-like attitude that Paul listed in Colossians 3:12. Throughout the four gospels, the Greek words splagnon and oiktirmos are frequently used together to describe moments when Jesus was “moved with compassion.” The Bible tells us that when Jesus experienced this feeling, compassion flowed from deep inside Him to help multitudes, heal the sick, or otherwise demonstrate God’s kindness to people who were in need (see Matthew 14:14-21; 15:32-38; 20:34; Mark 1:41,42; 6:34-44; 8:2-9; Luke 7:13-15). By listing this quality first, Paul was urging us not to focus on our own needs but rather to turn our attention outward to others who are in trouble and allow our hearts to feel their pain until we are inwardly touched !

Is there someone you know who needs a touch of God’s compassion? That divine compassion is deposited deep inside your spirit, and if you will yield to it, it will flow from the deepest part of your being to heal, change, deliver, and bring relief to that person in need. So I exhort you: Please don’t shut off your bowels of compassion! If you sense the urge growing and building inside your spirit to alleviate another person’s pain, let that compassion flow and bring him or her the delivering power of God.

The next attitude Paul told us to put on in Colossians 3:12 is “kindness.” This is a translation of the Greek word chrestotes, which means to show kindness or to be friendly to others. In Greek history, it often depicted rulers, governors, or others in positions of leadership and authority who were kind, mild, and benevolent to their subjects. Anyone who demonstrated this quality of chrestotes was considered to be compassionate, considerate, sympathetic, humane, kind, and gentle. Elsewhere in Scripture, the apostle Paul used this word chrestotes to depict God’s incomprehensible kindness for people who are unsaved (see Romans 11:22; Ephesians 2:7; Titus 3:4). One scholar has noted that when the word chrestotes is applied to interhuman relationships, it conveys the idea of being adaptable to others.

When chrestotes is working in a believer, that believer strives to become adaptable to the needs of those around him rather than harshly requiring everyone else to adapt to his own needs and desires. This is so contrary to the flesh, which says, “Excuse me, but if you don’t like me the way I am, that’s tough! This is the way I am, and if you don’t like it, you can just get out of here. I’m not changing for anyone!”

When the Holy Spirit produces “kindness” in you, your entire mode of thinking will change. You’ll begin to ask people, “How can I be different for you? Is there any way I can change that will help you? Is there anything I can do better for you? How can I serve you to meet your needs more effectively?”

When you become adaptable to meet the needs of other people, a supernatural work of God takes place in your heart, and you grow substantially in your spiritual walk as a result. If this kindness hasn’t started to work in you yet, today would be a great day for you to ask the Holy Spirit to start producing this Christ-like attitude in your life!

Paul continued in Colossians 3:12 by urging us to allow “humbleness of mind” to develop in our lives. The Greek word used here is tapeinophrosune, a compound of the words tapeinos and phronos. The word tapeinos is translated humility, and it depicts the attitude of one who is humble, lowly, and willing to stoop to any level that is needed. The word phronos simply means to think. When these two words are compounded, as in this verse, the new word portrays the attitude of someone who is unassuming and not self-promoting. It suggests a person who is modest and unpretentious.

Does “humbleness of mind” operate in your life? Jesus was known for stooping to the level of everyone around Him in order to minister life to them. Had He seen Himself as “better” or “more deserving” than others, He never would have died on the Cross for you and me. Kindness is also a Christ-like attitude that the Holy Spirit strongly desires to produce in all of our lives. Is it working in you right now, or is this an area in which you need to allow the Holy Spirit to work more deeply in your character?

In this remarkable list of Christ-like attitudes found in Colossians 3:12, Paul next mentioned “meekness.” Most people assume that if a person is meek, he must be weak. However, this is a grossly incorrect view of the word “meekness.” In reality, “meekness” is one of the strongest attributes a person can possess, because it refers to a unique strength that dramatically impacts everyone it touches. In fact, in the ancient world, meekness was considered to be a high and noble ideal that people aspired to attain in life!

The word “meekness” is the Greek word prautes, which describes a person who is forbearing, patient, and slow to respond in anger or a strong-willed person who has learned to submit his will to a higher authority. This isn’t a weak person; it’s a controlled person. A meek individual may possess a firm will and a powerful character, and he may have his own strong opinions. However, he has fundamentally learned how to bring his will under control. When confronted by an injurious situation, a meek person doesn’t react with a rash or angry outburst, flying into a rage and throwing a temper tantrum. Instead he responds with kindness, gentleness, mildness, or even friendliness.

In rare instances, the word prautes (“meekness”) was used in Classical Greek literature to describe wild animals that had become tame because the word correctly conveys the idea of a wild, fierce will being brought under control. Thus, the meaning of this word extends to the idea of an individual who remains in control of himself in the face of insults or injuries. In the Greek language, the word prautes also conveys the idea of a high and noble ideal to be aspired to in one’s life.

In addition, the word prautes was used in a medical sense to denote soothing medication to calm the angry mind. Thus, we see that a meek person doesn’t project the countenance of one who is offended, upset, angry, or reactive to insults or injuries. Instead, his response is so gentle and mild that it acts as a soothing medicine for an angry or upset soul in an unsettling situation.

The flesh loves to rage out of control, but “meekness” makes you careful and controlled even in difficult circumstances. Instead of flying into a rage and throwing a temper tantrum at every perceived slight, you’re able to remain silent and keep your emotions and temper in check. Your very presence will become God’s soothing medication for angry, upset people, and you will impart peace to situations that previously were unsettling and unstable. And if you find yourself in a situation that you fiercely believe is wrong, you’re still able to remain silent until the appropriate moment to speak or until you’ve been asked for your opinion. You know how to control yourself and your emotions.

Last in Paul’s list of Christ-like attitudes is the word “longsuffering.” This is a translation of the Greek word makrothumia, which is a compound of the words makros and thumos. The word makros indicates something that is long, distant, far, or remote. The word thumos is often translated anger, but it also embodies the idea of a strong and growing passion about something. When the two words are compounded, they form the word makrothumia, which refers to the patient restraint of anger, longsuffering, forbearance, or patience.

The idea of makrothumia, or “longsuffering,” can be compared to a candle with a very long wick that allows it to burn for a long time. In a similar way, a person who is longsuffering is ready to forbear and patiently wait for people to “come around,” listen to counsel, make progress, and ultimately implement change in their lives. Walking in makrothumia is a part of our Christian responsibility. We have an obligation before God not to be short-tempered with people who struggle or fail. Instead, we are to forbear with them and help them succeed!

Long suffering is so different from the way the flesh wants to react. Flesh gets easily angered, blows up, loses its temper, says things it later regrets, and doesn’t want to give the same mercy it demands from others. That is the exact opposite of the response God wants us to have when facing difficult situations. In fact, He commands us to make long suffering a key characteristic in our lives!

This one verse holds so much insight into the question that we need to answer before God: What areas of my life need to be adjusted so they more accurately represent the attitude of Jesus Christ? Any or all of these qualities we discussed above may represent some of those areas that need to be adjusted in our lives. The good news is that the Holy Spirit lives in us, and each character trait discussed today is a fruit He wants to produce in our lives. All He needs is our cooperation.

So I encourage you: Make the decision today to yield to the Holy Spirit on a continual basis, and allow Him to produce these Christ-like attitudes inside you!

AMEN! Here is Brooke Ligertwood with "Bless God":

Shalom in  Him!

Shalom,

Today's Faith Food" devotional by Kenneth E. Hagin is one of my favorites! 

Tender

Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron. — 1 TIMOTHY 4:2

Keep a tender conscience — don’t violate it — because it is your conscience, the voice of your spirit, that relates to your mind what the spirit of God is saying to you down inside. If you don’t keep a tender conscience, spiritual things will not be clear to you.

During the mid-’30s, I pastored a country church and usually spent Sunday nights in the home of a dear old gentleman who was about eighty-nine years old. He and I didn’t get up as early as the rest of his family on this farm, so we had breakfast together about 8 o’clock.

He’d have one of those old-fashioned coffee pots sitting on the woodstove with the coffee just boiling in it. I’ve seen him pour that boiling coffee into a mug, hold it up to his mouth, and drink the whole cup of boiling coffee in one gulp. The first time I saw him do it, I felt like I was burning all the way down!

How could he do that? I certainly couldn’t do it. My mouth and throat are so tender, one teaspoon of boiling coffee would have burned me. He couldn’t do it either, to begin with. But through the years, drinking boiling coffee had seared this man’s lips, mouth, and throat, until it was easy for him to drink the whole cup of boiling coffee in one gulp.

The same thing can happen spiritually. Keep a tender conscience. Stop the minute you miss it and your conscience condemns you. Say, “Lord, forgive me. I missed it.” Or if you need to, tell someone you have wronged, “I did wrong. Please forgive me.”

Confession: I keep my conscience tender.

AMEN! I NEVER want to have a hardened and insensitive hearyt toward JESUS! Here is one of my favorite worship songs! Hillsong with "Every Breath":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Here is Joseph Prince with "Daily Grace Inspirations":

By His Stripes You Are Healed

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4–5

One of the most evil teachings that I have heard is that God will chastise His own with sicknesses, diseases, accidents, and tragedies.

When I was a teenager, one of the youth leaders in my previous church was involved in a horrible accident that nearly killed him. A church leader gathered some of us youths to go visit that youth leader and began to lament, “Why did this happen to him? What did he do to cause God to chastise him this way?”

Can you imagine how I felt when I “realized” that God was behind the accident? Honestly, it frightened the living daylights out of me to think that God would chastise a believer using such a harsh method!

I remember praying, “God, please don’t ever chastise me this way. Whatever it is, please, just tell me, all right? I will listen, I promise!” I didn’t want to draw near to Him also because I was afraid of Him, afraid that if I made a mistake, He would not hesitate to chastise me with an accident that could leave me crippled for life or even dead!

Do you know that this erroneous teaching is actually based on the old covenant and not the new covenant? In Leviticus 26:28, God says to those who fail to obey His commandments, “I will chastise you seven times for your sins.”

But guess what? You are no longer under the covenant of law. You are under the covenant of grace! Jesus has already borne all your chastisement and punishment on the cross. Read it for yourself in today’s scripture, then reread it and reread it once more.

The prophet Isaiah saw a prophetic vision of our Lord Jesus on the cross, bearing the punishment for our transgressions. He declared that the chastisement that we deserved came upon Jesus so that you and I will never have to go through what He endured on our behalf. And by the stripes laid on Him as He bore our chastisement, we are healed! Hallelujah!

So how can anyone have the audacity to say that God will still chastise us with sicknesses, diseases, and accidents today? To say this is to negate the finished work of Jesus Christ! Under the new covenant, God will never again chastise the believer for his sins!

Whatever condition you have today, it is not from the Lord! Look to Jesus on the cross. See Him beaten and scourged for you, and receive healing and wholeness from Him. He has paid the price for your total healing. By His stripes you are healed!

AMEN! Here is Brooke Ligertwood with "Ancient Gates":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Here is today's "From Faith To Faith" devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland!

Be Separate

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. 2 Corinthians 6:17

We're surrounded by a world which is ruled for the most part by Satan. How can we avoid getting caught up in it? How can we stand apart?

You'll find the answer in John 17:17. There Jesus was speaking to the Father about all those who would believe on Him. "Sanctify them through thy truth," He says. "Thy word is truth." Sanctify means "to separate unto." So Jesus was saying, "Separate them by the Word." The Word separates!

When you initially believed the Word of God, you were born again. You were separated spiritually from the kingdom of darkness and separated to the kingdom of Light. Now that's where a lot of people stop. They let the Word of God do its initial separating work and then go right on living like everyone else. Spiritually, they're still separated from death. But physically and mentally, they're up to their necks in it. They're poor. They're sick. They're worried. They're confused. They're upset. In other words, they're just like everyone else in the world.

But if you'll give the Word of God first place in your life, it will continue to separate you from the poverty and the anxiety and the sickness and the hatred and the darkness of your old habitat.

There's something else that the Word of God will do for you too. It will not only separate you from the things of this world, it will separate you unto the things of God.

You can't simply separate yourself from any old destructive habit without separating yourself to something else. You can't turn away from the things of the world unless you turn unto something stronger. I'm telling you, you can scream and squall and kick the altar bench and everything else trying to get rid of the sin in your life. You can cry, "Dear God, take this sin away from me." But all the begging in the world won't separate you from your sin. It's the Word that does it!

Make a decision to give the Word first place in your life. Make it a quality decision, a decision from which there is no retreat. Lock in to the Word and let the Word do its work. Let it separate you from the things of the world and to the things of God.

AMEN! THAT is a decision that you will NEVER regret! Here is Brooke Ligertwood with "A Thousand Hallelujahs":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I LOVE today's devotional by Jerry Savelle Ministries! 

Victory Is Inevitable

35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? …37Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:35, 37 NKJV

Do you know that the problem you are facing right now has not taken God by surprise? God is not scratching His head, saying, “I didn’t bank on this happening. How am I going to work this one out?”

When a believer is walking in submission to the Word of God and listening to the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for the devil to win or end up with any advantage in that individual’s life. Why? Because faith is a shield that completely encompasses the believer. Faith and obedience to the Holy Spirit’s instructions make victory inevitable.

It is never God’s will that you be defeated. Victory and success are always God’s plan for you. Jesus has already paid the price for your victory at the cross when He secured your position in Him as more than a conqueror in every situation.

Although complete and total victory is always God’s perfect will for His people, not all will experience it. Some will remain defeated throughout their lives because they doubt God wants them to have victory.

Only those believers who are absolutely convinced that God offers continual victory in every circumstance and situation will experience the overcoming lifestyle that Jesus has made available for them.

You no longer have to consider defeat as an option. You can walk boldly through this life knowing that by faith in Jesus and His work on the cross, victory is always inevitable.

Confession: I am more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ and His atoning work done on the cross. It is God’s will that I experience victory in every situation in life. As I walk in faith and obedience to the Holy Spirit’s instructions, victory is inevitable.

AMEN! BELIEVE IT! RECEIVE IT! and PRAISE HIM FOR IT! Here is Brandon Lake with "Gratitude"!

Shalom in Him!