Shalom,

Today I have to share Kenneth E. Hagin's "Faith Food" devotional again!

What My Heart Says

But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth . . . . — DEUTERONOMY 8:18

I knew a man down in East Texas whose family was so poor that he didn’t have a pair of shoes until he was twelve years old. He had only a fifth grade education. But way back when money was money, he had two million dollars. He made his money in investments.

Two people who had been frequent guests in his home told me that he had said, “In many years of investing, I’ve never lost a dime.”

Here’s how he did it. He told my friend, “When someone comes with an idea and wants me to invest in something, my first reaction is mental. So I have a big closet I go into and pray about it. I wait long enough to hear what my spirit says.

“My head may say, ‘You’d be a fool to invest in that,’ but if my heart says, ‘Go ahead,’ I do. Or, my head may say, ‘You’d better get in on this one,’ while my heart tells me, ‘Don’t do it.’ So I don’t. I don’t pay any attention to my head. I just get in that closet and wait — all night sometimes. And sometimes I’m in and out of it for three days, just praying and reading my Bible, getting quiet so I can hear what my heart says.”

Confession: The Holy Spirit guides me in all the affairs of life. And I listen to what my heart says!

AMEN! Here is another of my favorite worship songs! Brandon Lake with "That's Who I Praise"!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "Faith Food" devotional by Kenneth E. Hagin is my favorite 'nugget' for today!

Waiting On God

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. — ISAIAH 40:31

Except for that one time when I got fleeced, I never missed it when I made a change in churches or ministry.

“What did you go by — a fleece?”

No, I went by what the inward witness said. If I had to, I would wait awhile before God. If I had to, I would wait all night long or I might fast a day or so — not that fasting will change God. It won’t.

God never changes. He’s the same before I fast, while I fast, and after I fast. But fasting changes me. The time I would have spent eating, I prayed and waited on God. I would spend more time in the Word. Then my spirit man would become dominant.

So I waited until I knew on the inside of me what God wanted me to do. And I never got fleeced again.

Confession: My spirit is the candle of the Lord. He guides me. He enlightens me. He leads me through my spirit. He leads, first of all, by the inward witness. He also leads by the still, small voice. He is leading. He is guiding. He is directing. I am Spirit-led, Spirit-taught, and Spirit-guided.

AMEN! The more time you spend in fellowship with HIM, the clearer His voicewill become to you! Here is Hillsong with "Song For His Presence":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share "From Faith To Faith" devotional from Kenneth and Gloria Copeland!

Keep Paddling Upstream

Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3

Do you really believe that you need to watch over your mouth? Most believers don’t. You can tell that just by listening to their conversations. They profess, for example, to be trusting God concerning their health. But you’re likely to hear them say something like this: “I’m just sure I’m going to get the flu. I get it every year. I’ll be sicker than a dog too, you’ll see....”

Do people like that have what they say?

Oh yes! Check with them a few weeks later and they’ll be quick to tell you that they got just as sick as they said they’d be. But, odds are, if you try to tell them there’s any connection between the words they spoke and the illness they suffered, they’ll look at you as if you were out of your mind.

Of course, if they’d dig in to the Word of God and find out what it has to say about the subject, they’d realize that the words they speak have a tremendous impact on their lives. They’d see that words quite literally determine their future. If you’re a born-again believer, you’ve already experienced the most powerful example of that. You believed with your heart and confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus and you changed the eternal course of your life. You know firsthand just how powerful your words can be.

Yet, even so, if you’re like me, you still find that speaking faith-filled words consistently is tough to do. I’ve been at it myself for many years now and, despite all the time I’ve spent on it and all the experiences I’ve had, it’s still something I have to watch all the time.

You see, the world around you is in negative flow. Like a rushing river, it’s always pulling at you, trying to get you to flow with it. Living by faith and speaking words of faith is like trying to paddle upstream. You can do it—but it’s a great deal of work. And there’s never a time you can afford to take a vacation from it. All you have to do is relax a little bit and you’ll just start drifting right back down the river.

Make the decision right now to set a watch over your lips. Determine to consistently fill your mouth with the Word of God. “Attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings” (Proverbs 4:20). Let God’s Word be your watch and everything you say will take you a little farther upstream!

AMEN! Here is Brandon Lake with "Tear Off The Roof":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We read Pslam 37 in today's Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan and I really appreciate verses 1-6!

1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness (that which is not upright or in right standing with God). 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 3 Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass. 6 And He will make your uprightness and right standing with God go forth as the light, and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.

I hope that you will get these PROMISES and INSTRUCTIONS inside of you so that YOU can walk in obedience to the Word of God and HE can carry His promises out for YOU! Here is Brandon Lake with "Gratitude":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share from Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest" devotional!

The Cross In Prayer

At that day ye shall ask in My name. — John 16:26

We are too much given to thinking of the Cross as something we have to get through; we get through it only in order to get into it. The Cross stands for one thing only for us — a complete and entire and absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ, and there is nothing in which this identification is realized more than in prayer.

“Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.” Then why ask? The idea of prayer is not in order to get answers from God; prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God. If we pray because we want answers, we will get huffed with God. The answers come every time, but not always in the way we expect, and our spiritual huff shows a refusal to identify ourselves with Our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove God answers prayer; we are here to be living monuments of God’s grace.

“I say not that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you.” Have you reached such an intimacy with God that the Lord Jesus Christ’s life of prayer is the only explanation of your life of prayer? Has Our Lord’s vicarious life become your vital life? “At that day” you will be so identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.

When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to fix the blame on someone else. That is always a snare of Satan. You will find there is a reason which is a deep instruction to you, not to anyone else.

AMEN! Here is Brooke Ligertwood with "A Thousand Hallelujahs":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share the devotional from Joseph Prince's "Daily Grace Inspirations":

Selah Moments

LORD, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. Psalm 3:1–3

As you read what happened to David as he cried out to God in the verses above, notice the selah in the psalm. You will find such “selah moments” throughout David’s psalms. That means David paused . . . and listened.

In those moments, David turned his eyes from his troubles and looked to his God. In those moments, I believe he remembered afresh that he did not have to fight his battles because the Lord of hosts fought for him (1 Samuel 17:45–47). He remembered afresh the God who had delivered him from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, the God who overcame Goliath without sword or spear. And as he looked to the Lord, he strengthened himself in the Lord (1 Samuel 30:6), and that’s when things started to change.

Change came when he shifted his focus away from his painful and dire circumstances and allowed himself to be absorbed instead in the grace of the Lord, when he paused and tuned in to what the Lord was encouraging him with on the inside. I believe that in those few moments of meditating on God’s goodness and mercy, he heard the Lord say to him, “David, why are you worried about all these people coming against you? I am your shield. I am the glory and the lifter of your head.” That was what brought about David’s turning point in the situation. God’s comfort came to David as he chose to selah.

Does it seem like your enemies have increased and many are rising up against you? Have you been getting one bad report after another from the doctor? Maybe they have found a lot more to be concerned about than you were previously aware of. And now your heart is heavy because it feels like maybe even God can’t help you.

At times like this, do what David did. Selah. Pause and choose to run to the Lord in the presence of your enemies.

When David came back to the psalm, his enemies were still there. But he could rise up and declare, “But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head.”

In your selah moments with the Lord, you will find your turning point and victory. Don’t remain discouraged. Don’t run away from Him. Run to Him and worship Him.

AMEN! Here is Brandon Lake with "Plans":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share the devotional from Jerry Savelle Ministries!

Flood Your Mind

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal.”

The most successful people in the world are those who have the ability to perceive what is possible, even when it looks impossible. They look beyond the obstacle blocking their success and they recognize that through perseverance, they will ultimately be victorious.

You’ve got to be able to see beyond your circumstances right now. You have to develop the ability to see the impossible no matter what your mind is telling you. You have to cast down negative thoughts daily. When you wake up, the thoughts are going to be there. Shut them up. When you lie down at night, those thoughts will try to return. You have to look beyond what Satan is trying to tell you and see God doing the impossible in your life.

You must make a decision that you are going to do whatever it takes to win the battle in your mind – in your thought life. Wake up praising God. Let that be the first thing that comes out of your mouth. Shut the devil up just as soon as your eyes open.

Remember, you can’t only cast down negative thoughts, you have to replace them with the Word of God. You must flood your mind with the Word. Begin listening to faith-building messages while you’re getting dressed and while you’re driving to work. Faith comes by hearing the Word, and we know that our faith is what enables us to overcome the world (1 John 5:4).

The more you flood your mind with God’s Word, guard what comes out of your mouth and cast down every negative thought, the sooner you will be living a victorious life!

AMEN! We MUST train our thinking to agree with GOD and HIS WORD! THAT is the key to GREAT SUCCESS! Here is Brandon Lake with "Count 'Em":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

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

Faith — Not Sight

For we walk by faith, not by sight. — 2 CORINTHIANS 5:7

Smith Wigglesworth said something that blessed me when I first read it way back in the late thirties, because it was so in line with my own experience. He said:

“I am not moved by what I feel.
I am not moved by what I see.
I am moved only by what I believe.”

Then he went on to say:

“I can’t understand God by feelings.
I can’t understand the Lord Jesus Christ by feelings.
I understand God by what the Word says about Him.
I understand the Lord Jesus Christ by what the Word
says about Him. He is everything the Word says He is.”

You will not be able to understand yourself by feelings. Instead, understand yourself as a born again, Spirit-filled Christian, by what the Word of God says about you.

And when you read what the Word says about you, whether you feel like it or not, say, “Yes, that’s me. I have that. The Word says I have that. I can do what the Word says I can do. I am what the Word says I am.”

As you do this, you will begin to develop spiritually.

Confession: I walk by faith and not by sight. (Now make Wigglesworth’s confession, your confession.)

AMEN! NEVER be intimidated by the defeated devil! JESUS has won FOR US the VICTORY! Let's enforce it! Here is Tauren Wells with "Take It All Back":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We read Psalm 32 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan for today and I LOVE some of these verses! Verses 1-2:

1 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is he who has forgiveness of his transgression continually exercised upon him, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

JESUS, Who had never sinned Himself, BECAME sin with OUR sin! He shed HIS BLOOD as the payment for OUR REMPTION! So receive your BLESSING and REJOICE continually in HIM! Be DOERS of verse 11!

11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you [uncompromisingly] righteous [you who are upright and in right standing with Him]; shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

AMEN! Here is Brooke Ligertwood with "A Thousand Hallelujahs":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "Faith Food" devotional by Kenneth E. Hagin is another favorite!

Mountain And Valleys

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ . . . . — 2 CORINTHIANS 2:14

I hear people talk about being in the valley, and then on the mountain, and then back in the valley again. To tell the truth about it, I don’t know what they’re talking about. I’ve been saved since 1933, and I’ve never been anywhere but on the mountaintop!

You don’t have to get down in the valley. People talk about their “valley experiences.” I’ve never had any valley experiences. Oh, yes, there have been tests and trials — but I was on top of the mountain, shouting my way through it all, living above it. Praise God!

You see, those who say they’re in the valleys are looking at life from the natural standpoint — from the physical. They are trying to get a spiritual answer from the physical — and you just can’t do that.

Years ago, when I came among Pentecostal people after having been a Baptist, I’d hear them talk about “going through the valley.” And when I didn’t know what they were talking about, they’d look at me and say, “Your time’s a-coming!” Thank God, it never has arrived!

No! Get off the negative and get on the positive side of life — and you won’t have any valleys. You’ll always be on the mountaintop!

Confession: Thanks be to God, who ALWAYS causes me to triumph in Christ! I ALWAYS triumph! I live on the mountaintop!

AMEN! JESUS paid the price for our NEW LIFE, so let's LIVE IT! Here is Brandon Lake with "Coat of Many Colors":

Shalom in Him!