Shalom,


Psalm 150 needs no introduction or explanation, just ACTION! 


 ¹PRAISE THE Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in the heavens of His power!
 ²Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to the abundance of His greatness! 
³Praise Him with trumpet sound; praise Him with lute and harp! 
⁴Praise Him with tambourine and [single or group] dance; praise Him with stringed and wind instruments or flutes! 
⁵Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with loud clashing cymbal 
⁶Let everything that has breath and every breath of life praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)


So, are you breathing? Then you KNOW what to do! John 10:10 is a verse that will help you get into a praising frame of mind!


¹⁰The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

 THAT is the life that the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible desires for us to live on this earth! Amen! Here is an old song from Hillsong that will never really be out of date! it is called  "Everything That Has Breath":


Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Psalm 149 is all about praising the LORD again! I LOVE these Psalms!  There are so many ways, and so many reasons, to praise HIM! Verse 1 says to praise Him with a new song:


¹PRAISE THE Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, praise Him in the assembly of His saints!


Verse 3 says to praise Him with music and dance:


    ³Let them praise His name in chorus and choir and with the [single or group] dance; let them sing praises to Him with the tambourine and lyre!


Verse 4 tells us how the LORD feels about our praise:


  ⁴For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation and adorn the wretched with victory.


"Pleasure" is the Hebrew word "ratsah", which means: to be pleased with, to accept favorably; to be delighted with. I KNOW that you, as a born again believer in Jesus of Nazareth, desire to bring delight to HIM! SO, praise Him! Verses 5-9 tell us how to, when to, and the results of, praising HIM!

  ⁵Let the saints be joyful in the glory and beauty [which God confers upon them]; let them sing for joy upon their beds. ⁶Let the high praises of God be in their throats and a two-edged sword in their hands, ⁷To wreak vengeance upon the nations and chastisement upon the people ⁸To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron, ⁹To execute upon them the judgment written. He [the Lord] is the honor of all His saints. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

In John 9:4-5 Jesus says this before healing the man who had been blind from birth:

⁴We must work the works of Him Who sent Me and be busy with His business while it is daylight; night is coming on, when no man can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the world's Light.

Now that Jesus is seated in Heaven, WE are to be the Light in this world! One of the ways that are Light shines brighter is through praise and worship! When we become people of consistent praise, our countenance changes and others SEE the Light of His Life shining through us! THAT is what leads them to ask us about the Hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15)! BE the LIGHT! Amen! Here is Hillsong with "For Your Name":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Psalm 148:1-6 tells us that all of Heaven praises the LORD!


¹PRAISE THE Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the heights!

    ²Praise Him, all His angels, praise Him, all His hosts!

    ³Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all you stars of light!

    ⁴Praise Him, you highest heavens and you waters above the heavens!

    ⁵Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created.

    ⁶He also established them forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away [He fixed their bounds which cannot be passed over].

They are instructed to, and do, praise the LORD forever because HE created THEM! Then all of earth is instructed in verses 7-14:

   ⁷Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps!

    ⁸You lightning, hail, fog, and frost, you stormy wind fulfilling His orders!

    ⁹Mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars!

    ¹⁰Beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!

    ¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers and judges of the earth!

    ¹²Both young men and maidens, old men and children!

    ¹³Let them praise and exalt the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted and supreme! His glory and majesty are above earth and heaven!

    ¹⁴He has lifted up a horn for His people [giving them power, prosperity, dignity, and preeminence], a song of praise for all His godly ones, for the people of Israel, who are near to Him. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

He is worthy of ALL praise, thanksgiving and worship simply because of WHO HE IS, even if He had done nothing for us! But He HAS wonderfully blessed us and continues to do so when we receive Him as LORD! Spend today improving your praise and worship life! you will increase your capacity to see, hear,  understand and receive even more that He has ALREADY blessed you with (Ephesians 1:3)! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Hear Our Praises":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Psalm 147:1 says this:


 ¹PRAISE THE Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God, for He is gracious and lovely; praise is becoming and appropriate.


I LOVE how this says "praise is appropriate"! Do you think so? OF COURSE it is! He IS the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible, after all!  I also really like verse 2:


    ² The Lord is building up Jerusalem; He is gathering together the exiles of Israel.


WE need to continue to pray for the peace and prosperity of the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, for OUR benefit! This puts US in position to continue to be blessed by God! HE is looking out for them! God has set His plan in motion concerning this nation and there is no devil from hell that will ever stop it! AMEN! And the last verses I want to share today are verses 7-8:

  ⁷Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praises with the harp or the lyre to our God!--

    ⁸Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

I have been SO very blessed this year by the wonderful artistry of God in the skies! HE put those clouds there! HALLELUJAH! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of this:

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


I am going to share today's devotional from "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers in it's entirety today because it is so good!

. . . tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high —Luke 24:49

The disciples had to tarry, staying in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost, not only for their own preparation but because they had to wait until the Lord was actually glorified. And as soon as He was glorified, what happened? “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). The statement in John 7:39 — “. . . for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified”— does not pertain to us. The Holy Spirit has been given; the Lord is glorified— our waiting is not dependent on the providence of God, but on our own spiritual fitness.

The Holy Spirit’s influence and power were at work before Pentecost, but He was not here. Once our Lord was glorified in His ascension, the Holy Spirit came into the world, and He has been here ever since. We have to receive the revealed truth that He is here. The attitude of receiving and welcoming the Holy Spirit into our lives is to be the continual attitude of a believer. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive reviving life from our ascended Lord.

It is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit that changes people, but the power of the ascended Christ coming into their lives through the Holy Spirit. We all too often separate things that the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ— it is the evidence of the ascended Christ.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit does not make you think of time or eternity— it is one amazing glorious now. “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). Begin to know Him now, and never finish.

Everything that the Holy Spirit was sent into the earth to do, He is STILL doing today! The gifts of the Spirit are as necessary today as they have ever been! As long as we are still on this earth, living in these earthly bodies, we NEED the supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit in every area of our lives! It is only when "that which is perfect" comes, and THAT would be JESUS, that we will no longer need this precious and very valuable Gift! If YOU have never been filled with the Spirit, check out more about this on our website (link at the left) and then prayer THIS prayer:


Father, I am Your child. I desire to be filled with Holy Spirit and speak with other tongues as the Holy Spirit gives me the utterance. By faith, I receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit. As I lift my hands to praise You, I fully expect to speak in my heavenly prayer language. Amen.


Here is Hillsong with "Church On Fire". Let's BE THAT!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Psalm 145:1-5 (AMP):


 ¹I WILL extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever [with grateful, affectionate praise]. ²Every day [with its new reasons] will I bless You [affectionately and gratefully praise You]; yes, I will praise Your name forever and ever. ³Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; and His greatness is [so vast and deep as to be] unsearchable. ⁴One generation shall laud Your works to another and shall declare Your mighty acts. ⁵On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wondrous works I will meditate.


The sub-heading for Psalm 145 says: "[A Psalm] of praise. Of David. David may have written this and I'm sure he sang it, but the reason that this Psalm is included, by God, in His Word, is because this is something that EVERY believer should be doing! Make this Psalm your own personal declaration and expression of praise and worship to Him! Verses 10-12 say this:

   ¹⁰All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your loving ones shall bless You [affectionately and gratefully shall Your saints confess and praise You]! ¹¹They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power, ¹²To make known to the sons of men God's mighty deeds and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.

THAT should be our purpose in whatever we do!  What will HE do? Verses 19-20:

¹⁹He will fulfill the desires of those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He also will hear their cry and will save them. ²⁰The Lord preserves all those who love Him, but all the wicked will He destroy.

So I will do verse 21:

 ²¹My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord; and let all flesh bless (affectionately and gratefully praise) His holy name forever and ever.

   

How about YOU? Here is Hillsong with "All Of My Days":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Psalm 144:1-2 give us a great perspective on how the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible desires for us to operate and how He wants us to view Him!


 ¹BLESSED BE the Lord, my Rock and my keen and firm Strength, Who teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight-   ²My Steadfast Love and my Fortress, my High Tower and my Deliverer, my Shield and He in Whom I trust and take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.


The Amplified Bible is very accurate here because the Hebrew word for "strength" is "tsuwr", which means: a rock or a rocky wall. He is our firm foundation! He "teaches", the Hebrew word "lamad", which means: to instruct, but also to goad! He pushes us to press on and to know and to do more than we thought we were capable of! What is He teaching? He teaches our hands, representing power, to war. We use HIS power to do the supernatural battle against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12)! He also teaches our fingers, representing creativity, to fight. We use the creative techniques of the Holy Spirit to fight specific, individual battles! This is like hand-to-hand combat! And through all of this, HE is Who we look to for the ultimate deliverance! Thank YOU, Jesus, for the VICTORY! AMEN! Here is an older song by Hillsong called "Great In Power":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Most of us are very familiar with John 3:3. Here are a few different translations for your study!

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. KJV

3 Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God. AMP

3 “Yes, indeed,” Yeshua answered him, “I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.  CJB

3 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God."  New Living Translation 

3 Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to — to God's kingdom." THE MESSAGE

All pretty similar! The message here is that unless we experience the New Birth by receiving Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and personal Savior, we cannot "see" the kingdom of God. This is the Greek word "oida" which means: to have seen or perceived; to know; to have knowledge of. The kingdom of God is a method or mode of living that relies completely on the resources of Heaven that we, as members of the family of God and the body of Christ, have exclusive access to! Are YOU born again? If not, pray THIS prayer, from your believing heart, and become a member of God's family!


Almighty God, I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus Christ came to this earth, died on the cross for me, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at Your right hand. I accept and receive Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and I invite Him to come into my heart and become Lord over my life. I thank You now Father, for welcoming me into Your family. You are my Father. I am Your child. Jesus is my Lord! Amen. 


Now you can check out our website (link on the left) and find out more! Check out this blog from the beginning will help you, too! Contact us for more information! In the meantime, here is Hillsong with "Break Free":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Although I prefer to stick to the straight-up Word of God, devotionals can be helpful tools to remind us of the Word or to direct our thoughts. I have found that many times the Holy Spirit will use these to confirm something that He has already been speaking to me!  How can He time something that has already been written to coincide with my specific need? Because HE IS GOD! Amen! The selection today from Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest" is a simple, but very effective reminder not to allow the cares of this world to choke out the LIVING Word of God!

. . . do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on —Matthew 6:25

Jesus summed up commonsense carefulness in the life of a disciple as unbelief. If we have received the Spirit of God, He will squeeze right through our lives, as if to ask, “Now where do I come into this relationship, this vacation you have planned, or these new books you want to read?” And He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our first consideration. Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion.

“. . . do not worry about your life . . . .” Don’t take the pressure of your provision upon yourself. It is not only wrong to worry, it is unbelief; worrying means we do not believe that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never anything but those details that worry us. Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the Word He puts in us? Is it the devil? No— “the cares of this world” (Matthew 13:22). It is always our little worries. 

Our Father God desires for us to lead a life totally free from the cares of this world, so cast every care on Him and, instead, spend more time in praise, thanksgiving and worship! praise is the highest form of prayer because it declares to all who hear that you truly do believe His Word! Here to help you with that is Hillsong United with the medley "Freedom Is Here/Shout Unto God":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


John 1 is one of the most powerful chapters in the Word of God! This reveals Who Jesus is, where He came from and why He came, so plainly and clearly! Verses 1-5 (AMP):


 ¹IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. ²He was present originally with God. ³All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being. ⁴In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. ⁵And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].


Then verses 9-12, 14:

  ⁹There it was--the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person. ¹⁰He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him]. ¹¹He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own--His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him. ¹²But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name--  

¹⁴And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.

God the Son was in Heaven with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. They planned the great plan of our salvation and, at the proper time, He left His glory in Heaven and came to be born as a human being without an earthly father. The perfect combination of God (100%) and man (100%)! He paid the price and bridged the gap by becoming sin with OUR sin, so that He could redeem us from the control of the enemy and release us from the penalty of sin! HALLELUJAH! Here are these same verses in the Wuest Translation and the New Living Translation:


Wuest:
1 1-5 In the beginning the Word was existing. And the Word was in fellowship with God the Father. And the Word was as to His essence absolute deity. This Word was in the beginning in fellowship with God the Father. All things through His intermediate agency came into being, and without Him there came into being not even one thing which has come into existence. In Him life was existing. And this aforementioned life was the light of men. And the light in the darkness is constantly shining. And the darkness did not overwhelm it.


9-10 He, the aforementioned Word, was the light, the genuine light which enlightens spiritually every man as it comes into the universe. In the universe He was, and the universe through His intermediate agency came into existence, and the world of sinners did not have an experiential knowledge of Him. 11-13 Into the midst of His own possessions He came, and His uniquely-owned people did not take Him to themselves. But as many as appropriated Him, He gave to them a legal right to become born-ones of God, to those who place their trust in His name,   14 And the Word, entering a new mode of existence, became flesh, and lived in a tent [His physical body] among us. And we gazed with attentive and careful regard and spiritual perception at His glory, a glory such as that of a uniquely-begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

NLT:
1 1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him.  4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, 
and His life brought light to everyone.  5 The light shines in the darkness, 
and the darkness can never extinguish it.


9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 

10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn't recognize Him. 11 He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him. 12 But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 

14 So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son.

AS you allow yourself to meditate on the great love of the One, True God that would cause this wonderful plan to be put into action, you should NEVER doubt Him or His Word ever again! Obey Joshua 1:8 and meditate on this Word, day and  night, and it will rise so big within you that doubt, fear, guilt, worry, condemnation will have no place! Amen! I like this picture!

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


The devotional from The Spoken Word Church website today says this:

SAVOR EACH MOMENT

Savor means to taste, feel and extract all the pleasure and benefit of each moment. Someone has well said, "You are going to be on the journey longer than you will be at the destination, so enjoy the journey."

Always be where you are. Do not permit your mind to race miles ahead of where your body is. Taste now. Now is the future you have been talking about your entire life.

"(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"  (2 Corinthians 6:2).

The New Living Translation say this:

2 For God says,  "At just the right time, I heard you.  On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, the "right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation

The word "salvation" here is the Greek word "soteria". This word involves: rescue; safety; health; prosperity; deliverance; preservation. God's timing is PERFECT! He is never early and never late, but ALWAYS right on time! Make sure that YOU are renewing your mind every day with the Word of God (Romans 12:2) so that you can maintain a ready attitude for YOUR deliverance! When it comes, it will be "immediately, suddenly, NOW"! In the meantime, enjoy every day, in Him! You will be more than ready for anything! Amen! Here is Hillsong with an older song called "Everyday":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Today's devotional in Oswald Chamber's "My Utmost For His Highest" is very good in explaining how someone can be born again and still not ACT like a believer should!

By your patience possess your souls —Luke 21:19

When a person is born again, there is a period of time when he does not have the same vitality in his thinking or reasoning that he previously had. We must learn to express this new life within us, which comes by forming the mind of Christ (see Philippians 2:5). Luke 21:19 means that we take possession of our souls through patience. But many of us prefer to stay at the entrance to the Christian life, instead of going on to create and build our soul in accordance with the new life God has placed within us. We fail because we are ignorant of the way God has made us, and we blame things on the devil that are actually the result of our own undisciplined natures. Just think what we could be when we are awakened to the truth!

There are certain things in life that we need not pray about— moods, for instance. We will never get rid of moodiness by praying, but we will by kicking it out of our lives. Moods nearly always are rooted in some physical circumstance, not in our true inner self. It is a continual struggle not to listen to the moods which arise as a result of our physical condition, but we must never submit to them for a second. We have to pick ourselves up by the back of the neck and shake ourselves; then we will find that we can do what we believed we were unable to do. The problem that most of us are cursed with is simply that we won’t. The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh.

The key to understand this is to realize that we are triune beings. We are spirits who possess souls and live in human bodies (1 Thessalonians 5:23)! At the New Birth our formerly dead human spirit is recreated in the image of God instantly (1 Corinthians 5:17). When Jesus appears for the Church, our formerly mortal bodies will be changed instantly into the same type of resurrected body that Jesus had (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). In the meantime, WE are responsible for recreating, renewing, and changing our souls (mind, emotions and will) to be in line with the Word of God (Romans 12:1-2). This does NOT happen instantly, but progressively as we spend time daily in the Word of God and in prayer, praise and worship and fellowship with Him! The Holy Spirit is the One Who BEGAN the good work in us the moment we were born again, and He is the One Who will continue working that good work in us, but WE  must give Him something to work with! Make it YOUR determined purpose today to renew your mind to conform to the will of God, as revealed in the Word of God! You will NEVER regret that decision! Amen! Here is an older song by Hillsong called "From The Inside Out":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


I am including Psalm 138 in its entirety here. This psalm was written by David as a special tribute to the God Who answers prayer! 


 ¹I WILL confess and praise You [O God] with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praises to You. ²I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name! ³In the day when I called, You answered me; and You strengthened me with strength (might and inflexibility to temptation) in my inner self. ⁴All the kings of the land shall give You credit and praise You, O Lord, for they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled]. ⁵Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord and joyfully celebrate His mighty acts, for great is the glory of the Lord. ⁶For though the Lord is high, yet has He respect to the lowly [bringing them into fellowship with Him]; but the proud and haughty He knows and recognizes [only] at a distance. ⁷Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. ⁸The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, endure forever--forsake not the works of Your own hands.


We are instructed in the Word of God to pray, shown HOW to pray (according to His will [1 John 5:14-15]), and exhorted to joyfully EXPECT the answers! God's will is revealed completely in John 10:10:

10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). 

AMP

Meditate on this Truth this week: Answered prayer gets God's will accomplished in the earth! Amen Here is a link to Hillsong's  "The Desert Song":


The Desert Song


 Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


The message found in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 is very vital for living as a born again believer in this current world situation!


3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, (NKJV)

Here it is from the Amplified Bible:


3 For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. 

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, 

5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) (AMP)

Notice that our "warfare" is NOT against other human beings, but against the works and workers of darkness! Their only weapon is deceit, but they have very many ways of disguising it as the truth! That is one of the very many reasons we have for meditating on the Word of God continuously. The battle for us actually takes place in our soul, specifically our minds! We must have a mind renewed with the Word in order to properly discern the thoughts and suggestions that come. THEN, we use our mighty, supernatural, spiritual weapons to expose the enemy, identify his thoughts, reject them, and replace them with the Word of God! In THAT is found as sure and certain victory! Amen! Here is Hillsong United with "Bones":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Every verse of Psalm 136 contains the word "mercy". Verse 1:


 ¹O GIVE thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.


 We have covered this word many times on the blog and it is a very powerful word! It is the Hebrew word "checed". This word means: kindness; goodness; faithfulness; loving-kindness; steadfast love; devotion. Here is a portion of what Vine's Expository Dictionary says about this word:

In general, one may identify three basic meanings of the word, which always interact: "strength," "steadfastness," and "love." Any understanding of the word that fails to suggest all three inevitably loses some of its richness. "Love" by itself easily becomes sentimentalized or universalized apart from the covenant. Yet "strength" or "steadfastness" suggests only the fulfillment of a legal or other obligation.

The word refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship (especially Yahweh and Israel). But checed is not only a matter of obligation; it is also of generosity. It is not only a matter of loyalty, but also of mercy. The weaker party seeks the protection and blessing of the patron and protector, but he may not lay absolute claim to it. The stronger party remains committed to his promise, but retains his freedom, especially with regard to the manner in which he will implement those promises. Checed implies personal involvement and commitment in a relationship beyond the rule of law.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

This word is a wonderful picture of the extreme love that the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible has for all people that would cause Him to send His own Son to buy us back from the control of the enemy! As we have mentioned before, "endures" is not really in there, but rather is implied by the meaning. It actually reads: His mercy forever! "Forever" is the Hebrew "`olam", which means: forever; everlasting; continuous existence; perpetual; time out of mind. Don't you know that if something is going to last THAT long, it will certainly "endure"? Amen! THAT is how very much, and how very long, HE loves YOU! GLORY TO GOD! Now THAT is something to thank and praise Him for! Let's do so with this song from Hillsong called "Yours Forever":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Psalm 135:1-5:


¹PRAISE THE Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise the name of the Lord; praise Him, O you servants of the Lord! ²You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, ³Praise the Lord! For the Lord is good; sing praises to His name, for He is gracious and lovely! ⁴For the Lord has chosen [the descendants of] Jacob for Himself, Israel for His peculiar possession and treasure. ⁵For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods.


Remember, now, that as a born again believer in the Lord Jesus, you ARE the house of God! 1 Corinthians 3:16-17:

16 Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17 God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

So, houses of God, PRAISE HIM! Amen! Then Psalm 135:12 tells us, again, who the nation of Israel REALLY belongs to:


¹² [The Lord] gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people.


Verses 19-21 are their instructions:

 ¹⁹ Bless (affectionately and gratefully praise) the Lord, O house of Israel; bless the Lord, O house of Aaron [God's ministers]. ²⁰Bless the Lord, O house of Levi [the dedicated tribe]; you who reverently and worshipfully fear the Lord, bless the Lord [affectionately and gratefully praise Him]! ²¹Blessed out of Zion be the Lord, Who dwells [with us] at Jerusalem! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Then verse 13 is for ALL of us!


¹³Your name, O Lord, endures forever, Your fame, O Lord, throughout all ages.


Amen! So, let's "shout His fame"! Amen here to help you do that is Hillsong with "Shout Your Fame":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Today's devotional from Kenneth E. Hagin's Faith Food is about Job. Here is a portion:


How About Job?
May 15, 2012

"And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before" (Job 42:10). 

"But you've forgotten, Brother Hagin, that God made Job sick," someone said. 

"No, He didn't, the devil did." 

"Yeah, but God gave him permission!" 

But God didn't commission Job's problem. God will permit you to rob a gas station (you have a free will), but He won't commission you to do it. 

Actually, God has only given the devil "permission" in a sense. If you allow Satan to attack you, God will permit it, because Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), and you are living on his territory. 

Job himself opened the door to the devil by being afraid. Job said, "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me" (Job 3:25). 

Remember, we, as born again believers, with the Spirit of God living IN us, have been given authority over all the power of the enemy! What WE allow will happen in our lives! What WE refuse to allow CANNOT stay! Remember this in Luke 10:19:

19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. KJV

God has already done HIS part! HE sent Jesus! Jesus has already done HIS part! HE is now sitting at the right hand of the Father, interceding for US that we get it right! The Holy Spirit is continually doing HIS part! He is working that "good work" (Philippians 1:6) in us and leading, guiding and directing us moment by moment, and day by day! Are YOU listening and obeying? One of the commandments found in the Word of God, in many, many places, is "fret not"! We are NOT to fear anything or anyone! Remember this in Hebrews 13:5a-6:


5 (b)  for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]  [Josh 1:5.] 6 So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me? AMP


Here is the rest of the devotional, and a wonderful encouragement for US to never give up, never give in, never, never, never! 


Many Bible scholars agree that the entire Book of Job took place over a nine to 18 month period. Afterwards, we see that God turned Job's captivity. Therefore, when Job was sick, he was in captivity to the devil. When Job was in poverty, he was in captivity to the devil. But God turned Job's captivity! God gave Job twice as much as he had to begin with. That's God at work! 

Confession: God turns our captivity! He doesn't put us in bondage. God sets us free! Through Jesus, I am free! I will never accept sickness and disease as being from God! I know where it comes from and I stand against it! 


Here is a song I that really blesses my life from Hillsong United It is called "Nova":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


2 Corinthians 2:2 says this:


   ²For He says, In the time of favor (of an assured welcome) I have listened to and heeded your call, and I have helped you on the day of deliverance (the day of salvation). Behold, now is truly the time for a gracious welcome and acceptance [of you from God]; behold, now is the day of salvation!


"Salvation" here is the Greek word "soterias". Strong's Concordance says: rescue or safety. Thayer's Greek Lexicon says: deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation. The word "now" is the Greek word "nun". According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon: a) so used that by the thing which is now said to be or to be done the present time as opposed to past time. b) opposed to future time. c) Sometimes "nun" with the present is used of what will occur forthwith or soon, d) with the imperative it often marks the proper or fit time for doing a thing. 


So we can be completely assured that the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of Bible wants us delivered, rescued, safe and sound NOW! At this very moment in time! We KNOW that tests, trials and temptations WILL come, BUT, He has promised to deliver us out of them ALL (2 Timothy 3:11; Ephesians 6:9)! We see here that He desires for that to happen NOW! So what is keeping the manifestation from appearing? One thing we DO know, it's NOT God! Amen! Now we are in position to seek the Holy Spirit for wisdom on what WE must do to get in position to receive and to STAY in that position! Amen! Here to help you do that is Hillsong with "Salvation Is Here":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, step-mothers, spiritual mothers and "like-a-mothers"! I pray that your day has been most blessed! Today at The Spoken Word Church Pastor Bill Novak began a new series called "Two" about the ministry, power and unity of believers joining forces together! Specifically about having God-given friendships and best friends! The verse that really spoke to me today was Proverbs 18:24:

24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 

KJV

I have always heard that this means that if we wanted to have a lot of friends, we had to BE friendly! Although there may be some truth to that thought, that is NOT what this verse is really saying! here are some other translations and versions to show you what this is REALLY saying!

24 The man of many friends [a friend of all the world] will prove himself a bad friend, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. AMP

24 Some “friends” pretend to be friends,
but a true friend sticks closer than a brother. CJB

24 There are "friends" who destroy each other,
but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.NLT

24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. ESV

24 Friends come and friends go,
but a true friend sticks by you like family. THE MESSAGE

What I see here is that we may have many acquaintances and even many friends, but the most valuable friends are those "best friends" that are like family! You can trust them with your life and you KNOW that they ALWAYS have your best interests at heart. These are God-given blessings and we should highly value these! Do YOU have one or two "best friends"? If not, God will stand in the gap and be your very best friend ever and he will bring them into your life at the proper time! Trust Him! Amen! Here is Hillsong United with "My Best Friend". Lyrics follow:

Have you heard of the One called Saviour?
Have you heard of His perfect love?
Have you heard of the One in Heaven?
Have you heard how He gave His Son?
Well I have found this love and I believe in the Son show me Your way

I believe in the one called Saviour
I believe He's the risen one
I believe that I'll live forever
I believe that the King will come
Because I have found this love and I believe in the Son show me Your way

Jesus You are my best friend and You will always be nothing will ever change that x2

I believe in the One called Saviour
I believe He's the risen One
I believe that I'll live forever
I believe that the King will come
Because I have found this love and I believe in the Son show me Your way

Jesus You are my best friend and You will always be nothing will ever change that
Jesus You are my best friend and You will always be nothing will ever change that
Jesus You are my best friend and You will always be nothing will ever change that

Nothing will ever change that x 6

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,


2 Corinthians 4:6-7 says this:

6 For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah).  [Gen 1:3.] 

7 However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves. (AMP)

The Wuest Expanded New Testament says:

6 Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, shined in our hearts, resulting in an illumination being given of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 

7 But we have this treasure [the reflection of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ] in earthenware containers, in order that the superexcellence of the power might be from God as a source and not from us.

I like that word "superexcellence"! This is the Greek word "huperballo", which means: throwing beyond others; surpassing; beyond measure; exceeding greatness. "Power" is the Greek word "dunamis", where we get the word "dynamite"! This great power that is IN us is HIS power! It is HIS ability, HIS power, HIS nature, HIS wisdom, that we operate in, so that all of the glory and honor for what is accomplished through us is HIS! AMEN! Those in the world without Jesus cannot receive this power. They must receive HIM! THAT is why we have been sent to preach the Good News to the world! 

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 tells us why this Gospel is not received by some when we share it:

3 But even if our Gospel (the glad tidings) also be hidden (obscured and covered up with a veil that hinders the knowledge of God), it is hidden [only] to those who are perishing and obscured [only] to those who are spiritually dying and veiled [only] to those who are lost. 

4 For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God. (AMP)

Notice that it is the "god of this world" who has blinded the minds of those who refuse to receive the Gospel! What can WE do about that? Prayer, especially prayer in the Spirit, MUST precede the preaching of the Gospel so that the eyes of their understanding will be open BEFORE we even open our mouths! PRAY, then SPEAK! THAT is what we have been called to do! Amen! here to encourage you is Hillsong United with "Light Will Shine":

Shalom in Him!