Shalom,

Psalm 61 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan is a Psalm of David who was one of the very best worshipers! 

1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting; lead me to the rock that is higher than I [yes, a rock that is too high for me]. 3 For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me, a strong tower against the adversary. 4 I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! 5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear, revere, and honor Your name. 6 May You prolong the [true] King’s life [adding days upon days], and may His years be to the last generation [of this world and the generations of the world to come]. 7 May He sit enthroned forever before [the face of] God; O ordain that loving-kindness and faithfulness may watch over Him! 8 So will I sing praise to Your name forever, paying my vows day by day.

I like The Passion Translation for this Psalm, too!

61 To the Pure and Shining One
A song for the guitar by King David

1 O God, hear my prayer. Listen to my heart’s cry.
2 For no matter where I am, even when I’m far from home,
I will cry out to you for a father’s help.
When I’m feeble and overwhelmed by life,
guide me into your glory, where I am safe and sheltered.
3 Lord, you are a paradise of protection to me.
You lift me high above the fray.
None of my foes can touch me
when I’m held firmly in your wrap-around presence!
4 Keep me in this glory.
Let me live continually under your splendor-shadow,
hiding my life in you forever.
Pause in his presence
5 You have heard my sweet resolutions
to love and serve you, for I am your beloved.
And you have given me an inheritance of rich treasures,
which you give to all your lovers.
6 You treat me like a king, giving me a full and abundant life,
years and years of reigning,
like many generations rolled into one.
7 I will live enthroned with you forever!
Guard me, God, with your unending, unfailing love.
Let me live my days walking in grace and truth before you.
8 And my praises will fill the heavens forever,
fulfilling my vow to make every day a love gift to you!

We all have moments when we feel weary and may even be tempted to give up and quit. WHEN we do, THIS is the response we should have! Call on the ONE Who loves you MOST! There IS no greater LOVE than HIS! Holy Spirit within you, as a born again believer, will comfort you, encourage you, exhort you and lead you on to victory IF you refuse to quit! Instead, praise God with all that is within you, as David did, and watch HIS favor flow! AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Whole Heart":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I LOVE today's "Faith Food" by Kenneth E. Hagin! This has always been one of my favorites!

Giving the Word First Place

"Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors" (Psalm 119:24). 

When the crises or tests come, too many Christians say, "What are we going to do now?" 

The crises of life come to us all. But if you are Word-oriented, the first thing you will think about is, "What does the Word say about it?" 

I pastored nearly twelve years, and I found that churches have problems just like families do. They have discipline problems, financial problems, and so forth. 

I never discussed church problems with the people, because the more you talk about problems, the bigger they seem to get. But sometimes my deacon board would talk about church problems, and sure enough, the more they talked about them, the bigger the problems seemed to get. 

Then one of the deacons would look at me and say, "Oh, Brother Hagin, what in the world are we going to do?" 

I'd smile and say, "We're going to act like the Bible is true!" 

Making that little statement would cause those deacons to sigh with relief. "It is true, isn't it," they'd say. "Sure it is," I'd say. 

It's amazing how things would straighten out when we acted like the Bible is true! 

Confession: Lord, thy testimonies are my counselors. I put them first. I put God's Word first. I act like it's so. 

AMEN! It IS True! John 17:17 Tells us this:

17 Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.

God's Word IS Truth and WE can KNOW it, IF we follow on to know it! I hope that YOU will make it YOUR 'determined purpose' to really KNOW JESUS, know the Father and know Holy Spirit, INTIMATELY! Every aspect of your life will change for the better when you have and maintain intimate fellowship with the God of the Bible! Here is Hillsong with "Your Word":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers is very good and also very important!

Sublime Intimacy

Said I not unto you, that, if you would believe, thou should see the glory of God? — John 11:40

Every time you venture out in the life of faith, you will find something in your commonsense circumstances that flatly contradicts your faith. Common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense; they stand in the relation of the natural and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture heroically on Jesus Christ’s statements when the facts of your commonsense life shout “It’s a lie”? On the mount it is easy to say — “Oh, yes, I believe God can do it”; but you have to come down into the demon-possessed valley and meet with facts that laugh ironically at the whole of your mount-of-transfiguration belief. Every time my programme of belief is clear to my own mind, I come across something that contradicts it. Let me say I believe God will supply all my need, and then let me run dry, with no outlook, and see whether I will go through the trial of faith, or whether I will sink back to something lower.

Faith must be tested, because it can be turned into a personal possession only through conflict. What is your faith up against just now? The test will either prove that your faith is right, or it will kill it. “Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me.” The final thing is confidence in Jesus. Believe steadfastly on Him and all you come up against will develop your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith, and the last great test is death. May God keep us in fighting trim! Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us.

We also just read Mark 9 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan for today. It is in this chapter that we find the three disciples who went with JESUS up the mountain and saw Him transfigured before their eyes! They were enveloped in the glory of the Lord. BUT, then they had to come back down the mountain to the rest of the world and had to deal with situations and circumstances! If we make certain that we are having intimate fellowship with HIM every day, then we can have great confidence that we know Him and His voice, and that we will NOT be led astray! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Like Incense (Sometimes By Step)":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I have mentioned a lot on this blog the TRUTH that it is not enough to just hear the Word of God, but we must meditate on it so that we can DO it! Joshua 1:8 and James 1:22-24:

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.

22 But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound reasoning contrary to the truth]. 23 For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like.

Today's "Faith Food" by Kenneth E. Hagin speaks of this is the context of receiving healing from the Lord and His Word:

Doing Philippians 4:6

"Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God" (Philippians  4:6 AMP). 
A minister once came to me for advice. There were many storms in his life, and I felt sorry for him. He couldn't eat or sleep. 

Just to sympathize with him wasn't enough, so I had to read Philippians 4:6. "But everyone doesn't have the faith you have," he told me. "Yes, but they have the same Bible," I replied, "and it's a matter of practicing the Word." 

Then I showed him how to practice the Word: I read a verse aloud and then told the Lord, "Your Word is true, and I believe it." When I first started practicing this verse, I believed I could make my requests known to God, but it was hard for me to believe I could keep from fretting. However, God won't ask us to do something we can't do. So when God said not to fret, this means we can keep from fretting. 

So I say aloud, "I refuse to fret or have any anxiety about anything." Then I bring my requests to the Lord and thank Him for them. This quiets the troubled spirit the devil tried to make me have. If the devil tries to get me to worry again, I simply go back, reread this verse, and keep claiming it. 

Confession: I am a doer of Philippians 4:6! 

AMEN! I hope that YOU will put this into practice today! Find what the Word of God has to say about healing, or any other situation that you are facing. Now meditate (read, study, ponder, imagine, speak (to yourself and others) until this Word of TRUTH become so real to you. Now begin to DO what Brother Hagin demonstrated above and YOU will begin to have the powerful, supernatural results that you desire! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Say The Word":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "Faith Food" devotional by Kenneth E. Hagin is VITAL for both KNOW and DO for the born again believer! 

Refusing to Fret

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6). 

The Amplified translation of this verse begins, "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything…." 
Christians usually practice only part of this verse—the part that says to pray. But if we practice that part and not the part about not having anxiety, we're not practicing the Word. We're not being a doer of the Word. 

First, God's Word says, "Do not fret…." If you're going to fret and be anxious, it won't do you any good to make requests. Your prayers will not work. 

I read a story years ago about a man, his wife, and grown son, who were in a field chopping cotton. The son wasn't quite right mentally. Storm clouds appeared, and it began to thunder, but the old man wanted to continue working. 

Then the lightning became bad. The family began to run for shelter. When it looked as though they weren't going to make it, the parents fell to their knees and began to pray. "Come on, Ma and Pa," the boy cried. "A scared prayer ain't no account." 

There's much truth to that. That's what the Spirit of God is saying through Paul. So, when you pray, "Be careful for nothing…." 

Confession: I do not fret or have any anxiety about anything. 

AMEN! Make sure that YOU are being a DOER of this Word, and not just a hearer! Hearers of the Word receive NOTHING until they also DO what the Word says! Put the Word of God to work in YOUR life by acting on it, giving HIM something to work with! {Mark 16:20} Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Good Grace":

Shalom  in Him!

Shalom,

We read Psalm 56 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan for today. Verses 9-13 are some of my favorites for encouraging myself in the Lord, just as David did! :

9 Then shall my enemies turn back in the day that I cry out; this I know, for God is for me. 10 In God, Whose word I praise, in the Lord, Whose word I praise, 11 In God have I put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render praise to You and give You thank offerings. 13 For You have delivered my life from death, yes, and my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life and of the living.

Psalm 56 is speaking of David's thoughts when he was in the presence of the Philistines in Gath. The vows that he is speaking of are his own vows to God in verses 3-4:

3 What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You. 4 By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?

So David was giving God the praise for delivering him. I encourage myself with verses 9-10! I KNOW that God is ALWAYS for me! He is NEVER against me! So, I put my complete trust and confidence in HIM to deliver ME out of every situation, scheme, strategy and trick of the enemy! There is no place for 'fear of man' when we have and operate in the FEAR of the LORD! When we hold HIM in the highest place and exalt HIM for WHO HE IS! Then I can be assured that I AM who HE says I AM! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with that very song to encourage YOU to encourage yourself with HIS TRUTH! AMEN! 

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share from Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems From the Greek Volume 2" again today. This is SO good! 

Refuse To Quit and Give Up

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. — Galatians 6:9

I’ve told you before, but today I sense a leading to tell you again — you must stay steady and on track with the assignment the Lord has given to you! Believe me, I know what it’s like to get tired of staying steady and holding the course. But those moments when you’re tired and tempted to quit are the exact times when you need to grab hold of the power of God and determine that you are not going to stray from your course until you’ve finished what God asked you to do!

In moments when weariness tries to get the best of me, I meditate on Galatians 6:9, which says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” The word “weary” in Galatians 6:9 is the Greek word egkakos — a compound of en, which means in, and kakos, which describes something evil. Here it actually depicts a person who is tempted to throw in the towel and quit, thus surrendering to evil. In this verse, God commands you and me not to surrender to any temptation to give up. He promises that in “due season,” a harvest will be reaped if we won’t quit — the manifestation of what each of us is believing for will come if we will not cave in and give up.

Notice that God says the manifestation comes in “due season.” This tells us that each seed has its own set season — a specific, individual time when the seed will produce its harvest. Even if multiple seeds of various kinds are planted at one time, each has its own season to be reaped, depending on the seed. One seed produces in one set season, and another seed is reaped in a different set season. But no matter what season our seed is to be reaped in, God promises that if we are consistent — if we steadfastly keep sowing our seed into the ground and refuse to let weariness take us down — a time will come when “we shall reap.”

The words “we shall reap” describe a future, fixed event. So if a seed has been sown, a harvest is guaranteed to happen — if we stay on course. This is why Paul continued, saying, “…if we faint not.” The word “faint” is a Greek word that pictures a person who has become so weary that he gives up and forfeits what he’d been waiting so long for and what he was so close to reaping. Pressures applied against such a person caused him to become tired and weary. As a result, his grip slackened, and the thing he’d held on to and hoped for slipped from his hands. The result was loss. In the case of Galatians 6:9, he lost a harvest.

The most common thing that causes one to loosen his grip is weariness. That’s why Paul urges you not to throw in the towel in times of spiritual, physical, or mental exhaustion. It’s exciting to plant seeds of faith, and it’s really exciting when harvest comes. But in order to reach that point of reaping, you must hold on tight to what God has told you and remember that your seed has a set season when it will produce if you don’t disrupt the process.

Often people are tempted to quit believing because they get tired. Maybe you have felt this very same temptation. But God promises you in Galatians 6:9 that if you will remain steadfast, your time of waiting will eventually produce a harvest — the manifestation of what you’ve been waiting for and believing to see.

We’re all believing for something and sowing seeds toward it. I don’t know what you’re trusting God for in this season of your life. Perhaps no one knows but you because you’ve kept it between you and the Lord. Maybe it’s a financial harvest, a breakthrough in a relationship, or a healing or restoration in some area. Maybe this harvest is taking longer than you’d anticipated or expected. But I want to reassure you that God’s Word and His promises are absolutely true — and if you will just refuse to give up and quit, it’s only a matter of time until your long-awaited blessing arrives!

AMEN!!! Our God is SO faithful! I really like this new song by Hillsong UNITED called "Highlands (Song of Ascent). Here it is:

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Kenneth Hagin's "Faith Food" devotional for today:

Day and Night

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper" (Psalm 1:2-3). 
If you ever want to do anything great in life - if you ever want to amount to anything in life - take time to meditate in the Word of God. Start out with at least ten or fifteen minutes a day, and build up. 

For years, I held two services a day while in the traveling ministry. And in earlier years of field ministry, I would teach in the mornings, pray aloud all afternoon, and preach and minister at night. Because I ate only one meal a day during my meetings, I would grow weak expending all this physical energy. 

Then the Lord spoke to me. He said, "Don't spend all that time praying and wearing yourself out for the night service. Lie on the bed and meditate." When I began to do that, my spiritual growth was greater than ever before. 

Well, that's what God promised: "…for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success" (Joshua 1:8). I wanted to prosper and have good success in the ministry. But this works whether you are in the ministry, raise cows, or sell automobiles! 

Confession: I take time every day to meditate in God's Word! 

AMEN! Meditation of the Word of God puts that Word IN YOU! It is much easier to become a DOER of the Word when we meditate on the Word until the understanding comes! And right  along with the understanding comes FAITH (Romans 10:17)! I encourage you to do this on a daily basis! You will never regret putting God's Word as your #1 priority! Here is Hillsong with "Your Word":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I really like today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers:

Prayer Choice And Prayer Conflict

When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and pray to thy Father which is in secret. Matthew 6:6

Jesus did not say — “Dream about thy Father in secret,” but “pray to thy Father in secret.” Prayer is an effort of will. After we have entered our secret place and have shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray; we cannot get our minds into working order, and the first thing that conflicts is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is the overcoming of mental wool-gathering. We have to discipline our minds and concentrate on wilful prayer.

We must have a selected place for prayer and when we get there the plague of flies begins — This must be done, and that. “Shut thy door.” A secret silence means to shut the door deliberately on emotions and remember God. God is in secret, and He sees us from the secret place; He does not see us as other people see us, or as we see ourselves. When we live in the secret place it becomes impossible for us to doubt God, we become more sure of Him than of anything else. Your Father, Jesus says, is in secret and nowhere else. Enter the secret place, and right in the centre of the common round you find God there all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on a wrong level all day; but swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret, and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God.

I LOVE this! Prayer is simply communication with the God of the Bible. Personal prayer is both powerful and needful! Unless we are spending time in prayer on a daily basis, we will never be in position to have the confidence of His continual presence! I really like the advice underlined above. With the Spirit of Almighty God living IN us, there is never a reason for a born again, Spirit-filled believer to NOT begin each day in His presence! Simply focus your attention of Him before you even step out of bed in the morning and your communication will begin! When you begin every day aware of His presence IN you, there is nothing that the enemy can bring at you that you will not be able to immediately recognize as being his doing. We cheat ourselves, and the people in our realm of influence, when we neglect the most important relationship that we have! When we don't EVERYONE benefits from our close fellowship with WISDOM Himself! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Like Incense (Sometimes By Step)":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share from Kenneth E. Hagin's "Health Food" devotional.

Faith Has Corresponding Actions

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? (James 2:14)

Real believing is acting on God's Word. I've used that phrase for many, many years, because it's very simple to understand. So act on the Word. That's what believing the Bible is. It's acting on the Word. 

In Mark chapter 2, a man is brought into the presence of Jesus by four of his friends. Because of the crowd, they couldn't get into the house where Jesus was teaching. So they let the man down through the roof! This account illustrates some important things about faith that I want you to notice. 

Mark 2:5 says, "When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." Well, can you see faith with your physical eyes? No, because it's of the spirit. You can't see spiritual things with the physical eye. 

Think about this in the natural for a moment. For example, can you see the wind? No, but you can see the results of the wind. So what did Jesus see when He saw their faith? He saw their actions. 

James 2:20 says, "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" The New Testament in Modern Speech says, "Faith without corresponding actions is dead." 

In other words, you show me your faith without your actions, and I'll show you my faith by my actions. Jesus saw the actions of the four men and their lame friend. They were determined. They believed. 

Confession: My faith must have corresponding actions. Otherwise, it is dead faith. I believe the Word, and I act on the Word.

AMEN! Be a DOER of God's Word! Here is Hillsong with "Say The Word":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "Faith Food" by Kenneth E. Hagin has always been a blessing to me! 

Above Only

"The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath" (Deuteronomy 28:12-13). 

The reason why Christians continually make mistakes and fail is because their spirits, which should guide them, are kept locked away in prison, so to speak. Even in our churches, the intellect has taken the throne. 

Any person who shuts his spirit away and never listens to it becomes crippled in life. He becomes an easy prey to selfish and designing people. 

But the person who listens to his spirit is the one who climbs to the top. 

Before I began to learn in 1959 how to follow the inward witness, it cost me financially. I had to borrow money to get out of a financial hole. Yet God had said I would have money to loan if I would follow the inward witness. But when I began to follow it, I started rising to the top. And I've been rising ever since. 

Every born again believer has the Spirit of Almighty God living IN them and He will lead, guide and direct us every step of our way through this life! IF we will allow Him to and follow His lead! Proverbs 16:9 says this:

A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure. AMPC

The Passion Translation says this:

Within your heart you can make plans for your future, but the Lord chooses the steps you take to get there. TPT

Spend time listening to that still small voice inside and you can have great confidence that God WILL direct you! Here is Hillsong with an older song called "Everyday":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "From Faith To Faith" devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland is SO appropriate for many people that I know right now!

When Someone Does You Wrong

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. Luke 10:19

Someone’s done you wrong! Sooner or later it happens to all of us. Somewhere along the way, we all get hurt or cheated or lied to or abused.

It’s as predictable as it is painful. Yet when it happens most of us find ourselves strangely unprepared. In our outrage, we often cry out to God against the one who wronged us. We ask for justice, or even vengeance, and end up making things tougher on everyone involved—including ourselves.

If that’s been true of you, it’s time you found out how you can put the power of God to work for you the next time someone does you wrong.

Step one: Identify the enemy! Right here’s where the majority of us make our biggest blunder. We mistakenly identify our enemy as the person who hurts us. Don’t waste your energy ranting and raving or plotting and scheming against people who cause you pain. They’re simply under the devil’s influence. Aim your spiritual ammunition at the right target. It’s the devil who’s behind it all. Go after him!

Step two: Fire! Once you’ve pointed your spiritual guns in the right direction, fire! Hit the devil fast and furiously with the Word of God. Use the Name of Jesus and the power that’s been given you as a believer and bind the devil from doing you any further harm in that area. Then move on to the next and most important part of this spiritual battle.

Step three: Pray the prayer of intercession. In Matthew 5:44-45, Jesus gives us these instructions: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.”

Crying out for the vengeance of God to strike like a lightning bolt when someone does us wrong isn’t acting like our Father. Remember, God has great, great mercy. Not just for me and you, but for everyone!

The devil will probably think twice before he bothers you again. Next time someone causes you pain, put the power of God to work for you. Identify the real enemy. Hit him hard with the authority you’ve been given as a believer. Then pray the prayer of intercession.

AMEN! Remember that LOVE NEVER FAILS (1 Corinthians 13:8)! When we choose to operate in this way, not only do we put the enemy on the run, but we also keep ourselves in position to have God continue to work on our behalf to turn our situations around! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Highlands":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan for today begins with Psalm 49. Look at verses 8-9:

8 For the ransom of a life is too costly, and [the price one can pay] can never suffice— 9 So that he should live on forever and never see the pit (the grave) and corruption.

This is saying that there is nothing - NOT ONE THING - that any of us could ever do to pay for our own salvation! The great GOOD NEWS that we are to be sharing with and representing to the world is this from John 3:15-18:

16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. 18 He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation—he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.]

THAT give the whole story! JESUS already paid the price for OUR sin when He took it upon Himself! When He rose from the dead, He showed us OUR future, too! I am SO grateful to have JESUS as my Lord and Saviour! Psalm 49:15 shows us what God was going to do!

15 But God will redeem me from the power of Sheol (the place of the dead); for He will receive me. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

We NOW live in the fulfillment of this promise! Be thankful daily for your salvation and you will increase your capacity to walk in more and more of the fullness of God and of our new and better Covenant with Him! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Remembrance":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today"s "Grace Inspirations" by Joseph Prince has a very good message of God's protection, provision and safety!

FROM ‘DELIVERANCE’ TO ‘NO EVIL SHALL TOUCH YOU’

Job 5:19 He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.

God will deliver you from all your troubles (see Psalm 34:19, 2 Timothy 4:18). But deliverance is actually not the best that God has for you because it implies that you are in trouble. God’s best for you is the place where no trouble or evil can touch you. And with His help, you will come to that place because the Bible says, “He shall deliver you in six troubles, yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.”

This does not mean that God will only deliver you six times. It just means that as you keep believing God’s promises of protection, after some time, you will come to a place where no evil will touch you! So when trouble comes, God does not want you to be discouraged. He wants you to know that it is only the devil trying to steal His Word from your heart. The devil is afraid of leaving God’s Word in your heart for even one second because he knows that it will lead you to a place where no evil will touch you. That is why he comes immediately to steal God’s Word from your heart.

He will do so by telling you, “Look, your child is sick. Where is God now?” You must not respond by saying, “Well, I guess it does not work. Maybe God’s promises of deliverance are not for my family.”

No, you must continue to stand on God’s promises. Say, “The previous flu my child had did not stay. God promises me deliverance and He did deliver my child then. So I will live life believing His promises of deliverance because His Word is true. And I will come to a place where no evil can touch me and my family!”

Beloved, even if in the next moment you happen to stub your toe against something hard, don’t be discouraged and wonder why God did not protect your toe. The devil had meant to cause greater harm to you, but thank God that he could not because God is watching over you. And keep standing on His promises until you come to the place where no evil will touch you!

He is speaking here if getting to the place where we are so full of faith in God and His Word, and who WE are IN HIM, that when evil shows his ugly head, we resist him and speak the Word in his face! God confirms His Word (Mark 16:20)! I like these two verses and I think that they give a more accurate view of this than even the above verses in Job does! 

Proverbs 12:21 No [actual] evil, misfortune, or calamity shall come upon the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil, misfortune, and calamity.

Proverbs 19:23 The reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it rests satisfied; he cannot be visited with [actual] evil.

No ACTUAL evil shall come upon us! The enemy will keep trying to poke us with symptoms, lies, fears, tricks, strategies and schemes to TRY to get us off our faith declaration. RESIST him! He has NO power whatsoever over the believer except the power that we give him IF we believe His lies against God's Word! So, let's keep submitting to GOD and resisting the devil. He WILL flee from us as thought in terror when we DARE to believe God and His Word! Allow God to put on His GLORY show so that others may see HIM! AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "BEHOLD":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's devotional on Jerry Savelle's website is another very good reminder for us! Our enemy has been defeated! Knowing who we are in JESUS is the key to our personal victory! 

ENEMY TACTICS

[The Lord said to Moses]”Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I?” (Exodus 3:10-11 NKJV)

One of the major tactics of the enemy is to keep you from finding out who you are in Christ. As long as you think you are something that you’re not, the devil can keep you in bondage.

As soon as you get a revelation of who you really are, your days of weakness and defeat will end—and the devil knows it.

When you were born again, God made you a champion, more than a conqueror in Christ. You were completely recreated and you instantly became a new creation, complete with the ability to win in every situation or circumstance.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or how insignificant and ineffective you once were; God is the master of making champions out of nobodies. That’s what He did with Moses.

Moses didn’t initially see himself as God saw him, as the deliverer of God’s people. In fact, Moses angered the Lord when he asked Him to send someone else. Moses’ refusal to see himself as God saw him created a big problem. God had to include Aaron in the leadership team, which caused trouble later on.

However, when Moses began to see himself as who God had really made him to be, he took his place in God’s plan and excelled as a great leader of God’s people.

Don’t let the enemy’s tactics keep you in bondage one more day. You are well able to do everything God has called you to do, because He has made you a champion.

Confession: Father, I believe I am who You say I am. I cast down every imagination and every feeling that is contrary to who You say I am in Christ. The enemy’s tactics will no longer hold me in bondage because I am a champion.

AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Not Today":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers goes right along with our topic from yesterday!

Does He Know Me?

He calleth…by name. — John 10:3

When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (John 20:17). It is possible to know all about doctrine and yet not know Jesus. The soul is in danger when knowledge of doctrine outsteps intimate touch with Jesus. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine was no more to Mary than the grass under her feet. Any Pharisee could have made a fool of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could not ridicule out of her was the fact that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her; yet His blessings were nothing in comparison to Himself. Mary “saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus”; immediately she heard the voice, she knew she had a past history with the One who spoke. “Master”!

When I have stubbornly doubted? (John 20:27). Have I been doubting something about Jesus — an experience to which others testify but which I have not had? The other disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus, but Thomas doubted — “Except I shall see…, I will not believe.” Thomas needed the personal touch of Jesus. When His touches come, or how they come, we do not know; but when they do come they are indescribably precious. “My Lord and my God”!

When I have selfishly denied Him? (John 21:15-17). Peter had denied Jesus Christ with oaths and curses, and yet after the Resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter alone. He restored him in private, then He restored him before the others. “Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee.”

Have I a personal history with Jesus Christ? The one sign of discipleship is intimate connection with Him, a knowledge of Jesus Christ which nothing can shake.

The MOST important part of our lives SHOULD be our intimate fellowship with JESUS! When we make time with HIM our #1 priority, there is NOTHING that the enemy can successfully trick us with!  We will ALWAYS be a step ahead of him! COUNT ON IT! Here is Hillsong UNITED with one of my very favorite new songs called "Echoes (Til We See The Other Side)":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We read 2 Timothy 3 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan for today and it is such an accurate picture of OUR world! Verses 1-5:

1 But understand this, that in the last days will come (set in) perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]. 2 For people will be lovers of self and [utterly] self-centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate [greedy] desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters. They will be abusive (blasphemous, scoffing), disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane. 3 [They will be] without natural [human] affection (callous and inhuman), relentless (admitting of no truce or appeasement); [they will be] slanderers (false accusers, troublemakers), intemperate and loose in morals and conduct, uncontrolled and fierce, haters of good. 4 [They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self-conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements more than and rather than lovers of God. 5 For [although] they hold a form of piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it [their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such people [turn away from them].

Although some of these things have been occurring over all time, ALL of them, taken together, are happening NOW! And NOT just in nations with tyrannical dictators, but in EVERY nation, and especially in OURS! What SHOULD we do? Our first instruction from God is to AVOID them! That means that we are NOT to intimately associate with them. But it does NOT mean that we don't pray for them, continue to preach the Gospel and to speak the TRUTH! Remember, it is ONLY the knowing the TRUTH that will set people free! And now let's look at verses 14-17:

14 But as for you, continue to hold to the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced, knowing from whom you learned [them], 15 And how from your childhood you have had a knowledge of and been acquainted with the sacred Writings, which are able to instruct you and give you the understanding for salvation which comes through faith in Christ Jesus [through the [leaning of the entire human personality on God in Christ Jesus in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness] . 16 Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), 17 So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

AMEN! Remember that old, but powerful chorus: "Turn your eyes upon JESUS. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the LIGHT of HIS GLORY and GRACE!" Here, to help you do that, is Hillsong UNITED with "Whole Heart":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

We read 2 Timothy 2 in today's Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan. Look at verse 15: 

15 Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.

I remember being told by a few people when I was first born again that only the Pastor can understand the Bible. I was SO blessed to have already been taught by good Bible teachers that I should never go to church or to a meeting WITHOUT my Bible! It HAS been given to each and every believer to KNOW Him and His Word! Paul said this in Philippians 3:10 and it is MY determined purpose, also! 

10 [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection

AMEN! 2 Timothy 2:15 is telling us that we SHOULD study! Diligently! Part of study is meditation. Joshua 1:8 is one of the very best verses on this! 

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.

So, I hope that if YOU have not yet put your whole heart into learning God's Word and His Ways, that you WILL make that decision now! It takes a diligent commitment and it takes time, but every layer of TRUTH that we can add to our firm foundation in the Word of God will ONLY ever help us to BE all that God intends for u! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Behold (Then Sings My Soul)":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Rick Renner's "Sparkling Gems From The Greek - Volume 2" is very good for today! 

Flattering Words

For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness. — 1 Thessalonians 2:5

As Paul shared his priorities and motives in ministry, he also talked about what didn’t motivate him in ministry — namely financial gain. In First Thessalonians 2:5, he wrote, “For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness; God is witness.” In this verse, Paul specifically dealt with the issue of money in ministry, and he emphatically conveyed that his motives for ministry were not financial gain from those who followed his ministry. Instead, the apostle strove to keep his motives for ministry pure.

If Paul hadn’t made this his first motive — to please God and not man — he would have been vulnerable to becoming a man-pleaser and using “flattering words” to exact some kind of selfish gain from the people he ministered to. But Paul’s primary focus was on pleasing the One who called him and who sent him to the precious people in Thessalonica.

The same quality should be true of us. Our motives for serving God should be pure and unadulterated, rooted solely in a heart desire to please Him through the fruits of our labor as we do what He asks us to do.

Let’s study verse 5 more closely. What exactly does it mean for someone to use “flattering words”? This phrase comes from the Greek word kolakeia, which means to “butter up” someone by saying things he or she wants to hear. Usually, when someone “butters up” another person, he is putting himself in a position to take advantage of that individual. The word kolakeia — “flattering words” — also means to say things with an insincere motive.

In other words, when you’re using kolakeia, your words are just a vehicle to get you what you want. They hold no genuine meaning and are spoken for no other reason than that.

But in these two verses in First Thessalonians 2, Paul was saying he didn’t do that to the congregation in Thessalonica. He didn’t butter them up so he could get something out of them. He didn’t just say good things about them or tell them how wonderful they were to receive some kind of selfish gain. Paul wasn’t insincere in his dealings with the believers in the Thessalonian church; instead, he spoke truthfully to them as he interacted with them and ministered to them.

Now let’s look at the next phrase Paul used in this passage: “cloak of covetousness.” The word “cloak” is the Greek word prophasis, which can be translated as a pretense or something that is phony or not real. The whole idea behind this word prophasis is that a person will be whatever he needs to be to receive some kind of gain from others.

Prophasis describes a person who is constantly changing, not according to his conviction, but according to how he can gain something from someone else. This is why the Bible calls it a “cloak.” It is a covering or a pretense — something that isn’t real.

The Bible calls this cloak a “cloak of covetousness.” I believe that a better translation would be “a cloak for the sake of covetousness.” In this verse where Paul wrote, “For neither at any time used we flattering words…nor a cloak of covetousness,” he was actually referring to the exploitation of people for gain.

The word “covetousness” in First Thessalonians 2:5 is translated from the Greek word pleonexia, which is used in this scripture to describe monetary greed. The word pleonexia carries a few ideas that tend to build upon each other, as in a progression.

First, it simply means to have more.

Second, it portrays the concept of expanding — to have more and more and more.

Third, it carries the idea of overreaching for more than you need.

Fourth, it depicts control. In other words, at some point, you aren’t reaching out for the thing you want more of anymore — now that thing has reached out and grabbed you. Now it has gained control of you.

This word “covetousness” describes a man who has money in the heart. He “thinks” money. In fact, he thinks about money almost all the time. He eats, drinks, and sleeps money! Money becomes just about all he wants to talk about. When he goes to bed at night, he’s thinking about money — and when he gets out of bed in the morning, his first thoughts turn to money. When he talks to people, he sees currency on their foreheads! He’s constantly looking for more money, and he sees everything — every encounter, every relationship, and everything he does — as an opportunity to turn a buck.

It is this attitude of covetousness that Paul emphatically rejected. His motive for preaching was not to pretend to be something he wasn’t in order to make financial gain from the people God had given him to care for and minister to. And neither can it be our motivation for serving others! Furthermore, people are smart — and if they sense that you are after their money and not their hearts, it won’t be long until they will send you on your way!

So make the decision today that you will always be someone who speaks from an authentic, pure heart and seeks only to edify the listener and glorify God, never to receive monetary gain or advantage for yourself. As you make that your constant practice, people will come to know that they can trust the source! They’ll receive your words as genuine, and the power of love behind your words will minister to people’s hearts as God intends!

AMEN! Read this one over and over, allowing Holy Spirit to show you where you need to improve in your walk with Him and in your fellowship with Him! He SHOULD BE the most important person in your life AND the One you are closet to! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Whole Heart":

Shalom in Him!