Shalom,

Today's "Faith Food" by Kenneth E. Hagin addresses one of the common excuses used for not believing in God's divine and Covenant promising HEALING!

What About Paul's Thorn?

"But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell" (Numbers 33:55). 

"Don't you remember, though, Brother Hagin 'Paul was sick all his life.'" 

"No, I don't remember that." 

"But he had a thorn in the flesh." 

"Where did you ever read in the Bible that a thorn in the flesh is sickness? Nowhere!" 

Study the Scriptures. See how the Bible uses that term. In the Old Testament, God said to Israel, "If you don't kill those Canaanites when you possess the land, they will be thorns in your side. They will torment you" (Numbers 33:55; Joshua 23:13; Judges 2:3). 

Paul tells exactly what the thorn was: "The messenger of Satan to buffet me" (2 Corinthians 12:7). Everywhere Paul went to preach, this evil spirit went before and behind him, and stirred up everything it could. (And Paul couldn't command the evil spirit to leave the earth, because the devil has the right to be here until Adam's lease runs out.) 

So there is no separating sickness and disease from Satan - he causes them. Jesus' attitude toward sickness was uncompromising warfare against Satan. 

Confession: Since sickness and disease are of the devil, I follow in the footsteps and attitude of Jesus, and deal with them as Jesus did! 

AMEN! Dare to BELIEVE the promises of our new and better Covenant that was sealed by the Blood of JESUS! Now DARE to RECEIVE them as your own! Here is Hillsong again with "Who You Say I Am":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

i LOVE today's "Grace Inspirations" by Joseph Prince!

BELIEVE FIRST AND YOU WILL SEE

Matthew 8:13 …as you have believed, so let it be done for you…

You may have heard some people say, “How can I believe it when I don’t see it? If I can only see it or feel it, I may just believe that something is happening!”

The woman with the issue of blood who came to Jesus could have felt the same way. For 12 long years, she had gone from one doctor to another, trying every conceivable cure they could offer. She not only grew worse, but ended up losing all her money to those doctors and their “cures.”

Then, something happened to her when “she heard about Jesus” (Mark 5:27). She started believing that He could and would heal her to the extent that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well” (Mark 5:28). Acting on her belief, she made her way to Jesus and touched His garment. Immediately, her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was healed of that affliction. Jesus, her true physician, also pronounced her healed.

Beloved, God wants you to know that when you believe Him, you will see your miracle. What you believe Him for, you will receive.When a church member lost her wallet at a swimming pool, she prayed together with her husband, declaring their belief that God would restore the loss. One day later, not at the swimming pool but at her feet in the car, she found her wallet! She simply believed that God would restore her loss and she saw the restoration.

In another case, a lady who had skin cancer wore long sleeves all the time to conceal her condition from others. During one of our church camps, she went forward for prayer, believing God for her healing. After one of our pastors, Pastor Henry, prayed for her, she went back to her room, rolled up her sleeves and saw that all the cancerous scarring on her arms had disappeared! Her doctor later confirmed that she had been cured of skin cancer. She believed God for healing and saw it.

The world says, “Unless I can see it or feel it, I will not believe it.” But God says, “If you will believe it, you will feel it. Indeed, if you will believe it, you will see it!”

AMEN! DARE to believe God's Word and then DARE to prepare to RECEIVE! Here is Hillsong with "Who You Say I AM":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I LOVE this from today's "From Faith To Faith" by Gloria Copeland!

Priorities of Prosperity

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24

God isn’t against your having money. He’s against money having you. He’s against your making it your priority and putting your trust in it instead of in Him.

Why? Because He knows money makes a lousy god. Its power is limited. It will only buy so much. It will only go so far.

If you need healing from an incurable disease, money won’t help you at all. If your family is falling apart, money won’t mend it. But if you’ll seek God first, His prosperity will reach into every area of your life.

God is so generous that He desires you to have the best on this earth, just as you desire the best for your children. His plan is for you to have all of your needs met according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Get in on that plan by keeping your priorities straight. Seek Him first and His righteousness.

Make pleasing God your No. 1 priority. Set your eyes on Him above all else and all these things will be added to you.

AMEN! I have heard so many disparaging remarks about 'prosperity preaching' but THIS and what JESUS said in the Word of God show us exactly how HE feels about the subject! Look at John 10:10 and 3 John 2:

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).

2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.

Amen! Remember: Make pleasing God your No. 1 priority. Set your eyes on Him above all else and all these things will be added to you. Here is Hillsong with "You Are Life":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I LOVE this from Joseph Prince's "Grace Inspirations" devotional:

JESUS OVERPAID OUR DEBT!

Hebrews 10:12  But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

Do you know that we once owed God a huge debt? No, it was not a money debt, it was a sin debt. We owed God a sin debt which we could never pay. But God so loved us that He came up with a plan to pay the debt—He gave us His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus was without sin. So when He went to the cross as punishment for our sins, He paid for us a debt He did not owe.

My friend, the reality is that our sin debt has been more than paid in full. In fact, Jesus overpaid it! Jesus’ sacrifice was an overpayment because it was not just a good man, revered for his saintly qualities and good character, who died for us. It was the Son of the living God, the Creator of the universe, the perfect Man, who died for us!

Because Jesus is God, His sacrifice is greater than the sacrifices of all good men—past, present and future—put together. His sacrifice avails for all who lived in the past, all who are currently alive and all who will live in the future. And His one sacrifice forever took away all our sins.

Jesus’ sacrifice was also an overpayment because His blood is of far more value to God than the blood of bulls and goats used in the past to atone for the sins of the Israelites. His blood is the blood of God Himself, not of animals. Because His blood is eternal, His blood cleanses us forever, so we have eternal forgiveness!

My friend, the next time you are mindful of a bad deed, remember that Jesus, your sacrifice for sins, not only paid 100 per cent for your sin, but His sacrifice was also an overpayment. You can therefore truly and completely rest in the presence of God, knowing that He is fully satisfied and completely at rest concerning you. He is not going to find some sin you had committed that Jesus’ blood failed to cover.

Beloved, God can righteously give you His blessings and you can expect to receive them because Jesus overpaid your debt!

AMEN! Our God is ALWAYS 'more than enough', for every situation! Dare to believe His Word and then to receive His promises! Here is Hillsong with "The Passion":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Kenneth E. Hagin's "Faith Food" devotional for today contains an excellent teaching for those who desire to receive healing from the Lord!

Any

"Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him" (James 5:14-15). 

Is any sick among you? Among whom? The Church! 

Then it must be God's will to heal "any" of the sick in the Church! 

And it can't be God's will for "any" in the Church to be sick! 

"But, Brother Hagin, you've forgotten," one person said. 

"Forgotten what?" 

"The Bible says that if we suffer with Him, we'll reign with Him." 

"No, I haven't forgotten," I explained. "Let's read it again...if we suffer with Him" (Romans 8:17). Suffer what? Pneumonia? Cancer? Tuberculosis? No! Jesus didn't suffer from any of these things. 

What did Jesus suffer? Persecution. And you will, too, if you live right. Especially if you preach divine healing, the gifts of the Spirit, and faith. I've suffered persecution for more than sixty-five years, but I haven't suffered sickness and disease. 

Confession: It is God's will for the Church, His Body, to walk in divine health. It is God's will for me to be well! 

AMEN! God provided healing for our bodies through the suffering of JESUS. HE took upon Himself our sin AND any and every sickness, disease, weakness or infirmity that could ever come upon a human body! By HIS sacrifice we HAVE BEEN made whole! Enforce that TRUTH in your life, every moment of every day! Walk FREE as JESUS meant for you to do! AMEN! Here is HiIlsong UNITED with "Whole Heart":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today we have another of the Songs of Ascents in Psalm 130 through our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan. Verses 3-6:

3 If You, Lord, should keep account of and treat [us according to our] sins, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with You [just what man needs], that You may be reverently feared and worshiped. 5 I wait for the Lord, I expectantly wait, and in His word do I hope. 6 I am looking and waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, I say, more than watchmen for the morning.

Under the Old Covenant, God's people had forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of animals. WE, under our new and better Covenant, have REMISSION of sins through the Blood of JESUS! THEY were offering sacrifices by faith in the COMING Messiah while WE offer the sacrifice of praise for what the Messiah Who has come has done for us! I encourage you to remind yourself daily of the wonders of our new and better Covenant! Find out what REALLY belongs to you as a child of the Living God and speak that over your life, fully expecting that HE will confirm His Word! We also have THIS expectation from today's reading in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18:

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom).18 And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.

We, as we continue in the Word of God and in intimate fellowship with Him by Holy Spirit Who lives in us, are becoming more like JESUS every day! This is a continuation of the Good Work that Holy Spirit began in us at the moment of our New Birth. Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Starts and Ends":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "From Faith To Faith" devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland is another excellent reminder!

HEAD FOR THE LIGHT!

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. 2 Peter 1:19

So many times when we need insight into a problem, we try to get it by focusing our attention on that problem. We study it. We ponder it. We examine it from every angle. But the Apostle Peter gives us a different approach. He says we should take heed (or focus our attention) to the written Word of God until the answer to that problem dawns on us through the light of revelation.

We use the term seeing the light in the natural all the time. We say, “Have you seen the light on that yet?” meaning, “Do you have insight into that situation?” Well, the entrance of God’s Word into our hearts brings light (Psalm 119:130). It brings the insight we need.

Have you ever been in a dark room and tried to find your way out? Or been lost outside in the night? What is the first thing you look for in these situations? Light!

It could be coming from under the door or shimmering from a lamp in a house far off. But either way, you head straight for it. You don’t waste your time studying the darkness. You don’t focus your attention on that. You fix your eyes on the light because you know its brightness will drive out the confusion of the darkness and orient you to your surroundings.

If you need insight on some problem or situation you’re facing, pay attention to the Word. Head for the Light and the answer you need will dawn on you.

AMEN! ALWAYS look to the Word of God FIRST! Then all of your choices and decisions will be wise ones that will produce the desired results! Thank You, JESUS, for Your Word! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Say The Word":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Psalm 128:1-2 is a great promise for all of those who TRULY love the LORD!

1 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is everyone who fears, reveres, and worships the Lord, who walks in His ways and lives according to His commandments. 2 For you shall eat [the fruit] of the labor of your hands; happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) shall you be, and it shall be well with you.

We, all born again believers, SHOULD be the envy of the entire world! Our God IS GOD, and there IS NO OTHER! Walking in HIS ways SHOULD bring great blessing, and it DOES! If you should find yourself not being as blessed as you should, check yourself for your intimate fellowship with JESUS, your obedience to His Word and your LOVE walk with other people. Any one of those things NOT being right will cause delays, distractions and disturbances in your life and in your peace and joy! Make whatever adjustments are necessary to get yourself right back on track! HE hasn't moved, we have! So let's get back! AMEN! And then in 2 Corinthians 1 we see THIS promise in verse 20:

20 For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God.

If GOD said it, then HE will make it good! AMEN! Let'as look at this from The Passion Translation:

19 Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and he is the one whom Timothy, Silas, and I have preached to you—and he has never been both a “yes” and a “no.” He has always been and always will be for us a resounding “YES!” 20 For all of God’s promises find their “yes” of fulfillment in him. And as his “yes” and our “amen” ascend to God, we bring him glory!

GOD is glorified when WE are BLESSED! AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Here's To The One":

Shalom in Him! 

Shalom,

We read Psalm 127 in today's Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan. Verses 1-2: 

1 Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil—for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep.

I speak verse 2 over my life and my sleep every night! We NEED God's Wisdom for every situation in our lives. We need HIS Wisdom for every decision we will ever make! When we realize that all of our efforts to succeed WITHOUT God and His Wisdom will be ultimate failures, we will count on verse 2! We will cast ALL care on HIM because HE will give us the necessary Wisdom, even as we sleep! He may simply implant the knowledge in our inner man as we sleep and we will have that knowledge available when we wake up. He may also give what we need to us in a dream! There are many WAYS that God can and will do fulfill this promise when WE are trusting HIM for it! AMEN! The other part of this that I love is found in the KJV Bible! 

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he gives his beloved sleep

HE gives ME (I AM His BELOVED! And so are YOU!) SLEEP! We NEED sleep in order to have healthy bodies with healthy immune systems. We also NEED sleep to function in every area of our lives with Wisdom, understanding, love, peace and joy! GOD made us this way! SO, it IS His will to grant us sweet, energizing, recovering and recuperating SLEEP! AMEN! Begin to believe Him for YOUR sleep every night! You will most definitely notice the difference! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Clean":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I love this part of the Psalms in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan. These are the Songs of Ascent that were believed to be what was sung by those Jews who were making way up to the Temple in  Jerusalem for the celebration of the Feasts that they had been instructed by God to observe. They served as reminders of the God what God had done for them and a rejoicing over what He had promised to do! Today is Psalm 126:

1 When the Lord brought back the captives [who returned] to Zion, we were like those who dream [it seemed so unreal]. 2 Then were our mouths filled with laughter, and our tongues with singing. Then they said among the nations, The Lord has done great things for them. 3 The Lord has done great things for us! We are glad! 4 Turn to freedom our captivity and restore our fortunes, O Lord, as the streams in the South (the Negeb) [are restored by the torrents]. 5 They who sow in tears shall reap in joy and singing. 6 He who goes forth bearing seed and weeping [at needing his precious supply of grain for sowing] shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Can you imagine the joy in their hearts as they reminded themselves of the wonderful things that their God had already done throughout their history? And that would give them great faith and confidence in HIM to fulfill every promise that He had made! AMEN! Then WE have THIS in 1 Corinthians 15:57-58:

57 But we thank God for giving us the victory as conquerors through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. 58 So now, beloved ones, stand firm and secure. Live your lives with an unshakable confidence. We know that we prosper and excel in every season by serving the Lord, because we are assured that our union with the Lord makes our labor productive with fruit that endures.

Let's keep encouraging each other in our faith by speaking, singing and declaring His Word on what He HAS done and what He is GOING TO DO! AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Whole Heart":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I REALLY love today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers!

Liberty On The Abyss Of The Gospel

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. — Galatians 5:1

A spiritually minded man will never come to you with the demand — “Believe this and that”; but with the demand that you square your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One Whom the Bible reveals (cf. John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty of conscience, not liberty of view. If we are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty — the liberty of realizing the dominance of Jesus Christ.

Always keep your life measured by the standards of Jesus. Bow your neck to His yoke alone, and to no other yoke whatever; and be careful to see that you never bind a yoke on others that is not placed by Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us out of the way of thinking that unless everyone sees as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God’s view. There is only one liberty, the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.

Don’t get impatient, remember how God dealt with you — with patience and with gentleness; but never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, “Go…and make disciples” (rv) not — make converts to your opinions.

AMEN! If you do NOT want people checking in the Word to see if what YOU are saying is TRUTH, then YOU are probably not even preaching the WORD! And Holy Spirit can take a room full of unique individuals and teach every one of them a different point of view from the very same Scripture portion! Allow Holy Spirit to BE Holy Spirit in the lives of your loved ones and HE will do the job RIGHT! AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Wonder":

Shalom  in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "Grace Inspirations" by Joseph Prince is EXCELLENT! 

FEED ON JESUS AND LIVE

John 6:57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

Some time ago, I visited a friend of a church member who had cancer and wanted healing. He was all ears, lapping and soaking up everything I shared with him. Today, he worships with us in our church and is completely healed of cancer.

I remember being at another man’s home at the invitation of his family members. He too was suffering from cancer. When I entered his home, the man had his television on. I started sharing Christ with him but he was not at all interested in what I was saying. He continued watching the television program. I knew then that his healing was a lost cause because faith for healing comes by hearing God’s Word, not by watching television, reading newspapers or listening to your favorite music.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not against these things, but they are not going to heal you. When you are sick, what you want is God’s healing flowing in your body. How does that happen?

One of the primary ways in which it happens is when you read your Bible, soaking up everything on Jesus. Before you know it, His divine health flows into your body, driving out every symptom of pain, sickness and disease. Even your discouragement dissolves effortlessly. You find yourself encouraged, refreshed and your darkness giving way to light. You see, there is no way you can feed on Jesus through reading and hearing His Word, and still remain the same. He said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

My friend, God wants Jesus to be food for you. We feed on Christ by seeing Him unveiled in the Word, by seeing and meditating on what the Holy Spirit reveals of His beauty and glory, and His finished work at Calvary. That is how we enjoy Jesus. It is like having a good meal. And when you do that, Jesus Himself promises that “he who feeds on Me will live because of Me”!

AMEN! God's Covenant gifts to us are FREE! BUT, WE have a part to play in receiving those provisions! Let's dig deeper into the Word of God than we have ever dared to go before! Hidden gems are in the Word for OUR finding out! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Say The Word":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I LOVE this from Kenneth E. Hagin's "Faith Food" devotional!

The Good

"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land" (Isaiah 1:19). 

If you are willing and obedient, it is God's will that you have the best. (Of course, you can't walk in disobedience and enjoy the good things of God.) 

God is not a miser or a tightwad. And He didn't put everything here in this world for the devil and his crowd to enjoy. 

Some people have the idea that if you're a Christian, you should never have anything, financially or materially. They believe that you should go through life poor and beaten down. 

But Jesus said, "If ye then, being evil and natural, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11). 

Oh, God wants to give us good gifts! He wants us to have the best! He wants us to prosper and have the good things of this life! But we must cooperate with Him. 

Confession: I am willing to love and serve God my Father. I am obedient to walk in the light of His Word, His will. Therefore, I shall eat the good of the land. And with confidence I can pray for the good things in life, because it is my Father's will that I have them. 

AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with Here's To The One.

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share again from Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His  Highest". 

Vital Intercession

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. — Ephesians 6:18

As we go on in intercession we may find that our obedience to God is going to cost other people more than we thought. The danger then is to begin to intercede in sympathy with those whom God was gradually lifting to a totally different sphere in answer to our prayers. Whenever we step back from identification with God’s interest in others into sympathy with them, the vital connection with God has gone; we have put our sympathy, our consideration for them, in the way, and this is a deliberate rebuke to God.

It is impossible to intercede vitally unless we are perfectly sure of God, and the greatest dissipator of our relationship to God is personal sympathy and personal prejudice. Identification is the key to intercession, and whenever we stop being identified with God, it is by sympathy, not by sin. It is not likely that sin will interfere with our relationship to God, but sympathy will, sympathy with ourselves or with others which makes us say — “I will not allow that thing to happen.” Instantly we are out of vital connection with God.

Intercession leaves you neither time nor inclination to pray for your own “sad sweet self.” The thought of yourself is not kept out, because it is not there to keep out; you are completely and entirely identified with God’s interests in other lives.

Discernment is God’s call to intercession, never to fault finding.

This is SO vitally important! Sympathy is the very worst thing that you can give to others. Sympathy changes nothing! What people REALLY need from us is to "Speak the Truth in Love" (Ephesians 4:15)! As it pertains to intercession, we are praying for the ANSWER to their problem, and the answer will sometimes require changes on their part. We must simply be the conduit through which Holy Spirit can pray the perfect will of God through, and nothing more! The rest is not our business. Being wholly committed to allowing Holy Spirit to pray through us in intercession is the most unselfish thing that we can do for another. Let's step up our game and not be moved by natural things, but be moved only by the Spirit of Almighty God Who desires for people to be set free more than we do! AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Ready Or Not":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today I want to share Jerry Savelle's daily devotional!

A REVELATION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17 NKJV).

If you are going to live a life of victory, it is essential that you have a revelation of the fact that you are the righteousness of God.

To be righteous means you have the ability to stand in the presence of Father God without a sense of fear, guilt, or inferiority, and with no consciousness of sin.

If you have made Jesus Christ your Lord, you have already been made the righteousness of God in Him. In fact, you are as righteous as Jesus is, because He gave you His own righteousness.

You may not have known it, you may not have taken advantage of it, but it’s true!

Until you have a revelation of your own righteousness, Satan will reign over you; sin and sickness will be your master. But the instant you know you are the righteousness of God in Christ, and you understand what that righteousness means, Satan is defeated in your life.

With a revelation of righteousness, you will no longer be afraid of circumstances as you face even the most adverse conditions with a sense of authority and dominion. Just as Jesus reigned over sickness, death, and the laws of nature, so you too can now reign in life in Him.

Confession: Through Jesus Christ I have been made righteous. In this righteousness I have authority and dominion over every adverse situation I may face in life. And from my position of right standing with God, I live the life of victory that is mine in Christ.

Meditate on these TRUTHS until you are fully persuaded that HE has your back NOW! AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Here's To The One":

Shalom in  Him!

Shalom,

Today's "Faith Food" by Kenneth E. Hagin is the most important lesson a born again believer can learn about prayer!

According to His Will

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14-15). 

People have remembered John's phrase "according to his will," and thought they had to pray, "Lord, do this or that, if it be thy will." But inserting this expression into a prayer when God's Word already states that what we're praying for is His will is confessing that we don't believe God's Word. And that kind of praying will not work.

How can we find out what God's will is? God's Word is His will! We can find out God's will for us in the Bible because the Bible is God's will, His covenant, and His testament. And it is God's will for us to have whatever God has provided for us! 

First we must find the scriptures that reveal God's will for us. Then we can go before God with great boldness: "...this is the confidence that we have in him." 

When we pray for things that God's Word tells us are His will, we know that He hears us! And when we know God hears us, we know we have the petitions we ask of Him. We know we have them, praise God! 

Confession: I have this boldness toward God: When I ask anything according to God's Word, I know He hears me! And I know that when God hears me, I have the petitions I desired of Him!

AMEN! Find out what God's Word says about you and any situation that you face. Now mediate on that Word until it becomes more real to you than anything that you face. NOW, speak that Word over every situation and watch God's Word WORK! AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Here's To The One":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I am continuing with sharing my favorite portions of Psalm 119 today! Verses 89-91:

89 Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven [stands firm as the heavens]. 90 Your faithfulness is from generation to generation; You have established the earth, and it stands fast. 91 All [the whole universe] are Your servants; therefore they continue this day according to Your ordinances.

FOREVER! If God said it, then He meant it and means it! All of creation obeys HIM, and US when WE speak HIS WORD! Be a true student of the Word by learning and then DOING! Verse 96:

96 I have seen that everything [human] has its limits and end [no matter how extensive, noble, and excellent]; but Your commandment is exceedingly broad and extends without limits [into eternity].

Gods Word is TRUTH (John 17:17) and He changes NOT (Hebrews 13:8 and James 1:17)! We can count on Him! Verses 97-105:

97 Oh, how love I Your law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies, for [Your words] are ever before me. 99 I have better understanding and deeper insight than all my teachers, because Your testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, because I keep Your precepts [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them]. 101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep Your word [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it]. 102 I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, for You Yourself have taught me. 103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

God's Word covers every area of our lives! I LOVE the Amplified Bible here! How do we 'keep' His Word? By 'hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it'! Verse 160 & 162:

160 The sum of Your word is truth [the total of the full meaning of all Your individual precepts]; and every one of Your righteous decrees endures forever. 162 I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great spoil.

Treasure God's Word! There is no other TRUTH! There is POWER in the spoken Word of God, so SPEAK THE WORD! Verses 171-172:

171 My lips shall pour forth praise [with thanksgiving and renewed trust] when You teach me Your statutes. 172 My tongue shall sing [praise for the fulfillment] of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteous.

God loves YOU so much that He provided our Saviour from before the foundation of the world! And then He gave us His Word that reveals our Saviour in every book! LOVE the Word and you will learn to love the Lord your God with everything that is within you! GO! DO IT NOW! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Ready Or Not":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today and tomorrow we are again going through Psalm 119 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan (the first 88 verses today and the last 88 tomorrow). I am going to share some of my favorites from each day. This changes every time I go through this great Bible Reading Plan! My life is at a different spot each time, so Holy Spirit is teaching me different things! First we'll look at verses 1-2:

1 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are the undefiled (the upright, truly sincere, and blameless) in the way [of the revealed will of God], who walk (order their conduct and conversation) in the law of the Lord (the whole of God’s revealed will). 2 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are they who keep His testimonies, and who seek, inquire for and of Him and crave Him with the whole heart.

I especially like the underlined verse 2! If YOU cannot say that YOU are 'blessed, happy, fortunate and to be envied' in your walk with God, then it just may be that YOU are not 'seeking, inquiring for and of Him or caving HIM with your whole heart'! Those ARE the prerequisites for these wonderful blessings! HE has already blessed us (every born again believer) with "every spiritual blessing in heavenly places - IN CHRIST" (Ephesians 1:3)! His promise is SURE! IF we do our part, He will already be actively doing HIS! AMEN! Next, I love verses 14-18:

14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts and have respect to Your ways [the paths of life marked out by Your law]. 16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. 17 Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live; and I will observe Your word [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it]. 18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.

A question that every born again believer must ask themselves found in verse 14! Do I treasure God's Word as much (or MORE) that money, riches, prestige, power or possessions? If I do, then I WILL be meditating daily on His Word, seeking for ways to obey it by putting it into practice in my life! THEN He will be able to reveal "wondrous things" to us in His Word! Next let's look at verses 63-66:

63 I am a companion of all those who fear, revere, and worship You, and of those who observe and give heed to Your precepts. 64 The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy and loving-kindness; teach me Your statutes. 65 You have dealt well with Your servant, O Lord, according to Your promise. 66 Teach me good judgment, wise and right discernment, and knowledge, for I have believed (trusted, relied on, and clung to) Your commandments.

When we spend time with like-minded believers, who know and love God's Word, it is time well spent! We add to each other when we center our fellowship around His Word and by His Spirit! THAT is how our Sovereign God set it all up! The last for today will be verses 72-73:

72 The law from Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. 73 Your hands have made me, cunningly fashioned and established me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.

Remember to ALWAYS give ALL credit for anything good in YOU and in your life to the One, True, Most High, Living Almighty God of the Bible! He IS the Giver of all good gifts! AMEN! Here is a new song by Hillsong UNITED called "Another in the Fire", because He always will be THAT ONE for YOU! 

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

I really love this from Joseph Prince's "Grace Inspirations" devotional!

JESUS, YOUR GOOD SHEPHERD AND DOOR

John 10:7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

Jesus said that He is the “door of the sheep.” What did He mean? Well, a sheepfold during Jesus’ time had no door which could be opened and closed. The door of the sheepfold was just an opening. In this kind of sheepfold, after the sheep had entered it, the shepherd would sleep at the entrance. The shepherd became, effectively, the “door” of the sheepfold.

When Jesus told His disciples, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11), He also assured them emphatically that He was the “door of the sheep.” He was telling them and us, “Inside My sheepfold, My sheep are always safe, completely protected and kept close under My watchful eyes. And since I am just at the entrance of the sheepfold, nothing, not even the muffled bleat of one of My own, can escape My ears. Also, nothing evil outside the sheepfold can enter and touch My sheep without first coming through Me for I am the door of My sheep.”

So when the fight of life comes knocking on your door and when panic threatens to rise within you, see yourself doubly protected! He is both the good shepherd and the door of His sheep. As your good shepherd, He gave His life for you to redeem you from poverty, sickness and every other curse.

As your door, He keeps out everything evil that He has redeemed you from. Because He shed His blood for you, you are covered and protected within the sheepfold by a blood-stained door. Disaster, destruction and death must pass over you and your family because of His blood on your door. Remember that on the night of the first Passover in Egypt, the destroyer could not enter the houses of the Israelites because of the blood of the lamb on their doors (see Exodus 12:13, 23).

Today, you can live life untroubled and unafraid, knowing that Jesus, your good shepherd and door, protects and preserves you and your family. No evil will befall you or your loved ones because He is your dwelling place and refuge!

AMEN! Our Father cares for us and has already provided for everything that we will ever need! It is all found - IN HIM! So get into His Word and find out those precious treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge that HE has provided for US! Here is Hillsong UNITED with a new song called "Echoes":

Shalom in Him!

Shalom,

Today's "Faith Food" by Kenneth E. Hagin covers something that I was so blessed to learn years ago! OUR GOD is a COVENANT keeping GOD! 

A Better Covenant

"But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises" (Hebrews 8:6). 

All through the Old Testament, we find men who understood and took their place in the covenant. Joshua could open the River Jordan. He could command time to stand still. Elijah could bring fire out of Heaven to consume not only the sacrifice, but the altar as well. 

David's mighty men were utterly shielded from death in time of war as long as they remembered the covenant. When you read about them, you think you're reading about "supermen." 

Nearly all the prayers in the Old Testament were prayed by covenant men. Those prayers had to be answered. 

The believer today has the same covenant rights as believers who lived under the Old Covenant. In fact, we have a better covenant established upon better promises. Therefore, we ought to be able to do all that they did and more, because we have a New Covenant, a better covenant - established on greater promises. 

Confession: Through Jesus, I have a covenant with God. It is a better covenant, based on better promises. I have better covenant rights than Abraham, Joshua, Elijah, and David had. I take my place as a New Testament believer in prayer. My prayers have to be answered. 

WE have a great and wonderful Covenant with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! HE will NEVER break His Covenant with us! It has been sealed in the precious Blood of JESUS!!! Find out exactly what the Word of God says about who YOU are - IN HIM! Then begin to live like it's true, because it most certainly IS! AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with another new song called "Ready Or Not":

Shalom in Him!