Embrace

Watch what you embrace.  It may embrace you back.

Text for Today – Proverbs6:20-22 – My son, keep thy father’s commandments, and forsake not the law of they mother: bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.  When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

I have too often witnessed a brother or sister in Jesus under horrific attack by Satan.  Ungodly pressures that injure them, their families, and loved ones arise to sidetrack or pull them back from their faith.  I have talked with them, encouraged them, and prayed with them.  Those who held to and thought upon the situation found themselves entangled in the tentacles of defeat, and even despair.  But it didn’t have to be that way.

You see, in the realm of the spirit, what you embrace embraces you.  When a believer chooses to release every thought to the obedience of Christ, and chooses rather to think mind-of-Christ thoughts, good things begin to happen.  First, and this is one of the most important elements of walking in victory, their own personal attitude begins to change.  Thinking like a victor rather than a victim will change your attitude.  Then the atmosphere about you begins to be impacted.  This helps to bring about one of the most glorious events of which I can think.  It is a divine romance.  While you may be looking at problems, difficulties, and attacks from the enemy, don’t embrace them. Instead, embrace the Word of God.  When you begin to embrace the Word of God, the creative, life-giving, healing, and supernaturally provisioning Word of God will embrace you.

Remember, what you embrace embraces you.  That is why I referred to it as a divine romance.  Out of the loving between a man and woman, what many would call a romantic bond, comes the fruit of the womb, children.  And oh, the joy that can bring!  By the same token, out of the loving, romantic bond of the Word of God and a believer comes much fruitfulness.  If you embrace that which hates you, it will destroy you.  If you embrace that which loves you it will bless you.  And if you embrace the Word of God that became flesh and dwelt among us, it will produce in you life, and that more abundantly.

In Proverbs we read that if one brings fire to one’s chest, he will be burned.  If you embrace destruction, you will be destroyed.  By the same token, if you embrace life, you will live.  If you embrace love, you will be loved.  If you embrace the creative power of God, the creative power of God will work in your life.  So, today, embrace that which loves you, not that which would destroy you.

Manna for Today – John 15:7; John 14:12-14; John 10:10; Mark 11:22-24; Proverbs 4:20-23;     Proverbs 6:27

Holy

Do you believe God.  If you truly do believe Him, this is a cornerstone for your faith walk and victory.

Text for Today – 1 Peter 5:16 – Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Is Jesus your Lord?  If He is, you are holy.  It’s that simple.  “Oh, no,” you say, “that couldn’t be!  I don’t feel holy.  I’m human.  I have so many flaws and shortcomings.  And you don’t know where I failed just yesterday.”  Why, you may even quote Romans 3:23; “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  But look at Romans 3:23 in its context.  It’s not talking about believers, but rather about unbelievers.  No, I’m not saying that believers never sin; just that Romans 3:23 is speaking only about unbelievers.

If you’re a believer, you’re holy.  According to 1 Corinthians 1:30, Jesus has already been made unto you the righteousness of God.  Yes, your righteousness is as filthy rags, but you’re not clothed in your righteousness.  You are clothed in His righteousness.  And since Jesus is holy, you are holy.  If the root is holy, so are the branches.  And since Jesus is “the Root,” and since He is holy, then you are holy, too, for you, as a believer, are one of His branches.  And being one of His branches, according to the Word of God, means that you are holy.  That is not a matter of feelings, but rather one of believing God.  Do you believe God?

I’ll ask again.  Do you believe God?  Of course, you do.  Can God lie?  Of course not.  It is impossible for God to lie.  Therefore, if God said it, that settles it, regardless of what your feelings say.  Read the opening two chapters of Job.  Job, a man greatly beloved and blessed by the Lord, had begun to show great flaws in his faith, his actions, and his confession.  Yet look at what God said about Job.  Read God’s Words about his deeply flawed human being, who at the time of his story, could not have even been born again.  (To be born again, Jesus had to be raised from the dead – Romans 10:9-10).

Read the Words of God describing this flawed human being named Job.  “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”  Regardless of the condition, or even the attitude of Job, God never changed His confession of faith about Job.  God continued to call things that be not as though they were until they became.  Aren’t you glad we serve a faith God?

So, what is God saying about you?  He is saying the about you what He desires for you.  He has  called you holy.  So, why don’t you just let His Word, His creative Word, work in you today?  Why don’t you choose to believe and understand that it is God Who is at work in you “to will and to do of His good pleasure?”  God has already spoken it about you.  And if God said it, that settles it.

Manna for Today – Romans 3:23; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Job 1-2; Hebrews 1:3; Philippians 2:13

Because

When Holy Ghost manifests Himself in power, there is a reason, a “because.”

Text for Today – Luke 4:18-19 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon ME, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at libety them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Please read our Text for Today once again very closely.  Try to lay aside what you have heard preached from this passage in the past.  Let it speak to you afresh and anew today as though you are reading and hearing this wonderful passage for the first time in your life.  (And please not, too, that I am capitalizing all the personal pronouns that refer to the Trinity.)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me” – note the tense of the verb is present tense.  That is very easily understood.  It means right now.

“Because” – here is a simple word, but so often overlooked in this passage.  Jesus, in reading from the writings of Isaiah, is clearly indicating that Holy Ghost was upon Him for a reason, and mor than that, it was “because” something had already occurred that caused Holy Ghost to come upon Him.  What was it that had happened?  The next phrase answers that question.

“He hath anointed Me” – once again, notice the tense of the verb.  Here, the Lord clearly speaks in the past tense that the Lord “hath anointed” Him.  Of course, that should be easy for us to grasp, for Jesus was the Anointed One, the Christ.

Now look at the anointings that were already in the life of Jesus; what He was anointed to say and do.  He was anointed to . . .

• preach the gospel to the poor 
• heal the brokenhearted   
• preach deliverance to the captives   
• preach recovering of sight to the blind   
• set at liberty them that are bruised   
• preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Now, remember, Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One.  So, what is an anointing?  It is something of Christ that is imparted to you as a member of the body of Christ.  And why did Holy Ghost come upon Jesus?  Because He was anointed.  So then, why do you suppose Holy Ghost would come upon you today?  The answer is simple.  Because you are anointed.  The anointing that is upon the Head flows down (is distributed) upon the body.  What is your place in the body of Christ?  What has God called (or sent) you to do?  That is your anointing, and your anointing is the target of Holy Ghost.  Get busy using your anointing.  Holy Ghost has no problem at all in hitting a moving target.

Manna for Today – Acts 10:38; 1 John 2:20-27; John 20:21; Psalm 133

Must Someone Die?

The seed must die (germinate) before a plant and fruit are produced.  

Text for Today – Isaiah 6:1 – In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

Uzziah was one of Israel’s better kings.  During his reign, Israel fared very well and riches flowed.  When times are good, it’s really easy to get your eyes on the man who leads you to the good times and prosperity.  This was the way it was with Israel in relation to Uzziah.  He had led them to great prosperity  and times were peaceful.  You could almost use the opening line of The Tale of Two Cities to describe it; “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”  Things were peaceful, Israel was free, her people were prospering, and it looked like tomorrow was going to be a great day.  Indeed, it was the “best of times.”

But the people had their eyes on the wrong leader.  It was apparent they had taken their eyes off of God, and gotten them on a mere mortal.  Indeed, it was the “worst of times.”  Sadly, in this scenario, the worst was manifest before the best was seen.  Look closely at Isaiah’s words.  It was in the year that Uzziah died that he “saw also the Lord.”  Upon this vision of the Lord, Isaiah saw that the Lord, too, was “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.”  One more thing Isaiah saw was that while Uzziah’s reputation and apparent importance was widespread, God’s train, His reputation, His influence, and His absolute importance “filled the temple.”

Now don’t misunderstand my point.  God did not kill Uzziah, and in this writing, I will attempt to define what opened the door to his demise.  What I will say, however, is that it is very apparent that the people of Israel, including Isaiah, got their eyes off the Provider, and became too attached to one of the channels of that provision.  They began to view one of their blessings (the good king Uzziah) as more prominent that the Blesser.  Dear reader, when you lose sight of the Great Provider, and begin to lay hold to the provision as more worthy to gaze upon and consider, you open yourself, the provision, and the blessing up to destructive attacks of the enemy who is all too willing to fulfill his role in the earth to “steal, kill, and destroy.”

Let me encourage you today to make sure your gaze is fixed upon Jesus.  That does not mean losing sight of the blessings or the provision, but rather that you see them only in the light of the Blesser and Provider.  See everything in the light of Jehovah and His redemptive Names.  There is no need to worry about things coming and going when you are connected to the SOURCE.

Manna for Today – Matthew 6:33; John 10:10; Romans 8:1-2

Use Your Seasons Well – The Conclusion

Your state of preparation and depth of diligence will determine your outcome in every cycle of seasons.

Text for Today – Genesis 8:22 – While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Now, we come to the conclusion, or at least a conclusion for us.  We have looked at the seasons and their relation to us and our lives.  Spring, with its refreshing warmth and early rain, breaks the grip of winter and presents time for plowing and planting.  Summer, with its heat and sun, offers great growth time, but diligence must be maintained to preserve the crop.  Fall, with its harvest rain, brings time for final ripening, and the following harvest to fill our barns (if we planted well and tended well).  Finally, winter allows us the opportunity to enjoy the harvest, rest, and be refreshed in the Lord (if we planted, tended, and harvested well).  Our own failures in spring, summer, and fall can result in a tough winter.  But due diligence can bring us through the toughest of winters without a scratch or struggle.

But now, my friend, we are approaching the end of the age.  Our Father is preparing to send Jesus for His church; that’s us.  But when Jesus comes, He is coming for a harvest far greater than we have currently seen.  Jesus said that the fields were white unto harvest.  That means there are literally multitudes ready to be brought into the kingdom of God.  How can that happen if time is so short?  Read Joel 2:23, and see the Lord saying His will pour out the early and latter rains, the planting and harvesting rains together.  That means the Lord will so compact the fruitfulness of our seasons that our lives and work in the kingdom of God will intensify, increase, and expand beyond any natural conception.

Read Amos 9:13, and be ready to rejoice!  What remains for us to do unto the coming of Jesus for His church will be so compacted and intense that the Word declares the plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes will overtake the person who plants the seed that is to bring forth the vineyard.  What does that mean?  It means INSTANT RESULTS!  The time is coming in which you will sow seed and reap an immediate harvest!  Now, that’s exciting!

Do you want to be used in that time?   I certainly do!  If you want God to use you then, prepare yourself now.  As in almost any endeavor of life, those who are prepared will be the first ones used.  The best prepared athletes make the first-string team; the best prepared business man gets the promotion; the best prepared sower has seed ready to sow, and the prepared reaper collects the first fruits harvest.  My friend, GET READY and STAY PREPRAED!

Manna for Today – Ecclesiastes 3:1-3; Mark 4; Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 6:10; Hosea 6:103; Joel 2:23; Amos 9:13

Use Your Seasons Well – Winter

If you’re done your work, planned, planted, and produced diligently, winter can be a great season.

Text for Today – Genesis 8:22 – While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Today we come to our discussion of winter, and in light of our past Second Milers on seasons, it is extremely interesting.  For the farmer, it is obviously not the time to plant, water, or harvest.  The seed would not germinate, and if it did, the blade would freeze, the water used for irrigation would freeze, and there would simply be nothing to harvest.  So, what is the real benefit of winter?  I’m glad you asked.

If you have given due diligence to fill your spring, summer, and fall with proper investment of time and resources, winter, for you, becomes a great season of fellowship with the growing in personal relationship with the Lord.  Imagine your barnsare full; outside the ground is snow covered; inside, you have a comforter (a type of Holy Ghost) wrapped about your shoulders, and you are curled up by the fireplace with a roaring blaze warming all that is about you.  Now, for a country boy like me, that’s living.  If I want, or need to go out, my barns are full, so my livestock is well fed.  I have kept all my farm equipment in good shape, so I can use my wagon if needed.  If someone is hungry or cold, and comes to my door, I have plenty to share with them, so my ministry is stronger and more blessed.  And now is the time to share with others what I did in the spring, summer, and fall (harvest) to be so well prepared to walk in the blessing, safety, and security of God in the winter.  In short, now is the time to really testify.  When your testimony is the result of diligence in Jesus, others will be most influenced by your testimony, success, and favor with God.  Oh, and there’s more.  During the winter, the farmer would be diligent to maintain and keep in a state of readiness, the equipment and resources he will need in the coming spring. 

Now, learn one more thing; as I have already written to you, the seasons of your life will come at different times in different arenas.  Remember Samson?  The jawbone that was his weapon also became his source of refreshing.  If you’ve done diligently, you will always be in a winter season in some arena of life, and in that winter, grow closer to the Father.  Make this a continual cycle of life for your daily living.  And remember, swords, spears, plowshares, pruning hooks, and cycles are all formed from the same metal, as are your tools and weapons of the Word of God.

Manna for Today – Ecclesiastes 3:1-3; Mark 4; Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 6:10

Use Your Seasons Well – Fall (Harvest)

Fall is a season for some of the farmer’s heaviest work.  It’s the same for the believer.

Text for Today – Genesis 8:22 – While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Following summer, we have fall (autumn, or harvest).  Now I’ve worked in farm work long enough to know that some harvesting actually begins in the summer, but fall (or early fall) has been traditionally viewed as the harvest season.  At this point, the crops are in their final stages of ripening.  It is also at this time that final ripening rains occur.  (Once again, I know that this may not happen worldwide, but I am referring to the seasons of nature that we would recognize in order to bring clearer understanding to what it means to operate within seasonal boundaries established by the God.)

The farmer knows this time is critical.  He understands that he does not have the entire fall season to harvest his fields.  He must harvest them when they are ripe.  If he harvests too early or too late, he can lose much of his crop.  He must work when the crops are ripe.  The same is true for you, dear believer.  When the seed of God’s Word you have planted, nurtured, watered, and protected ripens, you must harvest it quickly.  This speaks to an attitude of diligence, alertness, preparedness, and readiness.  You must be diligent to have tools and resources in place for your harvest (pray and be sensitive to Holy Ghost).  You must be alert to the right time and condition of your crop in the ripening process (pray and be sensitive to Holy Ghost).  You must have your storage ready to receive your harvest (pray and be sensitive to Holy Ghost).  And finally, you must be ready to be obedient to your Lord, the land owner, to carry out His bidding whenever He desires (pray and be sensitive to Holy Ghost).

Here is a good time to state a little-recognized fact by too many believers.  We have a great sense of the need to plant, to sow, to give for the work of the kingdom so God can bless us.  Sadly, too many believers don’t understand that harvest is at least as, and more likely labor intensive than planting.  Remember, what you sow, you should also be prepared to reap.  It is a kingdom principle of the Father.  To sow, plant, or give without planning to reap, harvest, or receive, is an attempt to mock God.  So,, use your harvest season well.  Your success in the next season will depend on how well you used spring, summer, and fall.

Manna for Today – Ecclesiastes 3:1-3; Mark 4; Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 6:10

Use Your Seasons Well – Summer

Different seasons require different tools and resources.  Are you ready?

Text for Today – Genesis 8:22 – While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

When discussing season,  you know that following spring is summer.  In our society, that so often means vacation time, summer school break, and longer days.  While the summer may not be quite as hectic for a farmer, it is still a time for diligence and necessary work.

With hot weather come the growth of weeds.  The farmer must work to keep the weeds out of his crops.  With hot weather comes all kinds of potential infestation in the crops, from fungal, to disease, to animal pests.  The farmer must maintain diligent oversight to recognize any of these elements, and then deal with them.  If possible, he will set in order certain preventive elements to stop infestation from every starting.

But, what of the believer?  Jesus likened the kingdom of God to a man who planted seed in a field.  That man (you) must deal with the seasonal changes just like a farmer does.  The timing, or length, of a given season may not be three months.  ;it could be much shorter, or possibly quite protracted in length.  God, Who knows the end from the beginning, knows what you will need to defeat the enemy in your life when his next attack (winter in some arena of life) comes against you.

Here is also a good time for us to understand that seasons arrive at different times in different arenas of life.  For instance, you may be in a physical springtime, a financial summertime, a fall (or harvest) domestically , and a wintertime professionally.  All your seasons don’t just flow together.  Still, you can count on God to provide you with all the time and resources necessary to make each season count for its maximum potential in your life.  how you use the time and resources is up to you, and how prepared you are personally to use them is up to you.  But even in those arenas, Holy Ghost stands ready to help you, instruct you, and guide you to absolute victory.

Once again, what about the believer?  Do you stand ready to deal with the potential infestations of the enemy that he will use in attempting to bring you to crop failure?  Do you stand ready to keep the weeds from choking your crops?  Do you stand ready to irrigate with the water of the Word when times get dry?  That’s what summer offers.  Are you ready for summer?  And remember, it is vital that you keep yourself strong in the Lord, praying in the spirit, for following summer is fall (harvest time), and fall, perhaps more than any other season, requires energy and strength to accomplish all the hard work at hand.

Manna for Today – Ecclesiastes 3:1-3; Mark 4; Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 6:10

Use Your Season’s Well – Spring

Each season of the year, just like every season of life, requires a certain kind of work to be applied.

Text for Today – Genesis 8:22 – While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

At this writing, we are in the midst of spring, so this could be an appropriate time to write to you about a deeper understanding of seasons and how they can powerfully impact your daily life.  I have written toyou a brief synopsis of how seasons play a role in your daily life, but I believe it would be helpful to address the specific seasons of how you can use them to enjoy a little heaven on earth.  That is, after all, what Jesus said we should believe for in our praying; “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Let’s look today at His will for spring.

Spring is a time for plowing and planting, and for removing the rocks that can prevent seed from rooting properly.  It would generally be marked by a breakthrough from the harsh cold of winter, and the spring rains that prepare the soil for the coming plowing and planting.  The good farmer knows this is coming, so, he is prepared for it by having his farm implements and seed ready, and by preparing his ground as early as possible for the planting time. 

Have you ever noticed that when you are in a time of what seems like a harsh attack from the enemy, that God always seems to bring a breakthrough and a time of refreshing?  That is an indication of the spring season.  The principle of the early rain, that breakthrough, refreshing, ground-preparing rain comes into play here.  It is so easy after a breakthrough from harsh difficulty (sickness for example), to want to sit, rest, take it easy, and if you’re profoundly refreshed, hit the testimony trail to tell how you just came through the winter.  The good farmer understands that now it NOT the time to be talking about how he got through the winter, but rather to be investing his time, energy, and resources in preparing to overcome the next winter.  It’s time for the work fitted to spring.

When God gives you that spring time breakthrough (and it will come, for God has established the seasons), give due diligence to plowing and preparing your spiritual soil to receive the Word of God.  This is prayer and communing with your heavenly Father.  Likewise, give due diligence to planting the Word of God into your spirit.  Study Mark 4, and lean the principle of the seed, blade, ear, and full corn in the ear.  And remember, keep your heart tender (remove the rocks).  And in all this, have confidence and faith in God that He will provide you with the spring you need to do these things.  But you must be diligent.  Spiritual  laziness in the spring means little or no harvest in the fall, and that means another tough winter ahead.

Manna for Today – Ecclesiastes 3:1-3; Mark 4; Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 6:10

Overcome Deception

Would you like to live in a place where you could NEVER be deceived?

Overcome Deception

Text for Today – James 1:22 – But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

In the story of the birth of Jesus, we read about the wise men from the east, who, after they had seen the child Jesus, returned home a different way than that had arrived.  The Lord had warned them to NOT return to Herod and report to him about their visit to Jesus.  Their identity as wise men was proven true when they obeyed the direction of the Lord.  In finding the Christ-child, they followed God’s divine direction, and they did the same in choosing the direction for their return home.  By following that divine direction, they avoided the deception intended by Herod.

Read our Text for Today again.  Then think back to the story in the garden of Eden.  The Bible teaches us that the woman was deceived, but not the man.  This does not mean he was smarter than the woman.  It is simply a statement of fact so we can know the truth of the events that happened there.  This truth is revealed to show it that what occurred was a failure of those in authority to exercise their God-given authority.  When God made man and woman, putting them in the garden of Eden, He gave them two commandments, and with the commands, the authority to fulfill them.  The commandments were (1) be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and (2) subdue the earth and have dominion over it.  In short, they were the rulers of this earth, as well as all the handiworks of God.

I don’t know how much of the second commandment they fulfilled, but it is painfully obvious they did nothing about the first commandment.  Now read our Text for Today again.  To have received a commandment from the Lord and not carry it out is to deceive yourself.  can you see the scenario developing?  God gave the man and woman two commandments.  They both failed to busy themselves with keeping the first, and according to the Word that never changes, were self-deceived.  The next deception was Satan, deceiving the woman.  Do you see the progression?  It should be so very clear to us.

The love of God is to keep His commandments.  Do you have His commandments?  Are you keeping them?  To have them, know them, and yet not keep them is you deceiving yourself.  The next step in that progression is deception by the enemy of your soul through some channel.  How can you avoid being deceived by the enemy?  By keeping the Word of God.  Remember the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 119:11, “Thy Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You.”  If your heart is full of the Word, and you are faithful to do that Word, you put yourself in a position in which the enemy of your soul cannot deceive you.  That, my friend, is a great position in which to be; always able to overcome deception.

Manna for Today – Matthew 7:24-27; Psalm 119:11; 1 John 5:3; John 14:15-17