Faithfully Confessing the Truth Activates God’s Word

So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

 

Its' the end of the week. Maybe you look forward to the weekend but I look forward to hearing what God will share with us through David's post. Hope it blesses you as much as it does me!

When we confess the truth we partner with God.  We say loud and clear “Lord, I believe you!”  When that happens, like a boomerang effect, we send His very words back to him, only we return them activated, able to accomplish and achieve the purposes He designed.

 

In the past, I have purchased certain epoxy glue.  The packet came with two bottles, once containing the glue, and the other containing a special activator.  I had to mix the two substances together to initiate a chemical reaction that produced the super strong epoxy glue I needed.  If the substances were left in their separate containers, the glue could not fulfill the purpose for which it was designed.

In the same way, if we don’t “mix” the confession of our mouth and the belief of our hearts with God’s promises, they cannot serve the purposes for which they were intended.  Our agreeing with God, by faithfully confessing His word, is the “activator” needed to ensure His promises are accomplished and His desires are achieved in our lives.

Is It Time To Inspect Your Filter?

"Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”

Philippians 4:8-9

 

 

One item that we all benefit from but likely seldom think about is filters.

Maybe you enjoy that first cup of coffee in the morning that has been passed through a filter while in the process of making it.

Maybe you take for granted the furnace filter that works silently but effectively in reducing contaminates in the air you are breathing.

Try running your automobile with a filthy air or fuel filter and you will experience many problems with your engine.

At a minimum it won’t be operating at peak efficiency.

Do you want to operate at peak efficiency for God?

You do?

Good, then let me ask you another question.

How’s your filter?

“What filter”; you ask?

The filter for your thoughts.

Maybe you have been using a filter that is not working.

Perhaps it is letting too much of the garbage in!

What is right for your furnace is not adequate for filtering the air in a hospital operating room.

What is right for someone who is content to be a “good” person is not adequate for the person who wants to please God.

So what is the filter made of?

Look back at the text for today – things noble, good, beautiful, things to praise, etc…

Is it time to inspect your filter?

 

Continuing On The Journey of Demolishing Strongholds

 

Growing in sanctification and maintaining fellowship with believers are other ways we continually demolish strongholds in our lives.

 

“And have clothed yourselves with the new [spiritual self], which is [ever in the process of being] renewed and remolded into [fuller and more perfect knowledge upon] knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it.”

Colossians 3:10 (Amplified)

 

“…which is ever in the process of being renewed…”

Certainly that is a picture of an on-going work.

The new birth – just like your natural birth is a moment in time.

But in the same way that a newborn is not born as a mature adult, neither is the spiritual man born into maturity.

There is growth – sometimes painfully slow – that is a part of the process.

To believe we can somehow circumvent the process of growing and maturing in Christ is to deceive ourselves.

Likewise the Christian who isolates themselves and believes, by actions if not by their words, that they can make it on their own is a Christian who embraces strongholds instead of seeing them broken.

God was not mistaken when He inspired Paul to write in I Corinthians 15:33 -

“Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.”

 

Righteous companions will have the opposite impact.

They will encourage, inspire and model good manners, morals and character.

One of the greatest blessings of my life is to be able to be around men and woman of God who are mature and can draw the better and the best out of me.

Sanctification and fellowship are essential steps in demolishing strongholds.

Let God continue His work in you and let some of that work be done through those He brings into your life for fellowship and encouragement.

 

 

 

Have You Taken Step One?

“Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away.

 Behold, the fresh and new has come!”

II Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified)

 

 

 

Let’s look at some essential steps to be taken to continually demolish strongholds in our lives.

The very first step is to be saved!

Maybe you think that goes without saying but it is necessary to say just the same.

The natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit because they are spiritually discerned.

If you or I are not born again we will not see the need for a transformed mind.

What the spiritual man sees as a stronghold against the work of God the natural man may view as a positive state of mind.

You see the natural man and his carnal mind is at odds with the born again, spirit filled believer.

Step one in demolishing strongholds is to receive the salvation purchased for us on the cross.

The second step is to repent of the strongholds in your life that shouldn’t be there.

Are you battling a stronghold of rebellion or of sexual perversion in your life?

Listen to how Matthew 4:17 is expressed in the Amplified version –

“From that time Jesus began to preach, crying out, Repent (change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins),

for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  

Remember – repentance is not merely feeling sorry for your sin;

it is turning (180 degrees) from it.

It is a complete change of direction.

So we see that step one is a new birth and it is followed by a second step of repenting of those strongholds in our lives.

Aren’t all of my sins forgiven when I come to Christ?

Yes, they are.

But forgiveness is not the same as walking in the freedom that Christ gained for us at Calvary.

Sadly, I can be forgiven but still walk in bondage.

I can be forgiven but still have strongholds that keep me from walking in freedom.

Have you taken step one?

Have you taken step two?

 

What Strongholds are Being Built in Your Life?

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

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

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

II Corinthians 10:3-5 (Amplified)

 

 

If you and I are ever going to experience biblical transformation in our lives we need to understand the necessity of demolishing those evil strongholds that come to take our lives captive.

Some may read the passage above and then lean back on their sofa and say –

“Thank you Lord for the battle is yours and I don’t have to do a thing!”

Read it again.

It sounds very much to me that we have an active role to play.

Did you notice the word “we”?

Did you see the phrase “our warfare”?

Did you read the last part “we lead every thought and purpose away captive…”?

Perhaps we think that because Jesus did a complete work on the cross, we don’t have to do a thing.

It’s true, He did do a complete work.

He purchased our salvation.

He brought us back into fellowship with the Father.

But salvation and fellowship are starting points for us in the on-going work of sanctification.

The enemy didn’t shrug his shoulders and walk away the day you got saved.

On that day he re-doubled his efforts to sow seeds of rebellion and disobedience in your life.

Those seed thoughts can become strongholds in our lives to thwart the work of God.

God has promised to finish the work that He has started in each of us but that is not something He will do apart from our cooperation.

He will not force His plans on your life.  

Hence, Pauls’ admonition to us to take every thought captive into the obedience of Christ.  

We often talk of freedom  of will but that freedom of will that we have extends to our thought life as well.

I can choose to think on things that strengthen my walk with God and further His work in my life.

I can also choose, sadly, to think on things which hinder that relationship.

I can move as far forward in my walk as my thoughts allow.

Proverbs 23:7 tells me –

“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he…”

Are the strongholds being established in your life through your thoughts strongholds for God or strongholds of the enemy?

The Good, but not the Bad and the Ugly

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” (Philippians 4:8)

 

Well, when it comes to post submitted by Dave Trotta - it is, without a doubt, the good and not the bad or the ugly. Please be ministered to by his post today! 

Stephen B. 

 

Based on studies, it is estimated that humans have anywhere from 12,000 – 70,000 thoughts per day, and of those thoughts, 60% - 80% are negative in nature.  So, even if we took the best case scenario – 60% of 12,000 – that would still translate into an average of 7,200 negative thoughts each day!  We will probably never know for certain how accurate those numbers are, but even if they are widely inflated, we are still looking at a very sobering number of negative thoughts that parade through our minds on a daily basis.

 

How can we sustain such an onslaught of negative thoughts without them severely impacting our ability to see ourselves and others as God sees us?  We can’t!  Given the sheer volume, no matter how hard we try, if we don’t choose to think differently, many of those thoughts are bound to take root and produce an undesirable harvest in our lives.  No wonder God gave us explicit instructions in Philippians 4:8 to fill our minds and mediate on “the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”

 

The next time you think “I’m not talented or smart enough,” instead choose to believe “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).  The next time you have thoughts of hopelessness or despair, remember that God has “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11).  The next time you are tempted to look at the shortcomings in yourself or someone else, choose to look through God’s eyes who sees each of us as “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14).  You get the point.

 

Can you imagine how radically different our lives and the lives of those around us would be if we were to reverse the above numbers and begin to think God’s thoughts more often?  Look out earth, here comes heaven!

 

True and lasting transformation will often not come from the big events in our lives, but from the thousands of little choices we make each day in our thought life.  So, let’s partner with God by thinking on the good, but not the bad and the ugly.

Asking the Tough Questions

This week we have considered the subject of biblical transformation and

specifically learned to declare Gods’ word in our lives.

As we do this, here are four questions to consider –

How many fewer words would you speak if you:

Declare ONLY what pleases God!

“May these words of my mouth and this

meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,

Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Psalm 19:14

How many fewer questions would you have when you learn to:

Declare ONLY Gods’ truth!

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

John 17:17

 

How many ‘other’ paths would be eliminated in your life if you:

Declare ONLY Gods’ will!

“And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.

And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.”

I John 5:14-15 (Amplified)

 

What changes do you suppose you would see in your life if you learned to:

Declare your delegated authority!

“And Jesus answered them, Truly I say to you, if you have faith (a [a]firm relying trust) and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, it will be done.”

Matthew 21:21 (Amplified)

 

These may be tough questions but they are worth asking regularly.

What Do You Do After God Speaks?

“so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

    It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Isaiah 55:11

 

If we are going to experience biblical transformation then what we need to

do is learn to speak the Word of God into our lives.

We have learned how to speak a lot of things into our life.

Most of which is contrary to the Word of God.

We speak plot lines from T.V. shows; we speak someone else’s dream or vision; we speak ‘positive affirmations’ minus the power and promise of Gods’ Word.

None of these are remotely comparable to hearing from God and agreeing with the Word He has spoken to us.

Too often we build our lives upon confessions and declarations we ‘discover’ through traditions, reason, culture and feelings.

Remember those four deceptive guides?

I listened to someone once who was ‘captivated’ by a popular motivational speaker.

They certainly had some measure of truth to what they were saying but much of it was ‘fluff’ and was not anchored in the eternal truths of Gods’ Word.

It lacked the ‘substance’ of faith spoken of in Hebrews 11.

When I begin to speak the Word of God into my life I am speaking truth.

The crop that those words yield is both abundant and profitable.

The Word of God is profitable and as those profitable words flow through my spirit they bring transformation to my life.

Of course, it is not simply repeating words.

A parrot can do that but the parrot does not profit from what he is saying.

I need to declare and obey those words.

I need to act on the promises of God when God established conditions associated with those promises.

Many may say: “God spoke a word to me and it never came to pass!”

One question I would ask is – “What were Gods’ expectations for you in that Word?”

Search the scriptures – particularly as God spoke to the Children of Israel and you will find many if/then promises.

By that I mean God says if you do such and such I will respond in this way…

So revisit the promises, act in obedience to His specific Word to you and begin to speak His Words into your life!

“And God said…”

“so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

    It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Isaiah 55:11

 

The Word of God is active and alive.

Nothing passive and ho-hum about it!

Look again at Isaiah 55:11

The words accomplish and achieve speak of action and results.

The words ‘mission accomplished’ will never be truer than in this case:

God sends His Word on a mission.

Since God declares that it will not return to Him empty, it is as if that which He sent it to do is accomplished as soon as the Word is spoken.

Remember the creation account in Genesis?

“And God said…And God said…And God said…”

…and it was so!

God spoke the Word and it was so.

The Centurion in Matthew 8 may have understood this principle when he said to Jesus:

“But just say the word and my servant will be healed.”

He understood the power in the Word of God (Jesus) declaring the Word of God (rhema).

That very same power can be in us.

So why isn’t it always evident?

There may be many reasons but I believe the greatest one is that we just don’t believe it.

God want to move through you and me.

He wants to send His Word to achieve and accomplish.  

He wants to work through you.

Do you believe that?

Go ahead and ask Him if you doubt me.

Let me know what He says!

 

 

 

No Empty Words!

“so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

    It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Isaiah 55:11

 

Gods’ Word does not return to Him empty but achieves the purpose for which He sent it.

God sent His son Jesus – the Word made flesh – to achieve His purposes on the earth.

The last words Jesus spoke before He died were “It is finished.”

The “it” Jesus spoke of was all that the Father had sent Him to do.

It wouldn’t be long before the Word of God – Jesus – returned to the Father.

He did not return to the Father ‘empty’ but accomplished all the desires of His Father.

There was not one purpose left undone – all had been achieved by the Word made flesh.  

John 19:28 tells us this:

“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished,

and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

Jesus surrendered His life on the cross knowing all had been fulfilled.

He had pleased the Father and while doing that He had also revealed the Father.

He redeemed mankind and fulfilled the Word spoken by the Father way back in the Garden.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;

 he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Genesis 3:15

What a wonderful work was complete.

We were brought back into fellowship with the Father.

We are now a new creation.

We are called to be His Word – His representation in the earth.

You and I have a work to do.

We are called to complete the work He has purposed for us as well.

The one who hears – “Well done…” is the same who can declare – “It is finished.”

 

 

Pregnant With Much Possibility

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12: 23-24)

 

It was necessary for Jesus to die so that he could “produce many seeds” – us!  If you are a Christ follower and have surrendered your life to Jesus, then He dwells within you because of the work of the Cross.  So, the question is, what are you doing with the seed (His life) that Jesus deposited in you?  Are you letting it lie dormant through inactivity, or are you bringing it to life through meditation and application of His word and fellowship with other believers?

A seed that is not germinated may have tons of potential, but it will never reproduce anything.  Jesus died so He could take up residence in our heart, but it is up to us to partner with Him to reproduce His life in us.  Taken from Psalm 119, here is a sample of what will be reproduced in our lives when we take the time to cultivate our hearts to receive Jesus (the Word) and His written word:

Victory over sin (v11)

An enlarged heart for the things of God (v32)

A ready answer for those who would oppose us (v42)

A life of liberty (v45)

Comfort during affliction (v50)

Discernment and knowledge (v66)

Wisdom and understanding (v98, v130)

Light to see where we are going (v105)

Healthy fear of God (v120)

Great peace (v165)

The seed of Jesus in you is pregnant with much possibility.

 What are you reproducing?

 

Submitted by:              David Trotta

How Does Your Garden Grow?

“They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;

    they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord—

the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,

    the young of the flocks and herds.

They will be like a well-watered garden,

    and they will sorrow no more.”

Jeremiah 31:12

 

God desires to grow a garden in you.

The devil is also trying to grow a garden in you.

What seeds will you allow to germinate?

It really is your choice.

The old nursery rhyme we all remember from our childhood asked the question:

Mary, Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow?

It’s really not a bad question to ask yourself once in a while.

How does your garden grow?

Is it fruitful and abundant in the things of the Kingdom?

Is your garden filled with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, etc…

Or is it filled with the works of the flesh: envy, strife, anger, etc…

Both start out as seeds.

Both need to be nurtured and cultivated.

Both will yield after its’ own kind.

Do you nurture divisiveness or peace?

Do you cultivate worry and anxiety or thankfulness and joy?

You must go back to your thought life to examine the seeds being sown.

Often the enemy of our souls will camouflage his seed.

He won’t call it ‘gossip’ instead it is labeled ‘concern’.

Unbelief often masquerades as thoughts we label ‘planning’ or ‘helping God’!

The devil appeals to the natural senses to plant thoughts; often using the scriptures.

We take our cue from Jesus who responded to Him with the

Word rightly understood and applied.

How does your garden grow?

Better Than an Autograph!

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable,

through the living and enduring word of God.”

I Peter 1:23

 

When my wife was a child Theodor Geisel a.k.a. “Dr. Suess” came to visit her school.

She was in second grade at Washington Irving school and as a result of his visit she has an autographed copy of one of his books titled: “Yurtle the Turtle”.

The students sat on the gymnasium floor as he read a book to them.

Anyone who bought one of his books was able to have him sign it.

This took place about 1959 and of course Dr. Suess when on to write many childrens’ books including “Green Eggs and Ham”; “The Cat in the Hat” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”.

Now from that short visit it would be quite a stretch to claim that my wife knew the author.

While it’s true that she met him many years ago; so did hundreds

– or perhaps even thousands – of other school-aged children.

   Sadly, many believers claim to know Christ because they once met Him a long time ago.

He was an acquaintance to them but he never became a friend.

They never took the time to get to know Him.

You and I can read His book – the Bible – but never take the time to build a relationship with the author.

Head knowledge will never bring the Bible to life.

It is only through revelation of, and relationship with, the “Living Word” Jesus that His Words become alive in us.

We become Living Epistles of Christ in us.

We can not only carry the book with us but the author Himself takes up residence in us.

And that’s so much better than an autograph!

Spirit and Life

It is the Spirit Who gives life [He is the Life-giver];

the flesh conveys no benefit whatever [there is no profit in it].

The words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are spirit and life.”

John 6:63 (Amplified)

 

Do you want to be transformed?

Not from a robot into a car or vice-versa like the popular cultures’ concept of that word.

Do you want to be transformed from the old man and its’ carnal nature into the new man who is made after the image of Christ?

If you said yes, then what you need to do is learn how to bring the Word of God to life in your life.

As we said yesterday, the Word of God is alive and powerful.

But how does that alive and powerful Word become life in me?

How does it ‘come alive’ in my life?

Just as a dormant seed put into the ground needs water, temperature and exposure to sun to germinate we need the Word, which comes into our lives as seed, to be germinated by revelation application and protection.

It does not need one or two of the three; it needs all three.

Try germinating a seed with sunlight and the right climate but deprived of water.

You will have no success.

Try believing the Word of God can come alive in your heart through revelation and protection devoid of application.

We are to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

Revelation and protection (or guarding the seed) are vital but they are also deficient without application.

Jesus spent time with the Father – often early in the day – but then He obediently applied the revelations from the Father throughout the day.

He was not distracted by all the calls of this man or that group and each of their own agendas but set out to purposefully fulfill the Fathers’ plans for each day.

Jesus – the Word made flesh – walked in revelation, application and protection.

Just as we should!

That is how the Word becomes alive in each of our lives.

Surrendering Our Deficiencies to the Word!

“For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit,

and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature],

exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.”

Hebrews 4:12

 

 

The Word of God is alive and powerful.

As we discussed previously, Jesus Christ is the “Word Anointed” of God.

He is seated at the right hand (the right hand signifying power) of the Father.

He is very much alive and He is All-Powerful.

The term often used is ‘omnipotent’!

That omnipotent power of the Word of God lives in each one of us.

We dare not say then – “I can’t’ when God calls us to a work.

His enabling power takes the ‘I can’t’ in all of us and turns it into the verse we all recognize:

“I can do all things through Jesus Christ who gives me strength”

Philippians 4:13

The Word comes alive in us enabling us – through that power to do what we in our weak flesh are not able to do.

His power and His grace is indeed sufficient to every task we are called to.

Moses said “I don’t speak well!”

Yet through the power of God was able to lead the Nation of Israel out of Egypt.

Gideon said “I from the least of the Tribes of Israel!”

Yet through the power of God was able to defeat the Midianite army.

Jeremiah said: “I am only a child!”

Yet through the power of God he faithfully prophesied His Word for 40 years.

Each of them (and many more in the Bible) claimed a deficiency before God.

Our deficiency – when surrendered to God – becomes His opportunity to show Himself strong!

The Word of God is alive and full of power.

There is no deficiency there.

When we surrender to the power of Gods’ Word – Jesus – and allow Him to work through us, our deficiencies become His opportunities.

Will you surrender your deficiencies to Him?

You Are a Walking Billboard

Today's blog is contributed by David Trotta:

Did you know that you are called to be a walking billboard; a love letter from Jesus to be read by those you come in contact with?

Listen to what the apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 – “The only letter I need is you yourselves! By looking at the good change in your hearts, everyone can see that we have done a good work among you. They can see that you are a letter from Christ, written by us. It is not a letter written with pen and ink, but by the Spirit of the living God; not one carved on stone, but in human hearts.” (The Living Bible)

What does your billboard say?  One way or another – good or bad – your life continually proclaims a message to those around you by your words, your actions, how you treat others, etc.

I remember watching a very sad movie.  The mother of a young woman did not like the boy her daughter fell in love with, so when they had to move away, the young boy repeatedly wrote to the girl pledging his love for her, but the mother intercepted the letters and did not let her daughter see them.  So, the daughter incorrectly assumed that the boy no longer cared about her.

Are you withholding God’s love letter from those you come in contact with by not filling your life with God’s word, but instead filling it with the empty and temporal things of this world?  Only when we fill our lives with THE Word (Jesus) and His written word (scripture) can we be an accurate expression of Him on the earth, continually demonstrating His love, kindness, goodness, and forgiveness to those around us.

Psalm 119:11 says “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Let’s determine to let our billboard proclaim the “good change in our hearts” by hiding Jesus and His word there.

 

Agree With God, Agree With His Word!

“Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,

    that I may follow it to the end.

 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law

    and obey it with all my heart.

 Direct me in the path of your commands,

    for there I find delight.

 Turn my heart toward your statutes

    and not toward selfish gain.

 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;

    preserve my life according to your word.

Fulfill your promise to your servant,

    so that you may be feared.”

Psalm 119: 33-38

 

 

Lord – You are the teacher and I am the student.

Show me your ways so that I can obey them and walk in them all my days.

I ask for understanding in your Word so that I may obey it with all of my heart.

I am not afraid to seek your direction; as a matter of fact it is my delight.

I give you my permission to turn my heart – as stubborn as it has been in the past – away from self-centered and “me-me” attitudes toward you, your word, your laws.

I surrender my eyes too Lord that they might be turned away from worthless things and directed toward you – the highest purpose and of priceless worth.  

Amen

 

We, at His Place, are on a 30 day assignment to read Psalm 119 three times a day.

I encourage you – as you read it – to make it a prayer to God.

Make it personal.

Let the words of the Psalm settle in your Spirit.

Let those seeds take root and grow.

Remember that He watches over His Word to perform it and that includes performing what He has planned in your life.

Agree with God.

Agree with His Word.

Make it personal!

Good, Better and Best!

“As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out,

“Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.”

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Luke 11:27-28

 

 

The Word of God brings eternal blessings upon your life.

Maybe you read the words from Luke posted above and thought to yourself:

“Boy, Jesus was pretty harsh on that woman.

He could have at least acknowledged that his mother was pretty special!”

But if that is what you are thinking then I would suggest you are missing the more important point.

Jesus turned their focus to eternal things.

Certainly Mary the mother of Jesus was, and is, honored but the truth is she is flesh and blood just as we are.

Jesus answered in a way that was not meant to disrespect Mary so much as it was to point to the more important fact.

There is a blessing reserved for those who hear the Word of God and obey it regardless of who they are related too.

Mary had to believe in her son (The Word!) just as you and I must.

She did not get a free pass – just as others did not.

Again, that is not so much a judgment on Mary as it is recognition of Jesus’ words concerning Himself and entrance into heaven being but one way – through faith in Him.

But let’s turn our attention to where Jesus said the blessing would come.

It is to those who hear and obey the Word of God.

It doesn’t matter who your relatives are.

It doesn’t matter if you are tenth generation preachers or tenth generation heathen!

The blessing is reserved for those who hear and obey.

Note too that just ‘hearing’ is not enough.

The blessing is to those who hear and obey.

There are many who hear but never obey.

 Are you hearing the Word of God?

Good.

Are you obeying the Word of God?

Better!

Have you received the blessing reserved for those who hear and obey?

Best!

 

Have or Have Not?

“I delight in your decrees;

    I will not neglect your word.”

Psalm 119:16

 

 

Barna Research reports these staggering statistics –

8 out of 10 people in America have a Bible in their home.

In other words, 80% of the nations’ population has easy access to the Word of God.

But, only 5% of the American people will actually read through the entire Bible in their lifetime.

I didn’t say ‘read through in it in a year’ I said the statistics are that only 5% would read through the entire Bible in their lifetime.

It’s not like they don’t have the time!

If we took the average lifespan at 76 years that is one book of the Bible per year with an extra ten years left over for good measure!

Those are staggering statistics.

Sadly, many believers will not read through the entire Bible in their lifetime.

There is a disconnect there that is very troubling.

Many believers would readily agree to the authority of the Word, even to its’ inerrancy.

Still, this clearly is a case where their actions speak so much louder than their words.

We cannot simultaneously esteem Gods’ Word and ignore it.

Unless…we esteem it with our lips and ignore it with our hearts.

What a dangerous place to live.  

God gave us something He loved dearly.

He gave us His Word – which became flesh and walked among us.

If I say I have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ and do not value the Word of God I am speaking out of both sides of my mouth.

You simply cannot have an effective and vital relationship with God without understanding and honoring His Word.

The ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ can take on new meaning for us.

The ‘haves’ become those who ‘have’ the Word – not just in their home but also in their heart and lives.

It is not on a shelf collecting dust it is written on their hearts and lived out in their lives.

Will you be a ‘have’ or a ‘have not’?

 

What’s in a Name?

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

John 1:1-3

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

 

 

Jesus Christ

We are told that at the mention of the name of Jesus every knee in heaven and earth and under the earth will bow.

We have seen in the Gospels how demons tremble at the mention of that name.

So what is it about that name?

Jesus is the very Word of God made flesh.

The Word (Jesus) stepped out of eternity and came in the flesh and walked among us to reveal the Father to us.

The word “Christ” means “anointed one”.

Put them together and the name of Jesus Christ can be expressed this way –

Jesus Christ = Word Anointed

The Anointed Word of God was sent to earth to reveal to us the Father and the Father’s heart.  

The “Word Anointed” i.e. Jesus Christ, resides in the heart of every believer.

Let that sink in for a moment!

Jesus didn’t come to earth just to rescue us from hell – He came to live through us.

In other words He came so that the ‘Word Anointed’ might be seen in us.

So here’s the question, the challenge of the day –

Does your life reveal to those around you the Anointed Word of God?

I’m not asking if you can quote scripture – anyone can do that.

The challenge is – are you living epistle?