Persistence Wins

For those of you that have read what I have written in the past, you know that at times I believe that God gives me these short “flash dreams” that are very clear, fast, and memorable. Just before I awoke this morning, God gave me such a dream. At first I saw some rope coiled neatly on the ground it was used rope, slightly discolored, and immediately I knew it was used to bind people up. Once I knew that I saw a man in shackles around his wrists that suspended him slightly from the ground. He was thin and had been shackled a long time. Then I knew it was me, and it was other believers as well. The man was quite thin, shackled by the enemy for some time, but would not give up. I began to pray in the spirit, and the shackles released. The man fell to the ground about a foot or so below. He gathered himself together with everything he could muster, and stood up. I came to understand that the ground was God’s territory, and it was solid ground. I immediately awoke. As I awoke I felt God telling me to never stop fighting back, and that He alone was setting us free to live in His world which He is restoring. He also gave me this scripture as OI began to write.

Psalms 107:8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

Today, we can be free if we will not give up, if we will cry out to God; free to live in the land that He has created.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High. We ask Father that You will forgive us and raise us up. We ask Father that You send Your deliverance. We praise Your name. We ask that You send Your healing. We praise your name. We ask that You send Your provision. We praise Your Holy name. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Beauty In The Building

Today as I sit with my coffee looking out my kitchen window, there is a light snowfall. The flakes are very large. It reminds me of the glass balls we had as kids with snow scenes in them that we could swirl around. It has been a long winter, but somehow today seems different. Over time it is becoming easier for me to “see” the world as God’s creation, something that He is actively involved in overseeing at every moment. Somehow that is changing me. I found a part of that answer in the Psalms today.

Psalms 93:1 The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
2 Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
4 The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.

Here the psalmist is pointing out at the beginning of this psalm that God is very big and cannot be moved. He compares God to the waters and says they a very small compared to God. It is what is said at the end that I really started to understand for the first time this morning. The last verse could also be translated “Your words are very building and holiness makes Your family beautiful forever.” The things God has said are there to build us up, because He is bigger than anything and has the power to make things happen. When He says something, the entire universe does as He commands. And He has given us blessing upon blessing through the blood of His Son, Jesus. Now that is truly exciting if we can grab a hold of it!

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You are our King. You created everything, and all things do as You command. We ask today Father that you forgive us our wrongs. We ask that You send us deliverance, and healing, and provision today in a powerful way that all men might know that You alone are God. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Blessings That Do Not End

When we call out to God, He hears us. That may seem like a simple thing to say, but it is very true. When He sends His miracles, they can be, well, a little overwhelming. I am not sure why that is. It is as if we pray to God for certain things to happen. Then when they do, we can be surprised. The scriptures are clear that God is holding His blessings for us, and even for our children.

Psalms 103:17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.

God’s mercy was always there and will always be there. Our challenge is to view the world around us as His true creation. He made it. He is watching over it. And He is going to make it work out for us. When I think of all of the blessings that God has placed into my life, I become so thankful. I have a family that is well for the most part. We have a place to stay and what we need daily is provided. What I long to see is more of the kingdom here on the earth. I long to see a time when people are not cast down and struggling quite so hard to survive. People receiving their healing and living without fear. Today, I am encouraged to know that God is doing this according to His plan.

Psalms 103:19 The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.

Prayer
Father, we praise You for You alone are the Most High King. We thank You for Your deliverance, Your healing, Your provision, and Your kingdom here on the earth. Please show us today how to better walk in Your ways. Let us bring forth Your kingdom by what we say and do. Please watch over Your people today Father. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

God’s Presence Is Real

When we think of the the “real” things in life, what do we include? The car, the house, our family and friends – these are all real to us because we can touch and see them. But the things we cannot see are also powerful and have an effect on our world. The rays of the sun that cause the plants to grow and sunburn at the beach is real but unseen. Even Jesus spoke about the wind in this same way.

John 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Paul also spoke about the unseen and the seen, and the relationship between them.

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Paul actually pulls this all together for us. He says God’s word (here the Greek word rhema), His speaking, created everything we see. When we speak, we do not see the sounds, but people can hear the sounds because they have an effect on the ears of those listening. Here Paul is actually saying this invisible force of God’s speech created the entire world. If we believe that this is true, then everything around us that we see came directly, originally, from the voice of God. The world itself is a manifestation of the reality of God. That is worth thinking about for a while.

Today, if you have questions or worries about life or the future, stop and look around. Imagine watching as God spoke to create everything that is around you. That same God is looking out for you, and waiting to respond when you call out to Him.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. We love You and need You to help us through our lives. We ask that You not look at us and think of what we have done wrong. We ask that instead You forgive us and raise us up. Please send us today the provision, the healing, and the deliverance we need. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Remembering The Sabbath

Our God asks us to remember the sabbath. Last night at fellowship I heard yet more reasons why that is. I have heard people say that the sabbath is for rest, which is true. However, that doesn’t mean sleep all day. It means to rest with God. Keeping the sabbath means to spend time with God because we believe in Him and trust Him.

Hebrews 3:7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

We see here that the children of Israel in the wilderness did not enter into God’s rest. Notice it says “my rest”, meaning in part that God is there and we can get there. It is also important to note that they did not know His ways and their heart was in a bad place. Paul spoke about this many times in his letter to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

It takes faith to rest with God on the sabbath. We must believe in Him and believe that He takes care of us. After all, we have to give up what we think is important in our life on that day and look to Him for what He has in store. That does not only take faith, it frequently takes patience.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You alone are King. Please let us spend today with You. Please show us Your ways. We ask that You give to us today, the blessings we need to survive today. We need You. Please send us Your healing today Father, and your provision and deliverance. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Vigilance

This morning as I sat and thought about how big life really is, I thought about what it means for God to create something for us like salvation. I think about what the world must have been like before the fall, with there being peace, warm temperatures, plenty for everyone to eat, and God regularly walking in the garden with man. Then, because we as humans made mistakes, we lost such a wonderful home. And now, God has provided a way back to that home one day. Not only has He provided that way, He gives us His healing, deliverance provision, and defense on that journey every day. That truly is amazing. But at times I can either get caught up in so much of life that I lose sight of that goal. At other times, there are what seems like attacks from the dork spiritual forces that exist against our minds to make us afraid, doubt, or in whatever way allow our minds to be drawn to things other than God. What do we do?

Psalms 147:18 But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord.

We can fight back, but we have to do it every day, all the time, forever. We really do have the ability and the power to win. It comes to us from God. He will stand and fight for us, and bless us. That is what is said in the verses just before this verse, and in many places in scripture.

Psalms 147:11 Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.
14 The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children.
15 Ye are blessed of the Lord which made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

Our weapon is our praise and thanksgiving to God. If we will just open our mouth, our God will deliver us.

Bring in God’s kingdom to your life today. Praise God out loud, thanking Him, today, and everyday for the rest of life.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You, for You are our King. We love You. Today we ask that You show us how You want us to usher in Your kingdom. Give us the courage to speak on Your behalf to the world around us. We ask that You help us to learn more about Your ways. We long to walk with You on the earth when all things are restored. Until then we will offer to You our praise and our thanks every day. Please give us today the healing, the deliverance, the defense, and the provision that we need, and help us to bless those around us. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Remembering To Be Thankful

This morning we awoke to thunder and lightning. That may not seem like much, except that two days ago the shut the schools down because of five inches of new snow on top of several feet of snow already on the ground. Watching the flashes in the sky light up the white covered ground before sunrise was fun in a way. It meant the thaw is coming, the deliverance from winter. I found myself feeling thankful, and I remembered the power in giving thanks.

How do you feel about your attitude of thankfulness toward God? Are you doing okay, or do you sometimes forget to thank God even before the deliverance comes? Sometimes, I am not thankful enough, and other times I do a good job of remembering from where all that I am supplied comes. It is my hope that one day I become a person who lives in a state of thanksgiving. Those that wrote the psalms seemed to understand this very well.

Psalms 147:1 Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.
2 The Lord doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
6 The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

Here the psalmist is continually thanking God for all He does. In verse six he is even praising God for casting the wicked to the ground. That is followed in verse seven by the psalmist telling us to sing to God with thanksgiving. This is just one more example where we see that giving and singing thanks is connected to God’s deliverance and victory for His people.

Today, if you need a victory, sing of it to God with thanksgiving, praising Him for His healing, deliverance, defense, and provision.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. You alone are our King. You alone deliver us, heal us, defend us, and provide for us. Today we give you glory, and honor, and thanks for all these things. And we thank You for being our God and King! In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Hope And Trust For Battle

This morning just before I woke up I had one of those brief dreams that God gives me from time to time. In this dream I stood at a distance and saw a vision of an elongated capsule that was large in size. I saw a man looking at the capsule, and came to realize that the capsule represented this man’s job. He was very happy with it and proud of the capsule and he cherished it. Next to the capsule was an open space that as I remember is now was like a pristine forest and meadow. As I looked at this space I sensed a strong presence of God, as if I expected He would actually suddenly unveil our eyes so that we could see Him physically there. I was asking God what He was trying to show me and He said that the man put his trust and hope in his job. It made him feel comfortable. It made him feel as though he and his family were taken care of and would be okay. Then God said the pristine space represented where He was working and exists.

As I woke up God was asking me where do I put my hope and trust. As a husband and father, this is hard because we want to care for our families. I think the point God was making is that He does too. He wants us to know that He has a plan, and He is making that plan happen. He is trying to get us to the place where we will trust Him and know that He is our real source, our real provision for our lives and the lives of our families. As I was getting around then, God shared a scripture with me.

Psalms 146:1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:
6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:
7 Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:
8 The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:
9 The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
10 The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

In this psalm we see that the psalmist is praising God and talking about where to put our hope and trust. He says that if we put our hope and trust in men, then our hope will die just like all men die and their thoughts immediately vanish. On the other hand, those that hope and trust in God receive His provision, deliverance, healing, and protection. Just like the man in the vision had “encapsulated” his job with his hope and trust, we need to solidify our hope and trust in God. Not because we are perfect will God move, not because we perfectly trust and hope, but because God is God and He cares for us, for that reason God moves. And we through our praise and prayers get His attention. He alone is God. He will fight for us and create a space where we live in victory.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You. We love You and ask that You help us to see the substance of our hope and trust in You. Lord, You alone are the defender of the widow and the fatherless. You alone send the food to the hungry. You alone are the provider, the healer, the deliverer, and the defender we seek. We ask that today You send to us what we need today in deliverance, healing, defense, and provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Looking For Direction

The question can be asked by us as believers, what are we to be doing? This is not a general question, but a more specific question about details in our every day life. Yesterday I was speaking with a friend and fellow believer and I told him how easy it is to get caught up in the business of life, especially as God grows and blesses the work of our hands. I also said I did not want to fall in to the trap that is easy for me where I focus on that business and not on God. Our heavenly Father is doing and saying things in keeping with the creation that He made and belongs to Him, and with His plan.

John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

This is one area where I am trying to learn really hard to be more like Jesus. I want to be able to see what the Father is doing and do that. I want to be able to hear what the Father is saying and say that. This also fits in with something in one of the Psalms.

Psalms 123:1 Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

Here the psalmist is saying he is looking to God just like a servant looks to their boss’s hands for direction. We are to be looking for our Father to show us what He is doing, and then do that here. He will direct our paths to the things that can benefit us, to the things that can help us move farther down the road toward the kingdom on the earth. It is God’s plan to one day restore all things.

If we watch to see what God is doing, we can play a part in His plan and live in His promises.

Prayer
Father, we praise and thank You for being our God and King. Please show us what You are doing in each of our environments so we can do what You are doing. We want to walk in Your ways and live the life You have for us. Please send to us today the healing, the deliverance, and the provision we need. You are all we have Father. You are the only one that can save us from the proud. Please lift us up today. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.

Keep Moving

If we can keep moving, we can get to a better place. This morning as I was thinking about how life changes, it occurred to me that as believers we have both good days and days of struggle. Overall, though, if we keep moving, keep praying and seeking God, things tend to get better.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, told them that they became a part of the commonwealth of Israel by the cross. He makes an interesting comment about the scriptures and commandments to them. He says that when they were not a part of the commonwealth, they were “strangers to the covenants of promise” which refers to the promises God has made in the Old Testament. There truly are many blessings that were to come to those that kept the commandments of God. But now Jesus makes us a part of that through His death and resurrection. And Paul made another statement that was profound.

Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Paul says that our future with God came to us by grace, and not by works. At the same time, he is telling us that we should do the good things of God and not walk in our former ways. How do we reconcile these two perspectives? First, our salvation is a gift. We did nothing other than repent and seek forgiveness. Then we are to live our lives doing good. We will not make it all the time, but Jesus died for those sins too. When we find ourselves in sin, we need to repent and turn back to God. He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins. He will also help us get farther and farther down the road.

We just need to keep moving.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High God. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Thank You for helping us find Your ways. thank You for helping us find victory. Please send us the grace we need today to make good choices. Please send us Your healing, deliverance, and provision that we need for today, Father. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.