God's Love Letter

Saturday, March 31st> Ephesians chapter 5

How can we amplify God by our lifestyles? Well, it pretty much starts with what we allow to enter our thoughts. The Holy Spirit being our Guide, we have the opportunity to display the character of our Father wherever we go. The world is watching those of us who claim to be saved, and the true difference of how we amplify Him does NOT take place on Sunday, when we're in our best attire. It happens in the day-to-day goings-on of our lives: while we're in traffic, at the grocery store counter, getting fast food, or shopping at the mall. We amplify our Lord by oozing the grace, compassion and love that we've been so freely given. We don't have to work up anything-- just BE who God is making us -- His love letter to the world.

Rile Him Up!

Thursday, March 29th> Matthew 8: 28-34

What should be our most important reason for wanting to amplify God and His kingdom? Why, to aggravate the enemy, of course! His aim is to silence us, push us into a corner, and render us totally ineffective. So what does he do to accomplish this? Petty problems, distractions, and afflictions arise seemingly from nowhere. But we know that ALL things work together for them that love the Lord, and are called according to His purpose. So walk tall today and everyday, letting your light shine, and NEVER be afraid to "rile up" the enemy. After all, he spends all his time looking for ways to do the same to you.

Who Matters More?

Wednesday,  March 28th> John 12: 1-19

Why are we so much more bashful about declaring our belief in God than we are about everything else we identify with? One good reason is PRIDE. We somehow think the reputation we've built as an upstanding member of society was earned by us, and can therefore be taken away if we do or say anything that would cause us not to appear "sound". Many of us associate the things of God with things that are too radical, or the opposite of being level-headed.

The truth of the matter is, the things of God are filled with nothing but LIFE, peace, wisdom, joy, grace, and beauty. WHY wouldn't we want to advertise that we belong to Him? Another reason is we don't know the WORTH of our God and what He has done for us. That's why in Ephesians 1, Paul prays that "the eyes of our understanding would be open" for us to see these things. Beware of thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought, and of thinking even more highly of others, placing them where God should be.

Even MORE Undignified!

Tuesday,  March 27th> Luke 19: 28-40

Why does Jesus deserve such reckless worship and praise from His followers? Well, if you MUST ask, here goes: He's only the GREATEST human being that ever lived; all-God and all- man at the same time. He went through every emotion we have ever experienced, was the only One Who could actually claim to "know what it feels like" and mean it. He walked ten thousand miles in our shoes before we were even born, AND DID NOT SIN.

He Who knew no sin, Jesus the Christ, agreed to be sin for us for no other reason than because He loved us with an everlasting love. Everytime I think of how ugly, sinful and lost I was, and how He loved me through it all, I realize I don't need prompting to praise Him with all that's within me. If I were there in Jerusalem that day, I'd be one of those who lay down their garments on the dusty road for Him to ride over. When it comes to my Jesus, I WILL BE EVEN MORE UNDIGNIFIED THAN THIS.

What A Privilege!

Monday,  March 26th> Mark 1: 1-8

How does John the Baptist's purpose for being born mirror what every believer has been assigned to do? Can you imagine a man being born just to spend his days in the wilderness announcing the coming of another person. Everything he does points to this person's importance and not his own. He never once tries to take any credit for drawing the crowds that come to see and hear what he's going on and on about.

Seems too good to be true, huh? Well, it's not. Everything John was given to amplify Jesus as THE Son of God, we've also been given. Our mission is to go willingly to out-of- the-way places and declare what He did for us through His death. And what's more, we don't need to draw any attention to ourselves. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can compel others to accept the salvation that's been freely given to them. What a privilege -- to be used to AMPLIFY the Father and His Son, Jesus!

Walking in God's Power

Sunday, March 25th> Acts chapter 8

What are the steps to walking in God's power to win souls?

STEP 1: BE FILLED with the power of the Holy Spirit.

STEP 2: BE SENSITIVE to the Voice of God, being able to recognize that it is HE speaking-- through angels, through the Holy Spirit, or through His sanctified vessels.

STEP 3: LAY DOWN every ulterior motive, only hold on to the profession of your faith in God's desire for the lost to be saved.

STEP 4: MOVE in the Kairos moment when you hear God tell you to.

STEP 5: OPEN up your mouth and let the Holy Spirit speak to the spirit of the lost one(s) Whom God created. Just be a vessel to be used for the work of salvation to begin.

STEP 6: GET OUT OF THE WAY!

Worth The Investment

Friday, March 23rd > Acts 1: 1-8

How is observing chronological time the opposite of what the Holy Spirit wants to do in and through us? We spend a good bit of our minutes, hours, days, weeks and months focusing on what WE think God would have us doing. But who better to communicate the heart of a man than the man himself? The Holy Spirit is the Only One Who knows exactly what God wants from us at a specific moment.

No-where is this more evident than during praise and worship. If you're a music minister or worship leader, you can't be more concerned about chronological time than about making room for the Holy Spirit to move and speak. If you're worried that 45 minutes have gone by rather than focused on making yourself available to usher in the Lord's Presence, you may be missing out on key moments when the Holy Spirit wanted to do something life-changing. Our prayer today is that God teach us how to wait on His Holy Spirit. He's DEFINITELY worth the investment.

Take Over, Holy Spirit!

Thursday, March 22nd> Luke 12: 1-12

Why is depending on the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit more important than trying to defend ourselves before the ungodly? We don't represent ourselves, and the One to Whom we've offered ourselves as ambassadors has His own way of doing things. If we want the impact on our world to be long-lasting, we cannot use the world's devices -- shame, embarrassment, and defending ourselves from those things. Rather, as we trust Him to speak through us, His a word will plant seeds that our words cannot. Our prayer today is that we allow the Holy Spirit to take over when we have to stand before man and produce results that we're incapable of on our own.

Keep It About HIM!!!!!

Wednesday, March 21st> Proverbs 19: 21; Psalm chapter 37

What should be our primary purpose as we set out to accomplish our assigned God-tasks? If you're in any way a part of the body of Christ, this message is for you. Whatever your role-- from Apostle to deacon, choir director to children's church worker -- your primary purpose is to KEEP IT ABOUT GOD. Make sure there are NO ulterior motives for doing what you do. This will keep you humble, and will also allow you to take a step back, giving yourself room to hear from Him AND be restored by Him when the work becomes hard. The One Who called you is WELL able to complete the work IN and THROUGH you. Got it? WE work for HIM, not the other way around. As long as we keep it in that perspective, He will always be victorious through us.

Ask the Lord of the Harvest!

Tuesday, March 20th> Ezekiel 13: 1-22

Why is it useless to come up with schemes to win souls for Christ? First and foremost, anything done for Christ WITHOUT Christ's heart and the heart of His Father in mind will not last. Surely we can't expect Him to bless our effort if we're only trying to win souls for selfish gain. As a matter of fact, today's passage reveals that it offends and infuriates God when we totally ignore Him, trying to use our own devices rather than truly allowing Him to draw others to Himself.

Our prayer today is that we ask for a clean heart, and search our motives for winning souls (not wanting to do it just to pack the pews in our sanctuaries, but to populate the kingdom of God). If this is our mindset, we'll be able to partner WITH God, and all of His resources-- which are limitless -- will be ours. But if we remain stubborn, woe unto us! Not only will our efforts fail, but He will expose us for the frauds we are, and everyone will see that we do not represent Him. Let's look within today and simply ask the Lord of the harvest to equip us for the work.

Offend GOD-- Or Man?

Monday,  March 19th> Ezekiel 13: 1-22

How does God feel about the man-made devices that have been set up by churches to keep their ministries running? First, let's discuss the money-making projects we come up with -- the services we hold just to invite people who will come and give an offering. Once they get there and bring what they had, the service is held hostage as we declare there's GOT to be more -- that God HAS to have given us a larger amount, but we're just not willing to be obedient.

Then there are the "all- inclusive" schemes where we preach God's acceptance of anyone no matter what their sins are-- which is certainly true. But once we come to God through Jesus, shouldn't we be preaching that God expects HOLINESS to be at the center of our walk, rather than NO CHANGE and NO FRUIT? It's convenient to keep the sermons easy on the ears to keep those people coming, and to keep their tithes and offerings coming. We certainly don't want to say anything to offend anyone.

Then I read today's passage, and Jesus' message in Luke 12:49-53 about coming to bring division and not peace comes back to me. God sacrificed His only Son, and He expects us to make a stand for righteousness, even if it means offending those who are not ready to be challenged. And so ministries have to make a tough decision: offend GOD, or offend man. Hmmmm.... Let me see... I think I'll go with the One Who has the power to take me out with just one thought.

Loose It and Let It Go!

Saturday, March 17th> John 11: 28-44

In this passage, we see that there is a difference between weeping and sobbing or crying.  How does sobbing without faith to see God move rob us of the opportunity for miracles? When Jesus wept, it was out of grief that Lazarus' sisters didn't really understand who He was. But since He operated from a place of faith, there was never a moment when He didn't think Lazarus would be raised from the dead.

When Mary and Martha cried, it was from a place of regret that it was too late for Jesus to do anything about the situation. They didn't know Jesus to be the God with Whom NOTHING is impossible. So both of them made the comment when they saw Him: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died". Not once did they allow themselves to believe that, since they were in the presence of the Messiah, God's Chosen and Sent One, there was no limit such as time. Knowing this, Jesus had to allow Lazarus to die so that He could show them -- and His disciples -- that truly there is NOTHING that God cannot do.

As we interceed for others, and even deal with hard situations in our personal lives, we will be moved with compassion to a place of shedding tears. But God will have us to know that we must not allow those tears to fall out of regret or fear that it may be too late to do anything about it. I don't care if the cancer is in the terminal stage, or if that person is on his or her deathbed. My Bible tells me that Jesus says, "If you believe, you will see the glory of God". All that stands in the way of the miracle-working power of God is our belief.

Do you have your belief bound up in that tomb, just like Martha and Mary did? Then let me speak a release to you. Take away the stone, and loose your faith. Let it go as far as the Holy Spirit gives you grace to believe for. And with your release will come the flood of miracles in Jesus' Name.

Be MOVED to Bring Change!

Friday, March 16th> Luke 19: 41-48

In what way does Jesus reveal God's heart about how we should be concerned about our cities?Jesus shows us that God is heartbroken over the fact that His own people rejected Jesus, His precious Gift to them. They chose the curse that He came to break by choosing NOT to believe He was the Messiah. But Jesus didn't just grieve over the problem; He got up and did something about it.

Today, our focus needs to be similar. When we see broken lives around us in the cities that we live in, we should grieve that they haven't accepted the free gift of life and hope that's in Jesus Christ. And that revelation should spur us on to ACTION. We should WANT to do something about the destruction we see around us, one person at a time.

Rather than judge their choices, how about choosing to show them THE WAY? We have the best-kept Secret inside of us, while the world is blindly searching for everything else that we already KNOW won't satisfy them. Our prayer today is to be broken about what breaks God's heart -- and to be MOVED to do something about it.

The Spirit of Religion

Thursday, March 15th> Luke 7: 36- 50

One of the results of weeping is CHANGE.  How do the Pharisees exemplify the way the spirit of religion resists change? I think what causes people who stick to the FORM of godliness the most fear is the unknown. They become so comfortable with "doing" church the same way it's always been done that they feel threatened when something changes.

Yet we see that the Pharisee who invited Jesus to his home did not even follow the tradition for honoring a special guest. That speaks to the fact that he did not regard Jesus as a person of honor, but only invited him out of obligation, or even to see whether Jesus would slip and reveal Himself for the fake they thought He was.

I guess what that communicates to me is that the spirit of religion serves to keep things the way they are so that we do not become accountable for recognizing who we really are in the face of God's holiness. What the woman with the alabaster box did was scary; she opened herself up to change by acknowledging how wretched and in need of a Savior she was. That's why she left a totally different way than she came. And that's why many of us don't.

I Want More

Wednesday, March 14th> Psalm chapter 51

How can we keep our hearts in a state of readiness to receive God's correction and direction so that we don't become hard and calloused? The worst state a believer can be in is one of rebellion and stubbornness, refusing to acknowledge those areas where we fall short. Only in a constant state of readiness to be corrected can we be fully used.

It boils down to this simple thing: do we want to just EXIST with the name Christian, or do we want to be active? Do we want God to use us to interrupt the lives of others by showing up in their situations with signs and wonders? Or do we just want to occupy a church pew every now and then? I want more from God, and to whom much is given, even more is required. I'm required to not be satisfied with just having my "big sins" forgiven, but to be willing to let God deal with the "little", hidden ones I think I can get by with. I want no doors left open that can give the enemy a foothold into my life.

A Broken Heart

Tuesday, March 13th> 2 Chronicles 34: 1-28

What mindset does weeping put us in, and how does it draw God's attention to us? Weeping causes our hearts to be tender towards God and His ways. We know that because of our sinful nature, our thoughts are not God's thoughts, and we are not naturally inclined to follow His ways. But when we see our dreadful state, and cry out for God to help us be conformed to His ways, it does something to God. It softens HIS heart towards us and moves Him to make the change happen without delay. It also moves Him to reward us-- much like that enthusiastic parent who sees that his or her child has the heart to be obedient.

Today's passage describes the heart of Josiah, who became king when he was only eight years old. Imagine such a young person making it his priority to walk before God in a way that his ancestors had failed to do! At sixteen, he began to "seek God" and remove the high places that had been built for other gods. In his seeking and desire to please God, he found the Word which had pretty much been misplaced because the kings before him had given their hearts to idols. When he set his heart to do all that God commanded, God could not resist drawing near to Josiah.

We have the same challenge today. The passion to live for God in our nation has been replaced by the idols of self, money and worldly pleasures -- even in the church. We must begin to seek God again, crying out to Him in humility, repentance and weeping. Then He will turn back to us and heal us, restore us and answer us. Nothing draws God more than a broken and repentant heart.

Why Men Won't Weep

Monday, March 12th> 1 Samuel 30: 1-20

What is it about weeping that is considered weakness, especially among men-- even Christian men? Men don't like to seem vulnerable or appear feminine in any way. It's not a "masculine" thing to do. I've heard quite a few guys tell their sons what their fathers told them: real men don't cry. Yet in this passage, we see David and the people with him weeping openly over the injustice that has been done to them. How many times do men miss out on the healing God has provided by holding back their tears? And so they carry those open wounds around for most of their lives, resisting the very thing designed to bring them peace. Here's the real deal from my husband, one of the most "manly" men I know: real men don't ignore the opportunity to be moved by the Holy Spirit.

It's Time to TURN!

Friday, March 9th> Nehemiah chapter 9

What must we do to get back to the place of believing God again? What a loaded question. The REAL question is, are we willing to do what it takes to get our faith back? Are we ready to open the door to our family secrets and expose the iniquities, sins and transgressions that we've accepted from our ancestors? Are we willing to let go of the same old patterns and habits we've kept and held on to "just in case" God's way doesn't work? If you've answered "yes" to those things, it's time to repent and come back to the Father, trusting that everything He asks of us is only to bring us into a place of healing, joy and blessing. I'm ready to see true deliverance take place in my life and the lives of others around me. Are you? Then it's time to TURN.

Don't Get Cut Out!

Thursday, March 8th> Romans chapter 11

In what way does unbelief cut us out of God's inheritance? We are the children of the promise through Abraham, who received it by being obedient to God's command. The children of Israel cut themselves off by repeatedly rebelling against God because of their unbelief. And we who have been GRAFTED in by grace, can miss out on the privilege of being adopted by the Heavenly Father. Acts of obedience driven by faith in Who He is keep us secure, but the opposite will occur if we rebel because of our unbelief that He IS, and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Excuses, Excuses

Wednesday, March 7th> Luke 18: 15-30

In what ways do we say "No" to God because of our unbelief in Who He is? When we demand that He give us what WE want BEFORE we'll do what He's asking us to do. When we come up with excuses to explain why we're not ready to step up and walk out what He's calling us to accomplish. At least the rich young ruler was honest about the fact that he thought Jesus' request was too much to ask. He walked away, shaking his head. At least he expressed his "No" with no pretense. We, on the other hand, say "yes" with our words but our actions show what we really want to say. We have a simple choice: fall in agreement with God's plan and let Him accomplish His plan through us, or spend valuable time making excuses.

It's All About TRUST!

Tuesday, March 6th> Exodus chapter 32

What are some pitfalls believers find themselves in when they walk in unbelief? Can you say "the pit of stupidity"? I can't recall how many stupid mistakes I've made in the past just because I thought I knew better than God how to take care of myself. Time after time, I found myself making decisions based on emotions -- decisions that landed me in more hot water than I was in to begin with. All I had to do was trust and obey, but I didn't. I'm finally beginning to get the picture. The more I trust God with my life, the more I see Him move on my behalf. The more I walk in unbelief, the farther I get from the very things I'm asking Him for. It's all about trust.

Declare His Mighty Acts!

Monday, March 5th > Exodus chapter 15

What impact is made on our faith as a result of remembering the miracles God has done? The Word tells us to meditate on the miraculous works of God and tell them to our children so that a generation that hasn't even been created yet can praise Him. Faith comes by hearing, doesn't it? Well, don't expect anything to be added to the building of your faith if you haven't HEARD of His mighty acts. What's God done in YOUR life lately? Have you told anyone? Begin today.

NO MORE FAMILIARITY!

Saturday, March 3rd> Mark 6: 1-6

Signs and wonders are the signature, a sort of stamp, if you may, that identified Jesus and His disciples and set them apart from all the other religious people around them. It was God's way of saying, " I'm not just going to TELL you Who I AM- I want to SHOW you". Signs and wonders left a mark on everyone who was healed, saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Then those people went and allowed God to use them to leave a mark on others. And the rest is still being written in the lives of God's people today.

But somewhere along the line, we've exchanged the demonstration of power talked about by the apostle Paul for the familiar traditions and religious practices we uphold, making God's Word and power of no effect. These same traditions create an attitude of "same old, same old" towards God that kills our faith. And without faith, there will be no works. Jesus couldn't even perform as many miracles as He had in other places. And it wasn't because He lost His anointing to heal, save and deliver. So when we forget the very reason we've been called to come out of darkness -- to heal, save and bring deliverance to others-- we reduce God to this Person Who has no power. And that's exactly the way the enemy likes it.

But by faith I say, " NO MORE!" May God's glory and power arise in us as we meet to edify one another and exalt Him, EXPECTING Him to move with power to heal, save and deliver EVERYWHERE we go in Jesus' Name.

Changing Our Mindset About Church

Friday, March 2nd > Ezekiel 33: 30-32

What are some root causes of approaching the Word and the things of God as though they were entertainment? I believe that, in a well- meaning attempt to offer God excellence in the things of His kingdom, we as the body have focused on making sure the outer workings of ministry are right. We want to be sure our buildings look nice when people come in. We want the music to be top- notch so that people will know God's kingdom is not second-rate. But in the midst of all that, we tend to exchange the POWER of God for something He never intended it to be. He never intended His House to be a hotel where people can come, relax and be catered to as if it were all about them. It is a military training camp and a hospital-- so they can come and be healed, then get out in the battlefield and join us in defeating the enemy and taking territory for our God.

What does it mean, then, when we come together and rejoice about "Having church"? Does it mean we just had a shoutin' good time, but no-one was saved, set free, or changed? God is calling us not to be satisfied about appealing to the flesh, because it is only a temporary thing that will not compel people to change beyond the service they attended.