Eyes, BE OPENED!!!

Monday, July 30th> Hebrews chapter 11

Since we are spirit beings, what is the only way we can obtain the promises of God?  We must SEE this principal once and for all: WE ARE NOT FROM THIS PLANET!!! God breathed His Spirit into us to give us life.  Our spirit man is who we really are.  We just HAPPEN to be on this earth for a season.  Everything we were created to be, do, and have has already been established -- in the spirit realm.  How will we access it if not in the spirit?  Faith-- the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things NOT SEEN WITH HUMAN EYES-- is the vehicle that transports us from where we are now to where the promises are.  As you go about your day, we pray that your spirit eyes will be enabled, opened, activated, to SEE who you are and what God is doing in you.

SPEAK THE TRUTH !!!

Friday, July 27th> Ephesians 4: 17-32 What must distinguish the totally devoted from everyone else who calls themselves Christians when it comes to our speaking? All around us, on a daily basis, we are fed a constant diet of words that reflect the hearts of people in a world of "me first". It's an unforgiving world of pain, regret and shame-- resulting in words that create more of the same. But WE are children of God, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and taught by the Holy Spirit. Does God expect us to show the world that we've been given something they don't have? Of course! But not just with our "church clothes" and Jesus paraphernalia. He expects us to use words that reflect the love, kindness, and forgiveness He has shown us. He expects us to guard our hearts against bitterness, resentment, malice and unresolved issues which manifest themselves in the words we speak. It breaks my heart when my children argue and are mean to each other. Our Heavenly Father is certainly no different. When people hear us, there should be no mistake that we are His. Our words should be based on the truth of our spiritual inheritance in spite of our earthly circumstances. The world is ready for the truth of eternity to replace the lies spouted by the kingdom of darkness. Will you be bold and speak it? It will make such a difference in our hurting, broken world.

PULL OUT YOUR SWORD!!!!!

Tuesday, July 24th> Ephesians 6: 10-20 How effective is the armor of God against the enemy without the sword of the Spirit? About as effective as a child's plastic sword in the hands of a grown soldier while fighting a full- blown battle: USELESS! He's dressed the part from head to toe, probably could survive the arrows launched against him, but is totally incapable of counter-attacking, or even going on the offensive. Somehow, I don't think that's the picture God had in mind when He sent Jesus to bear our sins and carry our sorrows. He allowed Him to sacrifice His life so we could walk in TOTAL victory-- and not only when it comes to defending ourselves against the attacks of our adversary. With the sword of the Spirit, we have the authority to go into the enemy's camp and take what belongs to us, not only for ourselves but for our brothers and sisters, and even for generations not yet born. I guess that's why the Word tells us to pray without ceasing. Whether in times of war or peace, our sword should never be still, because it's what the Lord uses to defeat the forces of darkness who are always up to something. David used it to seal the fate of Goliath when he stood before Him with a slingshot and some stones. The three Hebrew boys used it to declare their deliverance from the fiery furnace. We carry it with us if the Holy Spirit, our Speech Therapist, resides within us. So what are we waiting for? If the battle is already the Lord's, all that remains is what we speak to manifest what we want to see. I encourage you today to stay in the realm of the Spirit, pull out your Sword, and use it to see the enemy defeated. Jesus' death has already made it so.

The Benefits of Seeking God

Saturday, July 21st, 2012 Deuteronomy 4: 29-40 What are the benefits of seeking God with our whole hearts? First and foremost, we have the promise of the privilege of God's attention. Imagine that-- the God of the whole universe, giving us His whole heart when we give Him ours. We know how frustrating it is when we try to form relationships with people who are only halfway interested or invested in getting to know us; eventually we give up investing our time and energy into them. Why do we do that? Because it's simply lots of work chasing someone who doesn't want to be involved with us. Thanks be to God that He never gets tired of chasing us! But oh, the joy we experience when we finally stop running or half-heartedly pursuing our relationship with Him! When we finally settle in our hearts that there is absolutely no other person, place, or thing on this planet more important or beneficial than seeking the face of our God, we will seek Him FOR REAL -- not just so He can solve our problems and answer our prayers. But we'll seek Him, longing to Hear Him speak, preferring what He has to say over the words of anyone else in our lives. And as we TURN to Him wholeheartedly, He will turn to us. The other benefits are simply by-products of being in His presence. Our perspective will change, and we will become successful because HE is successful at everything He does. We will see decisions we make as seeds planted for a mighty harvest in the future, not just things to satisfy pleasures that will only temporarily meet our need. We will obey His commands with joy, not grudgingly or out of necessity. And as we obey, blessings will overtake us that will help us put into place provisions for our children and their children. The idea of breaking the curses in our lives so that our descendants don't have to endure what we did is awesome in and of itself. But nothing can take the place of knowing that our God is with us, for us, and IN us! Who wouldn't seek -- or serve -- a God like that?

A Good RECEPTION

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012 In the words of our very own Pastor Nette: The best way to get good reception and a strong signal as a phone is to be in close proximity to your TOWER!... As believers we are God's "VOICE", His "PHONES"!!! ... He uses our Speaking to release His Words into every situation that needs to be changed and altered according to His Will... Our Speech Therapist "the (Holy Spirit) will determine the words spoken, and sometimes He does a Complete Monologue using our Voice!!! God will use His "PHONES" (us) to have Conversations: Conversations with the Sick, because He Stills sends His Word to heal them, *Conversations with the Lost, because His Light still finds them, *Conversations with the Demonically Oppressed because The Power of His Spoken Name still causes demons to flee, *Conversations with the Unloved because His love covers a multitude of their sins, *Conversations with the Earthly Wise, because His Word still confounds them, *Conversations with the Rejected, because His Word still Receives Them... THE POINT IS, WE HAVE A LOVING GOD WHO IS STILL TALKING TO HIS CREATION, STILL LOVING THEM, AND REACHING FOR THEM TO RETURN TO HIM... HOW MANY CONVERSATIONS WILL YOU BE USED FOR?...HOW MANY MIRACLES WILL YOU SEE HIS WORDS PERFORM?... To be in the middle of what God is doing you need "GOOD RECEPTION"... To be available for His use, YOU NEED TO REMAIN CLOSE TO YOUR STRONG TOWER, AND HAVE A GOOD SIGNAL TO RECEIVE AND TRANSMIT - "THE VERY WORDS OF GOD"... DRAW NEAR TO GOD!... PHONES GET CLOSE TO YOUR TOWER!

JUST BE THE VOICE!

Wednesday, July 11th> John 1: 19- 22 How does what we say about ourselves reveal who we represent?  As believers, we're all taught the same lessons in humility, so we know just how to say the right things around certain people.  We learn cliché phrases like, " It's not about me" and "I'm just a vessel" in response to compliments paid when we're around Christians that we know personally.   And yet, there's something about the need for acceptance that seems to arise when we're among people we don't know.  There's a need to pull out our spiritual résumé so as to impress them.   But I absolutely love John the Baptist's response to the question: "What do you have to say about yourself?" He basically tells them, "I'm the voice that points men's hearts to the Messiah." When he would've been justified to call himself a prophet, an evangelist, or  a preacher, he saw himself as nothing compared to the One Who was on His way.  How many of us would've even been tempted to reveal our family association to Christ?  John was His cousin, and was born about six months before Jesus came into the world.  And yet he counted all that as rubbish, focusing only on his purpose for being born. Yes, there's greatness in all of us, but not so others can ooh and ah at us, snap pictures of us, and get our autographs.  It's all about how loudly we point to Christ, Who is the only Savior and Redeemer.  So before we truly get launched into the nations, we'd better take the script from John.  We need to know that it's our purpose to make HIM famous.  Any ulterior motives will be exposed as soon as we start to speak.  May our hearts' cry today and everyday be to just be the voice.

No GLORY Without SUFFERING

Friday, July 6th> Matthew 16: 13-23

What is the danger of being too familiar with God's will? How is it possible to be in the presence of the greatest Man in history and be clueless concerning the things of His heart? When I read this passage, I couldn't help questioning how devoted to God Peter really was. Not too long before, Jesus had given him quite a compliment -- called him a ROCK -- the whole church would be built on the revelation he'd received from the Father!

But only a few verses later, Jesus pulls him aside, confident that he's ready to receive even more revelation. He begins to prepare Peter for what He must walk through. But all of a sudden, Peter starts rebuking his Master -- the same one who'd just heard from God Himself! How could this be? Then God reminded me that I've done the same thing. At times, I'm smack dab in the middle of His Will. I'm even so bold as to declare to others what I hear Him say to me. And yet, when the word is not mushy and filled with promises that we'll tiptoe through the tulips, I've turned a deaf ear to the purpose behind those words just like Peter did.

So what's the common denominator? We deliberately miss the Clear print in the sign-up notice God gave us when we enlisted in His army. He didn't hide the fact that we will have to deny ourselves and DIE daily. So we're tempted to only embrace the moments of glory in God's presence, when we're on the mountaintop. But we HAVE to embrace the suffering, too. If we want to truly be used by God in a mighty way, there's no having one without the other. Peter learned this the hard way. I pray we get it a lot sooner.

TAKE BACK THE TIME!!!!

Tuesday, July 3rd> Genesis 3: 9-24 In what way does the enemy manifest his goal of subtracting from the lives of all who listen to him? Just go back in your mind to yesterday's events. How many minutes/hours did you spend focusing on your problems? How many images and thoughts did the enemy send you concerning just how IMPOSSIBLE it is for the mountains that stand before you to be removed? NOW go over the same process with the WORD. How many minutes/hours did you spend MEDITATING ON, PONDERING, CONSIDERING, CHEWING ON, MULLING OVER, something in God's Word? By no means is this meant to point fingers, because it's a very sobering thought for all of us. Note: the enemy doesn't care how saved we are as long as he can keep stealing from us what rightfully belongs to us. He's not picky; he'll take the measly minutes we allow him to have, because he knows THEY ADD UP. If we can grasp the mindset of not giving him ANY place at ALL, we can get our time back. Thank God for His promise of restoring time! We can CHOOSE to dwell on thoughts of peace, joy and love rather than frustration, resentment and anxiety. And we can allow the Developer to train us to meditate more and more on God's Word. Let's engage in the battle for our hearing!