AWAKE!

Friday, August 24th> Luke 4: 13; Ephesians 4: 27;  1 Peter 5:8; 2 Corinthians 2: 11

Because satan is an opportunist, what  are some "opportune" times in our lives to be watchful for his attack?  The alarm has gone out from God's people to AWAKE for a reason.  We are children of a most Holy, loving God Who has nothing but good towards us.  So even in our trials, the end result will produce good in us so that people can see us and give glory to our God.

But what tends to happen is we enter a season of trials, which God allows as His Fatherly way of strengthening and maturing us, and the thief begins to sneak his own purpose into the mix.  This perpetrator, whom we call satan, tries to find ways to shut us down, render us comatose and numb, and wrap us in this cocoon of despair until the trial passes.  Here's where God would not have us be ignorant, but understand (be enlightened about, come into the knowledge of, and AWAKEN" to)  His will in the middle of the situation (Ephesians 5: 8-21).

The enemy wants to use these aggravating, rough times to keep us silent about how faithful God is.  He wants us so consumed with our trials that we don't have the time or the compassion to see the needs of others and lift them up.  So again we sound the alarm: AWAKE! Don't be deceived. Don't fall for his numbing, paralyzing tactics.  In times of sorrow, distress and peril, God has given us the courage and strength to STAND with our WHOLE ARMOR ON while the battle is raging.  So we MUST do our part to STAND,  Be ALERT AND WATCHFUL.  We must SEE that if God is for us,  NO-ONE can be against us.  We have to keep our eyes open, become "opportunists" ourselves concerning the work of the Master.  Others are watching us closely, wanting to know how we will handle what we're going through.

So today we pray That "the eyes of your understanding [will be] enlightened; that you may KNOW what is the HOPE of His calling, and what are the RICHES of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the EXCEEDING GREATNESS of His POWER toward us who BELIEVE" in the MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS (Ephesians 1: 18-19).

WATCH OUT FOR THAT LIGHT!!!

Thursday, August 16th> 2 Corinthians 11: 13-15

Just as in a regular "lineup", what disguise does the enemy use that requires us to point him out?  He comes camouflaged in light, always with the outward appearance of good.  The more determined we are to grasp the things of God firmly, the more subtle and sneaky he becomes.  But there are some "red flags" that will immediately give him away -- if we are sober, alert and paying attention to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

One of the things we must watch for is the deviation of the enemy's counsel from the Word of God.  Whatever he's trying to convince us to do may APPEAR to bring God glory, but at a closer glance, the only thing it will accomplish right now is bring ME instant gratification.  For example, if I'm being tempted to purchase something that costs a lot of money, the enemy's counsel might be, "God wants you to be blessed.  He said He'd supply all of your NEEDS according to His riches in glory." What we may decide to do next when we hear that makes all the difference in the world.

The enemy is hoping that we will be so wrapped up in the fact that God's Word is used that we won't go any further.  But that is only the beginning of the process.  What about our motives?  WHY do we really want that thing?  Is it vanity, or something our family really needs right now?  Is this purchase something the family can afford at this time, or will we be set back because of it? Which leads to the question --how will we be paying for this?  Have we saved up for this item, or getting it on credit that will get in the way of our tithing and giving according to God's will?

It's not enough that the messenger talking to us seems bathed in light.  Today's passage warns us that the enemy can imitate light. It's what comes BEHIND that light that will reveal how true to God's Word the messenger is.  As we expose our motives to God's light through His Word, we'll be able to tell whose agenda is really being presented: God's, or the enemy's.  After this process, we still have to decide whether we REALLY want to do things God's way, or our own.  I pray that we've lived through enough destructive decisions to know that ONLY God's way works FOR us rather than AGAINST us.  But no matter what, it's time to "snitch" on the lying, scheming thief who only wants to steal from us, and destroy our lives.  So WATCH OUT FOR THAT LIGHT!!!

IT BEGINS WITH ME!

Saturday, Aug. 11th >Luke 6: 36-42

What is God's warning to those in the body who suffer from HYPEROPIA (far-sightedness)?  This is a true lesson in the principle of sowing and reaping.  God is more concerned with the way we handle one another than with how much scripture we can quote, or with the titles we possess.  In this season of growth and maturity, we're asking God to develop every part of ourselves that has stopped Him from using us and getting the glory out of our lives completely.  

So if we are to heal and grow, we must address our tendency to build walls around ourselves in the body, and keep our distance from others for one reason or another. Why do we try so hard not to form healthy, meaningful bonds with one another when that is where our healing and growth lies?  Why do we allow the enemy to speak lies to us about what our Christian brothers and sisters have said about or done to us, or even think about us?  Why do we believe those lies, then turn around and do the VERY things we accused them of by sharing those lies with others?

In these days of the great harvest, when so many souls are hungry for a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we are being called to rise from our sleep and natural state of blindness and confront the REAL enemies: satan, for creating the optical illusion that our family members don't care about us, and OURSELVES for believing his lies.  It's time to take God at His Word and obey Him in the spirit of a desire to see the church arise and be the church.

If we truly have a heart to see this happen, God is calling us to say, "It begins with me!" We must be willing to ask tough questions such as: "If everyone in the body were just like me, what kind of body would it be? Would it be a place of life, healing and growth?  Or would everything be dead and cold, killed by the suspicions, doubts and fears that motivate me to stay away from others?" God is calling His children to be broken about what breaks His heart-- disunity, judgment and condemnation.  He would have us to be warned today that every seed we sow in His church will bring a harvest in our own lives.

  Personally, I just want to please the Father and give Him room to reach this broken world .  So I pray today, "Cleanse, heal, and transform ME, Lord.   Use me to bring healing and restoration to others, just as You are doing for me.  Take my eyes off of what others are doing and keep me focused on MY race, which only YOU can help me to run.  Fill me with the love and compassion for others that will draw them to You.  Help me to say today and everyday, 'IT BEGINS WITH ME'."

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice!

Friday, Aug. 10th> 1 Samuel chapter 15

How does Saul exemplify the life of a believer who has MYOPIA (near-sightedness), and bends God's Word to suit his/her own purpose?  Several things jump out at me in this passage.  First of all, Saul was ANOINTED king.  The anointing comes with an assignment: to give a person supernatural strength and courage to accomplish what he or she couldn't do on human strength alone.  So, his first task was to destroy the Amalekites, a group of people who oppressed Israel when they needed help after leaving Egypt.  God wanted Saul to use his position as king, with Samuel's priestly covering, to take them out, in order to teach other nations that no-one messes with God's chosen ones.

Secondly, Saul had the POWER to choose whether to obey God or not.  And this is where the near- sighted ness comes in.  God's specific words to Saul were:

"Now go and attack Amalek, and UTTERLY destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” (1 Samuel 15:3 NKJV) Is that clear enough?  Seems pretty cut-and-dried to me.  And yet,  in the middle of the task, Saul SAW only HIS reasoning and that of the people whose advice he received.  "Why not keep the king alive?  We could let him hang around and watch all the destruction, just the way he and his people did to us.  And why not hold on to the best animals?  It would be such a waste to destroy them, when we could sacrifice them to the Lord rather than our own." 

Thirdly, Saul fell into the TRAP of thinking that somehow he knew better than God how to execute God's plan.  And yet the Bible tells us not to lean on our own understanding, but rather trust in the Lord with ALL our hearts.  Our minds, when not renewed, reflect only our selfish desires which are contrary to God's will for our lives.  Our minds, in their carnal state, can only carry out the enemy's will, which leads to death and destruction for us.  And God knows this, which is why He tells us to STICK TO HIS WORD rather than our own thoughts and opinions.

Finally, the same power extended to Saul is being given to us today.  We have the anointing of BOTH kings and priests, a position we inherited through Jesus' death and resurrection.  What will we do with that double- portion anointing?  Will we UTTERLY DESTROY every enemy that stands in the way of our total freedom in Christ?  Anger, fear, rejection, depression, and the like?  Or will we spare some because we "THINK" they may still be useful in the future?  We must be careful to obey ALL the commandments -- not in our power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.  It pleases God, and obedience is far better than sacrifice.

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

Thursday, August 2nd > 2 Kings 6: 8-15

Why is it so important for our spiritual sight to be enabled when the deceiver uses circumstances to scare us?  This phenomenon called optical illusions is no joke.  Scientists say that our eyes look at a certain object, but our brain has the capability to  interpret it as something completely different.  In actuality, our eyes are not seeing at all, but only detect light and reflect it to our brain.  Our brains do the "seeing" for us.

The brain takes the information that our eyes send, and turns that information into something we can understand.  That being said, our brain (which, translated into spiritual language, is our mind), can play tricks on us and we wouldn't even know it!  But ENTER THE HOLY SPIRIT,  our Ophthalmologist and Optician! He intercepts the tricks of our mind, which pretty much tries to accept whatever images the enemy sends, and prompts us to see in the spirit realm, where something completely opposite is going on.  But, as our pastors have taught us, we must allow our sight to be enabled or "switched on" to receive the images from heaven.

Ultimately, it boils down to this question: what will you choose to see?  Which person will you trust with your life, your future, and the outcome of the circumstances you're facing right now?  In the face of unemployment, will you choose to SEE another path that God is opening for you rather than a dead end?  In the face of marital problems, will you focus on the Restorer of broken relationships?  In the face of mental sickness and emotional turmoil, will you choose to see Jehovah Rophe and His healing Hand?  It all depends on what you see.  For you will speak whatever you see, and you will most certainly get what you say.