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May 9, 2007
Standout verse:
John 6:11
“Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed it to His disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; and likewise the fish, as much as they wanted.”
Jesus thanked God for what He was going to do in that situation before it happened. Jesus was fully confident in His Father’s provision and stepped forward faithfully to see this great miracle take place. Thank You Jesus for walking in such unquestionable faith. Help us to approach our lives in that same manner – sure, confident and unquestioning in our faith and trust in You and Your mighty hand!
Standout verse:
Psalm 106 – A re-cap of the Lord’s continued provision and protection of His people despite their complaining, grumbling and faithlessness.
Lord, help us not grumble and complain in the midst of Your provision. You call us to be content in whatever season we are in and praise You as we remember Your awesome faithfulness to us. Recall to our minds all the ways You have provided for us in the past and help us to stand in the present, ready to walk into the future with faith-filled confidence!
May 8, 2007
Standout verse:
I Samuel 4:2-3
“Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines?”
The Israelites blamed their defeat by the hand of the Philistines on God. It wasn’t God’s doing, though it was allowed by Him due to their sin and ignorance. Their hearts were not committed to their God. They only had a “token” relationship with Him and it wasn’t working. They were dissatisfied with their lives because the power of the Lord wasn’t present.
However, in those times when the children of Israel’s hearts and minds were fully committed to Him, the Lord’s hand of provision, protection and power was clear and present. They were unable to be defeated and were feared by nations far and wide.
Standout verse:
I Samuel 4:5,7&10
“And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. (v. 7) So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened to us before.” (v.10) So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, every man fled to his tent. There was a great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.”
When this emergency situation arrived, the Israelites turned to religious action. Their relationship with God had long since grown cold and their lives reflected disobedience and rebellion toward God. The Ark of the Covenant was brought out and they began to shout with excitement, but it was too late. God wasn’t interested in the people’s religious shouting. The Israelites efforts where based on old sentimental ideas about God and weren’t a true cry to the Lord from humble hearts willing to repent and turn to Him. They turned to dead religion and were left powerless over their enemies.
True repentance and humility lead to relationship and not religion. When our hearts and minds are in a passionate, growing relationship with Him, the fruit in our lives will begin to grow and we will begin to know and experience the power and promises of God.
Standout verse:
John 5:1-15
The story of the man healed by Jesus at the pool of Bethesda
Jesus healed the man first – before the man even knew who Jesus was. It wasn’t due to the man’s faith or yielded heart - although he did know that God had the power to heal as he had witnessed over and over as the water in the pool was stirred. To this point, the man’s belief in God’s power wasn’t personalized, but simply observed in the lives of others. Jesus chose to heal the man out of love for him as well as to demonstrate His mercy and power. After Jesus healed him, He said, “Go and sin no more”. He was challenging him to live in a new way reflective of the healing he had just received.
May 5, 2007
Notes From the Spirit-Filled Life Bible:
(In Re: to the story of Ruth and Naomi)
The Way of faith and blessing is seldom comfortable, but God’s presence is a worthy reward. Choose faith over the familiar. Orpah returned to her people and her gods, but Ruth chose the God of Israel. Remain steadfast in your loyalty to the Lord; do not turn back to the familiar things of the world. In choosing God and His ways, we can rest in knowing that He will provide for us; He will cover us; and He will redeem us.
April 28, 2007
Standout verse:
Judges 8:24-35
The end of the story of Gideon
Sadly, at the end of a life marked by courage and faithfulness, Gideon strayed from the Lord. He made an ephod out of the jewels and plunder that was found at the conquest of Midian. He erected it in the city leading the people to fall into idolatry – so did Gideon and his family.
When God gives us rest and blessing, let’s not get too comfortable, lazy or lose the spiritual desperation that once drove us to our knees in passionate pursuit of the Lord. We must continue each day to surrender our hearts, minds and lives to the Lord that He might stay at the center of it all. If that priority falls out of order, everything else will follow.
April 27, 2007
Standout verse:
Judges 6 – Gideon is called to deliver Israel from the bondage of the Midianites
Footnote from the NKJ Spirit-Filled Life Bible:
Gideon did not request the sign of the fleece to determine God’s will, but to gain deeper assurance. Through divine revelation, he already knew that he was appointed to deliver Israel. He wanted confirmation of the Lord’s presence and power to enable him to accomplish the task. God was patient with Gideon and provided him the assurance he needed.
Ask the Lord for signs of confirmation. Gideon asked and God showed him. God wasn’t angry with Gideon, He knew he was just a man and desired to reassure him. Gideon wasn’t running from his call, he was simply taking it slow, going step by step, careful not to run ahead of God’s will for him.
Standout verse:
Psalm 95:8-10
“Today, if you will hear His voice: do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness when your father’s tested Me; they tried Me though they saw My work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, it is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.”
How many times have we failed to have faith in the Lord despite His continued faithfulness to us time and time again? Sometimes we fail to attribute blessings to the Lord and, instead, chock it up to our own accomplishments and talents. Other times we have simply forgotten how the Lord has faithfully provided, protected and blessed us. When challenges come our way, we can feel alone and begin to think that God is far away – that is not the case!! Over and over, the Bible declares His continual presence and uncompromised devotion to us when we are walking under His mighty hand (Psalm 91 is one of many examples).
Let’s take action so we don’t forget the Lord’s hand of blessing, protection and provision. Write down the specific times in your life when He has faithfully come through. Journaling is a great way to keep record so you can look back on it often. When we remember and know His presence, we can walk through challenges and trials peacefully and confident in Him – His past, present and future faithfulness!
April 23, 2007
Notes from the NKJ Spirit-Filled Life Bible:
The book of Judges illustrates the disastrous consequences of breaking fellowship with God through idolatrous worship. Sin separates us from God. The Lord requires commitment from His people. When we commit sin, the Lord in His love chastises us until we come to full repentance. When we cry out to Him, the Lord faithfully responds to us. He forgives us, brings deliverance to us and restores fellowship with us.
April 21, 2007
Standout verse:
Joshua 23:6, 9-11,13
“Therefore be very courageous to keep and do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right or to the left. (v. 9) For the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. Therefore, take careful heed to yourselves that you love the lord your God. Or else if indeed you do go back and cling to the remnant of these nations… (v.13) know for certain that the Lord Your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they will be snares and traps for you and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes….”
Salvation isn’t a catch-all guarantee that the blessings of the Lord will be poured out on us until our cup overflows. Many times when people become Christians, it’s as if they are “signing up” for God, or entering some kind of exclusive club that promises discounts and benefits to it’s members. Salvation is the gift, the starting point in our relationship with God. It’s freely given (covered by Jesus’ sacrificial mercy, grace and love for us) and is accompanied by an invitation to walk out our lives with the Lord leading and guiding our steps. When we are committed to a growing relationship with Him, filling ourselves with His Word, reliant on the Holy Spirit as we walk out each day, we will begin to experience what it means to truly have the gift and our lives will begin to bear fruit!
It's kind of like an exercise machine - we must faithfully use it if we hope to see the promised results. If we only use it once in awhile, it may do us some good here and there and make us feel nice for a moment, but unless we exercise everyday, we won’t realize it’s maximum, working potential. If we are careless with it and neglect it, or leave it out in the rain, it will collect rust, and won't work properly. The tendency then is to get angry, skeptical, or feel cheated that the “company” sent us a faulty product. The expense and trouble we incur trying to fix it when we get a spare moment is frustrating. We may even feel a twinge of guilt because we know we didn’t really take care of it. It becomes about the company failing to deliver on its promises, rather than the truth – we simply neglected to use the machine as it was intended, and that is why we aren't seeing the benefits. It’s an “us” issue, not a “them” issue.
It’s the same with obedience. Over and over we read about the promises of blessing, provision and protection the Lord gives to those who faithfully dive into their relationship with Him. When we are walking in a devoted, passionate, daily relationship with the Lord pursuing His truth, we can confidently rest in His leading and promises – it works!
April 19, 2007
Standout verse:
Joshua, Chapters 13-19
The Promised Land is divided between the 12 Tribes of Israel
Joshua 13-19 is a detailed description of the borders of each of the 12 tribes of Israel. Clarity and understanding of these boundaries was critical for the people in order to avoid problems and confusion between the tribes. It may seem odd that such meticulous detail is given, but what can be understood from it is this: we serve a God who is clear and specific. There are no vague or undecided issues as far as He is concerned. He has a plan; He is a God of peace and order, not confusion.
God wants us to apply this same truth in our own lives. He isn’t sitting up in heaven with His fingers crossed, hoping we will stumble onto some good choices, or “luck out”. He has a clear and specific plan for each of us. He wants to lead us, individually, into our “Promised Land” – the prophetic destiny He has for our lives. However, He is only interested in leading us there if we are yielded to Him, passionately pursuing Him, and walking in an abiding relationship with Him.
If our relationship with the Lord can be described as “drop in, drop out”, ‘occasional”, “only when we need something”, or “crisis motivated”, He won’t be willing to reveal His plan to us. The Lord is looking for hearts that are truly His; then, He will begin to lead us down the path He has uniquely planned for us.
This isn’t a salvation issue – it’s a growth, maturity and peace issue. A person can be saved, and love the Lord dearly, but if the fruit of their lives continues to reflect independence from God, they will forfeit the blessings and direction they were given as an inheritance at salvation.
We need to be asking the Lord to show us the borders and parameters of our lives - ‘not what I want Lord, but what You want’. Know that God isn’t out to cheat us. For some reason, we find it hard to ungrip our fingers from the things we want and perceive to be ours, and allow God to determine whether or not they actaully belong to us. It can seem like a tough thing to actually ask the Lord what He thinks about how we are living our lives and the choices we are making. He may well ask us to lay down some “land” we have assumed was ours, when it wasn’t given to us to begin with.
God is a God of seasons. Remember, He created them - season’s are His idea! Seasons change, as do the seasons in our lives (infancy, childhood, school-age, young adult, marriage, children, etc…). We need to ask Him, “Lord, in this season, what do You have for me? What are the boundaries and parameters You have set for me? Please show me, so I can walk in obedience, fullness and uncompromised clarity and peace.”
April 18, 2007
Standout verse:
Psalm 86:11-13
“Teach me Your way O Lord. I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God with all my heart and I will glorify Your name forever – for great is Your mercy to me.”
In Psalm 86, David is crying out to the Lord, expressing his deep longing to understand and grow in God’s ways and truth. David goes right to “the Source” in his one-on-one pursuit of God. He is totally sold out to the Lord and his heart is yielded to whatever it is that the Lord wants to show him.
One of the things that is compelling about David’s walk with the Lord is that his eloquent words are not just “lip service” – the words he speaks aren’t empty ones, they are backed up by action on his part to truly seek and pursue the Lord daily and become the man God created him to be.
The greatest indicator of what we believe is how we behave. When we speak words to the Lord, let’s back them with action.
If we are going to say, “teach me Your ways O Lord”, we need to be good and faithful students that pursue the things of the Lord. We have to know Him if we are going to know His ways.
If we are going to say, “I will walk in Your truth”, we have to know what the truth is. If we say it, and there is no action on our part, then we deceive ourselves. The truth is found in the Bible, the Word of God. We must read it and study it to know it. This takes time - so does building a relationship with Lord. We can’t expect to be fully mature in our walk with him right off the bat. Pursuing God is a sweet and rewarding process that begins with a humble and yielded heart that wants to know the Lord and simply rises to seek Him and be with Him each day.
If we are going to say, “unite my heart to fear Your name”, we must ask ourselves if we understand that what “fearing Your name” means. These words aren’t simply eloquent phrases that the Lord enjoys hearing, they are packed with power and meaning. In Proverb 9:10 it says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” How do we fear the Lord (meaning reverence and awe) if we have a limited or second-hand knowledge of Him? If we don’t know Him that well, the word “fear” means “to be afraid”, and that’s not what the Bible is talking about. Walking in the Fear of the Lord is to know Him deeply and personally, to be wholly sold out and passionate about His plans and purposes, and to understand that life without Him is fruitless and void.
Let’s commit to following through on the things we speak in regard to our relationship with the Lord. As we do, will soon find ourselves discovering the power of God’s promises taking shape and being realized profoundly and practically in our lives!!!
April 16, 2007
Standout Verse:
Luke 18:15-17
Childlike Faith
Notes from the NKJ Spirit-Filled Life Bible:
How often a child, convinced of her father’s greatness, will say, “My daddy can do anything”. Then, with maturity, that declaration understandably becomes infrequent. However, for the child of God, the opposite is true, as we grow in understanding of the greatness of our Lord. As growth increases, our awareness of His greatness, both in His love for us and His power toward us, we will become increasingly more dependent on Him to direct us and enable us. That defines “walking in the Spirit.” Growth in the life of the Spirit increases through a desire for childlike worship – ready praise that is vocal and visible in our celebration of Him.
David, chief among celebrants, describes himself as a small child, looking to God for everything in the way a child looks to his mother. Thus, true maturity is learning the childlikeness that looks less and less to our own wisdom for answers or to our own strength for results – and trusts the Father entirely. Then, as God moves on our behalf, we will find ourselves boasting about Him to anyone who will hear it.