Is He Worth Proclaiming?

Just how precious is it to you to be born again? Have you taken it for granted or do you see the value of it? Is it precious enough for you to want others to have it? Who have you presented this precious gift to this week? These are some of the questions the Lord asked me this morning and I pass it on to you.

I believe that like everything else we have, sometimes when we have had it for a long time, we take for granted that wonderful clean feeling we have inside. We take for granted the availability of the Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us. We take for granted our privileges as a child of God. I repented this morning of any area of my life with the Lord that I take for granted, that I assume so much about.

The Father God paid a dear price when He sent His only begotten Son, the Son of His Love, into this world. He gave the best He had. And Jesus—oh my, Jesus paid it all. He laid down His life for me, took on my sins and sicknesses and diseases and the chastisement for my peace and well being. He did it all. He poured out His blood, first in the Garden of Gethsemane, then at the whipping post, then on the cross. A crown of thorns was shoved on his head and opened many wounds. Nails were placed in His hands and feet and opened many wounds. And a spear was placed in His side to drain out the last of the life that was left. The blood of Jesus is precious blood. And now the Holy Spirit pays a price every day to call us His temple. It is not always a pleasant temple to live in. How would you like to live in a temple when the people forget about you, forget to acknowledge that you are there, say all manner of fear and doubt against you? He ever lives to do good for us, and so many forget that.

I look at the passage in John 3:16 which is so familiar to so many of us that we pass over it lightly when we hear someone read it. We think: Oh, yes, I know that scripture so well. I memorized it as a child and still can quote it. Is that right? And what does it really mean to you? Have you stopped to look at it with your heart? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Starting at verse 3 of John 3 we see Jesus answering Nicodemus and saying: Verily, verily (or assuredly, surely, surely), I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. We must remember that the kingdom of God is the realm of God’s authority, His place of ruling and reigning. Then Nicodemus asks Jesus that famous question: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? And Jesus answers him: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound thereof, but can not tell whence it comes, and whither it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

So we see from these passages that Jesus is saying that there are two births. There is the natural birth when you are born into this earth from your mother’s womb. And there is the spiritual birth when you are born into the spiritual realm from the heart of God. He says to Nicodemus that the born again experience is like the wind. It cannot be something which you see with your eyes or hear with your physical ears. It is of God. It is by faith. It is by saying out of your mouth that you accept what Jesus has done for you.

We see in Romans 10:8,9,10 what we must do to be born again. The word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: that is, the word of faith, which we speak; that if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved, for with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We see here that it is so simple: Confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth and believe in your heart that He was raised from the dead. That is it. Your sins are washed away with the Lordship of Jesus over your life. You are a new creation, a brand-new person, with your sins forgiven and removed as far as the east is from the west.

Today, ask the Lord to send people across your pathway who need to hear about Him; then tell them about Him. Is He worth proclaiming?

Make Way For God's Love Plan

It seems lately that we have been talking much about God making a way for us, about His plan being the one that is in place for us. God’s plans are so much more than we can ever ask or dream or think possible.

To me one of the biggest challenges we face as His children is allowing Him to perfect that plan without our interference. When we are not sure what He is doing, we tend to try to help Him out, speed things along. It is in those quiet times, when it looks like nothing is happening that we must be very careful to be still in our own hearts and wait on Him. And it is not the kind of waiting that the world does. Waiting on the Lord is ministering to Him, worshipping and listening, worshipping and listening, praising and thanking, and yes, sometimes, being quiet and saying nothing. Some of my greatest moments have been in the silent times of sitting and knowing that He is right there, as close as the air I breathe, the very breath of my being.

I can even sense His Presence as I write this Pearl today. Don’t you just love it when you know, can actually sense in your physical being that He is there. We know He is right here with us all the time. But there are those special times when we just know, when we can tell that He is right there. He is so beautiful and so full of love. He is love. There is nothing else but love. Love will carry you where nothing else will. Love will sustain you when nothing else will. Love will lift you up when nothing else will. Love is God and God is Love. Love is the pure essence of His being, the very power of His presence. Stop seeking the power. Seek His love and the power is there automatically to heal the sick, raise the dead, mend the brokenhearted.

In Luke 4:18 (Amplified Bible) Jesus said that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him and anointed Him to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, crushed and broken down by calamity. The Holy Spirit is the purity of the Presence of Love Himself. And this scripture verse defines what Love Himself does. Love Himself is in you by the power of His Holy Spirit if you are born again. And this is what Love Himself does. He heals, delivers and sets free. If you are not free today, learn and study the Love of God. And then He can use you to heal, deliver and set the captives free. Let His Love free you so that He can free others through you.

The Lord gave me a prophetic word for our school of ministry several weeks ago. He told me to share it with you today in this Pearl.

It is God Almighty Who makes the crooked places straight and makes a way where there seems to be no way. Isaiah 45:2, 40:4 42:16 Luke 3:5

Every valley Speak to it
Every mountain Speak to it

The Lord your God goes before you. He destroys that which is not of Him and He levels all the obstructions placed in your way.

You have the heart of Jesus. He is your source. Go into His Presence and drink deeply at the fountain of life. Go in and go out. Go in and go out. Breathe deeply in His Presence. Breathe in the fragrance of His life. Breathe in His life.

His Presence shall go with you. He alone is your guide. Follow Him and no one else. Follow the leading of your heart.

I shall go before you and clear the way. Make way for my Anointed One. Make way for My anointing. Make a place for Me. Carve out a place for Me to dwell, to live, to make My abode. Set aside a place for Me.

God's Wisdom

Let’s talk about wisdom today, the wisdom of God.

First, let’s define Godly Wisdom. It is God’s ability to apply God’s knowledge in the right way, in the right time, to the right people. It is not an accumulation of knowledge or facts. It is rightly using God’s knowledge. It is the application of the Word of God in a correct manner.

In 1 Corinthians 1:24 and 30 we read that Christ is the wisdom of God. He has been made unto us wisdom. Verse 30 in the Amplified Bible reads: But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin].

In other words, what verse 30 is saying is this: Christ Who is the Wisdom of God reveals Himself to us, manifests Himself to us as the Righteousness of God Who redeemed us, ransomed us, freed us and makes us pure and holy. It is all about the Lord’s doing for us. It really has nothing to do with anything that we do. It is all God. It is God through Jesus Christ Who gives us His Wisdom. It is God through Christ Who makes us righteous, right with Him. It is God through Christ Who has redeemed us from the curse of the law, from sin, from the destruction of satan. It is God Who keeps us pure and holy. He is the One Who does it all. And we are to lean on Him totally for everything in our lives.

In 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 we see that wisdom is a gift of God. His wisdom is His gift freely given to us. Let me summarize this passage of scripture. God’s wisdom is not a wisdom of this present age or world or world’s leaders. His wisdom was once hidden from our understanding, but it is now revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. The revealing is to lift us into His glory, into His presence. Our physical ear has not heard about this wisdom. Our physical eye does not see this wisdom. This wisdom is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, Who takes those things that are hidden to man, things from the very counsel room of Heaven and reveals them to us. What a privilege! What an honor is bestowed on us as God’s children.

When we lack understanding of God’s wisdom, we are to ask Him to teach us, to reveal to us what we need to know. That is what James 1:5 tells us. When we ask Him, He gives to us. In Psalm 51:6 the psalmist asked God to make him to know wisdom in His innermost heart. We also can ask the same thing.

In Proverbs 24:3 and 9:1 we see that through God’s wisdom our house, our life, our family is built and by understanding it is established on a firm foundation. As you can see, the wisdom of God is what we need for our daily living. If we are to live successfully in this world and walk in health, living a long, prosperous life, we must access God’s wisdom all the time. He gave us Himself; He makes Himself available to us 24-7 through His Holy Spirit.

There is so much on wisdom. Go through the book of Proverbs and make a list for yourself of all the things God’s Wisdom brings to you. You will be surprised. His Wisdom brings long life, wealth, protection, favor, etc.

Let’s finish today’s Pearls with James 3:13-18 which tells us the difference between earthly wisdom and God’s wisdom. It is quite an eye-opener. Earthly wisdom is earthly, sensual, devilish. It exists where there is jealousy, envy, contention, rivalry, and selfish ambition. And where this wisdom is operating, there is confusion, unrest, disharmony, rebellion, all sorts of evil and vile practices. On the other hand, God’s wisdom is pure, undefiled, peace-loving, courteous, considerate, gentle, willing to yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits, whole-hearted, straightforward, impartial, free from doubts, wavering and insincerity or hypocrisy. The harvest of God’s wisdom is righteousness and Godly peace which means harmony among people and a peaceful mind which is free from fears and agitation and conflict. I CHOOSE GOD’S WISDOM.

The Order To Love

I have been thinking much lately about Agape Love, the God-kind of Love. We say we love God and we say that we love one another. And yet when it comes to choosing to love one another when the other person is less than lovely, we back away. God’s love gives even when we don’t feel lovely toward someone or they are not lovely toward us.

God the Father set the example when He gave His only Son Jesus to die for us when we were selfish and unlovely sinners in this world. In Ephesians 2:4-8 we read that God Himself gave us the very life of Christ and placed us in fellowship with Himself when we were still dead in our sins. And he did this, He gave us the gift of salvation because of His intense love for us. He demonstrated His love for us by sending Jesus. He extended His love to us when we did nothing to deserve it.

In 1 John 3:18 we are told to love in deed and in truth, not just in words of our tongue. We are to follow our Father’s example and Jesus’ example and extend Love to others, even when they don’t deserve it. We are to do things for others when we don’t feel like it and when we don’t like them.

In 1 Thessalonians 4:9,10 God tells us through Paul that He will teach us to love one another, that He will help us to increase more and more in love. I don’t know about you, but I need the Lord to teach me how to love some people and particularly to increase more and more in that love for them. It takes God to help us do this. We can’t do it on our own.

I guess what has helped me the most recently is to know that this is a command from my Father. It is not an option. It is not a good suggestion. It is not an ideal that cannot be achieved. It is an order from headquarters. If God gave us this command, then He supplies His ability to keep it. We cannot keep it in our own efforts. We must rely on Him totally to love as He loves. In my own human fleshly love, I cannot love someone who is hateful. I want to retaliate toward them and do to them the same thing they have done to me. BUT, when I yield to the Love, I am yielding to God, Who helps me to love His way. And we know that His way is described in 1 Corinthians 13.

In John 13:34,35 Jesus told His disciples (and that means us, as well) that He was giving them a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. He said this is the way people of this world will know that we are Christians, little duplicates of Christ. We are His Anointed Ones who are to speak and act just like Him. We do that by yielding ourselves to Him and His teaching. We cannot do this on our own. I repeat this for all of our hearing.

Here is where we need to use our faith and confession of the word. This is one area that we have not dwelt on. We use our faith for everything else. I know it would be a whole lot easier to use our faith for other things if we used it first for walking in the love of God. We remember that faith works by love. Since faith works by love, it would make sense to me that the first place to exercise our faith is in walking the love walk the way Jesus did while He was here on this earth and the way all the members of the Godhead---Father, Son and Holy Spirit---do all the time.

I have an assignment for all of us. Read John 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and all of 1 John until we have the word concerning the God-kind of love so in us from His Word that we begin to act like Him. This won’t happen overnight. This is a process. And, yes, we will slip quite a bit while we are learning, but we will learn. He will teach us. And the world will want what we have when we have the God-kind of love. Say this over and over: HE WILL TEACH ME HOW TO LOVE HIS WAY.

Do you know what the God-kind of love produces? Are you ready for this? This is what so many in the Body of Christ are seeking. The God-kind of love will produce the God-kind of faith and the God-kind of power, the very thing that many are seeking. They want the power. They want the anointing. They want the miracles. They want the signs and wonders. They want the demonstration. You cannot have the demonstration of that which you are not walking in. This thought struck me yesterday as I was talking to a friend of mine. We saw this so clearly. In seeking to Love, we are seeking God, and in seeking God, we will receive all that He is, as we become so filled up with Him, with Love. Seek to love and you seek God and His Kingdom.

The Freedom of the Lord

What is God doing in your life?

Let’s take a survey of ourselves.
Are you praying every day?
Are you spending time with the Lord, quietly listening to Him?
As you reading your Bible every day?
Are you meditating and confessing His Word?
Are you listening for His voice?
Are you obeying Him when He speaks?
Are you letting Him conform you to His image?
Are you allowing His character to be formed in you?
Are you pliable in His hands?
Are you willing to admit when you are wrong, when you have done it wrong?
Are you willing to admit when you are in pride?
Are you willing to forgive and ask forgiveness?
Are you walking in the divine health God has provided for you?
Are you living the abundantly prosperous life He has given you?
Are you allowing the joy of the Lord to be your strength?
Is God No. 1 in your life?
Has busyness crowded out some of the Lord’s presence in your life?
Does God have complete charge of your life?
Are you walking in the faith of the Lord?

Does that seem like a long list? And does it seem impossible to accomplish? Of course, it is, in your own human effort. When the Lord had me to start listing these things, I am saying to Him on the inside as I am typing: Lord, you know this is impossible. None of us can be this perfect. And He ever so gently reminded me that I was exactly correct. We cannot begin to accomplish all this-------unless we simply turn the whole thing over to Him and follow His leading each day for our lives. What He leads me to do today, He may not necessarily lead you to do. He may lead me to pray all day. But He may lead you to one scripture to think on the rest of the day. He may only ask you to pray for 5 minutes. But you see, whatever He asks us to do, He will supply His ability to do it. Of course, all of the things I listed above are important, but if we start focusing on all that we think we are supposed to do, we don’t have enough hours in the day to do them because we also have natural things to do.

So, what is the solution? Relax, enjoy the Lord and don’t get so uptight about what you are supposed to be doing. Do what He tells you every day. He knows what you need. I love the Lord and His ways. He is so much fun and so loving and kind. He is not a demanding taskmaster.

Freedom is a precious thing to have and to walk in. There is a liberty that we can have in the Lord that very few Christians actually enjoy. Paul knew this liberty. In fact, he said in Galatians 5:1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. The Amplified Bible says not to be ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavey which you once put off.

We are not to be enslaved to a set of rules and regulations. We can become a slave to anything which we make a legalistic activity. We can even become legalistic about praying or reading our Bible. And we can try to impose that bondage on to others. This was never what the Lord intended. He intends for us to be free in Him, to enjoy Him to the max, to walk the way He walks. It is not hard work. It is a divinely easy endeavor.

Breathe in deeply the Holy Spirit and let Him direct you every day. Remember what we are to confess: I AM LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD. I HEAR HIS VOICE AND I DO WHAT HE SAYS.

Don't Let Go Of Your Dream

As I sat down at my computer, I picked up a sheet of paper on which I had written the following:
You never fulfill your dream by standing still.

What is a dream? How is it defined in our lives? Why is it called a dream rather than a plan? Is it because we think it is too big to accomplish or too good to come true for us? To me a dream is something that you think about and imagine happening for you in your life. In other words, it is the plan for your life, God’s purpose for you, the reason you are here on this earth.

We read in Ephesians 3:20 in the Amplified Bible that as a consequence of the action of God’s power which is at work within us, He is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams.

So, it seems to me here that what we see is God saying: The more of My power which is at work within you, the more you will see your highest dreams and desires and prayers and hopes and thoughts come to pass. And just how do we get God’s power to operate in us?

We all know from our previous discussions that we must spend time with the Lord to learn of Him and the way He does things. His ways are not the normal ways of the fleshly, earthly man. God has a system that we discover as we read His Word. His Word tells us how that system operates. It is the Kingdom of God system, the system King Jesus showed us when He was here on this earth. Jesus was our example to show us how a king conducts himself. As I recall, He is called the Kings of kings. Well, who do you think the kings are? They are you and me as God’s children.

God’s power is His Presence operating in us and through us. God’s ability is expressed as pure power. And who is God? God is love. His divine love is the greatest power in the universe. Then if that is the case, we need to learn how to walk in love, which means we would be walking in God, which means we would be walking in His power, which means we would see our dreams become realities.

A dream will keep you going when times are tough and when times are good. A person with a dream cannot be defeated. A person with a dream will go one more mile. A person with a dream won’t quit. A person with a dream will press on through to the other side. A person with a dream will succeed.

Paul, in Philippians 3:13 & 14 tells us that he reaches forth unto those things which are before him. He presses toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Paul understood how one accomplishes his dream. He presses forward, focusing on the prize which awaits him in Christ Jesus. A Christian, a child of God, presses in aggressively to achieve what He has been called to do. He is not passively waiting for it to happen. The one who sits and waits will be waiting forever and not accomplishing anything.

As we press, we can be assured that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is working with us, helping us to press on through to the other side of our dreams. In fact, Paul says in Philippians 1:6 that he is convinced that the Lord will complete the good work which He has started in us. We are told in Ephesians 2:10 that God has already prearranged and made ready the good life for us to live. He has prepared paths ahead of time that we are to take, that we are to follow. It has all been mapped out for us ahead of time. What we have to do is stick close to the Lord to stay on the path chosen for us, the one that God has placed the dream in our hearts for. And it is He Who will accomplish it for us. He delights in fulfilling the dreams He has placed in our hearts. It gives Him great pleasure to do so.

Today, think back to the dream that God placed in your heart. If you have let go of it, grab hold of it again and don’t let go of it this time. If you haven’t let go, press in more than you ever have. It’s time for dreams to be fulfilled.

Faithfulness - Part 2

Today we are going to finish our discussion of faithfulness.

In my Amplified Bible in Psalm 37:3 we are told to feed surely on God’s faithfulness. I love this passage from verses 1 through 7. Let’s look at 3, 4 and 5 just to fix them in our hearts again.
Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.
Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord (roll and repose each care of your load on Him); trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

We are to feed on God’s faithfulness. What does that mean? When you feed on something in the natural such as food, you eat it and it supplies what you need for strength in your physical body. When we trust the Lord, when we have faith in Him, we are told here that we shall dwell in His land and verily, surely we shall be fed. That is a promise that we can bank on.

And in Psalm 92:15 in the Amplified Bible we read that the Lord is faithful to His promises. God will do for every one of us what He says He will do in His Word. His Word is no respecter of persons. What He is a respecter of is faith. Faith, trust, confidence in His Word will produce in your life just what He said the Word would produce. The Word works the same way every time for every person who will believe and receive.

Now let’s talk about our faithfulness for the rest of this Pearl. In Psalm 31:23 we read that the Lord preserves the faithful. What does preserve mean? He keeps you. He takes care of you.

We see in Matthew 24:45-47 and Luke 12:42-44 that a faithful and wise servant is one who takes care of things as he has been instructed by his master. He doesn’t delay in carrying out his duties. He does them without needing supervision to make sure he does what he is supposed to do. He can be trusted.

Again, we see in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-26 that we are to faithful over that which God has given us, whether it seems to be little or much. If we are faithful over the little assignments, which seem insignificant at the time, the Lord will make us ruler over many things. And we will enter into the joy of the Lord. It brings us and the Lord joy as we do what we have been asked to do, called to do by our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

Then in Luke 16:10,11 we see a very unusual scripture about faithfulness. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. If you have not been faithful in mammon, money, possessions, who will entrust to you the true riches? There have been many controversial teachings on these two verses. But I take the scripture for what the scripture says. How readest thou! If you are faithful in handling the things financially that God has given you, then you will be faithful in the true riches of the Kingdom of God. From what I read in the Bible, the true riches is the fullness of the nature of God, His anointing and His power. Are you faithful in your tithing? Are you quick to give what God tells you to give in the offering, which is above your tithe? Are you faithful to do what the Lord instructs you to do with the money He has given to you? Fear is a great hindrance to giving sometimes. I know. I have been there. We all have been there. But when I found out the fullness of what I receive as my act of obedience in giving, the fear left. The same will happen for you.

In 1 Timothy 1:12, we read what every one of us want to hear----He counted me faithful.

We end our discussion by talking about loyalty for a moment. A faithful person is a loyal person, someone who is steadfast to do what they were asked to do, one on whom you can depend. They will stay with the job until it is completed. They don’t have to be supervised. They are given the task to do and they do it without murmuring or complaining. They do it joyfully, with thanksgiving, considering it an honor to do what they are doing, whether it is little or big.

Faithfulness - Part 1

God is looking for faithfulness in us. He Himself is faithful and faithful to His Word. Why does He want us to be faithful? What is so important about faithfulness? What does it produce in our lives? Faithfulness produces a consistent behavior in our lives, a consistent attitude toward things. When we are faithful to God and His Word, we will be faithful to our fellow man. And when we practice faithfulness, what are the benefits? What are the results of faithfulness?

One of the things I see with faithful people is that they are blessed with friends who are faithful. They are blessed with financial returns. They are blessed with great faith because they are consistent in spending time with God’s Word and with Him personally. They can be counted on to be doing what they are supposed to be doing. I know that sounds trite, but it is true. You know you can count on them. Even so, God knows He can count on a faithful person. If He has a job to be done, He knows that He can count on that person to get it done. And the same is true for them in the natural world. People know they can count on that person to do what they ask them to do. They don’t have to be watched to make sure they get it done.

The Bible has much to say about faithfulness. Today, let’s look at the faithfulness of God. In Deuteronomy 7:9 we read this. Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. What a promise from God. He keeps His covenant and love with us. He is faithful to do that. That means we can count on Him forever, eternally to do that.

In Psalm 119:86 we see that all God’s commandments (Word) are faithful. In 1 Corinthians 1:9 in the Amplified Bible we read that God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promises, and He can be depended on);…. I want you to look at that last verse in your Bible and let it be imprinted on your mind. You can trust God. He is trustworthy. You can rely on Him and His Word. You can lean on Him. You can have confidence in Him and His Word. He is faithful to you. His Word is faithful to you. Please see this. Meditate on these truths until they are so deeply imbedded in your spirit that no one can cause you to doubt God’s faithfulness to you as His child.

In 2 Thessalonians 3:3 we read in the Amplified Bible: Yet the Lord is faithful and He will strengthen [you] and set you on a firm foundation and guard you from the evil one. This is another wonderful promise from our faithful Lord. He will strengthen us. He will set us firmly on the foundation of Himself and His Word. And He will guard us from the evil one.

These are promises of the covenant-keeping God. And when we are talking about the faithfulness of God, we are talking about the One Who will consistently, without fail, do what He says He will do, eternally. Isn’t that good news! And since we are made in the image of our Father, we have that same faithfulness in our spiritual genes. In 1 Thessalonians 5:24 we read that He is faithful Who calls you and He will do it. He will do what He says He will do. You can count on Him. You never have to doubt that He will do whatever He promises you. He is faithful. He is constant. He is consistent. He never changes what He says He will do. He is faithful.

In 2 Timothy 2:13 we read in both the King James Version and the Amplified Bible that even if we do not believe, He abides faithful. He remains true to His Word. He remains true to His character. For He cannot deny Himself. I find that an interesting statement about faithfulness. He remains faithful because He cannot deny Himself; He cannot deny the Truth of Himself. When we are faithful, we are remaining true to what we are, our character. That is much to think about.

In Revelation 19:11 we read that He Who sat on the white horse is called Faithful and True. We also see in verse 13 that His name is called The Word of God. So we can see that The Word of God is Faithful and True. You can count on that. God and His Word are inseparable. They are one. Here Jesus Christ is called The Word, Faithful and True. God is worthy of our confidence. We can have confidence in Him and His Word for the whole of our lives. Today is the day to make that decision to trust Him completely because He is faithful to Himself and to His Word.

Honor God, Honor The Word

I have been thinking a lot lately about respect and honor, particularly about respecting and honoring God and respecting and honoring His Word. Of course, we know that God and His Word are the same. Jesus was called the Word in heaven. Psalm 107:20 tells us that God sent His Word and healed us and delivered us from destruction. God and His Word are One. When you and I speak the Word, when we embrace the Word of God as our way to live, we are embracing God and the way He lives.

I looked up the word “honor” and here are some of the definitions I found: the esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; a testimony of esteem; any expression of respect or of high estimation by words or actions; dignity; exalted rank or place; distinction; reverence; any act by which reverence and submission are expressed.

When we honor God, when we honor His Word, we are placing His Word and Him in an exalted place in our lives, in a place of high rank. We are esteeming and valuing Him and His Word by our actions and words. We are reverencing Him. We are submitted to Him.

We must value God’s Word that we hear. Jesus told us to take heed what we hear and how we hear. Whatever value, reverence, respect, honor we place on what we hear is the amount of anointing, or revelation or ability or blessing that comes upon us, that comes into us. The measure we use to honor the Word of God and to honor God is the measure that will come back for us. How much we respect and honor the Word will determine how much revelation of God’s ways comes to us. Oh, I must emphasize this greatly. I want to transmit to you that which is in my spirit. Honor God! Honor His Word! Honor His ways!

In 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Amplified Bible we read: …the Word of God is effectually at work in me who believes, exercising its superhuman power in me who adheres to, trusts in and relies on the Word of God. (I have personalized it so that you could speak this scripture over yourself.)

We see from this scripture that the Word of God is effective; it is working in us WHO BELIEVE! The Word of God exercises the power of God in me when I rely on the Word, when I trust in the Word, when I cling to the Word of God. The Word of God is my very lifeline, my very life blood. It is what keeps me going. It is what changes circumstances and situations around me. It is what heals me and keeps me healthy. It is what causes me to prosper. It is what saves my friends and family. It is what keeps me on the right path. The Word of God is above every other word that is spoken.

Repeat after me:
I believe and respect the power of God.
I receive and respect the anointing of God.
I believe and respect the Word of the Lord.

We as children of God must be the ones who set the standard in this world where honor and respect is concerned. People have lost the knowledge of what true honor means. Even in the Christian world, I see too much familiarity, which dilutes respect and honor. We must carry ourselves with dignity. I think of kings and queens who are here in this earthly realm. They carry themselves with dignity. There is a certain protocol when you meet them. Even so, there should be great respect and protocol exercised where God is concerned and where His Word is concerned. In some instances, we have become so familiar with Him and His Word that the honor accorded Him because of what He did so that His Word could operate in us has been lost in the transition.

God is to be honored. He is to be highly esteemed. His Word is the most valuable thing you have. He is the most valuable One you have a relationship with. You and I must show Him the respect, the honor, the dignity that is His. I value the Lord and His Word above all else. He is more precious to me than anything else on this earth or in heaven. His Presence is my delight. His Word is my very substance on which I live. Without Him and His Word I am nothing.

God's Plans Give Me Hope

Today we are going to confess Jeremiah 29:11 in different translations and several other scriptures on God’s plans for our lives. Let’s declare:

God’s plans give me hope.

KJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

NKJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

AMPLIFIED BIBLE For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

NLT For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

NAS For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.

THE MESSAGE I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out----plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

JERUSALEM BIBLE I know the plans I have in mind for you-----it is Yahweh who speaks----plans for peace, not disaster, reserving a future full of hope for you.

THE NEW ENGLISH BIBLE - THE OLD TESTAMENT I alone know my purpose for you, says the LORD: prosperity and not misfortune, and a long line of children after you.

COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE For I know what plans I have in mind for you, says Adonai, plans for well-being, not for bad things; so that you can have hope and a future.

JAMES MOFFATT TRANSLATION For I keep in mind my purpose for you, a purpose of weal, not of woe, to let you have hope for the future.

NIV For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

HOLMAN CHRISTIAN STANDARD BIBLE For I know the plans I have for you----[this is] the Lord’s declaration----plans for [your] welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

EPHESIANS 2:10 AMPLIFIED BIBLE For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

PSALM 32:8 AMPLIFIED BIBLE I [THE Lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

PHILIPPIANS 1:6 AMPLIFIED BIBLE And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.

Acquire The Love

Acquire the Love.

1 Corinthians 14:1-3 in the Amplified Bible says:
Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest]; and eagerly desire and cultivate the spiritual endowments (gifts), especially that you may prophesy (interpret the divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching).
For one who speaks in an [unknown] tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning, because the [Holy] Spirit he utters secret truths and hidden things [not obvious to the understanding].
But [on the other hand], the one who prophesies [who interprets the divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching] speaks to men for their upbuilding and constructive spiritual progress and encouragement and consolation.

I find it very interesting that the Spirit of God directed Paul who wrote this letter to the Corinthians to combine eagerly seeking God’s love with desiring to prophesy, that is, to interpret the divine will and purpose of God.

As you and I pursue knowing God and His Love, which are one, we will know God’s purpose, God’s plan, God’s desire, God’s will not only for us, but also for the Body of Christ as a whole. We are a part of the whole. It is God’s aim to have all of us on the same page at once. The only way we will ever be on the same page is through Him. And since God is love, we must all be pursuing His love in order to be on the same page.

In 1 John 3:1 we read that the Father Himself has bestowed on us His awesome love. He has given it to us. In Romans 5:5 we read that the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us. We have been given the Love of God. God deposited Himself in our hearts the moment we were born again, the moment we asked Him to come into our hearts and He lives there, abides there forever. So, we have His Love inside us. Then the question is this: Why isn’t His love demonstrated in us and in our lives? Why don’t we see the Body of Christ acting in unity in His love? We all have those questions.

The place to start with these questions is in our own lives. We need to ask the Holy Spirit of God to do a love checkup on us. Whatever He tells us to correct, we need to allow Him to correct. We can’t do it ourselves. We have tried that for years, haven’t we. The greatest favor we can do ourselves today is to yield ourselves to the Love of God, to the Spirit of God. Do a work in me. Mold me, shape me, conform me to Your image, O Lord. And Your image is Love, O God.

What does God’s love look like? Well, first of all, His love is not an emotional high, as human love is. His love is a decision we make to love someone. We are commanded to love everyone. The word here is not like but love. You may not like the personality of someone. You may not like the way they do things. You just may not like them as a person. You don’t have to like them. You are commanded to love them.

God’s love gives. You give of yourself and your resources for others. But you don’t give to be recognized; you give because the love of God compels you to give. You can’t help yourself. You must give. That is the way God is. For God so LOVED the world that HE GAVE His only begotten Son….God is forever giving to the ones He loves, which is every one of us, whether we have accepted Him or not.

In 1 John 2:5,6 we read that whosoever keeps His Word, in him surely the love of God is perfected, reaches maturity. He that says he abides in God ought to walk as He walks. And in 1 John 3:16-18 we read in the Amplified Bible: By this we come to know (progressively to recognize, to perceive, to understand) the [essential] love: that He laid down His [own] life for us; and we ought to lay [our] lives down for [those who are our] brothers [in Him]. But if anyone has this world’s goods (resources for sustaining life) and sees his brother and fellow believer in need, yet closes his heart of compassion against him, how can the love of God live and remain in him? Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity).

We see in the scripture the way that we are to live in the love of God. We cannot do it on our own or in our own abilities. We all know that. We have tried it, haven’t we, and failed time after time. Today, ask the Holy Spirit to take over and teach you how to live in the love of God. It is the most rewarding and satisfying walk that any of us can have. Enjoy the Love.

A Grateful Heart

What are you grateful for today?

I want you to make a list of 10 things for which you are grateful. Then the rest of the day, focus on those ten things. Ask the Lord to reveal to you what gratefulness for these ten things will do for you.

As I was mentally listing all the things I am grateful for, my list was long. I am grateful for little things, like the shower of rain we just had. I am grateful for that bird that is singing outside my window. I am grateful for the smile the older lady gave me in the store today when I smiled at her.

We must have a heart of gratitude. We must develop a heart of gratitude continually. For some reason I think about the scripture in Romans 4:20 which says that Abraham grew strong in faith as he gave praise and glory to God. Praise is a form of gratefulness. We praise God for all that He is to us and all that He does for us. And look what the word says happened to Abraham. He grew strong in faith as he gave glory to God. Wow! Looks to me like we have found another way to grow strong in our faith.

Let’s see. We have Romans 10:17 which says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Then we have Jude 20 that tells us to build ourselves up in our most holy faith as we pray in the spirit. Look at that. Right here you have been given three ways to grow strong in faith.

In my 1828 Webster’s Dictionary it is interesting to me to note that the first thing I see is this: “See grace.” The definition for grateful is: kindly disposed towards one from whom a favor has been received; willing to acknowledge and repay benefits; having a due sense of benefits. When we look up the word grace we find the origin of the word grace coincides with the word agree. I see here that being grateful is agreeing with. So, when I am grateful, I am agreeing with God concerning this wonderful earth He has created for us to live in.

Now you can take the opposite stand if you wish and say that you don’t see anything to be grateful about living in this nasty, sin-filled, trouble-ridden, falling-apart world. Do you notice what that does to you as you read those words versus what it did for you when you read the previous paragraph? What a difference in the sense of well being on your insides, in your spirit.

When I am grateful, I see things in a different light. The world is a better place and people actually respond to me in a different manner. Gratefulness produces a heart of joy, a heart of contentment, regardless of the circumstances that surround us. I choose to live a grateful life, a life in which I see the good instead of the bad, the good instead of the evil. It is a choice I make every day.

A person who has a grateful heart receives from God and man favor when others don’t receive it. Everyone loves to give to someone who has a heart full of gratitude for what they have. To one who has much will more be given. Why is that? Because we love to give to people who are grateful. I have seen individuals who always have people doing stuff for them, giving them things, showering them with blessings. If you will look at these individuals, you will see them happy and singing and smiling. And do you know that these individuals can be people who are in desperate situations? They can have little money and very few earthy possessions, but they won’t stay that way long. The Blessing of the Lord is theirs and gratefulness will bring it in in dumptruck loads.

Purpose today in your life that you will have a grateful heart and display a grateful attitude for all that you have, for all that God has done for you and for all that is being prepared for you even as we write this Pearl today.

I AM A GRATEFUL PERSON TODAY.

The Name of Jesus

Proverbs 18:10 tells us that the name of the Lord is a strong tower and we as the righteous ones of God run into His name and we are safe, set aloft, high above evil, where we are safe.

The name of the Lord encompasses everything that He is and all the benefits of being in His Kingdom. When you speak the name of Jesus, which is the name of the Lord, you have spoken it all. The name that the Father has given Jesus is even more of a sacred name that the Jewish people reverence so much they will not speak it. What we are focusing on today is the name of the Lord God, whatever we pronounce or speak in our own native language. He has a name that is above every other name and at His name, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that HE IS LORD!

This is serious business. We as God’s children have been given His name, which accesses all of Heaven’s benefits, all that Heaven has. I don’t think most people even have a small understanding of what the name is for them. Today let’s study that name and learn what we have available to us in the name of the Lord.

He is our strength. He is the stronghold for us. He takes us into Himself and sets us apart from the evil that would attempt to harm us. A tower is something where one can see the enemy and deal with him ahead of time. In a tower, we are safe; we are set high above evil. The enemy can’t touch us.

In most countries, a name means something. What you are named is what you become. It sets you apart to the definition of that name. We see the example of that when God changed Abram’s name to Abraham. God put some of His name in the middle of Abram’s name. The “ha” of God was put in Abram’s name and changed Abram to Abraham, father of many nations. Every time Abraham spoke his name, he was confessing something. He was confessing, declaring, proclaiming: I am the father of many nations. And that is exactly what he became.

As we declare words, we are declaring, proclaiming names of things. We are declaring the name of health. We are declaring the name of prosperity. We are declaring the name of faith. We are declaring the name of success. We are declaring the name of abundance. We are declaring the name of grace and goodness and mercy. We are declaring the name of the Lord. He is all those things. He is God and Lord of all. He is over all. He is in charge. He is the One Who has the ability to take the word we speak, the names of things we speak and make it reality in this earth.

Today focus on the name of the Lord. Focus on what His name means, what it involves.

Mary was told to call Him JESUS (the Greek form), JOSHUA (the Hebrew form), which means Savior, for He will save His people from their sins [that is, prevent them from failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God]. Matthew 1:21 Amplified Bible

Every time Mary called Jesus to eat or to come home from playing, even when He was small, she was calling, Savior, the one who will save his people from their sins. His name was established in this earth as a foundation for 33 years before He went to the cross. And we have been reaping the benefits of that name ever since. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer.

Every time you speak the name of Jesus, you are speaking your deliverance from whatever difficult situation in which you find yourself. What is it you need in the name today? Are you sick? Speak the name of Jesus for healing and health. Are you broke? Speak the name of Jesus for prosperity and abundance. Are you discouraged? Speak the name of Jesus for your encouragement and uplifting. Do you feel defeated? Speak the name of Jesus for your success. Do you need a miracle? Speak the name of Jesus for your breakthrough and turnaround.

The name of Jesus is above every name of anything that may come against you in this life. Speak His name often, and when you do, expect the situation you are in to turn around. Jesus came to set the captive free. His name declares your freedom every time you speak it. JESUS!

Words Determine Our Destinies

Words determine our destinies, our future. What we said yesterday has produced where we are today. And what others spoke over us has influenced our lives. Some people don’t believe this, but check out your life. What have you said about yourself in the past? What are you saying today? What do others say about you or to you?

There was an expression when I was in school: Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. That is about as far from the truth as anything I have ever heard. Words affect the way you think and the way you think affects the way you feel and the way you feel influences what you do. Words are extremely powerful tools or weapons that can be used to help or to hurt.

Even in the Old Testament, in Proverbs 18:21, we are told that death and life are in the power of the tongue and that we will eat the fruit of what our tongue speaks, whether it be for life or whether it be for death. When we are speaking life over a situation, it gives God the opportunity to come on the scene and bring His life into the situation. And, of course, we know what word the life of God resides in. The life of God resides in His Word, the Bible, the scriptures. Words of death come from the earth’s idea of what to speak. Death means separation from. It can be separation from our bodies, separation from financial stability, separation from healthy relationships, separation from divine health, separation from God overall. Death doesn’t just refer to our spirits leaving our physical bodies. It refers to anything that separates us from the best of God’s Kingdom for us, the best of His benefits.

Whatever we put in our minds and in our hearts in abundance is what will come out and produce results. Just one word spoken will not change the environment around us. But what we keep speaking out and what we keep talking about will eventually get in our hearts in abundance and then out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. That means that whatever is in our hearts in abundance will come out with a force that will produce what we speak. It doesn’t happen when we speak it once or twice or three times or even a dozen times, but there will come a time when that word has been spoken so much that we actually believe it. Then, out it comes and changes our lives. That can be for good or for bad or evil. We make the choice with what we say all the time.

Let’s deal with some examples. How many times have you heard someone say? My feet are just killing me. That tickles me to death. I was scared to death. I was frightened out of my mind. That just burns me up. I gave him a piece of my mind. Don’t play near the street because a car might hit you. Every winter we get the flu. Just as soon as spring comes, I know that I will have to take allergy medicine. I’ll never be able to do what I used to do. I’m getting too old for that sort of thing. When you get older, your bones break. I just know I’ll have to have my knee joints replaced. My father and my grandfather had heart attacks before they were 40, so I know I will, too. I never was very smart. I just can’t catch on to things like other people do.

We could go on and on with these statements but I think you get the picture. Check your life today. I’m not asking you to go out and shout in the streets what you have done wrong or to get into pride and say that it was not your fault. Take a good look at your life and where you are today. Then after taking inventory, determine to change what you say about yourself from this day forward. I know you will have to discipline and train yourself to change, but wouldn’t it be worth it. I think so.

I take inventory of my life periodically and check up on what I am saying and what others may be saying about me. What I do is plead the blood of Jesus over what I have said that is producing the wrong things in my life and I speak crop failure over the seeds of those words that I have been speaking. I’ll give you a recent example so that I can help you to get started. I know that there is a change coming in my life and ministry. And what I have been saying is this: I don’t know what we are going to be doing. Only God knows. Yesterday the Lord corrected me and said that I was to speak the word regarding my future. Well, this morning He gave me scripture after scripture to speak, and I am doing it. You can do the same to change your words for good.

Brand New

In 1 Corinthians 14:17 we read:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

When we are born again, we are in Christ, the Anointed One and His anointing. We are a new species of being that never existed before that point in time. All the old things are passed away. Everything has become new. I don’t think we have fully understood who we are. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, He makes us brand new in our spirits. All things are fresh and new. All the old has been washed away. Every sin that we have ever committed has been washed away. We are no longer sinners. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We are right with God. We have His nature in us. We are no longer our own. We are translated into His Kingdom. The Father has delivered us out of the kingdom of darkness, the control of satan and the dominion of darkness. The Father Himself has delivered us from satan. We have been transferred into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, the Son of His Love. In Jesus Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins (Colossians 1:13,14 Amplified Bible). We are free. We have been set free. The blood of Jesus was shed to pay the price for our freedom. We are now new creations. Hallelujah! That is something to shout about!

Paul definitely had understanding of who he was in Christ. Of course, he is the one who wrote Corinthians and Philippians and Colossians. He knew who he was. And the one thing that marked Paul was that he had learned how to forget the past, what that other man had done. He was no longer that person. That person died when he was born again. We see in Philippians 3:13,14 that he truly had forgotten his past, evil as it was.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

In the King James translation of the Bible sometimes words will be italicized to indicate that they were inserted for the continuity of the sentences. In this case, we really need to take out those words to see the full meaning of what Paul was saying here: He has apprehended or captured this one thing---he forgets those things which are behind and reaches forth to what is before him in his present and his future.

Many times we talk about focusing and concentrating so that our memories are sharp and we don’t forget anything. Well, here is one case where forgetting is good. Forget what is behind you. Forget what has happened in the past. It is over. It is gone. You don’t need to hang on to it. You say, Kialeen, you don’t know what I have done. Well, what about Paul? We know what he did. He was responsible for murdering Christians. He was there when Stephen was stoned. He was there and was responsible for many Christians being persecuted and killed. But that was the old man. That old man died on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him and apprehended him and changed him forever. That is what Jesus does for each one of us. We were on the road to destruction and he apprehended us and changed us forever.

Or perhaps you are in the opposite category. So was I. You feel that you really have not done anything bad. Actually, sin is sin, whether it is murder or sowing discord among the brethren or lying or stealing or gossiping or gluttony. It is all sin. And Jesus shed his blood and became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. When you accepted Jesus as your Savior, you accepted what He had done for you. He washed away all the old junk and presented you as a brand new person, one which never existed before. Isn’t that wonderful! No matter what our past has been we become beautiful new people, all shining with the beauty of the Lord. So whether you feel like you were the worst of the worst or whether you feel like you had not done anything that bad, we are all in the same category: Sinners. And then--------we got born again. And now---------we are no longer sinners. We are righteous. We are right with God. The Father sees us as perfect in His eyes because He sees us through His Son and the blood of His Son Jesus. We must develop the same vision for ourselves and those around us. Father, give us Your eyes to see as you see.

All Is Well

ALL IS WELL!

For anyone who has been reading his or her Bible for a period of time, we know the story of the Shunammite woman and her son in 2 Kings 4. She had made a prophet’s room for Elisha when he came by their home. Verse 9,10 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passes by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in thither. And in verse 11: And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.

She gave to the man of God by sowing the seed of a place in her home for him. She gave to the prophet because she was obviously a giving person and saw a need that was to be fulfilled. She sowed a seed and Elisha recognized that it was a seed. In verse 14 he says: What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she has no child, and her husband is old. Elisha called her and as she stood in the door this is what he said to her. Verse 16: About this season according to the time of life, you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. Verse 17: And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life. She had her harvest.

Then we see in the verses that follow that the child was grown. He went out to his father to the reapers and he said to his father that his head was hurting. The father told the workers to carry the son to his mother. And when she had taken him on her knees until noon and held him, he died. She took him up to the prophet’s room, laid the child on the bed and shut the door. She then went to the man of God, Elisha..

When she was a distance away, Elisha saw her and sent his servant Gehazi to ask her: Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child? Her answer was: It is well. You should read the rest of the story in that chapter and meditate on it today.

I see persistence on her part and on Elisha’s part in this story after the child had died. They were not willing to settle for anything less than the result of their faith. I know all of us have had what we call “faith failures.” And some of you may be thinking this very minute: Well, why did it work for this Shunammite woman? I see one thing that stands out here above all else. She refused to think or say anything other than IT IS WELL. Some may say that she was lying as her son had died. How can all be well if her son is dead? But she refused to say anything other than God’s words. All is well; it is well; my God has given me the best and it won’t be stolen from me. She persisted in her faith, even when the child had died. We are not talking about healing here. We are talking about resurrection power. She knew where to go to get the resurrection power. In the Old Testament, the prophets, priests and kings were the ones upon which the anointing rested.

But, you and I in the New Testament, the new covenant, have that resurrection power residing in us in the fullness because the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirits which are housed in our mortal bodies. Our bodies are called the temples of the Holy Spirit. And as I have told you before, I looked up the word temple in this reference and it refers to the Holy of Holies. Inside us, in our spirits, in the Holy of Holies, the Holy Spirit dwells with His power.

The question you and I must ask ourselves is this: Is the power of God operating in me? And if it is not, why isn’t it? That is a reasonable question to ask. And only you and God can discover the answer. It is an individual matter. I don’t have patented answers for you. I can give you some general answers but that does a disservice to the Lord. What it all boils down to is this: Trusting God for His power to operate through us. And if it is not, then there are blockages to that power---there are areas that are diluting the power and presence of God of its effectiveness.

God is so desirous for you and me to walk in the fullness of His power. We must learn to think and say: ALL IS WELL! IT IS WELL! Why? Because God is in us today to make all things well, regardless of where we are in our walk with Him.

Forgiveness

I woke up this morning thinking about forgiveness and the Father’s great love for us that produced forgiveness. When Jesus was crucified, He looked down at those who had crucified him and looked at the ones railing against him and He said: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Even in the midst of His intense suffering, the love in Jesus looked past their transgressions and asked forgiveness for them. This forgiveness was extended to them when they were still in the act of crucifying Him. Amidst all the pain and hurt, He was able to forgive.

Jesus set the example for all of us. Even when someone has hurt us and caused us great pain, we are to follow our Savior’s example and say: Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Many times people know not what they do to someone else. They go merrily on their way, never realizing how much pain they have inflicted upon another individual. And then there are those who deliberately hurt others. But, as children of God, regardless of whether that pain was intentional or unintentional, we are to forgive.

Jesus told us in Mark 11:25 that when we stand praying, we are to forgive if we have aught (that means anything) against any. And then he makes another statement in connection with this sentence. We are to forgive so that our Father which is in heaven may forgive us our trespasses, our own failings and shortcomings. We are to let it drop. (Amplified Bible) And then there is a very powerful statement made in verse 26. If we do not forgive, neither will our Father in heaven forgive us. Whoa! That is heavy duty and serious.

So, the next time you are tempted to hold on to hurts and pain, let it go. Forgive. On purpose look that thing in the face and let it go. But, Kialeen, you don’t know what they did to me. No, I don’t. But is it worth your peace of mind and well being and your relationship with the Lord to continue to hold on to it?

Forgiveness is one of the most beautiful things that God has given to us. It is a release valve for us as His children. It gives us the opportunity for newness of His life every day. It takes the blood of Jesus and washes away all the junk that would attempt to hold us back or hold us down. What a God we have! He has thought of everything for our benefit and for our good.

Forgiveness releases God’s love on your behalf and on the behalf of the person or persons you forgive. Think of that. The very Love of God Himself released to do its work. Doesn’t 1 Corinthians 13 tell us to take no account of the evil done to us, to pay no attention to a suffered wrong? That is part of the description of God’s kind of love. Love on purpose all the time. Immediately let go of anything that would contaminate or dilute God’s love in your life. It is such a freedom. And you will live longer because you won’t put yourself under so much stress all the time. Yield to love every time and you will harvest a life of blessing in the Lord.

Forgiveness literally means to send away the offense, to put it away from you. Isn’t that something? We have the opportunity to send something away that is not good for us. God knew that. Father knows what is best. He always looks out for our good. He gives us the opportunity to let go of something that would do great damage to us. That is good.

So, the next time you are tempted not to forgive someone, think of all the benefits of forgiveness. You walk in the love of God, which releases the blessing of God, which releases peace and joy and health and well-being and prosperity and all that the Kingdom of Heaven has for you. To me, I would say that is a great incentive to forgive. Forgive, forgive, forgive. Yes, it is a beautiful word and not something unattainable or unachievable. What a glorious blessing the Father released for us when He gave us forgiveness. Take advantage of forgiveness whenever you need to do so. It is a freedom that you need to walk in all the time.

Jesus set the example. He paved the way. He has already gone before you and me to clear the path and make it an easy thing to do. Just make the decision today and on purpose forgive all the people you have held aught against. Why carry a burden that was never intended for your shoulders? Let it go. Release. And you will be released to a freedom to soar like the eagle.

The Freedom of Righteousness

God’s life is in you now. The Holy Spirit is in you now. The love of God is in you now. All that God is, is in you now. And how did that happen? It happened the minute you accepted Jesus as your Savior. All that He did in the garden, at the whipping post, on the cross and in hell was for you. He died for you and took your place so that you could go free of all of sin, its condemnation and consequences. What a deal!

God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, planned to take your place as your substitute so that you could go free. Jesus purchased your freedom from sin, satan, sickness, disease, poverty, lack, want, rejection, discouragement, disappointment, failure, defeat, etc. I could go on with the list but you get the picture. Jesus bought you with a price---His blood. He bought you out of the slavery you were in. He then put you in a place of victory as an overcomer through His blood and on the authority of His name and His word.

This is our place as children of God, as children of Almighty God. We are royalty. We are special. We are full of the nature of our Father God. We have all that He has because He has given all that He has to us. We have been given His power and His authority to take charge of our lives here on this earth. We have authority over all demonic forces because of the blood of Jesus and the authority we have been given by the words of His mouth.

It is time we rise up as the strong and mighty people that we are and take our place in this earthly realm as sons and daughters of the King. He said that He is King of kings. Well, what does that make you and me----royalty like our Father and brother Jesus. And how does royalty act? Do they grovel and scrape the ground, with head hung down and arms at their side, looking for just a little crumb to barely get along? I think not. A king or queen walks with head held high, knowing who they are and what their authority is. They know who they are. Let me repeat that again. They know who they are.

And who are you? You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. You are the healed of the Lord. You are prosperous and successful. You are filled with the love of God. You are a person of faith. You are all these things not because of anything you have done but because of what Jesus has done for you. Take it. It belongs to you by birth and by inheritance. You are a child of the Most High God. Act like who you are. Royalty doesn’t act with assurance one day and go with head hung down the next. Whether they feel like it or not, they are royalty and they act accordingly.

There is a certain “air” about those who are royalty. I have watched Queen Elizabeth as she has visited our country and seen how she conducts herself. She is regal. She is class. She knows who she is and has carried out her duties in that capacity on a consistent, steady basis over the years, even in the face of all the tragedies she has endured. That is what is expected of her. She is the queen. She is expected to conduct herself with dignity at all times, whether she feels like it or not. Even so, we as children of the King of the universe are expected to conduct ourselves with dignity and assurance consistently, whether we feel like it or not.

We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. God’s life in us is the result of redemption (We’ve been ransomed, purchased out of bondage.) The result of God’s life in us then is righteousness. He has given us His righteousness, His force of being right, of rightness, as Terri Pearsons says. And the result of this redemption and righteousness is freedom. We are free. We are loosed from satan and all he is—death, sin, sickness and disease and poverty.

As Romans 8:2 says: The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. I am alive unto God, zoe, life, righteousness, health, prosperity. I am dead to sin and all its accompanying forces of sickness, disease, poverty, lack, want, failure, defeat, depression, etc. I am free.

Say this: I AM FREE. I AM A FREE WOMAN/MAN. I AM FREE TO WALK IN HEALTH, PROSPERITY, VICTORY, SUCCESS AND WHOLENESS. I AM FREE INDEED!!!!!!!

Legal Rights in God's Kingdom

We’re going to talk about legal rights as far as our physical body is concerned.

Once I am born again, this physical body is off limits to sickness and disease. Sickness and disease has no legal rights to my body. My body is the property of God----so only that which has legal access to this property has rights to be in it or on it. For anything that doesn’t have legal rights, it has no legal right to be on my property. There is a NO TRESPASSING sign posted to sickness and disease or even its symptoms.

On my dad’s farm, when it is posted with NO TRESPASSING signs, that means that only those he authorizes are allowed on the property. It is used mainly for hunters. No hunters are allowed except those he authorizes. So, likewise, think of this. Jesus has posted a NO TRESPASSING sign on you the minute you were born again. You are off limits to satan. He is a hunter with a gun loaded with sickness and disease. He is not allowed on the property. Now it is altogether a different situation if you allow that hunter on your property. You have given him permission to hunt. We are the only ones who can give authorization to sickness and disease and its accompanying symptoms. Satan has one goal: Put on the pressure with the symptoms and squeeze to the point that we open our mouths and accept the disease by acknowledging the symptoms. When there is pain involved, it is a fight to the finish for property rights.

Anything which attempts to trespass in your body is subject to prosecution. You and I have an attorney, advocate, the Holy Spirit, and also Jesus our advocate before the throne, to defend our rights. And we have a witness to our rights-----the blood of Jesus.

You and I are righteous. Righteousness gives us the rights of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are entitled to those rights both by birth and by inheritance. And part of those rights is the divine health of our Heavenly Father. We have legal rights to His health. Anything else is illegal. Hallelujah!

The best definition I have heard for righteousness came from Terri Pearsons. Righteousness is the force of being right, the force of rightness. This righteousness ----force of rightness in God---causes us to be right when we’re in His presence, because we’re in the presence of rightness, in the presence of righteousness. Righteousness is actually a force that pushes out all that is contrary to it. Righteousness is the force of health that pushes out sickness and disease and death. It is a strong and mighty force because it comes from God Himself.

In the presence of righteousness---Him---God, there is nothing else that there is any room for. The atmosphere is permeated with righteousness, when He is around. And since He is in us who are born again, righteousness permeates our bodies with health. There is room for nothing else. We’re filled with Him. We’re filled with righteousness. We’re filled with divine health. If we allow other stuff in, it crowds the righteousness of God in us. God’s force of righteousness is active in us and for us as much as we allow. We are righteous. Jesus changed us and made us just as righteous, just as right as He is.

Romans 3:22-24 tells us that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:17,18 tells us that our spirits which were in the image of death are born over into the image of life, and we are righteous. As the righteousness of God, we have throne rights in the heavenly realm. God our Father has given us those rights. We didn’t deserve them and we certainly have no way of earning them. They are simply God’s gift to us as His children because He loves us and wants the best for us. We have a right to be healthy and free from sickness and disease.

It takes a stand of faith to stand in righteousness. We must believe that we are righteous or we don’t receive the benefits. We can’t receive that which we don’t know anything about. In the natural realm, if we don’t know that we have inherited something, we don’t get it. It is the same in God’s kingdom. If we don’t know about it, we can’t access it. God’s righteousness in me is going to make my body right because He’s right. It is not because of my own ability to be right, but God is in me with His righteousness, which includes divine health. Receive it today. It is already yours.

Holy Spirit Tuneup

Today is going to be a day of taking our spirit in for a tuneup and a checkup. That is what the Lord told me today would be about. So let’s get started. We have the best advisor in the whole world for this tuneup. The Holy Spirit is our guide in this process.

First of all, we will check your oil level. Do you need to add a quart or two? Or does it need changing? Of course, we are talking about the Holy Spirit, Who is referred to as oil in the Word of God. Have you allowed the cares and worries of the present situation to contaminate His Presence? Have these things clouded your ability to hear from Him clearly? Do you need to exchange the sluggishness of your own doing for the oil of joy that His Presence brings?

Let’s talk about oil for a moment. Isaiah 61:3 tells us that He will give us the oil of joy for mourning. That whole verse is a verse of exchange for us. “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” What a powerful verse. As a result of yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit, He will give us beauty, the oil of joy, the garment of praise. Why? So that we can be called trees---a tree is mature. And what kind of trees? Trees of righteousness. That means people who are right with God just because He has made them right. We are to be called the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. You are God’s plant and you are planted here in the earth for a purpose, that God might be exalted because of your planting and thriving. He will tend you, little plant, and it is He Who will grow you into a mighty tree of righteousness.

Psalm 23:5 says that He anoints our heads with oil. One translation says that He anoints our heads with oil from an overflowing cup. Another translation says that our cups overflow with blessings.

Let’s keep the presence of the Holy Spirit top billing for each of our days. The oil of His presence will flow down all over you and in you and out to others. His oil is a sweet-smelling presence that others may enjoy the sweetness of the One Who loves them so much.

Matthew 25:3,4 tells us that we need to keep extra oil for the time when the bridegroom comes. The foolish virgins did not take any extra oil. The wise ones did. What does that mean? One group had spent time with the Lord, in His presence, taking the fullness of His presence to an overflow. The other group had just enough of Him to barely get along, to barely make it. Which one are you today?

And then there is our battery which needs charging daily. How do we do that? Jude 1:20,21 But ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith (like a battery being charged), praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

What about the spark plugs? Is the fire of God burning brightly in your life or has it died down to just a few embers? Where is the fire? Are you white-hot with expectancy for what the Lord will do through you today or are you lukewarm? Have you worn out? Are you tired? Refire or the word that is used so much that we have lost the true meaning of it---revive? Vive means live and re means to do again. So revive---live again in the fullness of His presence. Come alive.

Then there is the timing belt or chain, which I understand some newer model vehicles no longer have. But for our purposes we will discuss timing belts. They need to be replaced after so many miles, when the vehicle has some age and wear on it. If they are not replaced, dire consequences happen. How does that relate to our tuneup today? Well, in God there is a time for everything. Timing is very important in God’s plans for you and me. As we have been in His presence, spending TIME with Him, we know what His next phase of the plan for our lives is. And the worse thing we can say is: I don’t know. That is not a phrase to use in God’s work. You do know. You just haven’t accessed what God has already placed in you regarding your destiny. He has placed in you the whole computer chip of the operation of your life. Just stay plugged in to the master computer, the Master Himself. He will keep all things running smoothly.

There are many other things we could say about our tuneup today but time will not permit that.

The key here is that we need to stay tuned in to the Holy Spirit at all times and we will not need a tuneup. And how do we do that? Every day when we get up, we ask Him to guide us, to direct us in everything we say and do. And then we do it. It will be different for each person. He may tell you today to pray in the spirit every chance you get, and that is all. He may tell another to read His Bible every chance He gets throughout the day. He may tell another to meditate on one specific scripture the rest of the day. He may tell another to pray for a particular person that day. Do you see what I am talking about here? It is an individual matter. But, we must hear, obey, and do what He tells us. That is the key. STAY TUNED IN.

The God-Kind of Faith

The scripture we are focusing on today is Mark 11:22.

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

This was Jesus’ response to his disciples regarding their reaction to the fig tree which He had spoken to the day before when He found no figs on it. He spoke to it and told it that no man would eat fruit of it again. In other words, it would become unfruitful. Now, here in this passage, Peter noticed that the tree was withering.

And here is Jesus’ response to Peter. Peter, have the God-kind of faith. Peter, here is how the God-kind of faith works. Verse 23: Verily, truly I tell you, that whosoever, anybody, can speak to the mountain in his/her life and command it to be removed and to be cast into the sea and he/she will have whatsoever he/she says. This will work if you doubt not in your heart and believe that what you say shall come to pass.

And our question is this: How do we develop the God-kind of faith? How do we get to the point where we doubt not in our heart and believe that whatsoever we say shall come to pass? Matthew 12:34 says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Whatever is in our heart in abundance is what comes out of our mouth and produces. Garbage in, garbage out. Word of God in, Word of God out. God’s Word is the only thing that will establish us in His faith and remove the doubt from our hearts. His Word is saturated with His faith. His Word is the answer. Mark 11:23 does work all the time. We do get what we say, whether it is good or bad. What we want is the faith of God to move the mountain of wrong circumstances in our lives---sickness and disease, defeat, want, lack, poverty, failure, death.

What I find to be of interest to me is that people tell me that they want to have the kind of faith that God has and then they spend maybe 15 minutes a day in God’s Word, just reading it as a part of the Read Through Your Bible in a Year program. That is not going to do it. What we have inside us in abundance will come out. So what we do with the 24 hours God has given us and what we focus on and what we speak and who we listen to will determine what is in our heart in abundance.

We must be fixed on the Word of God, fully persuaded of promises that God has given us. Those promises are facts of God’s Kingdom. They become ours and successfully change our lives when we plug faith into God’s power. Let’s talk about that for a minute.

We can get God’s power, but we have to plug into it through faith. And faith comes one way---by hearing the anointed Word of God preached and taught and confessed. So, we have to hear the anointed Word of God. Faith comes. And we plug in. Whoosh! Here comes the power. Our faith must plug into God’s power. His power is there but it won’t be released until faith is applied to that power. We release the power of the promises in our life by our mouths. Our mouths can make available God’s promises to us or our mouths can cut off the promises God gives us.

Then Jesus does a very interesting thing. In the very next verse 24 of Mark 11 he puts into practice what He just taught. He had just taught them that they can whatsoever they say. Then Jesus says: THEREFORE, I SAY to you that whatsoever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive and you shall have. That word RECEIVE in this passage means to take with much force, seize with a grip that will not be shaken off, put under siege. This means you cut off everything from the outside from getting in there. You have taken authority of, taken over and are not letting anything else get in there in your heart. No word contrary to God’s word is allowed; there is a no trespassing sign to all other thoughts and words.

It’s time to “post” the land of our hearts the way a farmer posts his land with no trespassing signs. Those signs say that no one who is unauthorized can trespass on that property. Let’s make a sign right now and post it in the spirit realm:
NO TRESPASSING TO ANY WORD OR THOUGHT CONTRARY TO GOD’S WORD.

Paint A Picture

Let’s talk about art today. An artist has certain tools. He has a canvas, a scene or portrait or whatever to paint, paint, paintbrushes, and skill.

Did you know you have all those things as God’s child?
Let’s explore a bit here.

You are the artist.
You have a canvas which is your spirit, the center or core of your being.
God always has something from His Word He wants to paint on the canvas of your heart.
The paint is His Word.
The paintbrush is your tongue or mouth.
And the skill is what God calls the anointing—His ability on you to do what you cannot do otherwise.

Everything you say is painting a picture on the canvas of your heart and also your mind, which is a place where the pictures are formed. What is the picture you have on your mind, on your heart today? Is it the picture you want? If not, change the painting. Do a new and fresh one, one that is God’s own choosing and not yours.

The paint that God always wants us to use is His Word, not man’s words, but God’s Word. Here is where our choosing of the paints comes into play. Do you choose the paint or word of love, kindness, goodness, gentleness, peace, joy, faithfulness, self-control, patience, health, prosperity, success, victory, blessing, life? Or do you choose to use the paint, the word of the world, the opposite of God’s word? Whatever paint you choose will determine the type of picture that you produce.

Our tongue is the most powerful tool that God gave us. With it we can bless or with it we can curse ourselves and those around us. No wonder He wants us to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. God wants control of our tongue so that the right things can be painted on our canvas. When He is in control, there is a beautiful picture.

And then there is the skill of the artist that determines the beauty of the picture. There are those who would argue with me about this because they say that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. What is beautiful art to one is nothing but blobs of paint to another person. Aw, but God--------but God has the ultimate skill called the anointing, His ability given to you to produce a beautiful life, a picture to behold by anyone, a life full of days of heaven on earth. As you and I yield to Him and allow Him to paint the picture of our lives, He will produce a “work of art” that is a masterpiece. You are His masterpiece. And He wants you to produce that masterpiece at His direction.

One of our very familiar verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11. But do not let familiarity cause you to miss the tremendous truth in this verse, a truth that you and I can stand on in our lives, even when it looks like this verse is not coming to pass. All of God’s Word will come to pass for you if you will hook up your faith with His power and respect His anointing, His skill, His nature, His ability.

Jeremiah 29:11 KJV and Amplified.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

Ponder that verse all day today. God has your whole life planned for you. Stay hooked up with Him and let Him direct the action in your life. And His plans are for good. People are the ones who mess up His perfect plans. And because we are not puppets on a string but individuals with freedom of choice, we are the ones who ultimately determine our destiny. And our mouth is the determiner of our lives. Set a watch, O Lord, over my lips today and every day.

The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus

In our ministry meeting last night we talked about the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, a very familiar passage to most of us in Romans 8:2.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

What a powerful statement that is. You and I as God’s children, as Christians, have the law of the Life of God available to us 24-7. Whether we operate in it or not is of our own choosing. In Deuteronomy 30:19 the people were reminded that they could choose life and blessing or death and the curse. We in this present age of the new covenant have the same choice to make. Did you notice that in choosing the life of God, we choose the blessing of God? What a choice to make!

In Galatians 3:13 we are told that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. What is the curse of the law? It is called the law of sin and death. Obviously, the devil is the one who operates in sin and death. What does sin produce-----sickness and disease, poverty, lack, want, rejection, failure, defeat, thoughts of inadequacy, thoughts, thoughts, thoughts? It all starts with thoughts. Perhaps today there are thoughts running through your mind that are thoughts contrary to the life of God and you feel that you have no control over them. Turn around, face those thoughts and say: Oh, no you don’t. Those are not my thoughts. My thoughts are of life and the blessing of the Lord. I have only life and that more abundantly because Jesus said so. And I say so. While you are saying that, you may not feel a bit like it is true. But truth is not determined by feelings and circumstances. Truth is God’s Word. So what we do is take the Truth of God’s Word and say it, even in the face of totally contradictory thoughts or circumstances. Oh, yes, did I fail to mention that sometimes it is a struggle. But we win the battle.

You and I are free. Yes, we are free. We are free from the law of sin and death. And we didn’t get free by our own doing. It says right here in this verse that the way we got free was that the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made us free. The Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of Life, is the One who operates the law of life for you and me. And remember that a law is something that operates the same, all the time, for anyone, anywhere. The law is no respecter of persons. It works for those who will accept it. So, we must accept the fact that the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death.

Don’t you love freedom? Don’t you love being free from something which has held you down in bondage? Jesus knew that there would be things in our lives that would try to entangle us and bind us to the point that we felt frozen in time and space with the confinement of those things. It is different things for different people. But, nevertheless, bondage does exist. In Hebrews 2:14,15 we are told that Jesus came to deliver us from bondage and from satan who was rendered powerless by Jesus. Jesus rendered powerless death and the one who had had the power of death for you and me. These are facts that we must accept whether it looks like it is true in our lives or not at the present time. We must do this. It is the way we get free and stay free. We must believe the Word is true for us personally, individually. It is true; it is true; it is true.

In John 8:32 and 36 Jesus tells us that we shall know the truth and the truth will make us free and that we whom the Son (Jesus the Word) sets free are free indeed. And this happens as we continue in the Word of God. The key word here is “continue.” We must continue, whether we feel like it or not, whether it seems to be working for us or not. God’s Word does work all the time for every person.

Repeat after me: The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is operating in me because Christ Jesus is in me. And that Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set me free, has made me free, has released me from the law of sin and death, which involves sickness and disease and poverty. As I give voice to God’s Word, which is the container of God’s life, it releases the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, which has set me free from the law of sin and death.