The Lord Is Looking For You

I have an absolutely awesome scripture to share with you from the Amplified Bible today. It is one that I go back to periodically and confess and meditate. It is so beautiful and so rich and so full.

Isaiah 30:18, Amplified Bible
And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His joy, and His matchless unbroken companionship]!

I want you to look carefully at this verse. What promises it holds for all of us as God’s children!

The Lord earnestly waits for us. That means He is intensely looking for us, longing to be with us, expecting to see us so that He can pour out His grace on us. Grace is His favor given to us without working for it or deserving it. It is just a gift because He loves us. He is passionately desiring to be with us, to fellowship with us, to commune with us as His children. We are children of the Almighty God. Let that sink into your being. You are God’s child, if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior. This is absolutely remarkable!

Why does He do this? He is a God of justice. He watches over His kids. He takes care of us. He protects us. We don’t have to retaliate when we are treated unjustly. Our Father will take care of it for us. Man, what a deal!

He is exalted; He is the great God. The great God Who is exalted has mercy on us and shows His loving-kindness to us. He is pouring forth Himself all the time for us. It gives Him the greatest pleasure to love us and have mercy on us, to pour out His grace all over us. I like this overflow! How about you!

And then look at this: We are blessed; blessed are those who wait for, expect, look for and long for Him. People envy us because we are so happy and so fortunate to be God’s children. We are to expect and look for and long for Him and His victory, His favor, His love, His joy and His companionship.

So here we are----with Him comes victory, favor, love, joy and companionship. He is all those things to us. We have victory in the midst of the storm. We have His favor surrounding us and going before us, making a way for us. We have His unconditional love forever. He have His joy to be our strength wherever we are and whatever we are doing. And last, and foremost, we have His fellowship, which will never be broken and is matched by no one else in our lives.

What a great God we serve! I guess you can tell that I have typed myself happy. Enjoy your Lord! He certainly enjoys you!

Receive Him

John 1:12
But to as many as did receive and welcome Him (Jesus the Word), He gave the power (authority, right, privilege, honor) to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name.
What name are we referring to here? Jesus the Word Who was made flesh and dwelt among us.

What a privilege we have as mankind to become God’s child. Even though our ancestor Adam blew it royally and gave away His birthright in a sense of the word, we have an opportunity to become part of God’s household again. Adam gave away all his authority and dominion to an alien father and doomed us forever to a life of misery. Oh, but God! Thank you Lord for Jesus----Jesus Who came and opened up the way for us to become part of God’s family again. Thank You, Jesus!

God’s plan was in place before the foundation of the world to go and get His family back into His household if He needed to do so. Oh, thank God! What a privilege we have been given!

All we have to do is receive Jesus. All we have to do is welcome Him into our lives. Look what He does----He gives us the power, authority, right, privilege, honor to become God’s child. We just believe in Jesus the Word. We believe in His name. His name is above every name. Everything else has to bow to Him.

What a joy to know that we have a choice. By choice----we have been given a choice----it’s an honor, a privilege to have offered to us the opportunity to become God’s children. We can be a part of His family. We can be a part of His household, with Jesus as our oldest brother. It’s a big household and getting bigger by the day. Oh, Hallelujah! What a wonderful home to live in! We dwell in the place that God has prepared for us. I am not just talking about mansions in heaven; I am also talking about dwelling here in this earth. God has prepared a place for us in Him where we are sheltered and protected from the enemy as we go about our Father’s business while we are here. What a joy to be with Him! What a joy to call Him Father. What a joy to call Him Abba Daddy!

FATHER, THANK YOU, I HAVE MADE THE CHOICE TO RECEIVE AND WELCOME JESUS THE WORD WHO HAS GIVEN ME THE POWER TO BECOME YOUR CHILD!

Healed Spirit, Soul and Body

Yesterday we learned that Jesus is the Word, and He was sent to heal us and deliver us from destruction. Today let’s take a fresh look at Isaiah 53:5 in the Amplified Bible.

But He was wounded for my transgressions.
He was bruised for my guilt and iniquities.
The chastisement needful to obtain my peace and well-being was upon Him.
And with the stripes that wounded Him I have been healed and made whole.

Jesus, the Word, paid it all for you and me.
He took care of our spirits, our souls, and our bodies.
It is very obvious in this verse that He took care of us totally.

The wounding for our transgressions and the bruising for our guilt and iniquities refers to our spirit being free from sin and its guilt and condemnation.
The chastisement to obtain peace and well-being for us refers to our souls (minds, will, emotions).
The stripes that wounded Him healed our bodies and made us whole.
There you have it: SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY.

If we look at 1 Thessalonians 5:23, we find that our spirit, soul and body is also set apart and sustained by God to stay whole and complete.

The God of peace, Who is our Word, has sanctified us, separated us to Himself from impure things in our spirits (sin), in our souls (stress created by fear, doubt and unbelief, trouble of any kind) and in our bodies (sickness and disease). Isn’t that good news! We not only are healed and made whole in our spirits, souls and bodies, we are separated from the junk that would keep us from wholeness in any area of our lives.
May our spirits, souls and bodies be preserved sound and complete, kept whole and found blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is preserving us. He has His hand upon us to keep us whole.

MY SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY ARE HEALED AND MADE WHOLE BY JESUS THE WORD AND THEN KEPT WHOLE AND FREE FROM SIN, SICKNESS AND STRESS, BY JESUS THE WORD.

Jesus The Word

Today let’s talk about Jesus being called the Word Who was sent by the Father to heal us, to make us whole and to deliver us from destructions.

In Psalms 107:20 we read that:
He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Jesus is the Word.
He was sent.
The Father sent Him to heal and deliver.

In John 8:42 in the Amplified Bible we read that Jesus proceeded or came forth from God, out of God’s very presence. He did not come on His own authority or of His own accord as a self-appointed Messiah, but the Father sent Him.

In John 1:1-4 we are told that Jesus was the Word.
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.
In Him was life (zoé: in an absolute sense the source of all life) and the life was the light of men.

Revelation 19:13
He is clothed, dressed in a vesture, robe, dipped in blood and His name is called the Word of God.

The Father sent Jesus, the Word of God, Who was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) and healed you (made you whole) and delivered you from destruction (anything that is sent to destroy you and your life and destiny). Yes, you have been healed and delivered. God the Father made sure that there was provision made for your wholeness of life. After the Word Himself, Jesus, left this earth, by the power of the Holy Spirit He left His oral and written word to sustain you and keep you healed, whole and delivered. You are HEALED, MADE WHOLE AND DELIVERED BY AND THROUGH THE WORD!!

I HAVE BEEN HEALED AND DELIVERED FROM DESTRUCTION. THE WORD HIMSELF, JESUS, WAS SENT FROM HEAVEN BY MY LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER TO HEAL ME AND DELIVER ME.

I AM HEALED AND DELIVERED!

His Blood = His Life

When Jesus’ blood was shed in the Garden of Gethsemane, at the whipping post, with the soldiers who plucked out His beard and crushed the crown of thorns on His head, and at the cross, the life of Almighty God was being poured out all over this earth for you and me to be free.

That blood is the life of God. The life is in the blood. That life of God cleansed us of all sin, of all sickness and disease, of all bondage, of all poverty, of all anxiety and frustration, of everything that came with the curse.

The very life, the very essence of God Himself was released on this earth for you and me to have and enjoy while we are here. His life is here for us. It is ours. We have been cleansed and set free of all that satan brought about by stealing Adam’s authority and relationship with God his Father. We are clean through God's Word, Jesus Christ and His shed blood. I have to repeat this: We are clean.

Well, then, what brings impurities into our lives if we are clean? Let me use an example that we all understand. Our bodies are made clean when we wash them with soap and water. But there are germs and bacteria here on this earth that make us dirty again. And we wash again.

Even so, there are germs and bacteria in the spirit realm called demonic forces, principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness and wicked spirits in heavenly places. It is their job to present trouble to us in the form of sickness and disease, poverty, lack, want, brokenness. They know that we have been cleansed and made whole through the blood of Jesus. We are no longer broken. Our lives are whole in our spirits, our souls and our bodies.

The spirits also know that the acceptance of trouble comes with the mouth, what we speak. These evil spirits, therefore, put pressure on us to speak what is wrong with us. It is our job to put pressure on them by speaking the word of God to stay cleansed and free of the curse. Jesus told us that we are clean through the word. He was telling us that the Word of God spoken out of our mouths will keep us free.

Every day there are opportunities to speak contrary to God’s Word. A pain comes. A symptom comes. The checkbook looks empty. The job is no more. The children look like they are straying. The marriage looks like it is failing. We have a choice at each of these points to speak what we see in the natural and agree with it or to speak what God’s Word says about us. The blood of Jesus has cleansed us of all that sin and death brought. The Word of God keeps us cleansed.

How powerful! THERE IS LIFE IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS! THERE IS LIFE IN THE WORD OF GOD! Let’s speak His Word and keep the life flow going strong in our lives.

He Bore It All

When Jesus took our place as our substitute on this earth (from the time He was born until He was resurrected), He had a mission. Come and get my kids back for me. That is what the Father was saying to Him. I want my family back. I want to be able to fellowship and enjoy my children. Let’s restore them to the position of family members again.

The only way that we could become family again was for someone to take our place and bear the consequences of our disobedience. Someone had to pay the price,and that is exactly what Jesus did for us. God provided His Son to be our substitute. Jesus was born to be our substitute. I think it is time we looked closely at what He did for us, because I believe that so much of the time we take it for granted. What He did was BIG!!!!!

God had to punish sin. Jesus took the fullness of that punishment. God punished Jesus (Who became sin) for you and me. We must see Jesus on the cross being judged for our sin, smitten with our sicknesses and diseases and taking on the fullness of poverty and stress and heartache and the challenges of life here on this earth. When He punished sin in Jesus, all the consequences of sin were dealt with. No more sickness and poverty for us. It is gone. It is still in the world, but we are not of the world. We are of the Kingdom of God, where sin has been taken care of.

God punished Jesus with sin and with every effect of sin. Jesus Christ was punished with our sins, our diseases, our stress, our mental anguish, our anxieties and cares. Disease, poverty, lack, failure, etc. has lost its legal right to be in you or on you or around you. It is finished as far as you are concerned. Selah, pause and think on that for a while.

God cannot punish sin twice or He would be unjust. He cannot demand payment twice for the same debt. He demanded payment of Jesus. That is it. That settles it. He will never demand payment again. So why are you trying to pay for and work for your health, your prosperity, your peace of mind. It is PAID IN FULL! DEBT CANCELLED!

MY DEBT TO SIN AND SICKNESS AND DISEASE AND POVERTY AND FAILURE IS CANCELLED, GONE FOREVER!

Defeated Foe

Deuteronomy 18:7
The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

What enemy are you facing today? Is it lack? Is it sickness and disease? Is it broken relationships? Is it fear? Is it doubt and unbelief? Is it depression? Is it stress? Whatever the enemy is, God has already defeated that enemy for you through Jesus Christ.

As we see in this scripture verse in the Old Testament (which, of course, was before Jesus came to this earth to defeat satan and his foes forever), God had already provided for our enemies to be defeated right in front of us. He assures us that they may come against us in one direction but they will flee before us in seven directions. I think that is very reassuring. How much more assurance we should have now. Jesus rendered satan powerless (Hebrews 2:14,15). He stripped principalities and powers of their authority (Colossians 2:15). He destroyed the works of the devil (which would be the enemies that attempt to attack us) (1 John 3:8). And the Father delivered us from the control of darkness and delivered us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:12-14).

Jesus has already faced defeat for each person on the face of this earth. He has already defeated satan and his demonic forces. He, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are One in me to continually enforce that defeat for me personally. Every day I am victorious because Jesus is my victory.

VICTORY IN JESUS!

Settled

The word “settled” is another word we use for the word “establish.” They are both very strong words of stability.

Here is what the word “settled” means: station, establish, make to stand, make to stand still or upright, best state.

In God’s Word we see that the word “settled” is used mainly to relate to His Word and our faith. In Psalm 119:89 we read that God’s Word is forever settled. It is a forever truth. It is an unalterable truth forever. God’s Word is stable and not subject to changing winds. We are to put no confidence in the world’s words which are unstable, unsettled, subject to change, and in alignment with man’s opinions. God’s Word is eternal and aligned with God Who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

When you are in trouble and when circumstances seem to overtake you, go to the Word of God. What does God have to say about it? When you find out, settle it forever in your heart that is the way it is going to be in your life. It starts with a decision that God’s Word is true for you. 1 Peter 1:25 and Matthew 24:35 tell us that the Word of God endures forever----it will not pass away. When you are holding to God’s Word, it isn’t going anywhere. It is anchored in the Lord Himself, Who is the unchanging one. He said it; that settles it forever.

Then we are told in Colossians 1:23 to continue in the faith, grounded and settled (steadfast) and be not moved away from (be not shifting from) the hope of the gospel. What is the hope of the gospel? It is the white-hot expectancy of the reality of the good news of the Kingdom of God. Jesus has won the battle and satan is defeated and stripped of His power. Jesus gave the power to us as the children of God.

Whatever our circumstances are at the present time, whether they are good or bad, Jesus has given us the power to overcome in this world. It may not always be pleasant to encounter tough times, but it is glorious to know that we have been given God’s ability to overcome and be victorious. We must not back down from our trust in God. He is the One with the answers.

Settle it in your hearts today that Jesus is the One Who will carry you through to the other side. That is not just fancy talk. That is reality. I know because I have been there many times. It may not always seem like it will work this time, but it always does. The Word will work for you every time. You are a victorious child of God.

YOU ARE ESTABLISHED AND SETTLED IN GOD AND HIS WORD FOREVER!

Establish, Part 3

Let’s make a good confession about our established hearts, based on 1 Thessalonians 3:12,13

Lord, make me to increase, excel, and overflow in love for all people:
To the end You may strengthen, confirm and ESTABLISH my heart faultlessly pure and unblamable in holiness in the sight of You Who are God and my Father, at the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, with all His saints.

What all of us must do as God’s children is to choose to believe that every word written in this Bible is us. It is who we are.

We know ourselves too well and look at our weaknesses and shortcomings. We see the doubt in our minds and the uncertainty in our hearts as human beings. But what God is asking us to do is this: Believe, anyway, what His word says about you. Take a chance and believe it. It is truer than what you are seeing with your eyes about yourself or think you know inside about yourself.

Dare to believe what God says about you. It is true. You have an established heart. Let God take care of the establishing of your heart for you. He sees you right now through the eyes of the blood of His Son Jesus Christ as pure and spotless and righteous before Him. Let’s see ourselves the same way and come into agreement with God. How can two walk together except they be in agreement. If we are not in harmony with God, no wonder we are not receiving our prayers answered or problems turned around. Let’s choose to come into agreement with Him as we study this word “established” now and the word “settled” later.

Come into agreement with God. You have an established heart.

The established heart is established in the Truth of God’s Word, and in the reality of righteousness. This is a person who lets all his ways be established and ordered in God.

2 Peter 1:12 tells us that we are to be established in the truth we now hold. Isaiah 54:14 tells us that we are established in righteousness (right with God, right standing with Him, looking just like Him, full of His nature and walking like Him). Proverbs 4:26 tells us that we are to let all our ways be established and ordered aright.

Looking at God’s word, we see that we have an established heart; we are established in the truth; we are established in righteousness; our ways are to be established.

I AM ESTABLISHED, FIXED UNALTERABLY, GROUNDED FOREVER, SETTLED PERMANENTLY ON GOD WITHOUT DOUBT OR WAVERING IN MY LIFE!

Establish, Part 2

We are still studying the word of God concerning being established. Let’s look at one more scripture about the established heart.

Psalm 112: 7,8
…My heart is established, firmly fixed, trusting, leaning on and being confident in God. My heart is established and steady.

What is an established heart?
According to our definition of the word “established,” the established heart (spirit) is one which is fixed on the truth of God and Who He is. It is the heart that knows that God will take care of His children. Nothing alters what we believe about God and His Word. It is a permanent, settled subject as far as we are concerned. What is wavering, doubtful or weak has been settled. How do we get that way? How do we stand unflinching in the face of contradictory circumstances and problems that linger, in spite of prayer, in spite of confessing the word, in spite of all that we do? We stand in a stable place when we determine that God and His Word are true in our lives, regardless of what is happening to us or what is being taken care of. It is our determined purpose to believe that His grace has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. He alone is our rock and unchanging God. It is a decision. Then it is the attitude of sticking to that decision when it is challenged time after time after time.

You and I are established in many things in the earthly realm. Simple things are established, such as the belief that the sun is going to come up tomorrow and go down today. The sky is up over us. It will rain or snow at some point. We get hungry and thirsty. We breathe oxygen. Our car will start when we turn the ignition. The chair will hold us when we sit on it. The door will open when we put the key in it. These are established facts in our lives. They are something we are sure of.

But what about the established facts that are conditional? We still have them established in our minds. We will have food to eat when we are hungry. We will have water to drink when we are thirsty. We will get up in the morning and have a good day. We will go to work and come home. We will have a paycheck when we work. These are all conditional facts, but we still expect things to work as we believe.

In God’s realm, we must establish ourselves on His grace and His goodness much more so than the earthly facts that we have already established in our minds. It is a practiced belief. We must see God as the One Who takes care of all things for us. That is the definition of an established heart.

MY HEART IS ESTABLISHED IN GOD AND HIS WORD.

Establish

As I mentioned yesterday, there are three words that stand out in my spirit and mind for 2011----establish, settled, and power.

Jesus’ appearing is upon us. His return is nearer than we think or believe or perceive. I believe we must lay hold of His Word as we never have before this time. We must be ones who are to be established in the Word, established in His Truth forever, with our hearts established in Christ, the Anointed One and His anointing. He in turn establishes us in righteousness. We must be so established that nothing phases us, regardless of what we see or experience in this present earthly existence.

The word “establish” means:
To set or fix firmly or unalterably
To settle permanently
To enact or decree by authority and for permanence
To settle or fix what is wavering, doubtful or weak; to confirm

With that definition in mind, over the next several days we are going to look at the Word of God concerning being established.

Today let’s look at scriptures talking about being established in faith.

Colossians 2:6,7
As I have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so I walk in Him, regulating my life and conducting myself in union with and conformity to Him
Rooted and built up in Him, having the roots of my being firmly and deeply planted in Christ Jesus my Lord, fixed and founded in Him, being continually built up in Him
Becoming increasingly more confirmed and ESTABLISHED in the faith as I have been taught
Abounding and overflowing therein in thanksgiving.

Take this scripture as reality in your life. That is you if you are a child of God, if you are born again. If you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, this is what you do:
You regulate your life in Him. You conduct yourself in union with Him. You conduct yourself in conformity to what He is.
You are rooted in Him. You are built up in Him. You have the roots of your being firmly and deeply planted in Him. You are fixed and founded in Him. You are being continually built up in Him.
You are becoming increasingly more confirmed and ESTABLISHED IN THE FAITH as you have been taught.
You are abounding and overflowing in the faith in thanksgiving.

You say that you don’t feel like that is who you are. Believe me, there are days when I don’t feel like that is who I am. BUT, and there is the big word----if this word says that is who I am, then guess what? That is who I am! Faith is simply believing that is who I am. Circumstances and answered prayer or the lack thereof do not determine that is who I am. God’s Word of Truth is who I am.

Say it with me: I am a child of God. I am established in faith. I am rooted in Him. I am overflowing with faith in thanksgiving.

I AM ESTABLISHED IN THE FAITH!

2011 Thoughts

As we enter a new year, we enter in with the white-hot expectancy of God’s goodness and mercy being our delight. His righteousness and peace are ours. He is passionately pursuing us. We are His Beloved.

Three words stand out for me this year----establish and settle, and the word “power.”

I believe that God is telling us that we are to be so established and settled in Him and His Word of Truth and His Love that nothing that happens in our own personal world or the world around us moves us. Our hearts are to be established in Him. We are established in His righteousness. His Word is settled forever. We are fixed in Him, always looking forward to what He is doing. His power will be demonstrated in us and through us as we keep our focus fixed on Him.

Today, let’s make a good confession from Galatians 5 16,18, 22-25 in the Amplified Bible.

I am born again.
Therefore, I have the Holy Spirit living in me, with all His fruit or the forces of His Spirit residing in my spirit.
I walk and live habitually in the Holy Spirit.
I am responsive to, controlled by and guided by the Holy Spirit.
Then I will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of my flesh, my human nature without God.
I am guarded, led by the Holy Spirit.
I belong to Christ Jesus, the Messiah and have crucified the flesh, my godless human nature, with its passions and appetites and desires.
I live by the Holy Spirit and walk by the Spirit.
By the power of the Holy Spirit I have my life in God; I go forward walking in line, my conduct controlled by the Spirit.