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Joy and Strength

Jeremiah 15:16 (AMP) Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.

Jeremiah, in the midst of his sorrow, recognized that all He needed was the reminder of what God had said. This is why I carve out a piece of my day to get in the Word. I am not able to do it at the same time every day, nor for the same amount of time each day. Some days I get to be in the Word longer. There are days that I listen to a sermon while I am at the gym. Then there are days where I keep worship music on while I am doing my daily tasks. There are others that I will meditate on a scripture that I had read. The important thing is to find a way to keep the Truth of His Word at the forefront of your mind. Why?

What does God tell Joshua right before he crosses the Jordan? Joshua 1:6-9 (AMP) Be strong and confident and courageous, for you will give this people as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers (ancestors) to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do [everything] in accordance with the entire law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper and be successful wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

What kept Jeremiah going? The Word of the Lord! What weapon did God give to Joshua so that he would be strong, confident and courageous? The Word of the Lord! What will keep us at peace? The Word of the Lord!

John 1:1 (AMP) In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. 

John 15:4 (AMP) Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me. 

John 14:6 (AMP) Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

John 17:15-17 (AMP) I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but that You keep them and protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth [set them apart for Your purposes, make them holy]; Your word is truth.

How can I abide with Jesus (the Word) if I will not get to know the Word (character and nature of God)? The Holy Spirit draws us to the Word (the Truth)…Jesus. Someone asked me about abiding the other day. My response is that I hunger for the Word.

I do have a prayer life, but a prayer life without knowledge of the Word is full of emotions, which are not bad, but not grounded in the Word can be dangerous. Our prayers that are not rooted in the Word can lead to division, isolation and unintended rebellion. Why? They have not been filled with the Truth. There is a difference between my truth and THE Truth. Often times we base our walk and our prayer lives on our truths and in return the “Be strong, confident and courageous” is done in our own power (which is lacking) and not in His Power which is grounded in THE Truth.

One of the first parts of the Bible I will tell a new believer to read is the Book of John. John reveals that we are His Beloved. John reveals all the areas of our lives that Jesus came to be a part of. Then there is Ephesians, Ephesians reveals who we are in Christ. Reading Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther tells me about the character and nature of God during the time that the Israelites had once again gotten themselves into captivity. Psalms and Proverbs are popular to read. I do make a point to read them once a year at least, but I cannot get stuck there. I have to see the Word of God as a gift and not just pieces for me to take apart because I like them best. It may be easy to just stay in one book like Psalms, but we could be limiting our prayer and devotion life to the emotion part only. The same as if we only read the New Testament.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (AMP) But I am afraid that, even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted and led away from the simplicity of [your sincere and] pure devotion to Christ.

The enemy, the devil, is cunning and will try to twist the words like he did with Eve and like he attempted with Jesus in the wilderness. His goal is to get you to question the Word and to question the character and nature of God. We may not understand everything that is in the Word the first time we read it, or even if we read the same passage 10 times, but can we trust God? Jeremiah did not understand why he was going through such hardships, but he trusted God at His Word, and joy returned to him. You cannot be strong and courageous without the Word. Jesus is the Word. Jesus is the Truth. Therefore, the Word is Truth. I cannot abide in Jesus separate from the Truth of the Word. I am strong and courageous because I am now in Christ, standing firm on the Word of the Truth. Everything pointing back to Jesus. He is the source of our joy and our strength.

God, You are worthy of honor and praise. We are in awe of Your majesty. Thank You for sending Your Son, the Word made flesh. Your Word is a light to our lives and we trust in You. Forgive us for not spending time in Your Word and giving Your Word first place in our lives. We have allowed the busyness of life to keep us from meditating on Your Word and have chosen to mediate on our worries. We repent for allowing deception to come into our minds when it comes to allowing our truths to override the Word of Your Truth. Thank Your for reminding us in Your Word that You love us, that You desire us, and that You want us free and whole. Thank You for sending Your Son to redeem us and restore us into that relationship with You. Your Word is Life. Your Word is Truth. Your Word is Power. I choose today to abide with Jesus, the Word, the Truth. You are the source of our joy and our strength. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Options or Obedience?

Jeremiah 42:13-16 (AMP) But if you are going to say, “We will not stay in this land,” and [in so doing] do not listen to the voice of the Lord your God,  saying, “No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the [warrior’s] trumpet or hunger for bread, and we will stay there,”  then in that case listen to the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “If you are really determined to go to Egypt and to reside there [temporarily], then the sword, of which you are afraid, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine of which you are afraid will follow closely after you in Egypt, and you will die there. 

How frustrating must it have been to be Jeremiah during this time. He was the man God decided to speak His Word through. It was not an easy Word either. He was beaten for it, put in stocks for it, put in a pit for it and even spent time in the courts prison for it. Yet, he did not change what God proclaimed.

Here the people are asking Jeremiah what God says about their decision to go to Egypt. Exodus happened in the 13th century BC, Babylonian captivity in 539 BC, yet the people were still looking back to Egypt. How many generations had passed? Whenever, there was a threat, Egypt was their answer. God delivered them from there before, He would do it again, right?

This is what He told them: verses 9-12, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: ‘If you will indeed remain in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent and be satisfied concerning the disaster that I have inflicted on you [as discipline, and I will replace judgment with compassion]. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear [as if he were deity]; do not be afraid of him,’ says the Lord, ‘for [he is a mere man, but I am the living, omniscient God and] I am with you [always] to protect you and to deliver you from his hand. And I will show you compassion, so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own land. 

The Babylonian captivity was going to last 70 years. There were people who would be led captive and would return in their life time. This could not be said of those who chose to return to Egypt. One such person that is possibly recorded, but I cannot find any definite disproof or proof of, was Mordecai. Mordecai is the uncle of Esther, who raised her as his own. We read in Esther that he and his family were led away to Babylon as part of the captivity (Esther 1:6). He did not live a terrible life. It even shows that he held office at the king’s gate (Esther 2:21). He was able to carry out his duties in his customs. He honored the king. There was some upset that happened, but God worked it out in their favor. Upsets are going to happen.

What caused me to take notice was Mordecai was mentioned again in Nehemiah (7:7). Could this be the same Mordecai? He would be very old, but that would not be unheard of. Ezra 3:12, “But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first house (temple), wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy.” This could very well be the same Mordecai. Proof that God did keep His promise.

My take away…stop looking to what worked in the past. God is not a formula to plug in to get the outcome you desire. Do not look back to the old land that He delivered you out of? We are a people that craves familiarity and want to keep our options open. We survived there and we can survive there again. What if He wants better for you than to just survive? What if He wants you to thrive? What I love about Mordecai’s story is that when he was led into captivity, sorrow and self-pity were not part of his story. He was told by God that he would be able to trust the king, and He would take care of him and his people. Just because harm was intended by someone else, did not mean that it was able to succeed. Mordecai did not run. He did not go back to the familiar. He trusted God at His Word.

Luke 9:62 (AMP) But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.”

It is never going to be as good as it was back there. He wants better for you! Stop trying to get back there, move forward. God is not something you plug into the equation for the favorable outcome. He should be the source. My question to you is, “Are you looking for options or choosing obedience?” The Israelites wanted options. Mordecai chose obedience.

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In the Presence of the King

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16

This is a verse that I like to cling to when I am often faced with days of being unsettled. Those are the days that I know I need to get in His Word more than any other.

For the past few months I have been reading from my Message Bible. It is a good translation to use when you want to read straight through (I use other translations when I do topical studies). Before I start reading I thank God for His Word and ask Him to reveal something new to me that day. A fresh revelation of His Word so that I can apply it to my life.

The Book of Esther was one such time. Let us look at it from the perspective of allowing God more access to our lives. Allow your relationship with Him to actually change the way you live.

Allow your relationship with Him to actually change the way you live.

The story starts out with talk of the King asking his wife, Queen Vashti, to come into his presence. He wanted to show her off. She was in the midst of her own event and stated that she could not come. The king had an “inner circle” with access to his ear (watch out who you have in your inner circle). While his emotions were not in check, they urged him to put her in her place…every woman needs to know her place.

I am going to take a little side bar right here. No where in the Word of God does it say for a husband to dominate over his wife. Submission is not domination, it is a way to honor. I honor my husband as the head of our home, the priest of our home; therefore, I submit myself to him willingly. He does not dominate me. When you have a group of friends that urge you to put their spouse in their place, that is not a friend. Anyone who does not build up that union needs to be out of your life.

Now back to the story of Esther…so the King has dismissed his queen, but his heart is troubled by this rash decision. Instead of admitting his error, he allows his “circle” to talk him into looking for a new bride. Long story short, we make way for Esther. However, Esther has a secret.

Haman one of the king’s top leaders is very high on himself. Even though he is not king, he wants to be honored by the people like one. He believes every one should bow to him when they are in his presence. Mordecai, a Jew, cannot bow to him because of his religious beliefs. He did not dishonor him, he just could not bow to him.

It turns out that Haman hates Jews. Actually, his lineage of peoples are mortal enemies of the Jews. Haman has devised a plan to get rid of Mordecai and rid the rest of his people that are in exile. Esther just so happens to be Mordecai’s niece…that means the king’s new bride is a Jew.

Esther’s quest: Morecai tells her “Don’t you think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Israelite who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at this time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else.”

Revelations 3:15 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot or cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Esther’s response: She asked for them to fast and pray, she would too for three days. “If you do this, I will go to the king, even though it is forbidden. If I die, I die.” Going into prayer, seeking His Word, fasting are all ways we can go into the cool refreshing streams that get us ready to do what God has called us to do. Then in boldness we can go to the throne room! Do you see the analogy of hot and cold verses lukewarm? Being lukewarm is like refusing to do nothing at all.

Esther won the favor of the king. Haman’s plans were thwarted and he lost his life. Mordecai was elevated to Haman’s station in the palace. Victory for the people of God!

Hear my heart! “Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!” 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 (MSG) God is not fencing us in!!

1 John 4:4 NIV “You, dear children, are you from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

What is stopping you from stepping out into that thing that God is calling you to do? One thing I can say about myself, I am not the same person I was a year ago. I am not the same person I was five years ago and I sure am not the same person I was twenty-two years ago when I accepted Christ as My Lord and Savior. Allow Him access to your life. Open up! Go boldly to the throne room of His Grace.