Colossians 1:9-10 (AMP) For this reason, since the day we heard about it, we have not stopped praying for you, asking [specifically] that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [with insight into His purposes], and in understanding [of spiritual things], so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord [displaying admirable character, moral courage, and personal integrity], to [fully] please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing in the knowledge of God [with deeper faith, clearer insight and fervent love for His precepts]
My husband and I have been pastoring our church for going on twelve years this January. It has been one of joy and sometimes sorrow. Our joy is seeing the spiritual growth in others. We love it when we see people grab onto the Word of God and start growing in the revelation knowledge. We especially love it that they get in and study it for themselves.
Ephesians 1:18 (AMP) And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God’s people)
There are many precepts in the Bible for us a believers to grab a hold of. It is up to each one of us to discover them. My job as a pastor is to equip you to do so. That means I need to point you back to the Word, the Holy Spirit and Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the one who brings the revelation knowledge, not me. I have been attending church regularly since I was sixteen years old. I have been under some amazing teaching, and took notes, even early on in my journey. The most knowledge I received has been when I got in the Word for myself. When I desired a real knowledge of who God is and not just what He could do for me. Many times we want to know what He can do for us. Paul’s prayer was that we would grow in the knowledge of God, with a deeper faith into who He is and His fervent love for us. That is the same prayer for my church.
This blog is not very long, but I hope it encourages you to depend on the Holy Spirit more. My hope is that we are not so dependent on just one person to do all of the revealing of the Word in our lives. The Bible has been made so available to us that we can now carry it along with us every where we go. It is just as simple as downloading an application with our favorite translations (I recommend reading it in more than one to get the fullness). Do not put all of the pressure to know God’s precepts on your pastor. That would be the your job with the Holy Spirit in partnership. So why do you go to church? How can you put into practice what the Holy Spirit is revealing? How can we know that we are in unity without the body? How can we be challenged for more growth? Also, it was ordained by Christ (read Ephesians).
Matthew 13:44 (AMP) The kingdom of heaven is like a [very precious] treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field [securing the treasure for himself].
Lord, my prayer is that those reading this will have a deeper desire to know You more. Thank You for Your Son, the Word made flesh. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, our Teacher. Thank You for the revelation knowledge that comes when we open up our Bibles. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Proverbs 3:7-8 (AMP) Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] and refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.
“Strength to their minds, to their bones and to their resolve” is what I was praying over our church yesterday. The word I looked up at the end was “strength”. Then I remembered Proverbs 3:8. My children are athletes. They will come home bruised and/or sore from that days practice. Often the soreness lasts through the weekend. Praying Proverbs 3:8 has become something I do daily. However, I cannot be so selfish in my prayers that I do not focus on the precept that God laid out. It is not me who makes things happen. My prayers are no more special than any one else. It is all about our reverent awe and obedience to the Lord. I can now stand on the promise that our muscles, our bones and our full bodies will be healthy.
I stand on that promise for other’s as well. I have especially been praying that promise over a precious woman of the Lord that I love dearly. A few months ago she had a procedure done and has been using a walker. I have noticed that she now has an attendant with her to drive her, to help her through doors and other needs she has. Yet I stand on the promise. I know she is a woman of faith and loves the Lord dearly. She is obedient and has the resolve to continue with her calling in the Kingdom. She has not stopped.
Psalms 118:14 (AMP) The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.
Psalms 28:7 (AMP) The Lord is my strength and my [impenetrable] shield; my heart trusts [with unwavering confidence] in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I shall thank Him and praise Him.
David understood that the Lord is his strength. David knew God on an intimate level because revered and honored Him. David was in awe of God. He wanted God’s Presence. He was willing to look foolish to man in order to bring His Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. Did he make a mistake the first go round? Yes he did. That did not stop his resolve.
Proverbs 3:1-6 (AMP) My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life [worth living] and tranquility and prosperity [the wholeness of life’s blessings] they will add to you. Do not let mercy and kindness and truth leave you [instead let these qualities define you]; bind them [securely] around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].
Proverbs 3 is one of my favorites. Why? I believe it holds quite a few keys to my prayer yesterday. Strength of the mind has to do with if we have surrendered it or not. Whether I am going to have mercy, kindness and stand on the truth is going to start in the privacy of my mind. My trust is the Lord begins on how I think about Him. The Word tells us not to rely on our own insight and understanding. That is why I am quick to check it against the Word: Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart]. (Philippians 4:8)
We have already gone through verses 7-8 about strength to our bones. What about the resolve (determination) that I prayed about? David’s resolve was to have His Presence. Our resolve should be the same. I have found that through the avenue of faith and honor (obedience) we can stay on track with that resolve.
Proverbs 3:9-17 (AMP) Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your crops (income); then your barns will be abundantly filled and your vats will overflow with new wine. My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the Lord [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline]; nor despise His rebuke, for those whom the Lord loves He corrects, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. Happy [blessed, considered fortunate, to be admired] is the man who finds [skillful and godly] wisdom, and the man who gains understanding and insight [learning from God’s word and life’s experiences], for wisdom’s profit is better than the profit of silver, and her gain is better than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies; and nothing you can wish for compares with her [in value]. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are highways of pleasantness and favor, and all her paths are peace.
Yikes the first thing was about our money. When we get into the understanding that we are honoring God with our first, then our resolve will be aligned with His. Discipline is another thing we do not like. Especially in a culture today that tells us to do what makes us happy. We do not even like to be corrected from the Word. We will find a church that will not talk about such things as repentance. I would rather be challenged by the Word than live a life in darkness. Peace is a promise with this kind of resolve. How many of us would like peace in our lives? It takes faith to honor God is such a manner.
I have included the rest of this Proverb at the end of the blog. If you desire to read more I encourage you to take a look. It is quite insightful.
This is my continual prayer for my church and for the entire body of Christ: That the Lord is your strength and He brings strength to your mind, to your bodies and to your resolve to follow after Him.
Lord, we are in awe of You. You are Marvelous and Holy. We do not need anything other than You. Thank You for sending Your Son to be our Yeshua, our Rescue, our Savior and our Deliverer. Thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The same power that raised Christ from the dead not dwells in us. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and knowledge of Your Word. Thank You for the gift of Your Word. Passages like Proverbs 3 are dear to us. Your whole Word is full of Your Love. We choose to honor You through applying the precepts of Your Word. We repent for not trusting You at Your Word. We repent for picking and choosing what parts of Your Word we thought did not apply to our lives. We repent for our lack of understanding of how precious it all is. Thank You for the banquet of Your Word. Let it full us up. Thank You for the opportunities to carry our the precepts so that we can glorify Your Name. Thank You that You are our Strength. You are the strength to our minds. You are our strength to our bones and to the fullness that You can only bring. You are the strength to our resolve to honor and trust You. Your Presence is all we need. We choose love today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Proverbs 3:18-35 (AMP) She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy [blessed, considered fortunate, to be admired] is everyone who holds her tightly. The Lord by His wisdom has founded the earth; by His understanding He has established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up and the clouds drip with dew. My son, let them not escape from your sight, but keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life to your soul (your inner self) and a gracious adornment to your neck (your outer self). Then you will walk on your way [of life] securely and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the storm of the wicked when it comes [since you will be blameless]; for the Lord will be your confidence, firm and strong, and will keep your foot from being caught [in a trap]. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due [its rightful recipients], when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you. Do not devise evil against your neighbor, who lives securely beside you. Do not quarrel with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm. Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways. For the devious are repulsive to the Lord; but His private counsel is with the upright [those with spiritual integrity and moral courage]. The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the just and righteous. Though He scoffs at the scoffers and scorns the scorners, yet He gives His grace [His undeserved favor] to the humble [those who give up self-importance]. The wise will inherit honor and glory, but dishonor and shame is conferred on fools.
Job 22:25-26 (AMP) And make the Almighty your gold and your precious silver, then you will have delight in the Almighty, and you will lift up your face to God.
No one likes being miserable. If they do, then we have other issues. Some people crave drama and do not feel like they are valuable unless they are right in the middle of a mess. Some want to be the savior in life. We have a term down south called, “spilling the tea.” What does it mean to spill the tea? It is to share exclusive information about a situation or a person. Plain and simple it is gossip.
That is what I think of when I read the book of Job. He had friends around him that liked to “spill the tea.” He was going through some tough times. Take the above scripture and put it into context.
Job 22:23-30 (AMP) If you return to the Almighty [and submit and humble yourself before Him], you will be built up [and restored]; If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents, and place your gold in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks [considering it of little value], and make the Almighty your gold And your precious silver, then you will have delight in the Almighty, and you will lift up your face to God. “You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will pay your vows. “You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And the light [of God’s favor] will shine upon your ways. “When you are cast down and humbled, you will speak with confidence, and the humble person He will lift up and save. “He will even rescue the one [for whom you intercede] who is not innocent; And he will be rescued through the cleanness of your hands.”
Job’s friend had made an assumption, that Job had turned away from God and that is why he was going into such calamity. My question is: why do I follow the precepts of God? Is it so that nothing bad will happen to me? Is that our assumption when someone in our church is going through hard times? They must have displeased God. Not true.
Yes, there are areas that we misstep. Here is one such area that we can be flimsy with: Malachi 3:16, “Bring all the tithes (the tenth) into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you [so great] a blessing until there is no more room to receive it.”
There have been a time that, although we tithe, lightning has struck our electronics and we had to spend $1000 to replace them. Then the next week the truck started shuttering and had to pay out another $650 to fix it. Was our allegiance to God questioned? Did we have a secret sin that needed to be repented of? Did we step out of His covering? Nope.
John 10:10 (AMP) The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
Do you know what we didn’t do? We did not stop tithing, we did not stop giving, we did not stop serving, and we paid those bills with joy. Why? When you delight in Him, nothing the devil tries to steal will effect your position in Christ. We do not give to get. We give because of who He is. We serve because we love Him. We delight in Him no matter what comes our way. We do not change that when things are going good nor when things are challenging.
Psalms 119:16, (AMP) I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.For I shall delight in Your commandments, which I love.
Philippians 2:17 (AMP) But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith [for preaching the message of salvation], still I rejoice and share my joy with you all.
Job had done nothing against God to deserve such a tragedy, but have breath in his lungs. As long as we have breath in our lungs we have an enemy. It is not each other. The devil wants you to question God’s love for you. He wants you to question the Word. He wants you to question the standard of Christ. He wants you to think that you delighting in God does not really matter. It matters, but not in the way that we often think. It matters to chase His heart and face and not His hands. Job’s devotion to God was unconditional. The enemy is not trying anything new.
Ephesians 6:10-18 (AMP) In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people.
Delighting in the Lord should not be conditional. We should not be asking for it to all end when we suffer. He does not punish us because of the low moments and He does not reward us in our highs. He is constant. He is immutable, never changing. He cares for us and loves us deeply. When we are deeply rooted in that love, the delight is unshakable. Our joy in in Him. Our satisfaction is in Him and not our conditions. We are to be inclined towards Him. Delight in Him!
Lord, You are our Creator and our Protector. You are our Banner of Love. Thank You for sending Your Son to set the standard of what it is like to delight in You. There is no one who suffered more without cause than Jesus, yet He kept His face towards You. Thank You for the power to overcome though the Holy Spirit. All is a gift from You because of Your Perfect Love. We repent for making our delight in You conditional. We repent for withholding our service, our relationships, our prayers and even our giving when we did not feel like it. We repent for making it about us. Thank You for Your Word piercing areas with fresh anointing oil. There is freedom in Your Word. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose love today. We choose joy today. We choose to glorify You today. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Psalms 119:165 (MEV) Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing shall cause them to stumble.
As I was reading Psalms 119 yesterday this verse jumped up at me. There are many verses in that section that I highlighted, but this one I meditated on a little more. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). What does that really mean? In Matthew 10:34, Jesus tells us that He did not come to bring peace on earth, but a sword. What! Then there is this block of verses that can be taken way out of context: “For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;and a man’s enemies will be the members of his [own] household [when one believes and another does not].” (verses 35-36 AMP)
What is it about us that we are attracted to drama? The first place that our minds go to is that they just do not like me or they just do not want me. It stems from our root nature to judge the situation for ourselves. That is why we have to renew our minds daily. This is why we need to mediate on the Word daily. That is why the psalmist wrote, “those who love Your law have great peace.” The law here is the precepts or the first five books of the Bible that we have today. When the disciples led others to Christ, they did so by showing how Christ fulfilled the law (which means they knew it). When the thoughts of destruction or fear rise up that others are against us, we need to be grounded in the One who knows us.
John 14:27 (AMP) Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]
How can I not allow my heart to be troubled? I need to be rooted and grounded in His love (Ephesians 3:16-19). The hardest part of entering peace is first accepting that you are loved. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 AMP). I read this yesterday and it really calmed the storm of what others perceive of me: “He does not love you with the hope that you will be like someone else,” Lisa Bevere. He does not love me hoping that I will become anything more than He has created me to be. I was created to be His daughter.
I am here to tell you that you may battle rejection. You may fight the urge to hide because you feel like you do not measure up. Our hiding place is in Him. We can walk boldly into that throne room of grace because of Jesus and His great love. When we do not walk in His love, we walk in fear. We will walk in the mindset that we are not accepted. We will focus on other things that will not line up with the purpose for our lives, that is to glorify Him. When we choose anything else we will stumble.
Philippians 4:8 (AMP) Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].
His Word is good and that is why we should implant them in our hearts. Direct your mind back to the Word. I cannot get focused on anything other than His Word. Yes, there are demonic spirits out there that want to tear down every ounce of peace that we have. However, we do not fight against people. We should never put our mouths against people. People are not trying to indoctrinate us or our children, the enemy is. When we know the Word, when we spend time in relationship with Him, we will know His voice. All those other voices can speak, scream or yell, but they will not have access to my peace. Why? Because I am rooted and grounded in His love. It is not a passive love. It is an aggressive and passionate love. A love that I will pursue after.
Father, I thank you for sending your Son to be the Prince of Peace. Thank you for changing my mindset of what Your peace is. Peace is not the absence of trouble, it is knowing that we are grounded in love. You are my hiding place and my fortress of peace. I love your Word and it will not depart from my heart. Thank you for the ability to renew my mind. I choose to focus on You today. I choose to walk in love today. Show me opportunities to glorify You today. Lead me through the still waters. I choose to listen to Your voice today. I am loved because You are love. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Desiring for More 