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My Treasure

Isaiah 33:6 (AMPC) And there shall be stability in your times, an abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the reverent fear and worship of the Lord is your treasure and His.

I love this verse. This verse has been on the cover of my Facebook page off and on for the past few years. How much do you desire stability? Stability in our lives makes us feel more secure and safe. You may be saying, ‘look at the things going on in the world, do they look stable?’ Right now there is a war in Israel. The United States just launched an air strike against Iran in retaliation for the attack that killed three American soldiers. Let’s not talk about the price of everything going up and the interest rates. Are those the things we look at to gauge stability?

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.]

An abundance of salvation. This my heart leaps for because I want to see the captives set free. As I have written before, ‘Sozo’ is the Greek word for salvation. It means to save, deliver, heal, restore, to be made whole. In Hebrew it means deliverance and redemption. We cannot separate salvation from the need of repentance. I grow in my salvation when I realize I have a great need for Christ. I have to remind myself of that daily, because Amanda still likes to live. I so much want to surrender to that Sozo life.

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].

How many of us would like more wisdom and knowledge? I know I would. That is why I read every day, if I am able. Most days I am able to spend a couple of hours to read. I know that it is a something that not everyone is capable of doing. I did not start out with a couple of hours. I started out with maybe five to ten minutes. I had to make it a priority in my life. I make sure that i am at least reading a few verses from my Bible every day. When I am at the gym, I am listening to the Word being taught. I love the Messenger X app. It is completely free and is tool from Messenger International, a ministry of John and Lisa Bevere. Reading without application really is a form of disobedience. I will go further in that in my last point.

Joshua 1:8 (AMP) 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.

The reverent fear and worship of the Lord is your treasure and His. This is where i want to sit for a moment. This fear is not of failure nor of punishment. It is ‘God, am I honoring You?’ Once we receive salvation we become new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). I am now called into the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). I am now an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). God gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). Jesus gifted us with five fold ministry (Ephesians 4:10-11) and the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13). The fear of the Lord is also a gift. It is even a treasure. I take the Word very seriously, even the commands that Jesus left us. I am constantly allowing the Holy Spirit to put me in check because of the fear of the Lord. One verse really stood out to me this past week:

Exodus 20:7 (AMP) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].

Most of us were brought up with warning of not saying ‘oh my God’ or ‘Jesus Christ’ as response to be startled or in the heat of an argument, as in taking the Lord’s name in vain. How about how we live our lives as Christ’s ambassadors. Are we selfish? Are we self seeking? Do we put others down? Are we putting ourselves first? Do we take an account of a suffered wrong? Are we slandering? Do we stir up gossip and strife? All of these are taking the name of the Lord in vain. I have started to take this very serious in my life. I have written before that my prayer this year has been for God to increase His love in me, so that it is all that flows out of me. That requires me to submit to His cleaning some things out of me. Boy has this been an eye opener and stretching of my faith. The love walk is not an easy one. However, with the right training, it can become something we enjoy. I have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. FYI, those who just talk it and do not live it actually come off unloving. It is truly a humbling thing to go back and apologize. Asking for forgiveness is an essential part of our love walk. I have to continually die to the rights of Amanda.

I go to the gym five days a week, not because it helps me looks good. I go because it gives me strength that I am going to need one day (we all get older). That is why I submit to the Lord. It is not about me looking good. Every day I need that strength to go through some really tough things. I know that I am being watched by people. I know they are writing down my words. That can be a really scary thing. In James it talks about the great weight it is to teach the Word (James 1:1). People hold you to a higher standard. Then it talks about if anyone who does not say the wrong thing then they are perfect (James 1:2). I am not perfect. I do misquote things, not with the intention of twisting their meaning, but in my zeal for the Word. Why do I do it then? Honestly, I would rather not be doing it. Like Paul, I am a bond-servant to it (Galatians 1:10). Even if my words are judged, it is His Word that brings freedom. I am in awe of who He is. I cannot keep it to myself.

When I focused on the reverent fear of the Lord, as my treasure, things began to change in my life. Stability is in my time. I am not afraid for the future or what is going on around me. I am quicker to repent and put into practice what the Word says (James 1:25). I take it seriously. I have an abundance of salvation. I have more life, more hunger, more thirst, more contentment, more wholeness like never before. Wisdom and knowledge started to chase after me. The light bulbs started going off. The way I present the Word changed. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence], and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and spiritual insight (AMP).” My relationship with God is so much deeper than I could have ever imagined. He is not some distant God. He is not a God that cannot be reached. He is my secret place. I am surrounded by Him. The more I enter in, the more I am consumed by Him. He desires to meet with us face to face. He desires to commune with us like we read about with Abraham and Moses. We can have that. I do not need anyone to write books about me, when He has written the best one (Psalms 139:16, Ephesians 2:10). His authorship did not do away with my free will, I will still have to give an account (2 Corinthians 5:10). Focus on Him. Honor the Lord. Let Him be your treasure.

Yahweh, Elohim, our Master, our Creator, You are Holy. We do not need anything but You. Thank You for Your Son. Thank You for the Way that You provided, established at the beginning. You are the Author of the beginning and the end. Thank You for the Holy Spirit. We are alive in You because of that great gift. Thank You for the gift of Your Word, of the five fold ministry, of the body of Christ. We are sorry for the times we took these gifts for granted and did not hold them dear. Thank You for the gift of the righteous fear of You. You said that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. We desire Your Wisdom. We desire Your ways. We desire the stability that only You can bring. We repent for seeking out anything or anyone that would take attempt to take Your place. Thank You for the gift of salvation, for restoring us to wholeness. Thank You for forgiveness, let us be courageous in giving it away freely. We choose hope today. We choose love today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Something to Ponder

Luke 2:19 (AMP) But Mary treasured all these things, giving careful thought to them and pondering them in her heart.

Have you ever just sat down and thought about how far you have come? My husband and I like to do this together sometimes. We will sit down and talk about all the people we have met, the things we have done with our family, and the home we have made. We will talk about the moment we met and if we could have ever imagined sitting there together twenty seven years later. We will talk about our church and the changes that have happened. We will encourage each other, because there are times when we think they are set backs, but there are exactly where God want us to be. We talk about our growing moments.

I have started doing this with our sons. I will tell them a story about how far we have come. We have raised them to not have to struggle. That has been a blessing, but it also is not completely beneficial. They will be out on their own soon and they need to grow on their own. Mom and dad want to protect them, but we need to point them in the direction of who their true source really is. So I tell them about us trusting God and that we are where we are because of our faith in His promises. It is not magic, it is principles of the Kingdom at work. At the beginning of our marriage, my husband and I chose to put God first in all things. There is only one Savior and His Name is Jesus.

Our Christmas tree is already up. It may be early to some. We did have the tradition of putting up the tree the day after Thanksgiving, but as the kids are now teenage boys, they are off doing other activities. My husband has been at me to buy a new tree for a few years now. Why? Because of the shedding issue. Piles and piles of needles shed off every year. Finally, this year, it had to be done. The branches were broken, snapped while put in storage last year. On our way to pick out a new tree, I was telling my youngest about when we bought the old one. It was the year 2003 and I was expecting his older brother in just two more months. We had put a tree on lay away to use for his first Christmas. It was pre-lit with white lights. We had bought real trees before then, but our cats would drink the water and they would dry out (which is dangerous). My oldest will be turning 19 in a few months, so it did not quite make it twenty years. That is a long time to hold onto something.

The best part is holding onto the memories we made, and will continue to make. It was a great time to share about priorities and how far God has brought us. We talked about sacrifice on our way to pick up the new tree and what it means to be a good steward. We looked for opportunities to be a blessing to someone. We did not rush in and get the one item and then rush home. We watched out for others and allowed them to go first. I pray these moments we spend with them will be pondered later on. I treasure them and hope they do too.

Can you see how far you have come in your walk with the Lord? Can you look back and see all of the many ways that He has blessed your life? Can you look back and think of the majesty of it all? I sure can.

Father, I thank you for the person reading this right now. Let them know that they are loved and seen by you. We stand in awe of you. Your majesty is to be treasured. We are thankful for the life that you have laid out before us. May we take advantage of the moments to share your glory. We ask you to heal any broken area in our lives. We give it freely back to you. We have tried to fix things on our own or hold onto things too long, and it is time to let it go. Thank you for the growing moments. We thank you for putting people in our lives to grow us and for us to help grow. We are not called to do this alone. We thank you for placing us in the ministry of reconciliation. Help us see the way that you see. Help us love the way you love. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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What needs restoring?

Isaiah 33:6 (AMP) And He will be the security and stability of your times, a treasure of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is your treasure.

This is the verse for the cover picture on my personal Facebook page. This tells me that I need to be about the Father’s business. How do I know when I am on the right track?

Proverbs 19:21 (AMP) Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand (be carried out).

Psalms 105:4 (AMP) Seek and deeply long for the Lord and His strength [His power, His might];
Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually.

These are just two verses that speaks to seeking God. We seek Him in our prayer life and in His Word. If our prayer life does not line up with what is in His Word then we may need guidance. God has given us the five fold ministry for a reason (Ephesians 4:11). However, when you come to your pastor and tell them “God said” and then ask their guidance, who are we to come against “God said” (even if it does not line up with His character and nature). We will tell you what the Word says, but when someone states “God said” their minds have already been made up.

There are many words that are thrown out as the new year begins. For our church the word that was given to my husband was “Restore.” He preached a message yesterday about this being the year of reconciliation. Many people when they hear restore, especially in the church, they are thinking about physical restoration and financial restoration. They want what they can tangibly see and touch restored. In my memories today I saw a picture of the demolition of my kitchen before the restoration could begin. It started with a small leak behind the wall. My kitchen today is beautiful and has brought many good meals to my boys bellies. This not the restore He wants to do this year. What about the original intent? Restoring man to God. My prayer life and actions will show what I treasure.

Matthew 6:33 (TPT) “So above all, constantly seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness, then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly.”

We are to give diligent dedication to one’s self with that which that we are seeking. Seekers have a desire to know and possess a passion for the object of their search. We are to pursue! The Kingdom should have no other competing priority in our lives. The Kingdom is not a religion ans therefore our priority should not be to seek some form of ritual for our lives.

Matthew 5:6 (AMP) “Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.“

Righteousness means we are to be in alignment with, in right standing with, to have correct fellowship with, to be in a right relationship with, to be in legal or lawful alignment, and to be in correct standing with the regulations of to fulfill the requirements of authority. You notice there are times of re-alignment. When we are out of alignment we experience fatigue, lack, disconnect from the fellowship of the church, etc. Although we are in right standing with Christ, we still have our own mind, will and emotions. These can get our of alignment and cause us not to desire what He desires. This does not effect our salvation, it will effect our impact to restore man to God. Why is it important for me to restore man to God? Jesus did it all on the cross right? That does not mean you were not given an assignment.

Matthew 28:18-20 (AMP) Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”

You were put in right standing and given the mantel of righteousness for a reason. You are to “GO!” Look people in the face when you leave the house. See His created and desire what He desires…to see them restored!

Praying this year is a year of restoration. Reconciling man to God!

2 Corinthians 5:18 (AMP) But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him]