November 30

I "have been enriched in every way"! Yes! I have all that I need! I lack nothing! I lack no spiritual gift! Paul is speaking to me - God is speaking to me - I am speaking it to me! It is the truth of God that needs to be confessed over and over - hearing it again and again until I believe it and have complete trust in this truth! That means zero doubt.

I was chosen so God could display His glory through me. Ordinary, lowly, uneducated, without much talent I came into the Kingdom and now proclaim the Kingdom. His awesome gifts are in me and I am His instrument! That even confounds other Christians!

Shall I not keep going? I have the mind of Christ - I know what God holds in secret to the world - I have secret wisdom! O.K., I'll stop ----- for now. Thank you Papa that you

November 29

"In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power." In what way? What it looks like to me is stuff was happening and things were breaking loose and people hated Paul and The Way (Christians) and... There was stuff going on! I don't have to use this as the only model, but it sure speaks to me about having things run UN-smoothly! Why do I always want everything to feel so good and fit so well into my plan? I crack myself up! The Kingdom of God is FORCEFULLY advancing and that means that it won't be a smooth as silk all the time - or even most of the time. Do I want easy and comfortable or do I want the advancement of the Kingdom? Advancement.

November 27

Paul wanted to go to Bythnia to preach the gospel. He also wanted to go to Asia but was restrained by THE SPIRIT OF JESUS! What? Jesus stopped Paul from going somewhere and preaching the gospel? YES! It was Paul’s heart to go everywhere and preach to everyone, but Jesus had another idea – go preach to who I send you! That really speaks to me. The point is that I have to be focused on what God wants and not what I would like to do. It is the difference between asking God to bless the day you planned and asking Him what His plan is for the day. Ministry is supposed to be directed by the Spirit of God for Kingdom purposes. Sometimes that means not doing what would seem natural and logical to do.

November 26

Beginning with the Spirit and then going to the law (or works). I think that applies to all of life doesn’t it? I was thinking of financial provision and how it comes from God. I was going to give a little more to missions today because I love supporting missions and other ministries. However I heard the Lord say not to give any more than such and such as my normal offering. At first I doubted that it was God telling me that, but now after today’s reading, I am convinced it was God. He saw something in my heart that needed to be “nipped in the bud”. I must have been, ( because I was unaware of it) giving to get the blessing. That is works my friends! Although I know that giving puts me in the position for receiving more, that CANNOT be my motivation! Otherwise I am caught in the trappings of works to ‘get” from God. That is not how God operates – especially in my life! I have to continue to believe and trust that He will supply all I need because of His promise and His faithfulness, not because of anything that I do.

By the way – Paul equates trying to earn God’s favor (keeping the law) with losing your joy.

November 25

So Paul and Barnabas preached the word and it was received pretty well. Then they preached again and they were persecuted. The interesting thing to me is that when they left that region because of the trouble that the jealous Jews had stirred up, they shook the dust from their feet, (as a sign to the people, and I think as a sign to themselves that they weren’t going to carry that rejection in their soul) and were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. They were basically run out of town and that had joy!? God spoke to me and said that these two knew how to operate on a different level. They knew how to let go of bad things in ministry and move on AND they knew the secret of having joy in trials. The thing that stood out to me was that they had joy, and I think it is because they were NOT results focused, they were Kingdom focused. They were thinking about the Kingdom and not about their particular ministry. Their eggs were in Jesus basket!

On a different note – Paul was very human and God worked with his humanity and doubled the missionary team. They left with the grace of God so that means there were no hard feelings and only that of love between all of them. There was an opinion about ministry partners and Paul and Barnabas couldn’t agree – and something good happened through it. Disagreements should NEVER provoke us to jealously or strife, but should ALWAYS end in love – otherwise jealousy and strife will follow you in an unnatural (supernatural evil) way.

November 24

Giving to the poor is something that many Christians are doing these days. Social justice is high on many people’s list of important ministries. I have heard people say that giving to the poor and needy should only be done if you can preach the gospel to them or if they can have some sort of spiritual benefit that includes a personal opportunity to come to Christ. While I agree that is it a wonderful thing and important for people to have direct ministry, here in today’s passage I learned something. Giving to the poor is an offering to the Lord. Without any by-product of the giving being mentioned, giving to the poor is mentioned three times as something that Cornelius did that was godly. Even if you never mention Christ when you are giving, you are doing a wonderful thing in God’s eyes. I don’t mean to say that we shouldn’t minister the Word of God and give hope to the needy, I do think that and deeply desire to do it! What I am saying is that the act of giving is, in and of itself a work of God in us! It produces God’s character and is a production of God’s character in us. The point to me is give. Give when you can preach, give when you can talk about God, give when all you can utter is a “God bless you”, and give when you can’t say a word. Giving is a wonderful thing.

November 23

God had a plan! His plan included Saul soon to be named Paul and Ananias was within the plan of the salvation, Holy Spirit filling, healing and baptism of this man, who would become the writer of most of the New Testament. I am amazed at the ancillary part of Ananias, yet what he did was play a part in the salvation of the one of the greatest apostles! It is amazing how God can take a seemingly insignificant person (Ananias wasn’t to God) and use him to bring about something so huge that he couldn’t even dream it! God wants to do the same with me! I, like Ananias can only question in sincerely humility, but in the end, must obey the Word of God to my heart in order to be a part of something that is so much greater than me that I could never dream of!

November 22

Stephen’s face looked like an angel – and that was before his enemies! How about my face – angelic or could care less, or somewhere in between? God has been speaking to me about being more loving to people – strangers and friends alike – as I am away from church. It’s easy at church isn’t it? Easy to give a smile and show your love. Away from church is different. Someone came into my house the other day and I didn’t get up and hug her. The Lord rebuked me. It is those simple things that display Him in me. Even more than that is showing respect, honor and love to those who don’t like you. If I am to have my face look anything like an angel, then I have got to reflect Jesus in my face. I want others to see Him in me.

Come to think of it, the older I get, the more I look like my mom (genetics). Shouldn’t it stand to reason then, the older I get in Christ, the more I look like Him? (Look – both the way I appear and the way I look at others).

November 20

I was reading the “Daily Bible” today for my reading and I read the commentary which I usually don’t. I don’t usually read it because I don’t want to get “tainted” by the views of the author/editor. I want God to speak to me without any other voice telling me what the passage is saying. As I was reading the commentary today it talked about “special demonstration” and “special power” used by (only) the apostles. It absolutely floors me that smart people who love God believe this way. The contrivance of people to purport that the first 15-20 years of church history (the book of Acts), were “special” because God somehow only needed or wanted to work miracles then (during that time) is crazy! If we look at the scripture, we see that there was NO mention of miracles and the supernatural dying off or going extinct or disappearing – EVER! What we do clearly see is that it is taught and believed to be NORMAL life. Peter specifically said that the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was causing this great “sign” to all who saw (wind, tongues of fire appearing, people speaking in tongues, people understanding the tongues in their own language), would be poured out on those who believed! He specifically mentioned “to those who are afar off" as being recipients of this gift. US! These works of God that brought glory to the Father in the OT, in Jesus life, in church life are still bringing glory to the Father in our lives today! I not only believe that one has to reinterpret the Bible to suit themselves (tickle their itching ears), but one would have to commit intellectual suicide not to acknowledge that down through the millennia God has used miracles trillions of time. He hasn’t shut the supernatural door! He still works wonders and signs and miracles and healings and salvations to ALL who are afar off. ME! Thanks Papa – increase your miracle power through my hands and ministry! Increase my faith! Increase your glory!

November 19

Luke 24:38 (NIV)
38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?

Luke 24:45 (NIV)
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

The mind. If you can understand this, you will get one of the keys to the Kingdom. It really hit me as I was reading this today – the mind doubts and the mind understands – but only after it is opened. There is a sermon in here, but today, for now, it stays with me. The point of the Holy Spirit wakening me to this phenomena is that my mind is so important. What I put into it is so important AND yielding it to the Lord so He can open it so I can understand more! Yielding it has got to include reading His Word so I SEEK to understand. I do want to understand Lord – open my mind to understand all the more!

November 18

I read this passage like a text book today – does that ever happen to you? I got the information and then sat there thinking; “what is God saying to me today?” This is a book of life and needs to be read for the life it brings. So I read again, looking for the life God has for my day.

Jesus was forsaken. He said it while on the cross. “Why have you forsaken me?” He was talking to His Father. His Word to me today --- I will never leave you or forsake you. In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, Jesus will never forsake me. That is His decision and I know it well. However, it sure does my soul well to hear it again. He won’t leave me to be on my own. Thank you so much Jesus, keep reminding me for I can be forgetful of these simple truths. Not that my memory is erased but that don’t reckon this truth from time to time when I feel alone or pressed.

November 17

What a passage to read for my birthday! The false charges, the hatred, the beating, the rejection of all Jesus is had to have been so emotionally tough for Him. This was a road that He had to travel, but what an awful road! I just taught on this in OSL last night and I must say that I am moved when I think of what my Jesus has done for me. He didn’t just take a bullet to the head, he suffered in every way possible. The physical suffering was no doubt indescribable and the mental and emotional torture was astoundingly tormentous. He did it – for me – I am forever in His debt.

There is another interesting thing that I saw. Judas Iscariot somehow came to his senses and realized that he did wrong. However the religious leaders had no such revelation. The man who Satan himself indwelt had a revelation, but the Pharisees were worried about breaking God’s law by accepting blood money back into the treasury – that it came from! Religion twists you like no other sin – stay away from it – it’s dangerous!

November 16

Jesus is getting jacked up! He is getting strung up for what? Doing good! He is suffering and about to suffer something terrible and it is not His fault. Yet, He knows that He must go through this suffering in the body and soul to become the sacrifice of sin for the world (spiritual). He is being wronged so He could make things right! Convicted yet? I am! How many times do I allow myself to be wronged or accused and condemned or anything else for the sake of something greater from the Father? How many times? Being like Jesus is a high calling and a tough thing. No wonder He said that we have to die to ourselves. To be wronged for the greater good – the will of the Father – is difficult to anyone who cares about His life. God, help me die all the more to myself and live for you.

November 15

There is nothing that I can produce or do on my own! Even when my church doubles or triples or whatever, even when my salary is restored and my earnings doubled, it is not because of me, my standing on the Word, my faith, my faithfulness or anything else. It is ONLY because I am connected to the vine and the blessings come from the vine. The danger with blessings and growth is that you become deceived to think that you brought it about. I did this or put this strategy into place or preached this Word, but all production in my life comes from the vine and my connection with the vine – Jesus Christ.

Twice Jesus talked about our joy being complete. It seems to me that He wants us to have joy! How do we get it and how do we get a complete joy? The simple lesson that God impressed on me is this, remain in Jesus and ask for the stuff that He wants us to have. Whenever I think stuff I think supernatural, and being in relationship with Him and really being one will bring the joy I so desperately need. With that comes the wonder of relationship and asking and receiving because of that relationship. Joy, joy joy!