Abraham was 75 when God first appeared to him with the promise. At 86 Ishmael was born to him because he was trying to bring about the promise himself – through the strength of his flesh. At 99 God told him the specific time of the fulfillment of the promise and sure enough, it was fulfilled (a year later). My comment is, “man he waited a long time!” After the child of promise was born (Isaac), the child of the flesh (Ishmael) was his antagonist. He had to be sent away! Do you get all this?
1.Believe the promise and be patient.
2.Don’t try to fulfill the promise yourself – God will do it! You will only have to send away the “child” of your effort which will be difficult.
3.The flesh will always be the antagonist of the promise – send it away!
•Think about ways you could apply these principles to your life.
•Think about the ways you could apply these principles to the move of the Spirit at our church
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
January 30
Acts 6:8 (NIV)
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
Many people believe that miracles have ceased for the most part. They believe that the apostles are the ones who did the miracles because they were specially endowed by God. They believe that ONLY the apostles worked miracles and therefore when the apostles died, so did signs, wonders and miracles. There is some other thinking that goes along with that, but you get the point.
Stephen, not an apostle, just an average dude who was sold out, did “GREAT wonders and miraculous signs”. Not only does that fly in the face of some bad theology, but this should encourage us all the more! Stephen was chosen to be a “deacon”, which was a person who was going to look over food distribution! He was a regular guy with a ministry to the poor and the widows, yet he was a mighty man of God, full of grace and power! That is you! You are too! You may not know it, but you are full of God’s grace and power and you are able to do great wonders and miraculous signs among people! Don’t sell God short and don’t sell yourself short – you have what it takes – you have the Holy Spirit of God!
I must include this; if you haven’t been baptized with the Holy Spirit as Jesus came to do and told the disciples to stay until they got it so they would have the “power” or ability” to be his witnesses, then you need! If you want the “power” or “ability” to do what they did, then you need to get what they got!
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
Many people believe that miracles have ceased for the most part. They believe that the apostles are the ones who did the miracles because they were specially endowed by God. They believe that ONLY the apostles worked miracles and therefore when the apostles died, so did signs, wonders and miracles. There is some other thinking that goes along with that, but you get the point.
Stephen, not an apostle, just an average dude who was sold out, did “GREAT wonders and miraculous signs”. Not only does that fly in the face of some bad theology, but this should encourage us all the more! Stephen was chosen to be a “deacon”, which was a person who was going to look over food distribution! He was a regular guy with a ministry to the poor and the widows, yet he was a mighty man of God, full of grace and power! That is you! You are too! You may not know it, but you are full of God’s grace and power and you are able to do great wonders and miraculous signs among people! Don’t sell God short and don’t sell yourself short – you have what it takes – you have the Holy Spirit of God!
I must include this; if you haven’t been baptized with the Holy Spirit as Jesus came to do and told the disciples to stay until they got it so they would have the “power” or ability” to be his witnesses, then you need! If you want the “power” or “ability” to do what they did, then you need to get what they got!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
January 29
The apostle’s (and the believers) were going around preaching in the name of Jesus and doing signs and wonders and miracles! There were three groups of people, the people who wanted it – they wanted to hear, wanted healing, joined the believers publically and knew that they would be rejected by the next two groups. There were the people who were looking on, but not joining in. They would certainly take a prayer for healing, but they weren’t going to join them because of the fear of the last group. These people were not willing to take a stand for Christ because of the cost associated with it. The last group were the religious leaders. They were “jealous” of the apostles who were leading this revival. People were getting saved, healed and delivered from demons. They didn’t like that. They didn’t like the fact that the apostles were blaming them for killing Jesus. They were being indicted because they were guilty of not recognizing Jesus the Messiah!
Today the religious leaders do recognize, for the most part, Jesus as the Messiah, however they are mixing the gospel up with all sorts of stuff and others are missing the Spirit of God’s movement. I am often asked, why don’t the miracles happen in the states like they do in other countries. There are many answers, but how about this one, we are not discerning the Spirit’s move! We don’t allow Him to have His way! We are too busy growing a church.
I for one am in the first group – counting the cost and joining the group publically and wanting the Holy Spirit to save, heal, deliverance and show us the presence of God and His Kingdom in any way He wants to reveal it! How about you?
Today the religious leaders do recognize, for the most part, Jesus as the Messiah, however they are mixing the gospel up with all sorts of stuff and others are missing the Spirit of God’s movement. I am often asked, why don’t the miracles happen in the states like they do in other countries. There are many answers, but how about this one, we are not discerning the Spirit’s move! We don’t allow Him to have His way! We are too busy growing a church.
I for one am in the first group – counting the cost and joining the group publically and wanting the Holy Spirit to save, heal, deliverance and show us the presence of God and His Kingdom in any way He wants to reveal it! How about you?
Friday, January 28, 2011
January 28
Acts 4:16-17 (NIV)
16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.
But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
This is a picture of the religious of every age who have quenched the fire of God. They could tell that God was moving, but they didn’t like how it was being done so they “quenched the Spirit”. Let’s put up a wall right now to that thinking and behavior, to protect ourselves against this insidious spiritual attack. The wall is called surrender and humility. If we are surrendered to Him who holds the keys to everything and humbly receive whatever He would send us, then we will be protected from that “religious attack” that quenches the fire of the Spirit. May our thirst for Him become more pressing than water.
Acts 4:30 (NIV)
30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
The disciples all realized that the signs and wonders confounded the leaders and brought great glory to God which resulted in hundreds or even a thousand more people putting their trust in Jesus as the Messiah (Savior). Reasonably, they prayed for more signs and wonders – us too!
16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.
But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
This is a picture of the religious of every age who have quenched the fire of God. They could tell that God was moving, but they didn’t like how it was being done so they “quenched the Spirit”. Let’s put up a wall right now to that thinking and behavior, to protect ourselves against this insidious spiritual attack. The wall is called surrender and humility. If we are surrendered to Him who holds the keys to everything and humbly receive whatever He would send us, then we will be protected from that “religious attack” that quenches the fire of the Spirit. May our thirst for Him become more pressing than water.
Acts 4:30 (NIV)
30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
The disciples all realized that the signs and wonders confounded the leaders and brought great glory to God which resulted in hundreds or even a thousand more people putting their trust in Jesus as the Messiah (Savior). Reasonably, they prayed for more signs and wonders – us too!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
January 27
The end of Job has come, (the book), which is my favorite part of the book. God told Job’s three friends that they spoke incorrectly about him and that Job didn’t. Although Job received quite a rebuke from God, Job did not spout off about God inaccurately like his “friends”. (I am not convinced that they were really friends). In His rebuke, God spoke of a creature that couldn’t be conquered and if He (God) created a creature of of inconquerability then who could require anything from God!
We question God and thereby assume a superiority over God and He will have none of it! That being said, God’s plan for Job was seen and His favor that He always had for him was realized. He became more blessed that ever before and had more children and lived long AND became quite a priest. His three friends had to offer a sacrifice or face the dealings from a God who wasn’t too happy about how He was inaccurately spoken of and it was the prayer of Job that released them from punishment.
Two things – first, be careful before you “figure out” the Almighty and speak judgment towards somebody. If you are going to represent God’s character, you better be sure you have accurately spoken of him. Second, Job was, as we will be in our latter years, our second half, restored, blessed and the world was shown the glory of God through him. I am going to claim that for my life too – how about you!
We question God and thereby assume a superiority over God and He will have none of it! That being said, God’s plan for Job was seen and His favor that He always had for him was realized. He became more blessed that ever before and had more children and lived long AND became quite a priest. His three friends had to offer a sacrifice or face the dealings from a God who wasn’t too happy about how He was inaccurately spoken of and it was the prayer of Job that released them from punishment.
Two things – first, be careful before you “figure out” the Almighty and speak judgment towards somebody. If you are going to represent God’s character, you better be sure you have accurately spoken of him. Second, Job was, as we will be in our latter years, our second half, restored, blessed and the world was shown the glory of God through him. I am going to claim that for my life too – how about you!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
January 26
Acts 2:12-13 (NIV)
12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Which one will you be? Will you get amazed at the signs and wonders of God and inquire what this means, or will you stand at a distance and completely miss God, all the while making fun of or ridiculing the people who are "under the influence" of the Spirit.
Acts 2:42 (NIV)
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
There is no way that the ekklesia (church in Greek - meaning assembly) cannot assemble! Some think it is an option - that they can determine when and if and where to assemble - that is a false doctrine! There are big churches, small churches, house churches, para-churches, and other non-traditional churches (assemblies). The point of this passage is they were DEVOTED to fellowship! This is not a word that speaks of a casual relationship. They were devoted to more than fellowship to be sure, but they made it a priority to get together often (once a week is not often) because it was a priority to God.
12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Which one will you be? Will you get amazed at the signs and wonders of God and inquire what this means, or will you stand at a distance and completely miss God, all the while making fun of or ridiculing the people who are "under the influence" of the Spirit.
Acts 2:42 (NIV)
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
There is no way that the ekklesia (church in Greek - meaning assembly) cannot assemble! Some think it is an option - that they can determine when and if and where to assemble - that is a false doctrine! There are big churches, small churches, house churches, para-churches, and other non-traditional churches (assemblies). The point of this passage is they were DEVOTED to fellowship! This is not a word that speaks of a casual relationship. They were devoted to more than fellowship to be sure, but they made it a priority to get together often (once a week is not often) because it was a priority to God.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
January 25
Acts 1:7-8 (NIV)
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The disciples, after all the things Jesus taught and spoke to them still wanted to know when Rome would be overthrown. Maybe, if we are generous, we could say they wanted to know when the Messianic Kingdom would be. The point is this, if Jesus wanted to tell them, they would have known! Jesus was talking about the most important thing since His resurrection from the dead - the gift of the Holy Spirit! The most important Kingdom had already been set up - the Kingdom of God's reign - The Kingdom of Heaven. They were still looking for the earthly Kingdom. Jesus was saying, among other things, don't worry about that Kingdom, you won't know the particulars about it anyway, keep your mind fixed on the Kingdom of God and the rule and reign in the spirit realm which I am about to give you the enduring ability (power) to advance! Never mind when you are going to get (blank) or when (blank)
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The disciples, after all the things Jesus taught and spoke to them still wanted to know when Rome would be overthrown. Maybe, if we are generous, we could say they wanted to know when the Messianic Kingdom would be. The point is this, if Jesus wanted to tell them, they would have known! Jesus was talking about the most important thing since His resurrection from the dead - the gift of the Holy Spirit! The most important Kingdom had already been set up - the Kingdom of God's reign - The Kingdom of Heaven. They were still looking for the earthly Kingdom. Jesus was saying, among other things, don't worry about that Kingdom, you won't know the particulars about it anyway, keep your mind fixed on the Kingdom of God and the rule and reign in the spirit realm which I am about to give you the enduring ability (power) to advance! Never mind when you are going to get (blank) or when (blank)
Monday, January 24, 2011
January 24
Luke 24:11 (NIV)
11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
Luke 24:45 (NIV)
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
You have to have spiritual ears and an opened mind (by God) to hear and understand a faith message. It SEEMED like nonsense so they considered it nonsense! Did you catch that? THEY thought - that was the problem - it was their thinking and as the Word says "the natural mind cannot comprehend the things of God". We must have our hearts, minds, ears, eyes... opened by God to see anything!
11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
Luke 24:45 (NIV)
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
You have to have spiritual ears and an opened mind (by God) to hear and understand a faith message. It SEEMED like nonsense so they considered it nonsense! Did you catch that? THEY thought - that was the problem - it was their thinking and as the Word says "the natural mind cannot comprehend the things of God". We must have our hearts, minds, ears, eyes... opened by God to see anything!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
January 23
A Roman Centurion, not exactly what you would think of when you need someone to spiritually discern the truth of the matter, correctly assessed the miraculous happenings of the death of Jesus. This man was a trained soldier and torturer/killer. Yet, when he saw the death of Christ, the darkness, the crowd and everything that surrounded this scene of history, (surely all of heaven was watching), he concluded, “surely this is a righteous man” and he gave praise to God. He was moved by the Spirit and was able to see the truth! That is what we pray for right? We pray for that very thing! That people’s eyes are open to the truth. How did it happen here? The death of our Savior, the presence of God and miraculous happenings. It is obvious that Jesus isn’t going to die again, but the other two components are within our grasp. The presence of God and the working of miracles – hmmm… sounds like something the Jesus lived like and that we can too!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
January 22
Luke 22:31-32 (NIV)
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
Judas had already been indwelt by satan. The leaders of the Jews are controlled or influenced by spirits of jealousy, pride, religion and others. Simon (Peter) is now going to be confronted by a frontal assault. All this makes sense since the leaders rejected Jesus, Judas was a thief and a deceiver, and Peter has pride as well meaning as he is. There are two things we must see; first satan needed permission to assault Peter and he got it. Second, even though Peter’s faith took a down turn, it didn’t fail – he came back from it – because Jesus was praying for him. It is the same with us!
Luke 22:35-36 (NIV)
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered.
36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
Notice that Jesus changed it up here. Before no bags, now get your bags. We can’t put God in some box. There is a time to be without and totally trust Him for provision and there is a time to take the provision that we already have and already see and use it. We need to have both experiences in life! Will you submit to each?
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
Judas had already been indwelt by satan. The leaders of the Jews are controlled or influenced by spirits of jealousy, pride, religion and others. Simon (Peter) is now going to be confronted by a frontal assault. All this makes sense since the leaders rejected Jesus, Judas was a thief and a deceiver, and Peter has pride as well meaning as he is. There are two things we must see; first satan needed permission to assault Peter and he got it. Second, even though Peter’s faith took a down turn, it didn’t fail – he came back from it – because Jesus was praying for him. It is the same with us!
Luke 22:35-36 (NIV)
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered.
36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
Notice that Jesus changed it up here. Before no bags, now get your bags. We can’t put God in some box. There is a time to be without and totally trust Him for provision and there is a time to take the provision that we already have and already see and use it. We need to have both experiences in life! Will you submit to each?
Friday, January 21, 2011
January 21
Luke 21:34 (NIV)
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
I don’t think I have ever noticed this verse before. Of course it is given in the context of Jesus’ discourse on end times but this principle of living is a great encouragement. The warning from Jesus is that you won’t be prepared for the end because you won’t see it coming because you will see little or care little about the things of God and His Kingdom. It is the weighing down of our hearts that struck me today. The sin that so easily entangles us, the worry that so quickly floods us causes us to “to experience difficulty by burdensome and troublous obligations”. To be careful is to be in a continued state of readiness. Jesus is saying to us to be continually ready, to watch out so we don’t slide into party mode or become overcome by the cares of this world so that we only see THIS WORLD! Church, be on guard and don’t let yourself, don’t let life weigh you down! Not only will you miss the signs of the end, but you will miss His Kingdom’s presence and power all around you.
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
I don’t think I have ever noticed this verse before. Of course it is given in the context of Jesus’ discourse on end times but this principle of living is a great encouragement. The warning from Jesus is that you won’t be prepared for the end because you won’t see it coming because you will see little or care little about the things of God and His Kingdom. It is the weighing down of our hearts that struck me today. The sin that so easily entangles us, the worry that so quickly floods us causes us to “to experience difficulty by burdensome and troublous obligations”. To be careful is to be in a continued state of readiness. Jesus is saying to us to be continually ready, to watch out so we don’t slide into party mode or become overcome by the cares of this world so that we only see THIS WORLD! Church, be on guard and don’t let yourself, don’t let life weigh you down! Not only will you miss the signs of the end, but you will miss His Kingdom’s presence and power all around you.
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
January 20
Luke 20:2 (NIV)
2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”
The Pharisees knew about authority, they had a lot of it. Their question to Jesus is an interesting one. We can only assume that they were looking for a Rabbi’s teaching for him to base His authority upon. In all that Jesus says about them we can see that they loved being in charge. There authority as Rabbi’s, teachers, members of the Sanhedrin enabled them to be honored personally and it also created an environment where they could tell people what to do. Jesus had a different authority and they knew it. They couldn’t understand that it came from God, which was plain because of the miracles, because they had already rejected Him and therefore had become blind to the truth.
Jesus had authority from heaven! Heaven is the only place that authority comes from. Jesus gave us the same authority that He had. My answer to those Pharisees would be, Jesus, Jesus. We have authority people – let’s use it how Jesus used it and not how the Pharisees used it. Let’s use it to be like Jesus!
Acts 10:38 (NIV)
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”
The Pharisees knew about authority, they had a lot of it. Their question to Jesus is an interesting one. We can only assume that they were looking for a Rabbi’s teaching for him to base His authority upon. In all that Jesus says about them we can see that they loved being in charge. There authority as Rabbi’s, teachers, members of the Sanhedrin enabled them to be honored personally and it also created an environment where they could tell people what to do. Jesus had a different authority and they knew it. They couldn’t understand that it came from God, which was plain because of the miracles, because they had already rejected Him and therefore had become blind to the truth.
Jesus had authority from heaven! Heaven is the only place that authority comes from. Jesus gave us the same authority that He had. My answer to those Pharisees would be, Jesus, Jesus. We have authority people – let’s use it how Jesus used it and not how the Pharisees used it. Let’s use it to be like Jesus!
Acts 10:38 (NIV)
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
January 19
I love the narrative of Zacchaeus and Jesus! Right before he was to enter Jerusalem as their King (on a colt) Jesus accepted a “sinner” and then told a story about people who wouldn’t accept him as king. There is quite a distinction between the two. The last servant, who knew the king (Jesus) was a “hard man”, was judge by “his own words” and killed in front of the king! Wow! That’s heavy! He told the story (parable) when people questioned his staying with a “sinner” like Zacchaeus. However, they failed to realize a principle of the Kingdom, Jesus is less concerned about what you have done, and more concerned about your hearts present condition, (whether it is open to Him or not). Zacchaeus had evidentially cheated people (as most tax collectors did), out of money. His response to Jesus however, shows that his heart had changed. His actions showed where his heart was at, (as the servant reflected his heart by hiding the mina). Zacchaeus went to extra ordinary lengths to see Jesus, he then welcomed Jesus, he then proclaimed repentance and wanted to give half his possessions to the poor and pay back (which was required by law) all the money he cheated people out of times 4! He was serious and Jesus knew it. That’s my Jesus!
Looking at this from another side, we have to be watching for the Zacchaeus’. We have to look for those who want to see Jesus, who would welcome Jesus, who would give up whatever to have Jesus be their king. Zacchaeus is like fruit that is ready to fall from the tree, all it would take is a nudge! Find those that are ready and invest there instead of trying to convince or dragging along those who are fully resistant.
Looking at this from another side, we have to be watching for the Zacchaeus’. We have to look for those who want to see Jesus, who would welcome Jesus, who would give up whatever to have Jesus be their king. Zacchaeus is like fruit that is ready to fall from the tree, all it would take is a nudge! Find those that are ready and invest there instead of trying to convince or dragging along those who are fully resistant.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
January 18
The parable of the persistent widow is an encouraging one. It really demonstrates to us God’s DESIRE to answer prayer. I was thinking about this parable and the end of the chapter where Jesus healed a blind man. This verse stuck out to me;
Luke 18:8 (NIV)
8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
The question that Jesus posed was answered in the blind man. The blind man knew something. He knew that Jesus of Nazareth could heal anybody and He knew that if He could get to him, talk to Him, that He would be healed. Jesus did find faith in this blind man. Does He find it in us?
There are people who have not yet received in the body their healing – like me! My strong encouragement is to not look at this passage as condemnation or as a rebuke that we don’t have enough faith, but to believe all the more! Don’t give up! Keep moving forward with God, reading His Word and standing on His promises. Don’t let the very scripture that is suppose to ignite you to believe and trust condemn you!
Luke 18:8 (NIV)
8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
The question that Jesus posed was answered in the blind man. The blind man knew something. He knew that Jesus of Nazareth could heal anybody and He knew that if He could get to him, talk to Him, that He would be healed. Jesus did find faith in this blind man. Does He find it in us?
There are people who have not yet received in the body their healing – like me! My strong encouragement is to not look at this passage as condemnation or as a rebuke that we don’t have enough faith, but to believe all the more! Don’t give up! Keep moving forward with God, reading His Word and standing on His promises. Don’t let the very scripture that is suppose to ignite you to believe and trust condemn you!
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