LAY HOLD “And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?” (Joshua 18:3). The finished works of Christ are available to you now. Lay hold of what belongs to you and possess it! “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). Faith is the access key to the grace of God and all of its benefits. Believe God’s Word in spite of what your five senses perceive. “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18:14). With God nothing is impossible. He turns even the most impossible situations into possibilities and tangible realities. “And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would” (John 6:11). Thanksgiving and gratefulness are keys to releasing more of God’s miraculous power in your life. Thank Him for all that He has done, is doing, and will continue to do. Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips” (Proverbs 22:17, 18). When you devote yourself to discovering the truth found in God’s Word, the results will be a successful life. “Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go” (Isaiah 48:17). God will lead you into a place of abundance and prosperity. Acknowledge Him as the one who empowers you to prosper. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah” (Psalm 68:19). God bestows benefits and blessings upon us every day. Believe you receive them by faith! “I entrust my spirit into your hand. Rescue me, LORD, for you are a faithful God.” (Psalm 31:5). God is faithful. You can trust Him for your protection and deliverance. “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers” (1 Peter 3:12). When you are in right standing with God, you have a right to get your prayers answered. Come to God with your requests that are in line with His Word, in the name of Jesus, and He is faithful to grant them. “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets” (Romans 3:21). Righteousness is right-standing with God. It is a free gift that is received by faith. SEE YOUR GIANTS AS BREAD …do not…fear the people [giants] of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them. - Numbers 14:9 The 12 men whom Moses sent out to spy on the promised land all saw the same thing. They all saw the same big houses, the same huge grapes and yes, the same giants standing in their way! But unlike the others, Joshua and Caleb saw the giants as bread. The rest saw the giants as insurmountable, impossible obstacles. As a result, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones of their generation to enter the promised land. When you see a “giant” today in your business, health or ministry, I challenge you to see it as bread that will only make you stronger. Don’t run away in fear, but face your giant head-on—knowing that you are armed with the Lord’s unmerited favor and the powerful promises of your faithful God! Beloved, meditate on today’s verse. Let God’s Word drive out all timidity and give you the same spirit of faith that Joshua and Caleb had. Let it change the way you see yourself—not as a tiny grasshopper, but a giant-killer—and step into your promised land! FACTS CHANGE BUT GOD’S WORD REMAINS : JOHN 8:32 - “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Consider the cold, hard facts that these three people faced: The aunt of a lady in our church saw her X-ray which showed that one of her two kidneys was cancerous. A couple in our church read their medical reports which said that they would never be able to produce a child. A lady in our church who acted as a guarantor ended up being asked by the finance company to pay it S$34 million. When such situations hit us and we allow the facts to settle in our hearts, we end up feeling greatly troubled. But when we let the truths of God’s Word settle them all, we will sense the Holy Spirit bearing witness to the truths that we are believing. He is the Spirit of truth. (John 16:13) He is not the Spirit of facts and does not bear witness to facts. It may be a fact that you are sick. The doctors say that you are sick. The X-ray film shows that you are sick. But God’s Word says that by Jesus’ stripes you are healed! (Isaiah 53:5) That is the truth about your situation. What is the difference between fact and truth? Facts change, but truth —God’s Word—remains! When God’s people choose to defy the facts and walk instead in His truths regarding their situations, the Holy Spirit in them will bear witness to the truths that they are believing. The lady with the cancerous kidney underwent an operation to remove the organ. But praise God, she received supernatural restoration as later X-rays showed two healthy kidneys instead of one! God had formed a new kidney for her! The childless couple received their miracle bundle of joy after seven years. Today, they are proud parents of not one, but four children! The church member with the S$34 million debt told the finance company that it was not being fair to her and that God would protect her. The company’s management miraculously decided to cancel her debt! The next time you are hit by disturbing facts, let God’s Word settle the truth about your situation. And as the Holy Spirit bears witness to the truths that you are believing, the facts will change and you will receive your miracle! OUR DAILY BREAD -- THE DISCIPLINE OF WAITING I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. —Psalm 40:1 Waiting is hard. We wait in grocery lines, in traffic, in the doctor’s office. We twiddle our thumbs, stifle our yawns, and fret inwardly in frustration. On another level, we wait for a letter that doesn’t come, for a prodigal child to return, or for a spouse to change. We wait for a child we can hold in our arms. We wait for our heart’s desire. In Psalm 40, David says, “I waited patiently for the Lord.” The original language here suggests that David “waited and waited and waited” for God to answer his prayer. Yet as he looks back at this time of delay, he praises God. As a result, David says, God “put a new song . . . a hymn of praise” in his heart (40:3 niv). “What a chapter can be written of God’s delays!” said F. B. Meyer. “It is the mystery of educating human spirits to the finest temper of which they are capable.” Through the discipline of waiting, we can develop the quieter virtues—submission, humility, patience, joyful endurance, persistence in well-doing—virtues that take the longest to learn. What do we do when God seems to withhold our heart’s desire? He is able to help us to love and trust Him enough to accept the delay with joy and to see it as an opportunity to develop these virtues—and to praise Him. —David Roper Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay; Mold me and make me after Thy will, While I am waiting, yielded and still. Waiting for God is never a waste of time. GET GOD’S WORD FOR IT : …He [Jesus] answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” - Matthew 4:4 When the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus turned the Word of God on him, saying, “It is written… It is written… It is written…” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) Likewise, should the devil remind you of the pain in your body, say what God’s Word says: “It is written, ‘By His stripes I am healed!’” (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24) And tell Daddy God, “I have Your Word for it and I am standing on Your Word. I am not trying to be healed. My healing has already happened. I don’t care what this body says. It has to line up with Your Word because by Jesus’ stripes I am healed!” And if the devil says to you, “Look at the meager balance in your bank account. How are you going to pay your bills?” just say, “I am not trying to be rich. I am already rich and I have God’s Word for it. It is written, ‘My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4:19) It doesn’t matter how much I have in the bank. God’s Word tells me that as the need arises, the supply will be there!” When fear grips you, don’t say to yourself, “This fear is stupid. Come on, what are the chances of it happening to me?” Don’t try to rationalize or reason your fear away. Instead, speak God’s Word into the situation. Say, “It is written, ‘For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’” (2 Timothy 1:7) What if the fear returns? Speak God’s Word again. Say, “It is written, ‘For God has not given me a spirit of fear…’” When the devil tries to deceive you, give him the Word of God. There is something about the Word of God that causes him not to want to hang around those who use it. It reminds him of Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), who rendered him powerless and of no effect when He said, “It is written…” Thought For The Day : Turn the Word of God on the devil when he comes to tempt you. You will render him of no effect! THE WEAPON OF THE WORD : Luke 4:4, And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Jesus answered every temptation with, It is written. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). It is the only offensive spiritual weapon that we have. Since Jesus was the Word of God (Jn. 1:1), anything he would have spoken would have been the Word. He could have said scat and the devil would have had to go, yet He quoted the written Word of God three times. This gives us great assurance that the written Word of God is sufficient for us. Jesus, in the face of the greatest temptations that Satan had to offer, did not need to say anything that was not already recorded in scripture. It is likely that when Jesus returns to this earth and destroys His enemies, He will just speak the Word that has already been given in scripture. No wonder Satan tries to keep us from studying and knowing Gods Word. Even our good works will hurt us if they keep us from really knowing the scriptures. God has given us this mighty weapon of His Word! When we speak the Word in faith, hell shakes. Satan and his minions have already experienced what the Word can do. They know its power. We need to know it, too.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 09:44:48 +0000
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