Daily Word – Page 19 – Daughters of Z

Ears to Hear

Good Morning,

In order to change the course of our lives we must change our thinking, by renewing our mind with God's Word. We know this, but doing it is the only hindrance we have. In the days that we are in it is imperative that we keep our minds on our Kingdom. God is coming for a bride without spot, wrinkle or blemish, so let's stay in the wash. "The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but he is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient is to hear and listen attentively; to heed or conform to a command or authority) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will vanish (pass away) with a thunderous crash, and the [material] elements [of the universe] elements [of the universe] will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up. Since all these things are thus in the process of being dissolved, what kind of person ought each of you to be [in the meanwhile] in consecrated and holy behavior and devout and godly qualities." (II Peter 3: 11-12) This holy behavior or conversation is our lifestyle yielded to the God's Word which reveals to us the character of God. Doing the Word is obeying which produces holiness. Romans 2:13; "For merely listening to the law doesn't make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in His sight." Remember it is the 'obedient doer' who is blessed. "But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [ who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience)." (James 1:25) Holiness is a life of faithfulness and perseverance. Step by step as we yield to God's Word we are conforming to His image in this world. We must grow up and cease to resist and be in contention against the Word. Otherwise years will pass by in the natural and we will remain spiritually immature, yielding our members to the fleshly minded nature. We must keep ourselves heavenly minded as we are ambassadors here on earth. "If then you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth. For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:1-3) 'Set your minds' comes from the thought, 'to exercise the mind', to entertain thoughts or opinions; to be mentally disposed more or less earnestly in a certain direction; to interest oneself and to reign in or curb the feelings and cognitive. In simple terms we have got to get a new mindset, it is our Father's. Mindset is a fixed state of mind or the direction in which your thoughts tend to go. We must train our mind to take us into the heavenlies, by the way we think. We are in the renewal process from one level of glory to another. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." (I John 3:2)

"Set your mind"

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear

Good Morning,

This year we must reposition ourselves to hear and see, the when and where of Holy Spirit. Everything that was allowed to happen in our lives last year, even some of those things that brought us disappointment, discouragement, failures and hurt, can be a turned around for our good. Psalms 119:67; "Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now your Word do I keep [hearing, receiving, loving and obeying it]." Verse 71 says, "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn your statues." Our Father specializes in turning around the things that were meant to destroy to build, sadness into dancing and sackcloth into gladness. (Isaiah 61:3-Psalms 30:11) We will stay in the place of purity if we allow the Word to work in those areas where we have built strongholds. Keep yourself stirred up by remembering how good God has been to you and He will continue to show His-self strong on your behalf. Stay revived!

Psalms 92:10-13; "But my horn (emblem of excessive strength and stately grace) You have exalted like that of a wild ox; I shall be anointed with fresh oil. My eye looks upon those who lie in wait for me; my ears hear the evildoers that rise up against me. The uncompromisingly righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible]. Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God." Fresh is to be green, verdant, (fresh new vegetation-or growth); invigorating, lively, not exhausted or fatigued; not known or experienced before. Oil is to shine; to make wax or fat (to satisfy in order to make fertile and grow; to increase in size; to pass from one state to another) Rich, wealthy and affluent. In order for this fresh oil to flow we must 'arise' in order to stay fresh. Arise means to get up, lift up, pitch and raise up, to perform and ordain, to rouse up, stand up, stir up, to strengthen and succeed. Isaiah 60:1-3; "Arise, [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you–rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you [O Jerusalem], and His glory shall be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising." When we choose to arise, then we will stay filled with fresh anointing. We will not be fatigued or exhausted, we will stay fresh and continue growing. Always invigorating and lively! We will be on the increase, as we pass from one state to another. As we stay fresh, we will begin to hear and see clearly. Get up and be sensitive to Holy Spirit and all that He is saying and doing. Meditate on this, and next week we will open our eyes to see the wondrous things in God and His Word.

Isaiah 60:1

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear

Good Morning,

"God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching, but has rejected God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you." (I Thess. 4:7-8) Holy Spirit leads and guide us into holiness. I like the end of this verse in the Amplified Bible, it says, "Therefore whoever disregards (sets aside and rejects this) disregards not man but God, Whose [very] Spirit [Whom] He gives to you is holy (chaste, pure). Holy Spirit is holy, pure and chaste, He will guide us into all things that are holy also. (John 14:26) We are changing how we think by renewing our mind, in order to live holy. "Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body and spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God." (II Corin. 7:1) We know that our thoughts are one of the strongest contaminate to our body and spirit. Mtt. 15:18-19; "But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what makes a man unclean and defiles (him). For out of the heart come evil thoughts (reasonings and disputings and designs) such as murder, adultery, sexual vice, theft, false witnessing, slander, and irreverent speech." "[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." (II Corin. 10:5) Evil thoughts defile us and make us unholy and affect our conducts and behavior. So we must have a clean and undefiled heart which is the seat of our thoughts, emotions and intellect. "Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure." Change your thoughts and you change your behavior, conduct and course of life. "But nothing is pure (undefiled) to those who are corrupt and unbelieving because their minds and consciences (their thought life) are corrupted. Such people claim they know God, but they deny Him by the way they live. (their conduct, behavior, manners and lifestyle) They are detestable, worthless for anything good. (Titus 1:15-16)

We are to be working towards changing our old behavior and conduct into God's holy character. Work means activity where one exerts strength or faculties, to do or perform. A sustained physical or mental effort valued as it overcomes obstacles and achieves an objection or result. We must overcome the obstacles of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life to achieve the result of holiness. Holiness is achieved by grace with our effort of self control as we renew our mind we strengthen ourselves to do the Word as our lifestyle. It is not perfection but commitment to the pursuit of holiness. We have grace (the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in life; God's ability over our inability). Holy Spirit comes alongside as our helper and assisting us to accomplish the task. Holiness should be reflecting in our every day lives. We have SUPER – natural help. There is nothing impossible for us who believe, let's stay committed to pursuing holiness.

"Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure."

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear

Good Morning,

Here in Virginia, we have had record breaking snowfall. It has snowed back to back for two weeks, snow measuring from twenty to twenty four inches each time. We've had a total of 54-58 inches of snow. I know that you are thinking, "why is she giving us a weather report?" Well, I'd like to share some facts about snow that is natural and they are applied to our lives, making it supernatural. You know that the natural things are a reflection of the spiritual, most of the time.

When it snows like this, all forms of transportation, air and ground, can become inhibited, or stopped. Snow can make roads much harder to travel and causing vehicles to become stuck. This kind of snow storm will affect all public utilities, electricity, phone lines, and gas supply can fail sometimes. We have seen buildings, churches, homes, all kind of structures collapse under the loaded weight of the snow. On the flip side of this, schools, federal government, and work can be officially closed. While that brings a smile to the majority of us, (especially the child in all of us) it doesn't stop there. Yes, it closes churches also. We have not had a Sunday service for two weeks. We will rejoice to be in the midst of the saints again!

Job 38:22 -"Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasuries of the hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?" Treasuries are the storehouse, the depository. God has reserved snow for the time of trouble, why? Let's read the next verse. "Behold you desire truth in the inner being" make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall [in reality] be whiter than snow." (Psalms 51:6-7)

Yes, snow washes, cleans and purifies the ground, air and the soil. So we to need the snow of the Spirit to come and stop all the busy activity (the transportation) of our lives in order to go down deeper into our inner most being and purge, purify and wash our hearts. Giving to us the much needed "quiet time" within our hearts. Troubled times, that causes all kinds of bacteria and disease of the heart, which will influence and alter our harvest time. "Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him; for he refreshes the life of his masters." (Proverbs 25:13) Our Father allows spiritual snow into our lives to refresh our lives and our souls. When there seems to be inactivity, know and believe that there is great work being done under the blanket of snow. Disease that would have tried to kill the product of our walk with God, is being covered with snow, to destroy its strength. "For as the rain and snow come down from heavens, and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall My word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return void [without producing any effect, useless] but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isa.55:10-11) God's Word is working in us to produce the desired fruit, it is under the covering of snow, but soon it will sprout forth and bud into the promise. Just like a thermal insulator, snow conserves the heat of the ground (our hearts, where the seed of the Word is sown) protecting the crop from subfreezing weather (troubled times). The 'spiritual snow' is breaking down man-made 'buildings' of our making, so that we may truly be the buildings of God. Closing down all of our "official religious thoughts" to replace them with truth in the inmost being. While we are 'being still' under the snow, we are changing in order to become the most effective that we will ever be. Let it snow, (with the Word)!

Psalm 51:7

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear

Good Morning,

Before salvation we were slaves to sin, we did whatever our lusts dictated. Now we must become 'sons who serve', servants to righteousness and holy living. Romans 6:18-23; "And having been set free from sin, you have become the servants of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in thought, purpose, and action). Conform means jointly formed; similar to (God); fashioned like unto (God); adapt, to bring into harmony or agreement, to comply and agree with (God's way and will). We must yield to the Word of God in order to do His will, for His ways are superior to ours. Is.55:8-9; "For My thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways, higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." Holiness is the divine exchange, changing our thoughts and ways, for Father God's thoughts and ways. It is accomplished by a daily renewal of our minds and yielding to the process of the Word working in us. "John 14:26 — "But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby) which is Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things…" Holy Spirit has come, among other things, to teach us the ways and thoughts of the Father. Teach means to instruct, help one to learn, show, guide us, to cause us to know how to do (action or attitude) of holiness. It is explained in this verse, "And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God (all of your members and faculties) because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person (a holy one) by changing the way you think. THEN YOU WILL LEARN TO KNOW GOD'S WILL FOR YOU, which is good and pleasing and perfect. The only way to know God's way and will is to change the way we think, by renewing our mind and Holy Spirit will use this to give us new customs and behaviors. The process of holiness is done by choosing to obey God's Word over the old nature and feelings.

I'd like to read a verse that tells us that holiness is not infectious. It is not something we catch like a 'cold.' We have to yield and do the Word of God in order to change our character. "Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask now the priests to decide this question of law: If one carries in the skirt of his garment flesh that is holy [because it has been offered in sacrifice to God], and with his skirt or the flaps of his garment he touches bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, does what he touches become holy [dedicated to God's service exclusively]? And the priests answered, No! [Holiness is not infectious.] Then said Haggai, If one who is [ceremonially] unclean because he has come in contact with a dead body should touch any of these articles of food, shall it be [ceremonially] unclean? And the priests answered, It shall be unclean. [Unholiness is infectious.] (Haggai 2:11-13) We can not be holy by hanging around other holy people, yet unholiness is something that can be caught by staying around unholiness. What we listen to, where we spend the majority of our time can have an effect upon us, but we must yield to God and His Word. We must build up an immune system to unholiness (because we spent our un-saved life in an unholy environment) by meditating and marinating in the Presence of God and His Word. Let us use our faith to become like our Father, holy in our behavior and our conduct. "As obedient children, do not conform yourselves to the evil desires [that governed you] in your former ignorance [when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel]. But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living. For it is written, You shall be holy, for I Am holy.

Romans 12:1,2

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear

Good Morning,

As we continue on the trail of "holiness', we must remember what it means to be obedient. Obedient means to perform or behave as directed, often without question or attempt at independent decision; to act or react in conformity with God's Word; to fit ones conduct to perform as directed. Now what if we just did what God commanded us to do in His Word, without questioning Him? What a wonderful world it would be! Yet, most of us do this, we attempt to get God to line up with our decided ways of doing things. Let's say we change our behavior and conduct. That is exactly what Romans 12:2 is saying, "…., but be transformed (CHANGED) by the entire renewal of your mind [by ITS NEW IDEALS & ITS NEW ATTITUDE], so that you may prove for yourselves, what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. Alrighty then, we must change our behavior! The beginning is renewing entirely how we think and act (remember God's ways or behavior is higher than ours). Behavior is our conduct; manner of living or conversation; the manner or ways in which a person conducts or acts or responds; to conduct oneself in a proper, correct or obedient manner. God's Word is our plumb line for the correct and proper way for us to live and conduct our day to day, people to people; circumstance to circumstance living.

We are now a new creation, a new breed of people, the God class. We are to imitate our Father in our conduct and develop a God-like character. Ephesians 5:1, says "Therefore be imitators of God [Copy Him and Follow His Example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]." That is pretty clear, we have His 'DNA', so we can imitate Him. He has given us the best instruction manual to follow. Let's skip down and read some more of the manual, (I promise you that we will come back and read the rest); Ephesians 5:8-9; "For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [LEAD THE LIVES OF THOSE NATIVE-BORN TO THE LIGHT]. For the fruit (the effect, the product) of the Light or the Spirit [consists] in every form of kindly goodness, uprightness of heart, and trueness of life." I know that we all have our struggles to overcome, but if only we could learn to truly stay in His presence. Our vision of who we really are would increase. We are to live our lives as natives, those familiar to the Light. This world should be alien to us, not the Kingdom of our Father. We are natives to being and doing right!!! It would be wise for us to practice this as we have practiced our old behavior patterns. Day after day, circumstance after circumstance, people after people, we practiced our old behaviors, until we were skilled in them. Quick-tempered, long-lasting bitterness and unforgiveness, excellent accountants of the wrongs done to us, liars, etc. etc. Now it is time to practice the walk of children of Light. "And try to learn [in your experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [LET YOUR LIVES BE CONSTANT PROOFS of what is most acceptable to Him]." (Ephes.5:10) God is calling His children to a higher walk, it is one of mature sons. In other words, grow up and begin to look like Daddy, in our behavior. "And having been set free from sin, you have become the servants of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in thought, purpose, and action)." Conform means to be jointly connected; similar to (God); fashioned like unto (God); adapt; to bring into harmony or agreement; to comply and agree with God's will. "I am speaking in familiar human terms because of your natural limitations. For as you yielded your bodily members and faculties as servants to impurity and ever increasing lawlessness, so now yield your bodily members and faculties, once for all as servants to righteousness (right being and doing) which leads to holiness." (Romans 6:18-19) Okay, my dear brothers and sisters, there is no way around this, we must yield to the working of Holy Spirit and let Him lead us to the 'change' in us, to holiness. Yield is to stand beside; to aid, to assist, to hand over or offer to; to give up possession of'; to relinquish or surrender control of. We have held onto the old behaviors and conducts to long, it is now time to surrender and relinquish control over to God and renew or change how we think, and become similar to our Father in our conduct. Let's hand over to Him all of those old defiled ways of acting and doing wrong, then Holy Spirit will assist and aid us, the servants of righteousness and lead us into holiness.

Ephesian 5: 8,9

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear

Good Morning,

We must be about Kingdom business, like never before. One of the things that Father God is serious about us not having is 'selective' hearing concerning His Word. Obedience is the requirement for holiness to be worked in us. As believer's we have had the luxury of picking and choosing our 'favorite' scriptures. Most of the time though, these 'favorite' Words have to do with us getting what we want. How about we give to God His wants. This is a covenant relationship, both parties are to give and receive. Right now our Father desires "holiness'. Remember the scripture that we read back in December on holiness, Hebrews 12:14 – "Strive to live in peace with everybody (hmm, that's a challenge) and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will ever see the Lord.' That is the Amplified Version of the Bible, how about another translation, something we can understand, alright. Here is the same verse in the NLT, "Work at living in peace with everyone and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord." It really doesn't matter which translation you read it from, the Word is telling us to live holy lives if we want to see the Lord, both here and in our eternal future. The definition of holiness is sacred, consecration, dedicated, hallowed, blameless, devoted to the service and worship of God. In case we will not look up the words like sacred, dedicated, hallowed and consecrated, here are words that we all comprehend. Holiness is to commit yourself with faithfulness and zeal to give up all that concerns self (money, talent, thoughts, effort, for the advancement of God. Profound respect and affection shown in service of God, (the church at large could 'selah' pause and calmly think on that). Truly, we sashay in God's presence particularly at church as if He isn't saying or doing anything worthy of our attention. I mean really if you had an appointment with your doctor at ten o'clock, and you came in at eleven, more than likely you would not get his attention. You know it is true, you would have to reschedule, and I bet you would get there on time that time. We seem to disrespect God in how we serve Him in more than being on time. We don't want to praise Him, because He did not do what we wanted the way we wanted. I will not go there today. Back to the definition, holiness is the practice of showing love, honor and admiration, and deference. Respect mingled with awe, excited by the sacredness of God. Obedience to Deity. (this definition was taken from the Noah Webster 1828 dictionary)

The Bible says that we are to pursue holiness. We saw that it means that we are to follow in order to overtake it, to accomplish it, to practice it. I Peter 1:13-16 says, "Therefore prepare your minds for action (we have to get our renewed mind in on this, because as a man thinks so is he), :keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace (God's ability upon our inability; in other words we have supernatural help to do this) to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children (holiness) do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, (before you were saved), but like the HOLY ONE who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior, because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I AM holy." Obedient means to hear and do; by compliance or submission; coming under the control or command of (God's) authority; to perform or behave as directed, often without question or attempt at independent decision; (that is what most parents expect from their children; because we love them) to act or react in conformity with (God's Word); to fit ones conduct to perform as directed. The key to holiness is willingness to obey. We are to be holy by obeying God in our behavior (our conduct; manner of living or conversation; the manner or ways in which a person conducts themselves; to conduct oneself in a correct, obedient or proper manner.

Let us meditate on this. Hear and obey equals our holiness. Doers of the Word are blessed.

1 Peter 1:16

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear

Today we will continue to discuss, ‘holiness’. We will discover in order to pursue the holiness that God’s Word requires there has to be adapting, adjustments and alignments.

Good Morning,

Today we will continue to discuss, 'holiness'. We will discover in order to pursue the holiness that God's Word requires there has to be adapting, adjustments and alignments. Adapt which means to make suitable or to fit for a particular use, purpose or situation, by means of changes or modifications; to adjust oneself to to particular conditions or ways; to acclimate or bring oneself into harmony with the new environment. God has always commanded us through His word to adapt our thoughts and thereby acclimate our lives to the way that the Kingdom of God operates. "Do not be conformed to this world (age), fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs, but be transformed (changed) by the entire renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]."(Romans 12:2)

We should continually yield to the Word, allowing it to work in us that perfect will of God. As we yield daily to the Word of God in our day to day lives, the process of adapting is taking place. This year 2010, God is intensifying the levels of our adapting. Every bit of testing, trial, or tribulation that you encountered last year is the springboard that has sped up your adapting. Because you did not quit, or give up on your God or His promises, you will experience a faster pace of being able to adapt to the Word of God.

Adjustment brings us to a more satisfactory state; to bring to a true or effective position; to reposition for improving performance; to come into conformity or adapt to achieve an harmonious and behavioral balance; to change the position for a better fit or appearance. The Father's plan and purpose is for each one of His children to be the best you, that you, were meant to be. Some of us have been in the wrong positions, whether in ministry, family, occupations, even some in our gifts, talents and personality. As we adapt to His Word we will begin to see things in our lives reposition so that we can give or be in the highest performance of our lives. We will begin to see a brand new person on the scene. It will be the one that we were made and born to be. All adjustments will make us more effective in every area of living in the Kingdom of God. The Master Potter is making adjustments to achieve the perfect balance. "Then I went to the potter's house, and behold He was working at the wheel. And the vessel He was making from the clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so He made it over, reworking it into another vessel as it seemed good to the potter to make it." (Jeremiah 18:3-4) "But now, O Lord You are our Father and we are the clay, and You are the Potter and we are all the work of Your hand." (Isaiah 64:8)

Finally, alignment means to make proper adjustments in order to obtain optimum performance; to bring into line those things that are crooked or out of line; having all parts in proper relative position. In this year the Body of Christ will mature us to the place that we come into alignment with one another in order to do the great work of the ministry of God. This will be the year that the world will look with eyes of jealousy to the Church, as she become the prepared and mature Bride of Christ. "Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I Am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ). [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight." (Phil.2:12-13) In our holiness we will reflect the image of our God in every facet of His character. We will be consecrated for God's purpose as we shrink away from any and all that would offend God, and this year you will be more adapted, more adjusted and more aligned than all of the years before. It is our time to arise and shine!

Isaiah 64:8

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear

Good Morning,

The year 2010 will hold for us plenty of adventures of faith. The Lord has been speaking to me about delighting myself in Him. Too often we are waiting on that "something' or that 'someone' to give us delight, our delight should always be based upon our relationship with God. Then our lives would become more stable and fixed, because all of the other things are temporal and fleeting. Then and only then we would enjoy every moment of our lives, based on our delight in God and not in the ever changing 'things'. Delight means a high degree of pleasure or satisfaction. Delight is a more permanent pleasure than joy and not dependent on sudden excitement. This delight comes with its own reward. Psalms 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you your heart's desire." Now I am advocating that we just take pleasure in God because He is good, even when we are not aware of His goodness to us. To just 'do' the Word of God since it is our part of the covenant. We must keep pursuing the works of righteousness, until our heart's desire is His Word, first and upper most in our lives. "I take delight (a high degree of pleasure and satisfaction) in doing your will, my God for your instructions are written on my heart." (Psalms 40:8) Our focus this year should be in taking pleasure and satisfaction in doing the Word even when others are not. Isaiah wrote these verses after telling about all of the blessings and benefits that would come to those who are planted like great oaks in the Lord. Are you one of those great oaks, one that is rooted and grounded in His Word and not easily moved by circumstances whether conditions are favorable or not? "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments and as a bride adorns herself with jewels." (Is. 61:10) Notice the small word will – to make a choice, willingness, intention and consent; it expresses simple desire; used to express frequent or habitual action or tendencies. Greatly rejoice means to the highest degree and intensity; magnanimously, be glad in and take great delight in and pleasurable satisfaction. With preceding promises such as; double share of honor; ancient ruins being rebuilt; foreigners being your servants; feeding on treasures of nations; and possessing a double portion of prosperity; Isaiah's great delight is in the Lord, not in the 'things' that the Lord provides. This year as we delight in the Lord He will in turn give us the desires of our heart. So let's take great pleasure and receive the highest degree of satisfaction in the Lord. Let's make an habitual action and frequent tendencies to do the will of the Lord.

Psalm 37:4

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear

Good Morning,

We will continue to discuss holiness of the heart, which is simple obedience. We saw that King David
had a repentant heart, when his sin was revealed by the Prophet Nathan.
There was even serious consequences of his sin, even after he had
repented. When we sow seeds, there is an expected harvest, whether good
or bad. God is not mocked whatever seeds we sow that and that alone
will bring our harvest. (Gal.6:7) The scripture goes on to tell us; "For
he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the
flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the
Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." "But let every person carefully scrutinize and examine and test his own conduct and his own work. " (Gal.6:8 and verse 4)

Now, let's look at the heart of another king and how he responded when the sin of his heart was revealed. Remember a simple definition for holiness is obedience to God and His Word with a yielded heart of humility. We
will pick up the account after Samuel the prophet told Saul the king,
to wait until he came to meet with the king and offer the sacrifices of
The Lord for the armies of Israel. You can read I Samuel 13:1-14. "
Saul waited seven days, according to the set time Samuel had appointed.
But Samuel had not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from
Saul. So Saul said, Bring me the burnt offering
and the peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering [which he
was forbidden to do]. And just as he finished offering the burnt
offering,
behold, Samuel came! Saul went out to meet and greet him. Samuel said,
What have you done? Saul said, Because I saw that the people were
scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days
appointed, and that the Philistines assembled at Michmash…. So I forced myself to offer a burnt offering." (that is usually how we say that we ended up in sins, shortcomings, faults etc.) "And
Samuel said to Saul, You have done foolishly! You have not kept the
commandment of the Lord your God which He commanded you; for the Lord
would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your
kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out [David] a man after
His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince and ruler
over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded." We
must obey God in the simple things, that is the testing and proving
ground for the one who will obey. We can not go around picking and
choosing what we'd like to do and nullifying the rest of God's Word, because it is difficult on our flesh.

Now let's see if there was a heart change in king Saul.
Samuel gives Saul a Word from the Lord, that he was to utterly destroy
all of the Amalekites, men, women, infants , ox, sheep, camels and
donkeys. We know that Saul took the king of the Amalekites alive, and
he kept the best of the sheep, ox, camels, all that was good, Saul
kept. Listen to the voice of the Lord; "Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, I regret making Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not performed My commands. And Samuel was grieved and angry [with Saul] and he cried all night." (I Samuel 15:10-11). Samuel
went to meet Saul and of course he heard and saw Saul's disobedience to
the Lord. Saul, blamed his sin and disobedience on everybody else.
Samuel reminded Saul that when he was small in his own eyes, God made
him ruler over Israel. He told him again of the assignment that the
Lord sent him on, to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Yet, Saul
consistently said that he did obey God. (I Samuel 15:18-20) "And Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." Listen, to the very next words, get it in your heart! "For rebellion (disobedience to God's Word) is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness (insisting on your way, becoming hardhearted to God) is
as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the
Lord, He has also rejected you from being king. And Saul said to
Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the
Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their
voice. Now, I pray you pardon my sin and go back with me that I may
worship the Lord.(verse 23-24) Do
you notice the difference of the heart of Saul compared to the heart of
David? Saul hasn't yet repented of his sin. He wants to look right in
the eyes of his people. The words that he is saying are not coming from
a broken and contrite heart,(the one that God will not despise). They
are coming from a prideful and arrogant heart, that needs to be noticed
as one that is respected. Why do you say that Pastor D? Let's look at
Saul's heart. "And as Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of Samuel's mantle and it tore. And Samuel said to him, The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it
to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. (David) And also the Strength of Israel will not lie or repent; for He is not man that He should repent. Saul said I have sinned, yet honor me now, I pray you. Before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.' (verses 27-30)

Saul did reap his harvest, for not repenting. He
lost the kingdom and also lost his mind and the respect of the people
that he was trying to impress. Obeying God is better than any sacrifice
that you think is more worthy than yielding to His Word. When we sow to
the flesh we reap a harvest of death and decay. Remember, "If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. But
if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the
mouth of the Lord has spoken it." (Isaiah 1:19-20) It is the heart that consents, or is willing to obey that ends up obeying. Will to obey and you will obey!

Love,

Pastor D.