Daily Word – Page 6 – Daughters of Z

Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

Good morning,

When we become complacent or
lazy we fail to grow. Someone said that a good acronym for G. O. D. is
Grow Or Die. And we all know that we must be consistent on our journey
of faith or we will die spiritually, and be found hanging on the vine
instead of abiding. Most of us have found ourselves in a spiritual rut
when we are not running toward the God-goal, regardless of all of the
things that are thrown at us. David found himself in a spiritual slump
and it led to sin in his life. He wasn't as sharp as he needed to be nor
as passionate as he once was for God, which caused him to follow the
course of his flesh and an unrenewed mind. Psalm 51:1-9; "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.Against you, you only, have I sinnedand done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.Let me hear joy and gladness;let the bones you have
crushed rejoice.Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity." David's
lapse in being passionate about God led him to commit adultery with
Bathsheba and murder her husband. I like this whole account, because we
read where God said that David was a man after His own heart, who will
fulfill My will. (Acts 13:22) It
surely wasn't the adultery and the murder that made David a man after
God's own heart. We know that God knows all things, so it was no
surprise to see what was in David's heart. We can see that David
remained humble at all times, which shows that David was easy to repent
and remained teachable. He didn't harden his heart when Nathan the
prophet came and let him know that God knew his sin and that there
would be consequences for his choices. His heart was always pliable to
god and His Word. That is why he said, "You are right in your verdict and justified when You judge." Most of us would be mad at God for passing any verdict on us even when
we know we have done wrong. Remember what God said about the humble man;
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10) " …That
is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty, but
gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough to
receive it)." (James 4:6) David was humble enough to receive God's grace at all times.

Once David repented, he was back chasing after God. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. (Ps. 51:10-11) Right means to be firm, stable, to be established; to be securely determined; to be steadfast and settled. David
knew that he needed to be stable and determined in his pursuit of more
of God, he didn't want to go back to the place of sin. We don't have to
drift so far off and away into the sin of adultery or murder, but when
we are no longer on fire for God as we were when we first accepted Him
as our Lord and Savior, or when we are not keeping His Word making it
first place in our lives, then we have committed sins too. You know,
a little leaven leavens the whole lump, we must keep our relationship with God pure. Let's read more; "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then I will teach transgressors thy
ways; and sinners shall be converted to thee." (Ps. 51:12-13) Restore
is to return; to turn back; to come back; to refresh; to repair; to
give back something that was lost or stolen; to renew. David asked for restoration of his love walk with God. Joy
of salvation; joy is gladness; exultation rejoicing; pleasurable
feelings caused by well-being, success, or good fortune; to delight in
our salvation [which is our deliverance,
rescue, our safety, our welfare, our victory, our prosperity]. In order to restore the joy of our salvation we must do the works that we did at the first, before we got to a spiritual lull. "But
I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left
(abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your
first love]. Remember then from what heights you have fallen. Repent [change the inner man to meet God's will] and do the works you did
previously (when first you knew the Lord) or else I will visit you and
remove your lampstand from its place, unless you change your mind and
repent." (Rev. 2:4-5) So, let's remember and recall to our mind and keep growing in our joy of our salvation! Let's do it again.

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

Good morning,

This is a message that I will be ministering on from time to
time. For since we are in the last days, and evil and the darkness that
is covering the earth, these spirits are the ones that cause the love of
many to grow cold. We have to recognize and take our rights and
stand. We will continue where we left off discussing on our authority as
believers. We ended talking about the Ephesians 6:10-12; Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places. Principalities means
the first; the preeminent one, a position of authority of a chief ruler (the prince demon) the first one in a series. Powers is the leading and
more powerful among spiritual potentates; power over physical and mental
choices or permissions) tries to influence choice. Rulers of darkness
of this world is the spirit of the prince of this age of demons [they
rule of the age or time by and with ignorance respecting divine things
and accompanied with immorality and ungodliness during a specific
time period. Spiritual wickedness in high places are demon spirits that
rule by depravity, iniquity, wickedness, malice, evil purposes and evil
desires that exist in the lower heavenly regions to affect larger
scopes. We come against these spirits by "being strong in the Lord" and by His grace, [the ability of God upon
our inability]. Remember we saw last
week that Holy Spirit is the power to meet every evil tendencies and
authorities.

So what is authority? "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19) The first one; power is exousia
which means the ability or strength with which one is endued; which one
either possess or exercises the power of influence and of right
(privilege); the power of rule or government (the power of him whose
will and commands must be submitted to by others. This
is the kind of power we recognize in a police officer when he steps out
in the middle of traffic and sticks his hand out and all cars and
trucks come to a halt. Surely his physical frame could not stop any one
of those cars, but it is his authority to do so, given by the
government that is recognized and obeyed. The second word for power is dunamis, which is strength, power, ability; inherent power that resides in a thing (demons in this case) by virtue of its nature. We
have authority given to us that is recognized by all spiritual beings. These principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and
spiritual wickedness in high places must obey the authority because it
has been delegated by God, the highest authority. So, authority
is delegated power. It's might, ability, or force is designated to one,
to act or represent (God). Its value depends on the force behind the
user and its government. It is the right to control, command, or
determine and settle issues. The believer
who is fully conscious of the divine Power or
Government behind him and of his right to this authority, can face the
enemy without hesitation or fear, concerning any area that concerns
their life.

In closing this authority has been given to every believer who believes and receives. Listen and meditate on this: Ephesians 1:19-20;
"I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s
power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised
Christ from the dead and seated Him at the place of honor at God's
right hand in the heavenly realms." The
power that raised Christ from the dead is the inherent power that is now
in us by Holy Spirit living in and through us. This is God's great
immeasurable, unlimited, and surpassing power, which we have been
given. This is the "authority power" [exousia-dunamis], that the enemy must recognize and obey!

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

Good morning,

I would like to talk a little bit about the question asked in Luke 18:8; " …Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? This is not talking about coming and finding those
who believe in Him, but those who believe His Word, for they are one. The Lord has been saying to me, to believe again. To believe that His
Word is true, which challenges us to delve deeper into the Word of God. I would like to take up with where I have been studying about the
authority that we have as believers that believe the Word. Before I
start there I would like to share what our church has been practicing,
it is a challenge as well. "What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy
lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it." (Psa. 34:12-14) As
we walk in our authority, we must do these four things, for we all
desire the life of God and we all want to have many good days, right?
Well then we have to avoid saying anything "hurtful", never let a lie come out of our mouth, stop doing evil and do good. Finally we must seek peace and crave it!!

Everyone of us is in a spiritual war whether we like it or
not. God is always trying to influence us toward the Kingdom of
righteousness and to live for Him consistently. While the devil and his
co-horts are trying to control and manipulate us into living lives that steal, kill, and destroy us in a variety of ways. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) Resist
is a military term, it means to stand against or stand in opposition
to. It demonstrates the attitude of one who is fiercely opposed to
something and therefore does everything within his power to defy its
operation. It is important to note that our
submitting to God and resisting the devil involves us receiving God's
grace in our lives. Let's read verse 6; "But He gives us more and more grace (power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and haughty,
but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble enough
to receive it)." (James 4:6) Grace, God's
ability over and upon our inability, we have help to live in this
authority from God. Is God sufficient for us? Look; "A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, [not against your boss, neighbors, family members, or against your family in Christ] but against the evil rulers [principalities] and authorities of the unseen world [powers], against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world [rulers of darkness], and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms[ spiritual wickedness]. Use
every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so
that after the battle you will still be standing firm." (Ephes.
6:10-13) Before
we go any further, meditate on that and let it soak in, until you
really believe that God desires to live through us. His mighty power
seen through us! That is worth pausing and thinking on. This is God's
grace, His gigantic and enormous ability being
demonstrated through earthen bodies. It is the only way that we can
stand firm against the strategies and the tricks of the enemy. Our
authority comes from us fully recognizing that it is God all the while
working through us and energizing us. "…. not by [our] might, nor by [our] power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of Hosts." (Zech. 4:6) Next time we will look at the principalities, powers, the rulers of darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, those who we have authority over, and take back our God-given rights! This is spiritual warfare that we are equipped to win.

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

Good morning,

"Come now, you who
say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a
year there and carry on our business and make money. Yet you do not know
[the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of
your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a
mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin
air]. You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live
and we shall do this or that [thing]." (James 4:13-15) We
should be so thankful for the day that we have to live and show the
glory of God and be about our Father's business! Statistics say that
there is one death every 14 seconds, 107 deaths per minute,
6,390 per hour, 153,000 per day, and 56 million per year. At the same
token there is one birth every second, 7.9 births per minute, 10,000
births per day and
4,131,019 births per year. So, while we are here let's not be afraid to
effect our world for the Kingdom of God. So that when we are through
here we may hear, "Well done thou good and faithful servant." Let us
remember to embrace transition for it will take us to the next level of
glory and faith. Embrace means to take or
clasp in the arms, press to yourself, to take up gladly or eagerly, to
accept willingly, to receive and undertake. Transition is a passage from
one mode, condition, or state to another a brief modulation, a sudden
unprepared mode or slow methodical change over a period of time. In order to embrace transition we cannot be afraid of the unknown. "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid"; and then again "In God I will put my trust, I will not be
afraid, what man can do to me." (Ps. 27:1; Ps. 56:11) Afraid
is to be filled with fear and alarm; filled with concern, regret, or
sorrow over a situation that is or seems to be inescapable. God will keep us as we live each day for Him. “When
I said, My foot is slipping, Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord,
held me up. In the multitude of my [anxious] thoughts within me, Your
comforts cheer and delight my soul!” (Psalm 94:18-19) "For
You have delivered my life from death, yes, and my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God in the light of life and of the living." (Psalm
56:13)

So enjoy the day to the fullest that God
has given to you and whatever mis-steps are taken God is the Restorer
and our Redeemer. "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Ps. 118:24) Rejoice
and be glad means to be joyful and have a cheerful countenance it
denotes a more lasting or more certain happiness; a demonstrative
happiness and lightheartedness. We all know
that we are going to have troubles and that there will be times of
sorrow and troubles. We know how to deal with those issues, with the
Word, and then we go through those issues, not live in sorrow, anger,
troubles, etc.. Let's place our focus and attention on the day that we
are in. Let's read the next verses from back to front and get a better
understanding; Matthew 6:34; "So
don't worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough troubles of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries. [verse 33] What you should want most
is God's Kingdom and doing what He wants you to do. Then He will give
you all these other things you need." (ERV) Embracing everyday is a part of embracing our transition, pressing past all obstacles and keeping our minds stayed on the Word. Finally we must, "look
carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and
accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible,
intelligent people), Making the very most of the time [buying up each
opportunity], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and
thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the
will of the Lord is." (Ephes. 5:15-17) Vague is not clearly defined, grasped, or understood,
indistinct, lacking expression, vacant, not clearly thought out. That
should never be a day that we live, one that is vacant, lacking
expression, or not clearly thought out. We will spend every day living
for the Kingdom. "If we obey and serve Him, we shall spend our days in prosperity and our years in pleasantness and joy." (Job 36:11)

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

Good morning,

"After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king: And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them: And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter." (Esther 2:1-7) Hadassah means myrtle; an evergreen shrub or small tree (Flowering and contains round berry fruit) the leaf has or fragrant essential oil. Remember we are God's garden. We are to be "evergreen" in God's preparation and destiny. Psalm 1:1-3; "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." This is just what Hadassah did and represents a tree bringing forth fruit in its season. Esther means a star, also fortune and felicity [ prosper]. Just like Esther, God is preparing us for greater things than we can ever see. We are stars in Him too. Everyone of us have been "brought to the Kingdom for such a time as this."

Continuing to read Esther 2 verses 12-17: "Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;) Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house. In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name. Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti." Favor means to be well-liked, acceptance, good-will shown toward another approval of one; leniency given and indulgence allowed. Grace is to delight and bring pleasure to; to adorn and dignify by an act of favor; to be generous to; a free gift given by one in authority; disposed to kindness. We have been given the same grace and favor as Esther. It surrounds you as you walk in your destiny and purpose. "For the Lord will bless the righteous, with favor will You compass him as with a shield." ( Ps. 5:12) "For the Lord God is a sun and a shield the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." (Ps. 84;11) God planted Hadassah in the Godly house of Mordecai in preparation for the palace. Her steps were divinely ordered, just as yours are, they are not happenstance. We delight God just as Esther did, when we walk in line with His Word. You and I have been sent to the Kingdom for this time that we are in now, and God has selected us to represent Him now! "The steps of a good man are ordered (your steps are directed and established) by the Lord when He (God) delights in his way (God busies Himself with his every step)." (Ps. 37:23) Our God is all up in our affairs and we can count on His readiness to provide, for He has planned for us! All we need to do is to learn to wait on Him and follow, for He knows the way.

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

Good morning,

One of the Daughters of Z sent me this past blog post. She said that she was pondering or calmly thinking on this. I read it and felt led to re-post this portion. I believe that we need to be reminded that our Father is always up to something "good" on our behalf! What we see is an attempt of the enemy to throw us off track, to get us looking and focusing our attention on things, things that will eventually be turned for our good and our growing. We are God's children after all, and parents want their children to succeed. Our Father's plan is as big as He is.

November 15, 2011

Ears to Hear

Good morning,

Today I would like to share a continued dream that I had three days in a row. Three signifying the perfectly divine and heavenly number. Being representative of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit among many other things. In my dream I was looking out of a window and saw eight deer standing on a mountain in the snow. The first thing I noticed was that there were two stag deer with powerful antlers, three doe or female deer, and three fawn. The next night it was the same dream, but this time there were twelve trees that were burdened under the weight of snow but they did not break. The third night it was the same dream but this time there was a wind that begins to stir, but all of the deer remained standing immovable in spite of the wind. I needed the interpretation for the dream and this is what I received. Eight is from the root word to make fat; to super-abound, making it the super abundant number. The eight deer represent the super abundance for us in the year ahead. The number seven represents the seven days of creation, the seventh day then being the day of completion and rest, Eight coming after the seventh day was over and above this perfect completion and was indeed the first of a new series. Making eight the number specially associated with "resurrection" and "regeneration" and the beginning of a new era. Here are some scriptures that line up with the number eight being resurrection and starting a new era. 2 Peter 2:5; "And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly". 1 Peter 3:20 "[The souls of those] who long before in the days of Noah had been disobedient, when God's patience waited during the building of the ark in which a few [people], actually eight in number, were saved through water". Also we will see that circumcision was to be performed on the eighth day, because it was the foreshadowing of the true circumcision of the heart. This of course is connected with us being a new creation, or being born again. Genesis 17:12 "He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male throughout your generations, whether born in [your] house or bought with [your] money from any foreigner not of your offspring". Colossians 2:11 "In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but in a [spiritual] circumcision [performed by] Christ by stripping off the body of the flesh (the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts)". So here we understand that eight has the significance of beginning anew, regeneration and resurrection. There are approximately eight known resurrections recorded in the Bible, besides our Lord and the end-time saints. Three in the Old Testament (1 Kings 17:17-25; 2 Kings 4:32-37; 2 Kings 13:20-21), three in the New Testament that corresponds to the three in the old (Luke 7:11-18; Mark 5:35; John 11) and then there is one in Acts 9:36-41; and another in Acts 20:9-12. I will close with the definition of two words, and next time, we will talk about the twelve trees which also have significance since we are coming up to our calendar year of 2012. The words regeneration and resurrection, which is what the eight deer represented in my dream, which is also what we will experience afresh and anew in 2012 Regeneration means to be restored to a better, higher, or more worthy state. To redeem from error or decay. To reestablish on a new and better basis; to make a radical change for the better; to reform completely. Resurrection which means the act of rising from the dead; a rising again as from decay, disuse; a revival; restoration to use; an awakening to care [for what God is concerned with]. Great things are about to come to pass for all who have put their trust in God. It will be magnified in comparison to those who have not trusted and known God! Praise our God forever more!

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

Good morning,

God has been preparing us for something greater than we can perceive. "Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over andabove all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]" (Ephes. 3:20) Now we all have to know that our enemy is aware of the love and favor that God has toward us, and that being an enemy that he is not going to stand by on the sidelines while we waltz into our promise-land. No, he will fight us all the way throwing as many obstacles, bombs, and attacks on our lives as he can. I have been talking to many Christians that have been under attack, it has been upon their person, as well as to their faith. Many have been saying that it has been like waves, one problem after the other. Sounds like warfare to me, how about you? That's the job of the enemy, to try to kill, steal, and destroy. The Word of God has always led us by warning, directing, correccting, and instructing us concerning the times. We are to be like the tribe of Issachar that was anointed to know the times and the seasons. We should know that this is what it is suppose to look like right before the return of our Lord and Savior. We should not be taken aback or caught off guard by what we are seeing or hearing. "Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you. But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory [full of radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph [exultantly]". Test means trial, proving; the trial of man's fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy; it also means adversity, affliction, and trouble allowed by God and serving to test or prove ones character, faith,and holiness. Quality means a peculiar and essential character or nature; a distinctive feature; a special or distinguishing attribute, stature, and caliber. Everything that we are going through is to see that our character measures up to God's, after all we are to imitate our Father. He is bringing us up all the time, to the place where we reign as kings in the Kingdom. We are to live our lives with a distinction and greater caliber than those who do not know God. The adverse circumstances are allowed to prove our carat and our caliber. So that we stand and not compromise our faith because of our feelings, or those of others, or because of afflictions, troubles, or adversities. Sufferings meansmisfortune, calamity, evil, affliction, enduring and ongoing; also the afflictions which Christians must undergo in behalf of the same cause which Christ patiently endured. Just like the devil tried to use the Word to attack Christ after His fasting for forty days, He does the same with us. He turns our faith, our belief, our Church, and uses them against us with a little Word mixed with a whole lot of lies and deception. It is after all the spirit of the antichrist that we are dealing with.

Remember the warning that we have and keep our eyes open and our spirit sensitive by washing ourselves with the Word. Hear Holy Spirit. "I know your record and what you are doing, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your recent works are more numerous and greater than your first ones. But I have this against you: that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess [claiming to be inspired], and who is teaching and leading astray my servants and beguiling them into practicing sexual vice and eating food sacrificed to idols." (Rev. 2:19-20) Jezebel references is in 2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 9:22, 30. This is a spirit that beguiles the people of God into complacency, confusion, and spiritual laziness. This spirit leads astray with teachings that lull Christians into serving idol gods, or gods of their own mind and making. We must stay alert, arise to the season that we are in and run with patient endurance. Listen: "Andwill not [our just] God defend and protect and avenge His elect (His chosen ones), who cry to Him day and night? Will He defer them and delay help on their behalf? I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [persistence in] faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:7-8) God will defend, protect, and avenge those who are persistent in their faith, we can not and must not be averted by the distraction, obstacles, sufferings, and testings. We are kings of the Kingdom and victory belongs to us! We must keep our eyes on the prize and our minds on heavenly things. It's going to be worth it all.

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

Good morning,

From the time of our new birth God has been making our wilderness into the garden of Eden. He has been doing an extreme makeover in our lives. "For the Lord will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song or instrument of praise". (Is. 51:3) In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve walked and talked with God in the cool of the day. They had an intimate relationship, that is what God desires from us in His garden of Eden within. We have the same choices as Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden, we can serve God and pay no attention to the devil and our end will be entirely different. Allow God to be God and do His tending in us. Wilderness means uncultivated, pathless, or barren, confusing mass of something, confusion, or desert waste. Eden means pleasure and delight. God has been turning and will continue to turn our mass of confusion into a place of delight and pleasure. Our soul is God's garden that He is involved in restoring, He is working with us to bring about peace and beauty. "Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all." (Jer. 31:12) Watered garden means steeped in moisture, saturated, completely penetrated, a garden is an enclosure, "figuratively of a bride"' a cultivated area (prepared, loosened; breaking up of the hard ground for the purpose of killing weeds and modifying moisture retention.

God waters and weeds His garden (our soul) as we renew our mind with the Word of God. Ephesians 5:26; "So that He [Christ] might sanctify her [the Church], having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word." John refers to this as he talks about us producing much better fruit in the garden. "I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit. You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you]." (John 15:1-3) God is always cleaning and pruning in our garden in order to change the uncultivated area into a cultivated one. We are like a bride being prepared and ready for her King. Our Vinedresser is using everything in our life to prune and cut away the dead and unfruitful things that have grown in our lives. Pruning is to bring rejuvenation, it involves cutting back, deadheading and pinching. Cutting back is when older leaves start looking worn, you can cut it back to where there is fresh growth or all the way back. Sometimes you cut back when a plant grows too tall to support itself and encourage the plant to become more stockier; more blooms and stems. Deadheading is removing things that once bloomed but are now dead; removing the dead will cause new blooms. Every plant benefits from deadheading because the plants put their energy into strengthening itself. Pinching is done more often than deadheading, like every 2 to 3 weeks. It is done by using your fingers, it is not as forceful as the other methods, yet it also produces a more fuller plant. Sounds like pruning is all for our good to get us to produce better, fuller, stockier blooms, and to remove all dead things to make room for the new! Let's yield to the hands of the One Who tends our garden. It may hurt or be uncomfortable, but since we know He loves us, we can trust His pinching, deadheading, and cutting back is actions of love.

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

Good morning,

We must be very discerning in the days that we are in, and our ability to discern everything in our lives, must be based upon the understanding of the Word of God. The enemy is throwing out all kinds of propaganda against the family of God. So, we must make everything line up with the Word, or we may end up following the lead of the enemy. Quite often when we are trying to appease the flesh we end up following the guide of the wicked one and not the Holy One. Propaganda means a group or movement that is organized to spread a particular system of ideas or principles; spreading ideas or rumors for the purpose of injuring a cause (Christianity) or a person; rumors spread for the purpose of damaging another person. Along with offenses, the devil's desire is to bring about division, confusion, and unrest. With all that going on in a person's life and mind, it will be difficult for them to hear the, "still small voice" of the Holy Spirit. We know that we are to be led by peace, but we are usually trying to get peace at any cost, and therefore we end up doing all manner of things that God hasn't sanctioned. We are supposed to "war" with the Word in order to enjoy this peace of God! Phil. 4:6-7; Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hears and minds in Christ Jesus.

We can not afford to have a false peace, in order just to get along. Jesus spoke truth and it separated many people because their belief system was wrong. The Word says this; "Casting all your care upon Him for He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour; whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." (1 Peter 5:7-8) The accuser is one that is a plaintiff, one that bring a a charge or an offense against another. The Word says that the accuser of the brethren is the devil (Rev. 12:10). The Word further says about the devil who accuses us before God day and night is a liar. " …He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John 8:44) We must make sure we are led by truth and walk in truth in the whole of our lives. We are those who live the Word, not those who just go to church. We are living epistles read of men, our lives should be the signpost of our God. We should be able to say, "when you've seen me, you've seen the Father." We are Christ-like. We only follow the Shepherd. We will not be led by propaganda, only the Word; "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me. And a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." (John 10: 27 & 5)

Love,

Pastor D.

Ears to Hear/Hearts to Obey

Good morning,

"Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord." (Ps. 27:14) Every Christian has had to, or will have to wait on God for most of the promises given to be fulfilled in their lives. It is a challenge to wait. I know that the majority of us really don't get to see God's hands move on our behalf, because we can't wait on Him. Wait means to look for, hope, and expect, while we linger in readiness. Though some of us have been placed in a position where we couldn't bail ourselves out, borrow, scheme, ask, or get others to help us. In moments where there is no earthly solution or help, [where we face the Red Sea in front of us and the enemy armies behind, where we are hemmed in], when God is our only hope, this is when we are tested and get a chance to see God be God, if we don't faint or lose hope. I know that does not sound like an invitation that most of will accept, so quite often that is where we end up without our vote. I have been there more times than I care to talk about, sometimes I have failed in my testing and usually similar opportunities were allowed again! God wants us to learn to trust Him and also to learn to be brave and of good courage. Brave means possessing or exhibiting courage; to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute. Resolute is firmly resolved or determined; set in purpose or opinion, characterized by firmness and determination, as to the temper, spirit, actions, etc. Staying the same with God in our attitude and our actions is important as we wait. We must continue to praise, worship, serve, and not stay angry, bitter, or lose our faith and hope. The King James Version says that as we wait God will strengthen our heart. "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." We receive strength from God for our heart, so God will cause us to become assured, He will make us firm, persistent and confirmed. Our hearts will become hardened to difficulties. The inner man, the mind and our will, our understanding, our hearts will be strengthened, God will do that as we wait on Him.
We must have the attitude of Job as he went through and had to have a resolve to wait on God. "If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare and service I will wait, till my change and release shall come." (Job 14:14) Our change will come. Change means replacement, relief, release, and varying course of life. We are all waiting for our course of life to be released, that is part of our promise that we believe to see come to pass in our lives. God our defense, is giving us strength to keep hoping and expecting in Him and His Word to us. Let's keep in our minds, Romans 8:25; "But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently." The sooner we learn to wait on God, the firmer and more resolute we will be and then we will receive our relief and our release!

Love,

Pastor D.