Oct. 31, 2013–Can God Trust You with His Blessing?

October 31, 2013 By

trustworthy

(Be blessed by this post by guest blogger Shyju Thomas)

This is important for everyone called to a great destiny. As Christians, we look to God as our Father. In fact, we are joint heirs to God’s inheritance. Galatians 4:7 says, ‘So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.’

So then the danger arises when we as Christians end up thinking that we will receive everything that we ask. But to tell the truth, from time to time, we find ourselves sulking about something that we really wanted and did not get.

I’ve had my own times of sulking but after some polishing and moulding from God, I look back today and praise God for shutting doors because now I realize how I was not ready for that blessing.

There is another important verse in that same chapter that we must understand closely. Galatians 4: 1, 2 says, ‘What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.’

To explain that in simple words would mean that even though you own all the blessings, our Father in heaven waits for the right time to give it to you.

For an earthly example, even though a child rightly has access to his father’s car, his father waits for him to grow up till the age that he is physically capable and legally allowed to drive! Otherwise, that same car which is supposed to be a blessing may end up destroying the life of that child. How much more does our Heavenly Father understand when we are ready for our blessing!

This is true also with your spiritual life. As the Spirit has been teaching me, I’m still learning to put my desires to death to the desires of the Father. Yes, even spiritual desires!

There are times when I desire gifts of the Holy Spirit, I make a conscious effort and try to correct myself and say, “Lord bless me with that gift in your time and for your purpose.” Because many times, we have our own selfish desires for our own selfish purposes.

When we end up having something we are not ready for, we subject ourselves to a fall. I want God to honour me in His due time so that when it comes, I will also be prepared and humble enough to receive it.

I once heard my friend quote A. W. Tozer, ‘God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work.’

Do not be discouraged if promotion does not immediately come your way.

Do not be discouraged if no one recognizes you immediately.

Do not be hurt if people don’t appreciate your ministry.

Do not sulk if all your dreams don’t come true instantly.

Hide yourself in God.

“Something that will later be a blessing can be a curse,               if you get it too soon.” –T.D. Jakes

Do not forget that God anointed David for what was going to happen 14 years later. And after God anointed David as King, what followed were insults, attacks and prejudice. Yet he was in the centre of the will of God. God was fully preparing him for his throne.

Consider also Absalom who forcefully grabbed his father David’s throne before his time. With it came pride and with the pride came his fall.

Proverbs 20:24 says, ‘A man’s steps are directed by the LORD.’ It is interesting that those are the times that we attain our full spiritual maturity by going through the steps that God has ordained. Each of those steps are our experiences that make us stronger for where God is going to take us. Those steps are when we meet friends that help us reach where we have to reach. Those steps are places where we are moulded to God’s own character. Why then do we try to take the elevator?

Can you relate, dear DWOD friend? Please share your thoughts and experiences with the rest of us.

(Born in India and presently living in Montreal, Canada, Revivalist Shyju Matthew continues to demonstrate God’s mighty Word through the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in crusades and conferences all over the world. Please visit his website: http://revivenations.org/)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

Oct. 30, 2013–How to get Unstuck

October 30, 2013 By

stuck(Guest blogger Lance Wallnau returns with the DWOD for Oct. 30, 2013…be blessed!)

There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end the choice you make, makes you!

Even the choice to be stuck is a choice nonetheless. Just because the situation on the outside isn’t moving doesn’t mean you can’t be going somewhere on the inside.

In a stuck situation you always have the choice to:

Try a different approach! I have a friend in a bad marriage. It’s bad for him and his children as well as his wife. She refused to work with him to fix it. After 4 years of abuse I pleaded with him to try ANYTHING different. Specifically, act happy for a while and tell her it’s over just to see what happens. He did – and she changed. Who knows why?

What matters is, it worked! The moment he started acting happy and wanting to separate she was unhappy and wanted to stay together. Now they are working on being happy at the same time- but it’s progress. When what you are doing isn’t working – try ANYTHING else.

or

Embrace the unchangeable situation and change your perspective. Paul didn’t call himself a prisoner of Rome, but rather “the prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ.”He didn’t call his scars “the mark of Roman and Jewish barbarism” he called them “the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Joseph’s abduction to Egypt wasn’t such a terrible thing once he saw that God was in the whole plot to get him to Egypt.

So ask God what HE is doing in the seemingly delayed answer to prayer or unresolved problem. You might be surprised at what you discover! He may be working on your kids, or spouse or something else and when it comes together, the timing will be perfect. How many properties or purchases have I seen that looked like they were held up only to be massively better once God’s timing released it!

The point? Every choice affects you. Make a decision to alter your condition on the inside till the situation on the outside shifts. 90% of the time, the change in you has a mysterious effect on changing the dynamic of the situation.

In everything give thanks….because this aligns you more perfectly with God over your situation. Start by thinking of ways this problem is a good thing! Seriously. What is GREAT about it?

Doing this will put the helmet of HOPE back on your head and the anointing oil will start to cover you and make you so slippery the enemy will lose his grip and you will get unstuck J

(Dr. Lance Wallnau is a world-class trainer and consultant whose students span the globe. From bestselling authors, pastors, and billion dollar CEO’s, he has helped to transform the lives of thousands. Please check out his resources at www.lancelearning.com)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

Oct. 29, 2013–The Communion of Saints

October 29, 2013 By

cloud of witnessesTherefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The late Bob MacLean, who was one of my professors at Queen’s Theological College in the early 80’s, was known to pepper his sermons liberally with quotes from other preachers, theologians and other church leaders.

A number of students (including me) voiced our concern that he was perhaps borrowing too heavily on the insights and illustrations of others and not coming up with enough original material. Were we implying that he was perhaps slacking off? (Maybe).

His response? “Membership has its benefits.” Seeing the puzzled looks on our faces, he went on to explain that when you become a member of Christ’s body, the Church, you are now part of the communion of saints. Therefore, you now have access to everything that was available through other “saints” in the communion.

Lifting quotes from their works, therefore, was not to be considered borrowing or stealing from them. It was simply taking advantage of the rich treasure trove of revelation that was simply there for the taking.

Needless to say, we had never heard the communion of saints explained quite that way before. We had always visualized the “cloud of witnesses” as millions of Casper-like entities in the atmosphere, surrounding us and egging us on to run the race and finish it. (See the DWOD for Oct. 16, 2012).

Truth be told, not everyone bought into his explanation either. At least not right away. Including moi.

It was only later in life and ministry, with the benefit of hindsight that the truth behind his insight became apparent to me.

Put simply, there was no reason for me to ever be alone or feel despondent while walking on the Christian journey.

All I had to do was open up the Bible and I was guaranteed to find someone who had experienced the same feelings and asked the same questions, even if we did not share the exact same circumstances.

When I could not find someone in the pages of the Bible, all I had to do was turn to the white pages of my telephone directory. There was often someone in my local church who could relate. 

If the local church could not provide an adequate match, the wider Christian community would! In the early days, my awareness of those outside my local church came through testimonies shared by someone in person, in a magazine, a book, radio or television. Today, of course, the internet has extended this pool of available witnesses exponentially.

Most of my questions were answered by another in the communion of saints—be it a mature Christian, an elder, pastor, visiting minister, professor or author—either in person or online.

Most recently, when I was a bit tired and worn out from writing DWOD’s every day during the 21 Days of At.One.Ment Fast, the saints came marching in. Darren Canning, Barry Adams, Os Hillman, Lance Wallnau and Kenneth Copeland carried the day—for 13 days straight…praise God!

Bob MacLean was right. Membership has its benefits.

Dear DWOD friend, would you kindly share with the rest of us how you too have experienced the communion of saints in your Christian walk? Thanks in advance.

Your comment might just turn out to be the silver lining in the cloud of witnesses for someone who reads it today.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

Oct. 28, 2013–Eighth Time Up

October 28, 2013 By

boxerThough the righteous fall seven times, they rise again. (Proverbs 24:16)

 You may be familiar with the dismal record of failures Abraham Lincoln faced—in business, farming, romance and several attempts at political office— before finally being elected President of the United States of America.

What stands out about Lincoln is his ability to not let any of those failures stop him from trying again. He kept on falling, but always got up one more time than he fell.

Here are two of the distinguishing marks of a champion:

1.    1. They get knocked down.

2.     2. They get up and get going again.

All who follow Jesus are champions, or in the words of the apostle Paul: “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37).

We are also “the righteousness of God”according to 2 Corinthians 5:21. We cannot make ourselves righteous. It is a gift.

Put these two facts together. We are the ones being referred to in Proverbs 24:16, amen?

On the road to our destiny, we will indeed get knocked down from time to time. It could be because of the enemy of our souls attacking us ferociously. It could be because we have a weak spot in our armour that allowed his arrows to penetrate. It could be outright sin. It could be because we took our eyes off Jesus, got distracted and got ambushed. It could be something for which there is no explanation, when we got sucker-punched or sideswiped…and we simply could not see it coming.

Can you relate, dear DWOD friend? Let me be the first one to admit that I’ve been knocked down in every one of the aforementioned ways. Suffice it to say I know many brothers and sisters in the Lord who have also fallen down under these circumstances. Sadly not everyone has gotten up one more time than they were knocked down.

The apostle Paul testifies how he got knocked down so many times: “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”(2 Corinthians 11:24-27)

What helped Paul and many other followers of Jesus get up every time is the same thing that will help you get up one more time than you are knocked down. Please keep this in mind all the time:

“You are more than a conqueror. You are the righteousness of God.”And you will be one who gets knocked down seven times and gets up an eighth time. Minimum 🙂

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

Oct. 27, 2013–God is shaking everything that can be shaken

October 27, 2013 By

shakingSee to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. (Hebrews 12:25-27)

I have found that every time that God wants to do something new in my life there comes a season of shaking.  I was talking to a friend the other day about the nature of God.  During that conversation I got a glimpse of the unchanging nature of God.  To think that God is unchanging is an amazing thought in the light of my own need for change.

Man changes day-by-day.  For this I am actually very thankful.  I am glad that I don’t remain the same but that God is in the process of changing my brokenness into His glorious image. The more of God in me the more I will be happy, and the more people will see Jesus in me, the more they will come to Christ.

So times of shaking in our lives do come and this by the Grace of God.  God rebukes His sons.  He disciplines us so that we might become mature.  John 15 says that He prunes us that we might become more fruitful.

I remember that the thought of the discipline of God use to hurt my heart because I felt that He was rejecting me when He disciplined me but now I rejoice in it.  I rejoice because I know that God is changing me.  He is changing me for His glory.  He is changing me so that I might be more fruitful.  And I also know that He is changing me because He loves me.

We must allow that discipline to come upon our lives because only when we allow God to touch the deep parts of our lives will we walk in greater freedom.  The first and most important reason we want God to change us is so that we might be free, and “he who the Son sets free is free indeed” (John 8:36).

The freedom of God in our lives is our greatest asset.  People who are bound by fear, depression and anxiety will be drawn to us when they see that freedom of God in our hearts.

When fear is cast off of us, we become powerful for the Lord.  We are able to stand in places that we once were not able to stand.  We are able to shine for Him in ways that we never would have been able to shine.

I can sense the desire of many to become greater lights for the Lord.  I pray for you today and ask God to shake off everything that has no eternal value from your life.  I ask Him to open your heart to His precious Spirit so that sanctification and cleansing might come your way on the road to your destiny.

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

Oct. 26, 2013–Who gets the glory?

October 26, 2013 By

God gets the glory“I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another.”(Isaiah 42:8)

In Sept. 2006, the Lord opened the doors for me to be part of a ministry team that went to Brazil for two weeks. It was an eye-opening trip where I got to see God perform amazing signs, wonders and miracles like I’d never witnessed back home in Canada.

One evening, at a meeting in Goiania, following a great message on the Father’s heart, Pastor Steve Long gave an invitation to those who needed prayer ministry. All who wanted to receive afresh an outpouring of the Father’s love were told to go to one part of the church.

Then he said: “We want all who have healing needs to line up over here where Pastor Jeeva is standing. He is our healing specialist.”

Before I could recover from the shock of receiving such a totally unexpected designation, there was a stampede and literally hundreds among the 3000+ at the meeting rushed to receive a healing touch from the Lord.

To be very honest, I was quite thrilled to see one person after another get healed, just like that. Of course, I knew that I was not responsible for the healing. The people came with great expectancy. The Lord honoured their faith with a flow of His healing virtue.

The string of successive healings came to a screeching halt though when an elderly woman was brought in a wheelchair. She reported no discernible change, no matter how hard I prayed or how well I ministered.

So I did what I had been taught by my mentors in healing ministry. I asked her to sit and soak in the Presence of the Lord and promised to check up on her once in a while to see what kind of progress was happening.

Two or maybe three check-ups later, there was still no change. I kept on praying for the others. The Lord once again resumed healing them one after another.

I beckoned the next person in line to come and receive prayer. A young woman with a toddler in her arms took a few steps forward. But, rather than look at the “healing specialist” and state her need, she started calling out to the elderly woman in the wheelchair something short and loud in Portuguese.

Much to everyone’s surprise and delight (and my shock), Grandma stood up from her wheelchair and started walking toward the young mother who had called out to her. Everyone went giddy with gratitude as they witnessed this incredible miracle.  Her family then took her away, I proceeded to pray for the toddler and the mother who both got healed and the meeting carried on.

As I tried to process what had happened, I couldn’t but help chuckle as I heard myself ask: “So, who’s the healing specialist here?” (Or was it the Lord?)

The Lord spoke very clearly to me: “Jeeva, if that woman had walked out of the wheelchair when you prayed for her, people would’ve mistakenly attributed the healing to the specialist from Canada. By bypassing you and using one of their own, I proved to them and to you that it was I who did the healing.”

Dear friend, on the road to your destiny, be thankful when the Lord works miracles with you but also without you. What really matters is that He gets the glory—every time! 

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

Oct. 25, 2013–Seeing Backward

October 25, 2013 By

os hillman(Be blessed by this DWOD for Oct. 25, 2013 by guest blogger, Os Hillman)

“O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed”(Ps 30:7).

It is often difficult to recognize the hand of God when we are in the midst of adversity. We often feel God has hidden His face from us. When the Lord takes us through deep valleys, there will be fruit from the deep valley that we cannot see. You must press into Him with all you have during this time.

God uses the deep valley to frame our lives to create a change in our nature, not just a change in habits. The depth and width of our valley is often an indicator of the level of calling and influence we will have on others in the future. Our adversity is not just for us, but others who will be in our future path of influence. This is not very comforting when you are in the middle of the valley, but know this is a truth in the Kingdom.

It is often years later when we discover the wisdom of God and why He intentionally led us through the dark valley. Life is often lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back at through valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale and the spiritual deposits He has made in our life while we were there.

“He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light” (Job 12:22).

When you begin to realize this, you sit back and breathe a sigh of relief because you know that God was in control all along. It didn’t seem like it at the time, but He was.

Do you find yourself in the valley? Now is the time to fully trust Him to guide you to higher ground.

(Reprinted by permission from the author. Os Hillman is an international speaker and author of 15 books on workplace calling. To learn more, visit http://www.MarketplaceLeaders.org/)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

Oct. 24, 2013–The Sovereign God of Revival

October 24, 2013 By

Revival-Image“Where the word of a king is, there is power; and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” (Ecclesiastes 8:4)

God chooses the manner in which He moves in the earth.  We might like to think that our part in it is greater than it really is, but at the end of the day each of us only plays a small part.  We must bow our heads to Jesus and allow Him to have sovereignty over our lives.  When He begins to move in the earth in a new way we must come into agreement with it or we could become persecutors of it.

It is up to us to come in line with what God is doing and not for God to come in line with what we are doing.

Jesus came into the earth and the religious leaders did not like the package that they were seeing.  They got nervous with the power and influence that Jesus was having over the people.  Instead of coming into line with what God was doing they decided that they would kill Jesus, so that their power would remain.

And many of us are the same way.  When God begins to move we allow our own desire for power to get in the way of what God is doing.  We must bow our knee to God and ask Him to help us to see with His eyes.

The things that God does astound the wise and those that are of impure heart cannot see God in the midst of His moving because only the pure in heart will see God.

There are times in my own life that I have cried out to God and asked Him to make me clean so that I can stay in the midst of his moving.  I don’t want to miss revival.  I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and watch as God is moving in other places.  I want to catch the same flame and the same spark and begin to move into the things that God has in store for my own life.

Just because God is using one instrument for His Glory does not mean that God does not have a plan for your own life.  A person may be designed to bring revival and transformation into one place and you might designed to bring it into another.

One of the reasons that we get upset when we see God moving in other people’s lives is because we feel that He might move in theirs more than ours.  And this is a lie from the enemy.  God has different ministries and activities for His people.  They don’t all minister the same way and yet each one’s part is important for the Kingdom of God.

It takes great humility to humble ourselves and walk into the flame of His moving.  We have to die to our own desires and beliefs and let God’s desires and ideas take precedence in our lives.  Only when we do this will we remain in the sound of His voice for our lives.

I pray for you today and ask God to strengthen you so that you might walk in the midst of His calling and revival for your life.  I pray that you will see with God’s eyes and do what might seem impossible for your flesh to do, but die to this world so that you might live for Christ in freedom.

May many lives be transformed as you continue to walk toward your destiny.

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

Oct. 23, 2013–Put Patience To Work

October 23, 2013 By

patience(Be blessed by this DWOD for Oct. 23, by Kenneth Copeland)

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

Most of us have a distorted idea about patience. We think of it as something designed to help us suffer failure gracefully, but according to these scriptures, it will actually put us on the path to success!

Patience (or being consistently constant) is the power twin of faith. They work together to see to it that the promises of God are fulfilled in your life.

Say, for example, you need a job. You can go to the Word and see clearly that God promises to provide your needs. You can see He takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. Once you see that, faith takes hold and you shout, “Hallelujah, I’ve got the job I need.”

But what happens to that faith tomorrow morning when you go to three interviews and get turned down all three times? Then what? That’s when patience has to take over! That’s when you have to make a decision to stay constant, to act as if nothing’s changed.

The truth is, if you based your confidence on the Word of God, nothing has changed. It says exactly the same thing it said yesterday.

So, if you’ll put patience to work, you know what you’re going to say after those three unsuccessful job interviews? You’re going to say, “Hallelujah, I’ve got the job I need!” just like you did before.

You see, faith opens the door to God’s promise for you; and patience keeps it open until that promise is fulfilled. 

Do you have your faith sights set on a promise of God today, a promise you’ve been waiting on for some time? Don’t let the delay discourage you. Put patience to work. The Word guarantees you will receive your reward.

(This post appeared first in from Faith to Faith, a daily guide to Victory. To subscribe to this daily devotional and access other great resources, please go to www.kcm.org)

 

Filed Under: Guest Authors

Oct. 22, 2013–The Supernatural in Your Hands

October 22, 2013 By

Prosper-Your-Hands(Be blesssed by this revelation released through guest blogger Lance Wallnau…the DWOD for Oct. 22, 2013)

May the FAVOUR of the Lord our God be ours. PROSPER the work of OUR hands!  (Psalm 90:17)

Before the fall, Adam was placed in a garden that was the perfect merger of communion with God and perfect work. The Garden was the territory of man’s dominion, and in this garden he walked with God in the cool of the day. Everything that Adam put his hand to became productive in his assigned territory.

The environment recognized his authority and cooperated with him. He was given dominion over all forces within the sphere of this assignment. It appears that the garden was an expanding project that was meant to fill the earth with God’s glory and dominion. There were adversaries, as we know, because of the existence of a serpent. Adam was to rule over all that militated against his work.

When man fell, the ground was no longer cooperating. Part of the curse was “sweat” related to work, “thorns and thistles” instead of a garden of lush productivity … and death in the dust of the earth. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field ; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Gen 3:18-19)

Now behold another moment in a garden when God fixes the situation. Jesus, whom the Bible calls the “SECOND ADAM“, heroically wrestled the hosts of hell in A GARDEN called Gethsemane. The second Adam lies prostrate on the ground as He SWEATS “great drops of BLOOD” mingled with perspiration … and REVERSES THE CURSE. Where does the blood fall? Into the ground! “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44)

Within hours of His triumph in the garden, a rough Roman garrison will weave a crown of thorns and beat it into the head of the “Second Adam”, and His noble brow will be pierced with the thorns of the curse. Mankind, vexed with the worries and sweat of earning their bread, is being dealt with finally and forever in this often overlooked aspect of Christ’s atonement.

When the gruesome execution on the Cross is complete and the last drop of blood shed, Second Adam will be laid in a GARDEN TOMB, but the body of the Messiah will not suffer decay like other sons of Adam, because this Adam NEVER SINNED! Death will not hold Him…dust cannot claim Him. He who was the author of life rises triumphant on the third day.

He appears to the disciples as they return toiling all night in search of a catch of fish that never materialized. The Master tells them to let down their net, and suddenly they are nearly sunk under the weight of their catch. The Second Adam once again demonstrates His power to break the curse of fruitless toil over His disciples.

We have celebrated the power of the Atonement in all other respects as far as sin and death are concerned. It is the last part of this great atonement we will witness in the Last Days. While some men toil to “buy and sell” under the mark of a beastly economic oppression, others will demonstrate the “powers of the age to come” by showing the power of the Kingdom.

The ATONEMENT delivered us from sin, demonic oppression, sickness, death AND labouring with thorns and the sweat of our brow.

Access to Paradise is restored. God has a garden for you in your assigned sphere of work. Walk with Him in the cool of the day, and WATCH as earth itself cooperates with the children of the Second Adam. All creation is longing for the manifestation of the sons of God.

The Last generation of the sons of Adam will reveal the secret to “no sweat” in the service of God who promised to give you FAVOUR and PROSPER the work of YOUR HANDS!

(Dr. Lance Wallnau is a world-class trainer and consultant whose students span the globe. From bestselling authors, pastors, and billion dollar CEO’s, he has helped to transform the lives of thousands. Please check out his resources at www.lancelearning.com)

Filed Under: Guest Authors
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