Dec. 21, 2013–You have a Permanent Place in the Family

December 22, 2013 By

Son-028-permanentplace(Be blessed by this DWOD for Dec. 21, 2013 by guest blogger, Barry Adams)

 

Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. (John 8:35)

 

A friend of mine from India once told me the story of a young orphan boy who was adopted into a loving family. One day while he was drying the dishes in the kitchen, he dropped a plate and it shattered on the floor. Immediately he ran out of the room in a panic.

 

His adopted parents went looking for the boy but could not find him for some time. Eventually they found him hiding under his bed, shivering in fear. Once they coaxed him to come out from under the bed, they asked him why he ran away and hid. His answer, though heartbreaking, echoes the same fear that many believers struggle with in their own lives: “I thought you would return me back to the orphanage because I broke a plate”.

 

When people hear this story, usually their immediate response is one of being shocked that this little boy would carry such a deep insecurity in his heart. After all, his new parents took the time and expense to go through the adoption process to bring him into their family. How crazy would it be if they decided to return him to the orphanage simply because he made a mistake?

 

In the natural, it is plain for us to see how tragic it would be for someone who has been adopted into a loving family to live a life with this kind of insecurity. Something inside all of us would want to hug this little guy and comfort him and tell him that he is completely safe and secure in his new family.

 

Yet, in our spiritual lives do we feel that our position in our heavenly Father’s house is completely safe and secure? Or do we feel like our standing in our Father’s heart is conditional on us following all of the rules of the house?

 

There can be an underlying theology in some circles that would cause us to feel that our heavenly Father’s love is indeed conditional. If we ‘break a plate’, our standing in His house might be in jeopardy. If we don’t follow all of the guidelines that the church requires, perhaps we will find ourselves on the outside looking in rather than being on the inside looking out.

 

I truly believe that our heavenly Father wants us to know that our position in His heart has been settled once and for all by the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. I believe that our God and Father wants us to know that nothing in all creation can separate us from His love (Romans 8:37-39). I believe that He wants us to stop living in fear of being rejected and start living in the security and safety of being completely and perfectly loved by the One who is love itself!

 

In John 8:35, Jesus tells us that a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs forever! The moment that we truly received Jesus into our hearts, we became sons and daughters of the living God. God gave us His own Spirit as a seal to guarantee our inheritance (2 Corinthians 1:22) in Christ. Our place in His house is secure because a son belongs to the family forever!

 

Our place in our Father’s heart is not based on what we do, but is based on what Christ already did. Our elder brother Jesus paid the price that we could not pay to secure our salvation and our standing as His brothers and sisters. If we are not convinced that the finished work of Christ is enough, then we will live a life where we believe that God’s love is conditional based on our performance.

 

Though we may break many plates in our life’s journey, God’s heart for us will never change, for love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). The more we realize that we are covered by the love of God, the more we will stop creating fig leaves of self-righteous works and rest in His covering over all of the broken areas of our life.

 

My prayer today is that each and every one of us would know that the love God has for us is ours for eternity. May the revelation of His unconditional love and acceptance bring a safety and security to our lives that would cause us not to run away from Him when we fall. May we know that our identity in Christ is secure and everlasting for it is by grace that we are saved and not of our own efforts! (Ephesians 2:4-10)

 

(Barry Adams is the humble vessel chosen by God to bless the world with the revelation known as the Father’s Love Letter. Along with his wife Annelise, Barry ministers the Father’s Love all over the world. Today’s DWOD is from a post he wrote for A Son’s Life Blog)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

Dec. 20, 2013–God Awaits Your “Yes”

December 20, 2013 By

Handmaid_of_the_Lord_by_ElwynEllessar

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38)

 

As prophetic words go, it was in a league of its own, wouldn’t you say?

 

“You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” (vs. 31-33)

 

Notice that Mary does not jump up and down with glee and do the Hallelujah break dance! It was such a far cry from the reality of her life at the moment that all she can see is the impossibility of this word being fulfilled.

 

“How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (v. 34)

 

Then Gabriel gives her an explanation about the Holy Spirit overshadowing her. He points out how her own “barren” cousin Elizabeth is in her sixth month of pregnancy to illustrate the truth that “with God nothing will be impossible.” (v. 37)

 

Now comes the critical moment. What will Mary do with the prophetic word?

If this were a movie, this is when the pace changes to slow motion, the orchestra slowly starts to swell…will she accept the offer? Politely decline? Walk away from the table?

 

You can almost visualize the hosts of heaven waiting with bated breath along with Gabriel. Freeze frame.

 

Then Mary’s lips start to move. The movie returns to normal speed. And these words come through in a barely audible whisper amplified by the Dolby Surround Sound System: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

 

It is only at that point that “the angel departed from her.”

 

For Gabriel’s mission to be accomplished, someone has to say “Yes.” Would it be Mary? Or would he have to make another stop?

 

God would not force His will upon Mary. She has to exercise her free will and say “Yes” or “No.” She says “Yes” and the rest is history.

 

What was true of Mary is true of us as well today, isn’t it? God can give us the most incredible promises and prophetic words. But nothing happens until we say “Yes” to Him.

 

The moment we say “Yes”, everything changes. Heaven begins to move on our behalf and the word is on its way to being fulfilled.

 

As we near the end of another calendar year, you may wish to look back at the words you received from the Lord over the past 12 months. Did you like Mary say: “Let it be to me according to your word?”

 

If yes, praise God! You should be on your way to seeing it fulfilled. If no, God could still be waiting for your answer to the offer. The movie just went into slo-mo. Freeze frame. Can you hear the orchestra playing?

 

C’mon…move your lips…say “Yes”…and your life will also start moving forward toward its prophetic fulfilment. Just as it did for Mary.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

Dec. 19, 2013–All I want for Christmas

December 20, 2013 By

Wonderful Counsellor(Be blessed by this DWOD for Dec. 19, 2013 by guest contributor, Fabs Harford)

 

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

 

I can’t help but think today that all my problems would be solved if I could just believe the Christmas story.  I’m not talking about giving intellectual assent to the historical concept that a baby born and He was Jesus and He has set us free.  I mean all my problems would be solved if I could just believe that there is a God on His throne and He is who He says He is.

 

All I want for Christmas is to believe that He is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 

I’m asking for that for you and me as I write this.

 

Take 35 seconds to put your head down and beg God to give you faith to believe that those names describe your Maker and Savior.

 

Wonderful Counselor.  You don’t have to do this life alone.  Jesus stands ready to advise you on every decision you have ahead of you today.  For every unknown variable that is overwhelming you today you have access to consult the only truly wise Being in the Universe.  Take time today to seek His counsel.

 

Mighty God. We call Him ‘God’ because He is God.  We say He’s mighty because there is no power like His.  With a single word all that you see could be swallowed into nonexistence.  Our Saviour is not like Santa.  He is God.   Everything is under His control.  Your life is not at the mercy of your boss or your spouse or your sin.  Your hope is not in your intellect, your strength or your beauty.  Take time today to fall on your face before His majesty.

 

Everlasting Father.  You are known and loved.  Not in a cute Hallmark way and not in a corporate doctrinal way.  You have a Heavenly Father who is coming to find His kids and bring them home, no matter what it takes.  This is a Father who loves His kids with an everlasting and unfailing faithfulness.  He came for you. He will never leave you.  He will never forsake you.  Take time today to celebrate that you get to know Him forever.

 

Prince of Peace.  I’m filled with tension today. I’m annoyed and irritated and angry and scared and I don’t even know what it means to believe that Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

 

When I contemplate the peace Jesus has negotiated between me and the Father, I know that peace is a big word.  I know that it means more than an absence of strife.  It means more than no more conflict.

 

It means unity that’s deep and wide and safe.  It means wholeness with no more emptiness and no more loneliness and no more anxiety and no more worry and no more stress.

 

We’re not so different from the crowd Isaiah was talking to when he shared these names.

 

We’re waiting.  Our lives are lived in waiting.  We see by faith, not by sight.

 

Man.  I want to see that Prince of Peace in the flesh.

 

Maranatha.  Come Lord Jesus, Come.

 

(Fabs Harford is Director of Women’s Training at The Austin Stone Community Church, equipping the women of The Austin Stone to know God more deeply, love His Gospel more passionately and live out God’s mission. This post is from her blog “Thoughts from Fabs.”)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

Dec. 18, 2013–May It Be

December 19, 2013 By

mary(Be blessed by this DWOD for Dec. 18, 2013 by guest contributor, Os Hillman)

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:38)

Have you ever had a boss come to you and give you an assignment which had rules never before used? Not only were the rules different, he was asking you to agree to them not knowing the outcome or impact it would have on your life. That must have been the way Mary, the mother of Jesus felt.

 

God was about to do something so extraordinary that it required a face to face meeting with the subject, Mary, and his key angel, Gabriel. What God was about to do was so foreign that it needed detailed explanation.

 

Mary had been handpicked to give birth to the Christ-child. Can you imagine!? However, in order to do so she was going to be pregnant while yet unmarried, something totally taboo in her culture. In fact, women were stoned to death if found to be fornicators. So, when Mary heard the assignment and responded by saying, “May it be,” this tells us what a courageous woman of faith she must have been.

 

She did not understand the implications of what she was about to do. However, she placed her total trust in God and knew that if God chose her for such an assignment, she could trust the outcome to Him. She would even have to trust the explanation to Joseph, who was not going to understand. In fact, when he discovered Mary was pregnant, he immediately considered divorce proceedings.

 

However, when God saw Joseph’s response, He sent an angel to explain the situation through a dream. I am sure the time between her telling him and his dream must have been difficult to explain. She did not know God was going to solve the problem. This is another example of her faith and courage. I would imagine most women might have responded to the angel like this, “I won’t do it unless you tell my husband!”

 

Do you have an assignment from God that seems impossible on the front end? Is God calling you to trust Him for the outcome? Take a lesson from Mary and release the outcome to God.  

 

(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

Dec. 17, 2013–Do you have an Elizabeth?

December 17, 2013 By

mary & elizabethNow Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. (Luke 1:39)

 

Mary has just been shaken to the core by an angelic visit. She has received the startling news that she will be the mother of the Messiah. And this pregnancy will proceed without the procreative participation of her husband-to-be.

 

Was it a Wow! Wow! Wow! moment? Perhaps it was more like Pow! Pow! Pow? Or was an alternating Pow! Wow! Pow! Wow! Pow! Wow!

 

Either way, Mary’s life has taken an unexpected turn.

 

What would you do next, if you were in Mary’s moccasins?

 

Mary packs her bags (moccasins and all) and heads in the general direction of her cousin Elizabeth’s place. Did she make the trek simply to verify her miraculous pregnancy? Or was there something more to this visit?

 

When we read what happens in Elizabeth’s house, we get the impression that these two had a very special relationship. Listen to Elizabeth’s words to Mary:

 

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” (vs. 42-45)

 

Elizabeth confirms the word of the angel by addressing her as “the mother of my Lord.” She then delivers an encouraging word (“Blessed is she who believed”) with a prophetic edge (“there will be a fulfillment”).

 

Wow! Wow! Wow! No more Pow! Pow! Pow! to contend with for Mary. These words were exactly what Mary needed to hear at this critical juncture of her journey.

 

Every Mary needs an Elizabeth. One who will speak words of life into your spirit, straight from the Holy Spirit.

 

Perhaps it is someone with whom you have developed the kind of rapport that existed between these two women. It may have taken you a long time to get to that point.

 

Or it may be someone with whom your spirit connected, just like that! Someone in your church, a member of your small group, a new addition to your family circle or someone you met at a conference?

 

No matter how it comes about, it would be wise to have someone similar to Elizabeth in your life, wouldn’t you agree? You would really appreciate them when you, like Mary, get hit with a Pow! Pow! Pow! or experience a Wow! Wow! Wow! Or a combination thereof.

 

A Pow-Wow with a prophetic confidante would provide you with the encouragement that you need to keep advancing into your destiny.

 

So, let me ask all of you “Mary’s” out there…do you have an “Elizabeth?”

 

Please share your responses with the rest of your DWOD family. We would all appreciate hearing from you very much.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

Dec. 16, 2013–Power of Expectation

December 16, 2013 By

expectation(Be blessed by this DWOD by guest contributor Peggy Kennedy)

“Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.” (Luke 1:45)

Oh the power of expectation.  And, when you merge it with perseverance, you have a very, very potent mix!  Threaded throughout the Christmas story of Matthew 1 and 2 and Luke 1 and 2 are so many different examples of persevering expectation. 

Remember, this is not just a sweet, seasonal story.  This is the Lord’s detailed handbook on how He works among His divinely-called participants to reveal Himself to our world.  You are in that script!  I Corinthians 13 names three essential elements that are present when we are participating in His Presence:  faith, hope, and love.  That word “hope” is the same Greek word for expectation!  The three are threaded together and are inseparable. 

I was in a service recently where we were singing, “We are standing on holy ground…and I know that there are angels all around…”  I asked a question of the Lord, “So, if there are angels here, what are they doing?”  The Spirit’s reply was amazing:  I “saw” angels moving up and down the aisle re-igniting flames of expectation among the Lord’s people!  Where some were flickering, they built up that flame.  Where others were nearly blown out by contrary winds, they cupped their hands to protect the flame and lingered to make sure it ignited again.  That was a wonderful moment.  The Lord has no desire for us to live in the shadows of dimmed expectation!

There’s power in negative expectation, too.  Even in Matthew 2 and Luke 1 and 2 you have examples of the absence of expectation.  Although Zachariah likely embraced the Lord’s plan to “someday” fulfill prophecy and send the Messiah, he eliminated himself from the occasion.  The messenger Gabriel had to deal with that negative expectation!  Graciously the Lord worked to sustain the fulfillment of the word and include Zachariah! 

Likely Joseph is swarmed with negative expectation as he imagines the worst for his beloved, espoused Mary when the word gets out that she is pregnant.  He does his best to protect her.  However, heaven’s plan was better.  An angel sends a message and reignites expectation! 

Perhaps when both Joseph and Mary heard about the census that would necessitate a trip from Nazareth to faraway Bethlehem, they had negative expectations.  It seemed that the plans of God were totally inconvenienced!  But, not so!  The Lord intervened (even in the midst of the negative reality of “no room at the inn”) and the word of the Lord was fulfilled.  Later on they would be warned by an angel to leave and flee to Egypt. Now they are seasoned “responders” with sufficient confidence and expectation of the Lord’s ultimate plan…all in alignment with the prophetic word!

Simeon and Anna are in this account of the Lord’s wonderful ways.  They both have great stamina in expectation.  No dimming or dullness about them!  And, they were not disappointed! You will not be either! 

Most of our negative expectations never come to pass!  Our God is the Divine Interceptor of “what could be” to make it conform to His plans!  And, should what we dread come to pass, then He has pledged Himself to “work” it for good…and often the greater glory!  You love Him and are participating with Him as one of the people of His plan.  Allow your faithful God to fan the flame of your expectation.

(“Peggy Kennedy carries a powerful anointing to consistently bring the Word of the Lord in a way that is both powerful and timely…mantled to walk in a heavenly grace that brings people of diverse backgrounds together in unity”—Matt Tapley. To sign up for periodic revelations from Peggy, please visit. www.TwoSilverTrumpets.ca)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

Dec. 15, 2013–Obedience is better than Sacrifice

December 15, 2013 By

obedience better than sacrifice

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:6-8)

 

This passage in Micah reminds me of another passage in 1 Samuel 15:22: But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

 

To obey God is the way of the pilgrim.  We can’t please God or even get to know Him unless we do as He tells us to do.  In order to get to that place we have to listen to His voice.  We have to learn to hear His voice.  We must seek Him with all of our hearts because when we find Him, He is the pearl of great price.

 

There is nothing more that a father wants than his children to love him and seek him out.  One morning I was getting into my car and my son Joseph was waving good-bye in the window.  This in itself was enough to warm my heart, but as I got into my car I noticed the front door of my house opened up.  My wife was standing there wanting me to lower my car window so that she could speak to me.

 

She told me that Joseph wanted me to come to the door so that he could give me a hug.  He was standing in the doorway with his pajamas on and no socks on his feet.  He was determined that he was going to hug his dad.

 

He told me to come quickly because he was cold.  There was snow and ice all over the ground.  He wasn’t going to close that door until he got his hug, so I got out of the car and went to him and hugged him.  It was one of the best hugs I have ever received from one of my children.

 

My experience with my heavenly Father is much the same way.  The prophet noted God saying, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13).  And revelation 3:20 says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

 

That is the heart of God. He wants you and not the things that you can sacrifice to Him.  You can give 10% of your money to the church, prophesy over your neighbor, heal the sick and cast out devils, but if you do not know God you might still be lost.

 

Our sacrifices are not as important as humbling ourselves before God and His voice.  Our deepest longings must be for Him and Him alone.  God knows our hearts.  He knows that we can be deceitful.  There are times that I am convinced that I am acting in God’s interest and it turns out that it was in my own.  I could not hide this from God.

 

I need my God in my heart so that I might have the chance to learn to be merciful, that I might learn to love and act in a just manner with the world around me.   In order to accomplish this I must seek Him till I find Him.

 

I love Christian hearts that are humble.  I love when I meet a great man or woman of God and they reflect the humility of a true saint.  I call out to God to make me the same.  I am not yet perfected in this manner.  There is still some stench of pride within me.  But I keep pursuing God and doing what He tells me to do.  I know one day I will be just like Jesus.  It is my only pursuit.

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

Dec. 14, 2013–Yet I Will Rejoice

December 14, 2013 By

yet-i-will-rejoice1Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

 

In this prayer of Habakkuk we see the prophet declaring the destruction of Israel at the hand of the Babylonian horde.  As he prays he recognizes the great hand of God in bringing about the destruction as a judgment against his nation, but he also asks God for mercy in times of wrath.

 

He understands that the invasion has repercussions for his people which may see them experiencing lack, but he is thankful nonetheless for the goodness of God.

 

I have experienced lack in my life and I have had family members experience lack in their lives.  It is truly not an experience that comes easy, but learning to rejoice even in the place of lack will get you through many a wild storm in life.

 

One of my family members went through a severe trial with lack recently.  She ended up having to go on welfare because she could not get a job adequate for taking care of her life.  It was one of the deepest trials she has ever faced.  And for me it was difficult because of the helplessness I felt in not being able to help her. She had monthly bills and a house that she owned that just would not sell.  She could not afford to pay the mortgage and she couldn’t get rid of the house.

 

But in the midst of all of that she kept crying out to God and indeed got much closer to the Lord as a result.

 

You see, in the hour of our storms running from God will not help us to overcome.  We must always be aware that God is our shelter even in the greatest storms.  Nothing can overwhelm us as long as we remain in him.

 

Job faced great trials and wrestled for understanding as to why such things were occurring, but in the end it was God that saw him through his trials and blessed him even more than he had been blessed before.

 

I sense there are coming times of lack in our culture where some of the things that we take for granted right now—food, shelter and money—may not come easy for many.  I sense that a collapse of the economy is coming and that many will be in the position that my family member is in currently.

 

We must prepare our hearts and learn to rejoice in the midst of dire times.  Such peace will come over you and such wonder as God provides for you and warms your very heart.

 

God will lavish His love toward you as you go through these times.  I know, because this is what I have experienced in my own life and witnessed in the lives of others who are totally sold out to God.

 

May God bless you and keep you through all your storms as you advance toward your destiny.

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

Dec. 13, 2013–Every Word from the Lord for 2013 is being fulfilled by Dec. 31

December 13, 2013 By

word will not return voidIn the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).

 

This Scripture reminds us that God speaks to us not only in our inner being and in the written words of the Bible, but “in various ways” through the “prophets.”

 

One of the Hebrew words that is translated prophet literally means “a mouthpiece of God.” In other words, a prophet speaks on God’s behalf. To put it even more plainly, a prophet hears from the heart of God and uses his/her mouth to release that word into the heart of the person(s) for whom it was intended.

 

Although most of us tend to think of the Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel when we hear the word “prophecy”, the New Testament has a lot to say about prophecy as well.

 

You may wish to read all of I Corinthians 14 to see how the apostle Paul explains the purpose and protocol of prophecy.

 

In verse 3, he says that every prophetic word is given by God for these 3 purposes: “edification and exhortation and comfort.”

 

To edify is to build up or strengthen. (The root word in Greek is the same as “edifice” or building)

To exhort is to encourage.

To comfort is, well, to comfort J

 

In other words, when God uses someone to give you a word that builds you up, encourages you and/or comforts you, you have received a prophecy!

 

Most of you, our readers, have received at least one prophetic word this year, I hope. At the beginning of this year, Sulojana and I held two online sessions where we prophesied over every one who was able to join us.

 

If you have not received a word from the Lord through a prophetic person, you may have sensed in your spirit an indication from the Lord about what He had in His heart for you in 2013. For some of you, a particular passage of Scripture or a Scripture-based promise may have been the “central theme” for this year.

Either way, there are still 18 days left in 2013…and, to quote Yogi Berra: “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

 

God says this about His word in Isaiah 55:10-11: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

 

God’s word will be fulfilled. One way to press in for their fulfilment is to listen to the recordings and/read written words and decree them.

 

For example, one word spoken over Sulojana and me this year by prophets consistently is about provision coming to us to take care of all our needs. It has come in to a certain degree, but not in the measure that it needs to be for us to be completely debt-free. So my decree would go something like this: “I decree that the provision promised by the Lord for us in 2013 is being released in full measure by Dec. 31.”

 

This is obeying what the apostle Paul told Timothy to do in I Timothy 1:18: “I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well.”

 

So, rather than get down about the fact that the income has not exceeded the outflow, we decree the outcome that God promised.

 

Can you do likewise? Of course, you can!

 

Now it’s your turn: Begin with this general decree: EVERY WORD FROM THE LORD FOR 2013 IS BEING FULFILLED BY DEC. 31.

 

Then get specific with every promise from the Lord…and wait with hope. For, “You shall decree a thing, and it shall be established.” (Job 22:28)

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

Dec. 12, 2013–Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done!

December 12, 2013 By

Kingdom of God, Come!The Lord’s Prayer is so familiar to us that we can easily repeat the words without realizing the full significance of what exactly we are praying.

 

This is especially true of that part of the prayer that goes: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

 

Greek scholars tell us that the tense in which this is written is what is known as the “aorist imperative. “

 

Say what?

 

Here is one explanation: “The use of the aorist imperative in a command is to denote either instantaneous action or action that is to begin at once.”

 

So, for example, when Jesus says in Matthew 16:24: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let Him deny himself, and take up his cross…”, the tense of the commands “deny” and “take up” is the aorist imperative. In other words, do it right now.

 

Did you catch the tone of urgency in the aorist imperative?

 

This is why the proper translation of those familiar words in the Lord’s Prayer should be: “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done! On earth as it is in heaven!”

 

These words are meant to be prayed with a sense of urgency. Something like, “this needs to happen RIGHT NOW!” (Or we’re sunk J)

 

Sadly, the translations that we use do not capture the aorist imperative all that well 🙂 Fortunately, we can fix that as we decree these words.

 

So, friends, the first thing to keep in mind that is that you decree these words with a sense of urgency.

 

Secondly, what do you decree?

 

A good way to approach this is to ask this question: “What here on earth right now does not match the way it is in heaven?”

 

Ask Holy Spirit to give you the answers that are specific to your particular situation right now. Don’t be surprised if He makes you repeat some of the decrees from previous days. After all, you have been decreeing according to Heaven’s dictates so far!

 

Here are some decrees I am being led to make as a result of asking this question:

 

“I decree that the culture of heaven becomes the culture of our churches! Kingdom of God, come! On earth as it is in heaven!”

 

Since there is no sickness in heaven, I decree that the health and wellness of heaven be here on earth for me and those I know who are dealing with illness (I name them one by one). Kingdom of God, come! On earth as it is in heaven!

 

Clearly, there is no poverty, indebtedness or lack in heaven. I decree that the riches of heaven come down so I can have “all-sufficiency in all things and more than enough for every good work!” (2 Corinthians 9:8). On earth as it is in heaven in my finances!

 

Since there are no unsaved people in heaven, and since our Father in heaven “is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance”(2 Peter 3:9), I decree that …………………is saved. Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven!

 

Get the idea?

 

Go ahead! Decree according to how Jesus taught us to pray: KINGDOM OF GOD, COME! WILL OF GOD BE DONE! ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam
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