June 14, 2014–Living Memorials

June 15, 2014 By

Peggy-Kennedy(Be blessed by this DWOD for June 14, 2014 by guest contributor Peggy Kennedy)

“I am anointed with fresh oil. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree…planted in the house of the Lord…growing in grace…They are living memorials to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises…” (Psalm 92:10-15 Amplified Bible)  

I love how the Lord speaks! I was waiting in line to receive ministry. As the speaker approached he spoke one word over me: “fresh”! And, enclosed in that one word was indeed a message from the Lord. I was thus directed to Psalm 92:10.

‘Anointed with fresh oil’ had a definite appeal to me. But there was more—much more! As the psalm rolls out there is more than encouragement. There is a clear statement of the contrast between the seeming “flourishing” of evil and the sure and ultimate flourishing of the people of the Lord!

The media reports and even circumstances of our personal arena can seem to indicate otherwise. However, this psalm states again that because of Who our God is, the measurement of “flourishing” is lifted to the eternal perspective.

What a picture: the “flourishing” of evil is presented as “springing up as grass”. Wonderfully, the “flourishing” of the righteous is described as the palm tree or cedar of Lebanon.

There’s a huge difference between “grass” and the palm tree or cedar tree! For these the Amplified version uses very appealing adjectives: long-lived, stately, upright, useful and fruitful, majestic, stable, durable and incorruptible. (vs. 12) I am definitely signing up for that list!

But the Lord had even more to say to me. The “flourishing” of those planted in the house of the Lord means they will be growing in grace and have ongoing fruitfulness. Each season will be marked by fruit-bearing and spiritual vitality, trust, love and contentment. What a glorious contrast to the lies of the enemy that are marketed among people of all ages!

The psalm crescendos by describing these flourishing, fruit-bearing believers as “living memorials”! The message flowing from our lives gives constant testimony to Who our God is! He is faithful to His promises. He is my rock. He is uncompromisingly pure and righteous.

If the enemy has been whispering (or shouting) lies into your heart about anything other than who you really are and Who your God really is, you can rise up today with authority and choose to contradict those lies! Our God is alive and well and His principles of life and living really give us the advantage now and the eternal edge.

“Lord, thank you that I am flourishing and fruitful. Thank you that I am growing in grace and have a deep-settled contentment. I deny room to the “weeds and seeds” of the lies of the enemy. I don’t just have memories of fruitfulness in a previous season but I am a living memorial with a keen expectation–a LIVING MEMORIAL to Your amazing and ongoing faithfulness to Your promises.” Amen!

(Peggy Kennedy is a respected member of the Canadian Prophetic Council. According to her pastor Matt Tapley: “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.”)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

June 13, 2014–You ARE a Leader

June 15, 2014 By

Leading a school of fish(Be blessed by this DWOD for June 13, 2014 by guest contributor Lance Wallnau)

You may not know it but YOU are a leader!

D.L Moody made it his mission to answer a challenge he heard while just a young shoe salesman: “The world has yet to see what God can do through a man who is fully devoted to Him.” He went on to being the most dangerous shoe salesman in Boston…and a revivalist.

Time and again, heaven takes hold of the earnest underdog who is pressing on to be the best he or she can be. Did you know Joyce Meyers started out as a church secretary? I told you D.L. Moody was a shoe salesman. Smith Wigglesworth, a plummer.

Often, such ones become promoted over those with greater gifting. God sees something in them. They are becoming His Word made flesh. They get it into their heart and mind. When that happens, you become explosive. Don’t neglect the building up of your mind and inner man. Now, more than ever, we need leaders that are:

  1. Lovers in their quest for Jesus, worship intimately (bridal)
  2. Warriors in their unwavering courage to dismantle the gates of hell. By this I mean they know how to pray strong.
  3. Know how to be statesmen and what battles to fight. They know when and how to speak! When they speak, they do so with arguments of the spirit that the enemy cannot stop.

Here are some thoughts from my friend Rick Renner:

The Bible is full of people no different than you or me…who heard a word from God, responded in faith, came into divine alignment with what God said, and ultimately saw His word to them fulfilled in their lives. And because of these people’s commitment to believe and to possess what God had promised, they changed history!

I believe as you become true to the voice inside you, YOU will lead the school! (fish or people!)

(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

June 12, 2014–Concentrate on what you can control

June 15, 2014 By

The Sams in IsraelI urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (I Timothy 2:1-2)

We who live in the province of Ontario in the country of Canada were surprised by the results of the election that was held today. The ruling party, which had been plagued by scandals, was elected to power with a stunning majority. None of the opinion polls had predicted this overwhelming victory.

Many Christians, including me, have grave concerns about some of the policies of this government. I am personally aware of a Christian school being told that essentially they had to teach sex education classes which were in total opposition to their understanding of marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman only…or they would be shut down.

Chances are very good that with the solid majority that they have been given by the people of Ontario, they will have no trouble pushing through their legislative agenda, at least some of which will not sit well with theologically conservative evangelicals like me who are practising charismatics to boot!

What must be our primary response when this government enacts laws that violate our Christian conscience?

Judging by the apostle Paul’s advice to his young protégé Timothy, there is only one action that we can control. Prayer! We intercede for “kings and all those in authority.” That’s it. Period.

Badmouthing the government. Criticizing the Premier. Focusing on her sexual orientation. None of these is as an option that will bring about the positive change that prayer will!

On the contrary, it will give rise to anger and judgment which will only trigger the law of sowing and reaping. We ourselves will end up being the targets of anger and the recipients of judgment.

It reminded me of a time when I was under attack by a segment of the church I was pastoring at the time. Whenever I focused on the hurt they were inflicting upon me, I was the one who was getting angry, resentful and bitter. It was beginning to creep into my sermons. Not good at all.

Around that time, I was at a Conference where R.T. Kendall was teaching on the power of forgiveness. One thing he stressed was that we have not totally forgiven until we have asked God to bless those who stress us. After all, isn’t this is what Jesus told us to do in Luke 6:27-28? “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

I could not control what others were saying about me. I could not change their minds about me or the offense they took at what I had said or done. None of these were under my control.

All I could do was to focus on the only thing I could do that would honour Jesus. Not only did I forgive them, but I went on to ask God to bless them and indeed declared blessing over their families, jobs, businesses and relationships.

I would like to say that they all changed their minds and we all lived happily ever after. Not! But I had the satisfaction of knowing that I did what I could control and left the rest to God. Let’s just say that He took care of me just fine!

Dear DWOD friend, on the road to your destiny you too will face times such as these when your hands are tied. You cannot take matters into your own hands and change things around. You too would be wise to follow Scriptural directives such as the ones in this post.

We would love to hear from you about similar situations that you have faced and Scriptures that guided you during those times. Please share them with the rest of your DWOD family, will you? Thanks in advance.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam