31 Days: The Time is Now

He is faithful. Radically trust in Him more than your fears. He will make a way, not always an easy way, but a way victorious, accomplishing His plan. 

We are His witnesses, witnesses of His glory and strength, to make known the glorious power of the King by standing strong and courageous in the midst of corruption and pain and deceit and turmoil, with weapons of righteousness for our right hand and the left  (2 Cor.6:7). We will stand and take courage. 

"He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord." Ps. 40:2,3

Be His mouth.  Be His hands.  Be His feet.  Be His courage. 

With your feet on the Rock, STAND. Be unmoved, by trusting in Him and His will and ways, doing what He says, following Him, and running into the strong tower of His name.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe (set on high)." Prov. 18:10  

The time is now. 

31 Days: Be Transformed by His Truth

He has enabled you to run the race, fight the good fight, be victorious in battle, to fulfill your ministry, to use your weapons of warfare, and to stand. You are able. 

Being the omniscient all-knowing God, He would not instruct us to do that which He knows cannot be done. With His instructions come the power and ability to obey and accomplish that for which the instruction was sent, as we depend upon Him.  Nothing He asks you to do is impossible. 

We can examine the circumstances and be honest about them without becoming weak in our faith. We can say, "Yes, this is what is apparent with my natural eyes, BUT GOD says...... And He is able to perform!" 

I love Abraham's example in Romans 4:19-22; it is packed with applicable truth: "Without becoming weak in the faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb;...".  In other words, he was very honest about the truth of the circumstances, but he did not allow the truth of the circumstances to weaken his faith in God's Word. It continues, "....yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.  Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness." 

 Know the promises and stand on THEM. Be in His Word. "..faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ." Romans 10:17. 

Allow your 'reality' to be transformed by His truth. 

Listen to Him. 

And then, of course, faith should always lead us to obedience.

This is no time to waver in unbelief. 

31 Days: Fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin." I John 1:7. And this verse follows this statement about 'fellowship': "....what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. " 1 John 1:3 Wow, think of that invitation!

He is a personal God. He has built community with one another in our hearts, and it comes from Him.  He longs for community and fellowship with us. So He loves it when we come and 'sit with Him'. What an amazing truth.

He rules over the nations (Ps. 22:28;47:8) AND individual hearts (Prov. 21:1, Acts 16:14). 

May we turn from the busyness that even overwhelms our 'thinking'. Our thoughts can get so busy that it is hard to hear anything else.  Therefore we cannot hear the still, small voice call us to 'come', 'come arise', 'come all who are weary and heavy-laden', 'come'.

"...repent  and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of The Lord;.." Acts3:19

31 Days: Mine the Depths of Truth and Take Him at His Word

Hide His Word in your heart; know and speak forth His unadulterated WORD of truth.

Mine the depths of truth, asking, 'What does it mean for my life today?' Meditate on the ramifications of the truth of the Word and be bold and brash enough to take Him up on it.

Take Him up on His Word.

"Is not My Word like fire?" declares the Lord, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock?" (Jeremiah 23:29). His Word can break up the hardest of the hard: hearts, lives, situations, the impossible.   That's what it does. Take Him up on it.

Challenge Him with it and challenge others to do the same.  Hold Him to it. Imagine how much He loves that: a child who believes Him enough to take Him at His Word, to act upon it, and is bold enough to fight for what He has promised.

Oh how pleasing in His sight. In contrast to the child who looks and forgets (James 1:21-25) and lays it aside AS IF it is USELESS!!,  when He has clearly proclaimed that it is the power of God unto salvation: any salvation you need. Oh take Him up on it and see if He does not pour forth from heaven and reward with power lighted (set afire, burning) on His Word.  

The Word IS living, active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb.4:12). Be serious, not casual! Lay all 'casual' aside as you hold a powerful sword. Study its implications, it's power!  Rejoice and use it.  You are exhorted to use it, to take Him up on His promises.  

Mine them, know what they are, and hold Him to them! 

31 Days: 'Watch' His Word

He watches over His Word to perform it (Jer. 1:12). May we 'watch' His Word and not allow the book of the law to be lost in the house of God (2 Chron. 34:14-21), build up (good) walls (2 Cor. 6:14-18), have our armor on (Eph. 6:10-18) and sword ready "to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph 6:11,17) and "to sustain the weary one with a word." (Is. 50:4)

 "I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved." Habakkuk 2:1

Knowing and believing Him, may we not just live with broken down walls, daily walking over the rubble and not noticing that it is a disgrace.  God gave Nehemiah the burden and the plan and used that one man to organize a movement that quickly got the rebuilding done. May we rebuild clearly defined walls so that we know where we stand, what we believe, and no longer allow any 'lofty thing raised up against knowledge of God' to masquerade as truth within our midst.  May God raise up leaders who are gifted in calling the faithful to work together for change.

"'You are My witnesses,' declares the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may KNOW and BELIEVE Me and understand that I am He.  Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me.  I, even I, am the Lord, and there is no savior besides Me.  It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god among you; so you are My witnesses,' declares the Lord, and I am God.  Even from eternity I am He and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?'" Is 43:10-13

Will you answer the call and rise up and produce 'change'.

31 Days: Contend Earnestly for the Faith

"..be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." 2 Peter 3:17,18

Have the courage to stand up and be resolute, steadfast and firm in purpose and belief. Knowing what you know from His Word, make up your mind now, ahead of time with the leading of the Holy Spirit rather than the leading of the world, concerning what you believe and how you will obey. Know the promises that you can cling to as you obey His Word, and be faithful to stand with Him and not against Him. 

Many, who would call themselves Christ-followers today, are standing up against the truth that is clearly set forth in His word.  They need to KNOW the truth; the truth will set them free. So may we know that we know that we know what we believe, so that we can rise up and proclaim freedom to the captives. Freedom has come and been made available, but many, not realizing the bondage of spirit that accompanies it, prefer being fed by Egypt (their captors) because it is 'easier' (Ex. 16:3, Num. 11:5).

Today may we heed God's instruction in the book of Jude.  Notice that it is concerning the faith that was once for all handed down to the saints. Truth does not change with the changing times or changing world views. He created it all and knows how it runs best.  Let's listen to His instructions and not to our own 'opinions' and 'ideas'. (Matt. 17:4,5) And, again, do not just skim over the familiar words, but allow the Word of God to transform your mind more and more everytime you come in contact with it. (Romans 12:2)

  "Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. 

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." Jude 1:4....

"But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, 'In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.' These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.  

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.  And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.  

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."....verses 17-25

Contend earnestly for the faith and proclaim freedom to the captives. 

31 Days: Produce Change

He is BIGGER and stronger than anything you fear.   

Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Please do not just skip over the familiar scriptures. Allow their truth to wash over you anew word by word.  In Matt. 10:24-31, Jesus tells us that we will be maligned, as He was. "Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.  Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." 

Go and act and speak and do not fear (an instruction to be obeyed). You have a courage that you do not even know is inside of you, placed there by the power of the Holy Spirit within you. 

Rise up and be unafraid to be different and to speak in the light. Don't hide away and keep to yourself what He teaches you.  Don't hide it away. (Luke 8:16)

Looking to 'that day' and eternal rewards, along with the PEACE that comes to your soul today as you walk in obedience, be filled with courage to be different from this culture. Do not fear 'them'. 

"The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever leans on, trusts in, and puts his confidence in the Lord is safe and set on high." Prov. 29:25

Know and believe Him (Isaiah 43:10-13) and stand with Him, and 'produce change' in your sphere of influence and beyond.