True and Righteous Are His Judgments!

Psalm 19:9 – The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

David loved the word of God, which was referred to as the Torah in his day. When he wrote the psalms, under the inspiration and revelation of the Holy Spirit, I believe his heart was truly in tune with God. This psalm about the Torah, God’s word is an encouragement to all who love it!

David said to Solomon, on his deathbed: “I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies…that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me… (1 Kings 2: 2-4). David understood the importance of obeying the Word!

The phrase, “the judgments of the Lord” refers to His decisions about mankind and our situations. The Hebrew word, “mispat” has two main meanings, according to the Vine’s Dictionary. The first meaning is that “of sitting as a judge, hearing a case, and rendering a proper verdict. The second meaning carries a sense “in which things are in proper relationship to one’s claims; a judicial verdict. Nevertheless, the bottom line is that judgments refer to the One who offers a verdict over a case.That One is none other than the LORD!

In His word, God has made some judgments, and rather they are accepted or not; believed or not; wanted or not; they are so!

*Some say it doesn’t seem right that God dealt so harshly with the Egyptians, but guess what, it was His call and He made it!

*Some don’t like the truth that the soul that sins shall die, but again, that’s the decision God has made. And He informed us of His judgments so that we won’t sin and spend a Christless eternity in hell.

*Some don’t like the judgment that there is no other name given among men whereby we can be saved, His name is Jesus. His judgment has been sealed that if we don’t believe on the Lord Jesus, we shall perish.

*Some refuse to believe that God will turn them away because they don’t believe in Jesus, but sad will be the soul who leaves this earth holding that lie dear to his heart.

*Some don’t like that God judges the sin of homosexuality, that He forbids adultery and fornication, that He demands holiness, but His judgments are His. He is the Judge and the Juror and needs no advice or counsel for His judgments.

His judgments are true. They are the truth! They don’t change with generations. Generation X, Y and Z and every one before and behind have to submit to His judgments to be in right standing with Him. There is no other truth higher than His judgments and we need only to study them and trust in Him to see the truth of them. The freedom of knowing them and living with them in our heart.

His judgments are righteous, or right!! Can you imagine that? God is right? Of course He is! In every decision, every judgment, every call. He never has to apologize to anyone. He has never made a mistake, a bad call. He is just right all of the time, in every situation!! I heard someone quote a well know speaker saying that God will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah if He doesn’t punish America! How about this? I don’t think so!! He doesn’t need to or have to. As a matter of fact, with all of our issues and all of our sins, we are still not in the same boat as they were. How do I figure that? They couldn’t find ten righteous in the land and I know that we have hundreds of thousands in the land who have not bowed their knee to the devil!!

God’s judgments are dependable. They are the same for each of us. They are righteous all together for everyone. No getting around them or ignoring them. He knows what He is doing and what He has done. And again, they are with us in mind. Wonderful Jesus!

The Fear of the Lord!

Psalm 19:9 -The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

I trust that you have been enjoying these blogs on the word of God. As I have been writing them, I have also been learning more about the Word of God. Can we ever learn enough? Will we ever know it all? Someday, maybe! But today is not that day!Anyway, today I am looking at the fear of the Lord.

The fear of the Lord is not being afraid of the Lord or His word; but it is a reverence of the Lord. The Greek word for fear is “eulabeia”, which means “caution, reverence, godly fear. I am not afraid of God in the sense that He frightens me. Quite the opposite. He draws me with His love! But I have such a reverence for Him, for His Word that I don’t take lightly what He says to me.

David spoke much about the fear of the Lord. Here are a few things David had to say:

• Psalm 25:12 -Who is the man who fears the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with submissive wonder]? He will teach him [through His word] in the way he should choose. (AMP) When you fear the Lord, God Himself will teach you! That’s a huge benefit!

• Psalm 25:14 – The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning. (AMP) God’s counsel is for the one who fears Him, and He will reveal His word to him/her.

• Psalm 33:18 -Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him [and worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and obedience], On those who hope [confidently] in His compassion and lovingkindness, (AMP). God’s eye is on those who fear Him and whose hope is in Him.

• Psalm 34:7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him [with awe-inspired reverence and worship Him with obedience], And He rescues [each of] them. AMP. Angelic protection and deliverance is available to the one who fears the Lord!

• Psalm 111:10 – The [reverent] fear of the Lord is the beginning (the prerequisite, the absolute essential, the alphabet) of wisdom; A good understanding and a teachable heart are possessed by all those who do the will of the L ord; His praise endures forever. AMP. Fearing the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom. You’re pretty smart if you fear Him!

And I could continue in this vein, going through scriptures to share the wondrous truths of fearing the Lord. None of these benefits, are to keep us under God’s control, but to bless our lives immensely. None of these scriptures talk about tyrannical rule (where He exercises His power in a cruel or arbitrary way). Contrary to what some may say about God “getting us,” everything He has ever done has been out of a heart of love for us. Israel & New Breed sang a song, “Surely Goodness and Mercy”. In the song he sang, “And you’re not mad at me, no you’re not mad at me, you’re madly in love with me!” That’s the reason we can fear Him without fear! That’s the reason we can submit to the God of the Word and to the Word of our God! His word is a love letter to let us know the extreme He went to for us to redeem us to Himself! The extreme love He has for all us! And therefore, to fear Him, to reverence Him, to give Him that which is due Him, is our reasonable service to Him!

Joshua said, “Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; remove the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the (Euphrates) River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14

Yes, in fearing Him, it means letting go of the worldly gods that you and your family may have embraced willingly and unwillingly. Yes, in fearing the Lord, you are going to have to walk away from some things: SIN! But He won’t force you! He wants you to do it because your fear Him. You reverence Him and care about what He says and asks of you!

I went a little different with this one. I felt I had to. The psalmist wrote that the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever! Well, one thing I can attest to about the fear of the Lord: it will definitely lead you to a life that is clean and has everlasting rewards! Wonderful Jesus!!

God’s Commandments!

Psalm 19b: “The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes”

When we read God’s word, often times there are different words that translate in English to appear to be the same word. Such as in studying the different names for the word of God. But as we have seen thus far, there is a difference, even if a slight one, of the six facets of revelation concerning God’s word.

We have looked at the law, testimonies, and statutes and how they reveal a different characteristic of the word of God. Today we will look at His commandments.

When I think of the commandments, I can’t help but think in terms of the Ten Commandments. However, I heard this past week that there are 603 other commandments in the word. No one can possibly keep that many commandments. The word tells us that! In this study I am not trying to get us to focus on trying to obey these commandments, but I think it necessary to at least be aware that the six different terms in Psalm 19 conveys six different things.

Commandment in the Old Testament can be looked upon as both “prescription” and “proscription”; meaning “what we shall do” and “what we shall not do”! If we just look at the Ten Commandments it is easy to see the difference:

• You shall not have any other gods before me!-proscription

• You shall not make for yourself a graven image of anything in the heaven above…-proscription

• You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…-proscription

• Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.-prescription

• Honor your father and your mother.-prescription

• You shall not murder.-proscription

• You shall not commit adultery-proscription

• You shall not steal-proscription

• You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor-proscription

• You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, etc.-proscription

In this set of commandments there are more of what we shall not do (proscription) than what we shall do (prescription). But since people have a hard enough time keeping these ten, we won’t go through any others. Suffice it to say that the commandments of the LORD are about we shall do and what we shall not do!

The commandments of the LORD are pure. David wrote, “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” This word pure also means innocent or free. If I had to choose which word the psalmist meant, it would be free. The commandments of the LORD, contrary to popular belief, are freeing, not binding!! Our Pastor likes to say, “when you know what God wants, give it to Him!” It’s freeing to know what God approves of and what He doesn’t approve of. Don’t you think? It has a way of letting you know His very heart about certain things. I have a daughter who always check with me about what she is doing. She just wants to know what I think about the things she is doing or want to do. She wants my approval! I get that, because I want God’s approval! Sometimes she doesn’t even have to ask because she knows what I will say, but she asks anyway. Especially if she thinks I will change my mind. Similarly to God, sometimes people ask God to change His mind about His commandments. Trust me when I say, you are wasting your breath!

“Enlightening the eyes” is a phrase used in the New Testament. Paul prayed in Ephesians 1 “that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened.” What does this even mean? In the New Living Translation it states the commandments are for “giving insight for living”. Doesn’t that sound like freedom? When you know the right and the wrong way to live life, it is freeing. Having insight into what is wrong and right causes your eyes to be opened and your understanding to be clear. One would think that the commandment to not steal, or kill, or even to not commit adultery would be easy to keep and easy to understand, but sad to say, they are not easy to some people! And I would venture to say that those people are looking for a reason for them to not make sense!

Again, I am not doing this study for bondage sake, but for understanding sake. As I mentioned before, some people struggle with the restraints God’s Word places on their lives, but these restraints are for our good. For our freedom. And although we are not bound by the Old Testament commandments, even Jesus expected us to refrain from adultery, thievery, lying, and many of the other proscriptions in the law. Not to bind us, but to free us. In Galatians Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ set us free!” Jesus wants us as free today from the bondage of sin, as He has always wanted us. Nothing in my study of the word has shown God in a selfish light. If anything, it has shown the magnitude of His love and His heart towards mankind.

Don’t allow the devil and your desires to lie to you about obeying God’s word. They are not burdensome! It isn’t about Him as much as it is about you. For your right living! For your victory! For your freedom! Now go and walk in it! Wonderful Jesus!

My Heart Rejoices!

Psalm 19:8a- “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:”

The Hebrew word for statute is “hoq”. It means “statute, prescription, rule, law,or regulation. It is derived from the Hebrew word, “haqaq” which means “to cut in, determine, or decree”. According to the Vine’s “in a general sense it refers to the “laws” of nature like rain. Psalm 148:6 states that he hath established the celestial bodies forever. But the most important meaning is in reference to the law, which correlates with our text. Yahweh’s statutes, decrees, law, or determinations about nature, mankind, or anything else is right!

Right means morally right or straight. People look for all kinds of loopholes in the laws of man, but there are no loopholes in the laws of Yahweh. He said what He meant and He meant what He said. Barak found this out when he tried to curse the children of Israel as they made their way to the promise land. God had decreed that they were blessed, so Barak couldn’t curse them, but ended up blessing them also. He finally had to say, “God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. Has He said it, and shall He not do it. Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19) We need to start taking God at His word! He will keep His word to us!

Then we look at the phrase, “rejoicing of the heart”. I don’t know about you, but my heart rejoices at the decrees of God. When I think of decrees I always think of the decree King Nebuchadnezzar made in chapter three. The one where he decreed that when the music was played everyone had to bow to him or be thrown in the fiery furnace. Then the music sounded and the three Hebrew boys refused to bow. So because of the decree they were thrown in the furnace. Or the decree in the book of Esther when King Ahasuerus gave Haman permission to destroy the Jews? Remember how Esther had Haman and the king over for dinner and she exposed Haman’s plot against the Jews? In chapter eight she asked the King to reverse the decree and the king’s response to her was: “for the writing which is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.” If this is true of the earthly king, it is even more true of the heavenly King. No man can reverse what He has decreed. So that is reason to rejoice! This is what He said about His word, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” His word always produces. That’s reason to shout!

What has He said about you?

• You are blessed!

• You are healed!

• You are prosperous!

• You are the head and not the tail!

• You are the righteous of God in Christ Jesus!

• You are an heir and a joint heir with Jesus!

• You are more than a conqueror!

• You are the Blood bought Church, the redeemed!

So the next time you are feeling as if it is too hard to follow and obey the statues of the Lord, please remember, that His statues are His decrees that are meant to bring joy to your heart! He was and is looking out for your best interest and mine. His statutes gives us reason to hope and to move forward in life! Embrace His decrees and know that they are there for the rejoicing of your heart! Wonderful Jesus!

God’s Testimony!

Psalm 19:7b- “the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

Have I stated that this is my absolute favorite passage on the word of God? If not, let me say it now! I love this passage!

In my previous post, I wrote about the perfectness of the law. Today I want to write about God’s testimony!!

The word “testimony” used in this verse is in a sense the truth attested by God Himself of what He did and is capable of doing! It is also a term that denotes His declaration as a God of covenant. What possible testimony could God give of Himself that would ring true?

*Creation

*The Flood

*Abraham and Sarah having Isaac at such an old age

*The Ten plagues against the Egyptians- amazing!!

*Parting of the Red Sea

*The Jericho walls falling, to name a few!

And amazingly so, covenant is involved in all of these examples of His wondrous testimony in the affairs of man and the Earth! I can’t and won’t go any deeper into His miraculous signature upon all that He does, but suffice it to say, His testimony of what He has done is irrefutable, though many try.

The testimony of the Lord, (again we refer to Him as Yahweh), is sure. “Sure” can mean not only what is firm but what is confirmed. So let’s look at a few things that have been confirmed! Many argue against creation, but I don’t need a scientist to disprove evolution. For example, if man evolved from an ape, men would continue to evolve from apes. After all, why would it stop? Would nature tell the ape that it no longer needs to produce man because man can do it? Ridiculous! How about a tadpole? I would need mountain moving faith to believe man evolve from a tadpole! This teaching is so ridiculous that I am amazed that intelligent people still have the audacity to continue to keep it alive. When man gets into deep trouble, he doesn’t yell for a monkey, He yells for His Creator! Every single time!!

I was teaching on the Egyptian culture and the Nile River in my Social Studies class a couple years ago when I decided to pull up a video of what the Nile River looks like today. In my search I found some videos of the Red Sea. Having never gone to that area of the world I thought I would take a look at the video. It wasn’t long before I found a video explaining that there is proof in the Red Sea of chariot wheels and other objects along the path of the Exodus. Of course these objects have been taken over by the sea, but the shapes and the multitude of objects are proof of something happening to litter the floor of the Red Sea from one side of the sea to the other side. You think!! So God has proof of His many testimonies that we read about in His Word! His testimonies are verified!! Even my earlier post, “Tell Me Your Story-Brannon Carnes”, is proof that He raises the dead! His testimony is verified in the word, it’s verified in history, and it is verified in my life and the lives of so many others.

Making wise the simple! “Making wise” means just that! His testimonies will make you wise! When you get into the word of God, “His testimony” you will become wise. Proverbs states that the wise in heart will receive commandments (Proverbs 10:8). A wise heart is open to the testimony of God, and the person becomes wise. The simple person, the one who is uncomplicated, maybe even a child, has no problem understanding, accepting, and believing in the Word. That’s why many people have criticize saints of the past thinking them simple minded because they were so on fire for God. They understood that the word of God made them wise, not riches, not book knowledge, but the Word. I wish I could have one of those old timers sit down with me and share some of their wisdom with me. That’s why I love to read their books and testimonies. Simple people made wise because of their knowledge of the word of God!

The entire book of the Bible is God’s testimony of who He said He is, of what He said He did, of what He is yet doing! There is absolutely nothing simple about what He did, yet you don’t need a college degree (simple) to believe Him or to follow Him! Even if He never did another miracle, (which would be a miracle in and of itself) He has done so much to display the majesty of His power; the splendor of His glory, the wonder of His name! From Genesis to Revelation we are taught of an amazing God, who bears record to all that He has done, and His testimony is sure, confirmed.

Is it possible that He is no longer that God? The God who bore record to who He is? The God who performed miracles, then sent Jesus to perform miracles, then anointed His church to perform miracles, and then He stopped being God? I DON’T THINK SO! His testimony today is that He is the same God today, that He was yesterday, and will be tomorrow! Maybe it’s time to take off the glasses of religion and put on the glasses of faith and see and taste the God whose testimonies are sure! Wonderful Jesus!

It’s Perfect!

Psalm 19:7- “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul…”

For the next several blogs I will be looking at the Word of God. Stay with me, for I believe we will learn some great things together.

The word “law” is translated “tora”. The “tora” is known to be the first 5 books of the Bible. On the site: myjewishlearning.com, one of my favorite sites for learning more of the Jewish faith, it states, “…the written Torah, also known as the chumash (the five volumes or Pentateuch, sometimes referred to as the five Books of Moses). Without assuming anything I would like to remind you that these books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The law is the comprehensive term for God’s revealed will, for our reference point, the entire Bible. So the tora of the LORD is His comprehensive revealed will to man.

The phrase “the LORD” is the translation of the Hebrew name “Yahweh”. God first reveals Himself as Yahweh to Moses at the burning bush. Moses asks God, what was He supposed to say to the people when they asked His name. He responds by saying, “I Am who I Am!” The name Yahweh literally means “the self-existing One”. There is so much I can say about Yahweh but His name is not our topic today. Suffice it to say that Yahweh is declaring His revealed will for those of us He is in covenant relationship with, thus the term “LORD” in all caps.

The “law” is perfect. Perfect in this statement is used as an adjective that describes the noun, law. So David is describing the law as perfect. The Hebrew word for perfect is “tamim”. In a commentary on the Psalm, perfect is described as meaning “His flawless wisdom, love and power are mirrored in the relative soundness of thought, motive and achievement.” What this is saying to me is, the tora is the revealed will of Yahweh and is His flawless wisdom, love, and power seen in His soundness of thought, as well as His motive and His achievements.

The last phrase to look at today, “converting the soul” is the same phrase is Psalm 23 where David states, “He restores my soul.” It conveys a couple meanings: the refreshing place in Yahweh where we are restored emotionally or spiritually, or more of a sense of repentance and conversion. One pastor describe conversion to his congregation in this manner: He told them to look at the pulpit. He said that the pulpit was made of lumber cut from a tree. The change was so spectacular that although it’s origins are known, it no longer resembles a tree nor can it even act as a tree. (Paraphrasing is involved here.) God’s word has the power to completely change an individual into a brand new creation, just as it promises. (2 Corinthians 5:17). In any case, Yahweh’s law causes us to repent (to turn away from and to change our way of thinking in regards to something), to convert (be totally changed into a new creation) and to be refreshed (to experience a sense of restoration and renewal). It is perfect! The law does so much for our soul, meaning our life, it’s not for His benefit!

So I am going to do a Rick Renner on you today! What this verse is actually saying is:

The tora, the entire word of God, God being Yahweh, the self-existing One, is His comprehensive will revealed to us, and is His flawless wisdom, love and power mirrored in the relative soundness of thought, motive and achievement, absolutely perfect, bringing repentance, change, and refreshings to our lives, our very beings, it’s all for us!

Something so wonderful, given to us by Someone so thoughtfully looking out for our well being, should not be ignored and thought so little of. Let’s make a decision today to read, cherish, and obey ALL of His word today! Wonderful Jesus!

By the way, don’t forget to email me your stories at martiesus@gmail.com. The world is waiting to hear what wondrous things He has done for you!!

A Praise Break!

Psalm 48:1 -Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

Yesterday was quite the day! Between phone calls and texts I spent quite a bit of time interceding with and for my family and friends. And God was faithful as always! It seemed that truly the enemy was up to no good! But before the day was done, the victories had been won!

And when I woke up this morning!! Glory be to God! I had rest in my soul, peace of mind, and praise on my lips. As I walked around outside I was quiet, taking in the beauty of the morning that God had given to me. Knowing that the people we prayed for yesterday was better because of Jesus! Knowing that the devil was not victorious on yesterday with all of his stuff. Knowing that we serve the true and living God. Then I began to praise Him!!

My heart rejoices in the truth that He is great! He is greater than the devil! He is greater than circumstances! He is greater than situations! He is greater than bad news! He is greater than our disappointments! He is greater than sickness! He is greater than disease! He is greater than lack! He is greater than debt! He is greater than death! He is greater than the storms-natural and spiritual! He is greater than divorce! He is greater than abandonment! He is greater than pain! He is greater than racism! He is greater than politics! He is greater than anything that we can ever experience in this life time! He is greater!!

And because He is greater, He is greatly to be praised! I praise Him because of all the answered prayers on yesterday! I praise Him because when we call on Him He answers us! I praise Him because we have been access to Him through the Blood! I praise Him because He desires to communicate with us!

And then I just praise Him because He is worthy of the praise! He is worthy because He is God all by Himself! I praise Him because He is the Alpha and the Omega! I praise Him because He is the Most High God! I praise Him because He is Almighty! I praise Him because no foe can stand before Him!

I praise Him because the gospel is being preached through every means possible. I praise Him for pastors, teachers, evangelists, preachers and all those who carry the good news to the lost and the people of God! I praise Him because He has given His angels charge over me to protect me in all my ways!

I praise Him because He first loved me! I praise Him for family and good friends! I praise Him for life and that more abundantly! I praise Him for strength in my body! I praise Him for giving me this blog! I praise Him for every like, every comment, and every follower! I praise Him because He works all things out for my good! I praise Him because no weapon formed against me shall prosper! I praise Him because He is my King, my Master, my ABBA Father! I praise Him for you!! I may be all over the place in this blog, but I am sure of one thing: I give Him praise! I give Him praise! Now take time for your own praise break! Wonderful Jesus!!

Tell Me Your Story-Brannon Carnes

Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I was praying on Saturday evening when I heard the Spirit of God whisper, “Tell me your story!” As I continued to pray I saw my blog and was given the idea to ask my followers to send in their stories, aka testimonies. The following morning we had a guest speaker, Pastor Brannon Carnes share a most amazing story. I knew then it was a confirmation from the Lord and I was to share it. I hope this excerpt from his story bless you as much as I was blessed:

Testimony of God’s Resurrection Power: Brannon Carnes

The setting is hot, humid and without a single natural breeze (in Sierra Leone, West Africa). I am leading worship for the second time. I am opening my mouth as I have done for almost 30 years, leading God’s people in worship. However, there is something that’s about to happen to me that would change my life forever, an attack that I’ve never experienced before.

The moment I stopped playing the keyboard and singing, I start to experience a dizzy sensation. I thought to myself, “How could this be happening to me at this moment?” In my own estimation, I felt I had been drinking plenty of water, and I knew I had eaten enough food. Nevertheless, I was beginning to quickly lose touch with reality. I was not feeling well at all with no logical reason.

My eyes began to close. I had no feeling left in my natural body. I felt nothing and I was in control of nothing. Everything goes completely black. I then entered a dream-world. It felt like I was taking a nap.

In this dream, someone was reaching down to me, as if to pull me out of a hole. I opened my eyes but all I see are the eyes of the man pulling me out. I didn’t recognize this man, neither did I know where I was. The truth is, Pastor James Ward had picked me off of the floor and placed me in a chair.

At this time, I remember opening my eyes and thinking, “where am I?” Pastor James was in my face shouting, “Are you with me? Are you 100%?” Later, he told me that I was looking at him but I wasn’t coherent. My eyes were glazed over and I was drifting. He mentioned that my eyes started rolling into the back of my head and I was unconscious again.

Pastor James said that my body became lifeless, I went completely limp. He checked for a pulse and found none…the lady standing to my right was a nurse. She also checked for a pulse and found none. Pastor James mentions that the first thing to pop into his mind was an image of my wife’s face and he being the one to tell her that I died in Sierra Leone.

Pastor James immediately jumps into warfare mode and begins to war for my very life. He was praying intensely, fervently. The urgency eventually took over the service and in seconds the entire church begins to pray.

The nurse, who also happened to be one of the key intercessors of the local church, begins to call down fire from heaven. My body starts shaking…then from out of nowhere I see a ball of fire come down from heaven and hit me in my belly! And I was completely alive! I’ve never felt more alive in my life up until that moment! Pastor James asks the question again, “Are you with me…are you 100%?” The tears weren’t streaming down my face, but squirting out of my eyes as I shouted a resounding, “Yes!”

I was taken to an upper room for me to cool off…A medical doctor came in and took my pulse. He just happened to be attending the morning session of the conference. He said my blood pressure was a bit low, but would check me a little later in order to get a more accurate reading.

Whenever asked how I felt, my response was, “I feel as if nothing happened.” I did feel great! There wasn’t even a trace of fatigue, no side effects. I didn’t even feel any pain from hitting my head on the floor. The Resurrection power had taken care of everything. All systems were not only back to normal, they felt like they were brand new.

Wonderful, wonderful, Savior!! Thank God He is still the same today that He was yesterday and will be forever!

If you have an amazing story, do tell! Since it is my blog, I reserved the right to edit it for grammar, to shorten it for quick reading, to choose when to post or not to post! Wonderful Jesus!

Won’t He Do It!

Genesis 50:20 – But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. NKJV

It’s unfortunate that as we go through this life we are going to get hurt! There is no getting around it. We probably offend someone at least once a day, and are offended at least twice a day, it’s a part of life. But there are some times when people are just down right mean, and it can cause you to stumble.

Joseph experienced this in a painful way. From his own family. From his brothers. And it was no accident. It was on purpose and intentional. Ouch!

Jacob had two wives. They were sisters! Jacob really loved and desired Rachel, but he was tricked into marrying Leah. Then he had to play lover boy to not only the sisters, but the Sisters’ maids in order to produce children. Finally, Rachel had her own sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Talk about a major soap opera! It gets worse.

Jacob made a coat of many colors for Joseph because he was Jacob’s favorite! Parents should never have favorites and then parade it around their children. When my kids asked who my favorite was I would reply something like, “you’re my favorite six year old, and so-so is my favorite…” Loving all of your children the same doesn’t mean treating them all the same, because different kids need different things. But they should always know they are loved equally. Anyway, Jacob treated Joseph as his favorite and his brothers despised him. To make matters even hotter, God started speaking to Joseph in dreams about ruling over the family, and he shared it, causing everyone to get angrier at him. Even Jacob didn’t care for that action!!

So when the opportunity came for them to harm him, that’s exactly what they planned to do. However, Judah interceded in the manner, planning on helping Joseph, but then the other brothers sold him into slavery. Can you imagine waking up tomorrow and realizing that you are so despised by someone that they are planning your demise, your destruction, your downfall; and they are your family or close friend? Well, it happened to Joseph.

Maybe it wasn’t this drastic for you. Maybe a family member was physically abusive to you; or maybe to one of your children. Maybe someone close to you stole money from you that you needed to pay your rent or mortgage. Maybe your spouse had an affair or your parent abandoned you. Maybe all of this, or some other junk that comes into our lives to mess us up! It could be a whole lot of stuff!

Well, Joseph did not allow that stuff to get into his heart and stop the plans of God. When the woman tried to seduce him, he wouldn’t have any part in it. He didn’t allow his pain to cause pain. When he was thrown in jail and falsely accused, he didn’t malign her character or say God had abandoned him. No way! He was still in such fellowship with God that he was able to interpret dreams. And when the cupbearer forgot about him for two years, he didn’t become bitter and declare it was no use in serving God. Nope! And that’s why he was ready for promotion when it came.

You see, Joseph had obviously decided that no matter what came his way, his hope and trust was anchored in the Lord. He looked for God in everything and in everything he served God. Unlike a lot of us today. My biggest pet peeve; the thing I hate the most, is to hear someone attribute the pain, hurt, and disappointment in their lives to God. Joseph didn’t do it! And neither should we.

That is why when his brothers thought “surely it was payback time” after the death of their father that Joseph was able to say to them, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good!” You see, some things in life may be difficult, but if we will trust God, He will work it out for our good. (Romans 8:28) He promised that He would. I personally don’t believe that God needed Joseph to be hated by his brothers to make those dreams come to pass. But I do believe that God knew they hated him so much that they would sell him, and God gave Him the dream in advance to give him hope. See, God is not reactionary! He knows the devil plans and He gives us a counter plan, often in advance, to thwart the devil.

Let’s face it! Life stinks some times. Even when we are trusting God to work things out for our good! But it is imperative that in the midst of difficult times and situations we keep our hearts right and our eyes fixed on Jesus! Then we will be able to say that what people (being used by the devil) mean for evil against us, God will work it out for our good! Wonderful Jesus!

BY FAITH I UNDERSTAND!

Hebrews 11:3 -Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. KJV

Have you ever had a situation in life that you didn’t understand? Well, if you haven’t, I have had enough of them to share with you! And it is doing those times that our trust in a loving God is challenged. It’s a time when the wheat is separated from the tare.

Loss is a huge disappointment to us all. Whether you lose a job, a promotion, a family member, a relationship, or your health, it can be pretty traumatic causing you to say, “God, I don’t understand!”

Well, one day I was going through a pretty tough time in my life and I said this very thing. Then I heard a whisper in my heart, “By faith we understand!” NKJV states by faith while the KJV states through. But the bottom line is that faith is the key to understanding those difficult things in life. Those things you really don’t have a logical answer for. Like creation!

We believe in creation because the Word of God, which authenticates itself, says that God created the heavens and the earth. Of course, any rational person can look at the majesty of the world and draw that conclusion. It takes beyond faith to believe in evolution, but that’s for another day!

Faith, is about trust. It isn’t blind faith, as some would have you believe, but it is faith in the character and the word of the person you have placed your trust in. For example, I have absolute faith in my husband’s commitment to me. Over the years I have found that I can trust him and what he says to me. He comes home every day looking for me to spend time with me. He wants to hang out with me and talk to me throughout the day. We enjoy each other’s company today as much, maybe more, than we did when we were dating. If someone accused him to me of being unfaithful, I would trust him over them.

This to me is what that phrase meant when God spoke it to me. When I don’t understand the things that are going on around me, by faith I just trust that God understands. He knows what is happening and why, and He is not shocked by any of it. His character and His word has been proven to me over and over again, and I refuse to line up with the accuser against Him and His word.

Some attribute their heartaches and disappointments to God, either directly or indirectly. They even dress up tragedy and disappointment by saying He is Sovereign. And He is! (Also a topic for another day!) But not me! By faith I understand that God loves me as much as He said that He loves me and is looking out for me. By faith I understand that in this world I will have tribulations, but Jesus has overcome the world and so can I! By faith I understand that “it’s not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit” that I will win the battle over disappointment and hurts. By faith I understand that this trial I’m going through, God will show me what to do! By faith I understand that if God be for me, who can be against me. By faith I understand that no weapon formed against me shall prosper. By faith I understand that the thoughts that God think towards me are for good and not for evil to bring me to an expected end! I think you get the point!

It’s not always my first thought, but it doesn’t take me long to get there! I am truly training my heart and my words to understand that what I don’t understand in this life, I choose to understand by faith! God has truly been so good to me. I won’t disappoint Him and break His heart by having Him to thing that I don’t trust Him to take good care of me as He has promised. Wonderful Jesus!