Archive for January, 2011

The Greatest Chapter In The BIBLE

I call Psalm 119 the greatest chapter in the Bible because each verse makes a reference to God’s Word, His Ordinances, His Statutes and Precepts.

It’s God’s Word on God’s Word!

Psalm 119 is for Quitters!

For people who have at last quit worrying, quit complaining, quit stressing, quit straining and quit doing things in their own abilities and understanding.

Psalm 119 is for people who are ready to allow God’s Word to settle the struggle!

Psalm 119 is for people who are ready to confide in what God said.   And that’s it!  What God said…

And that’s right – most people have to come to a place where ONLY what God said will do, which is why verse 71 says, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn your statutes.” Not that I may fear and complain…

You see, when we have confidence in His Word, nothing on earth can shake us, at least not for very long.   Verse 122 says that God will be surety for us, meaning His Word is our pledge.  So if your “track record” is not so great right now, that’s fine, your co-signer has perfect credit, the oppressor is stopped and you will be all right!

But perhaps one of the most powerful truths we can dig out of Psalm 119 is in verse 133,  Establish my steps and direct them by [means of] Your word; let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

God’s Word will place us on the right path and point us in the right direction every time!  And here’s why.  No Pollution!  Iniquity has NO Dominion over you.  The Word keeps your eyes focused on the source of life, blessing and power.

There is no guessing when you are led by the Word of the Lord.  Wisdom, Favor, Courage and Increase are all in your prosperous future.

Psalm 119 – Declare it out loud.  Meditate it.  Work it.  Your present and your future will be glad you did.

Receive!

What comes first, giving or receiving?  I’ll answer with a another question.  What would you have to give if you had not first received something?  Receiving comes before giving.  It always has.  It began when Father God breathed into the nostrils of that dirt-shaped man, and he became a living soul.

We received Christ’s love in order that we may give it back to others.  The Bible says that  He [JESUS] came to His own, but His own did not receive Him, but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. How long have God’s people being doing anything we believe could pry a blessing out of God’s hand,  when actually the Lord has been raining down abundance all around us; more than we could ever handle.  He’s still here among us and doing everything He has always done.  But so many receive Him not.

If there is anything we must learn to do as believers, it is to RECEIVE from God! Jer 9:20 says, “…And let your ear receive the word of His mouth…” What good father is not ready to bless his children whenever he possibly can?  Our God did not save us to make things hard for his children.  He invites us to receive His goodness.

God is always talking, blessing, healing, comforting, loving, nurturing, assuring, laughing, encouraging, teaching, and yes, sometimes correcting.  But the correcting is simply to position us to receive all that He wants to do for us every day.  How many times in scripture do we read how God spoke, but the people would not listen?  Nothing has changed.  God is till trying to be the ‘above all you can ask or think’ God of abundance while we settle for the crumbs of our own limitations.

Romans 5 tells us that those who receive the abundance of grace…will reign in life.  We read that He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness…that all things are ours.  And here’s the mind blower, God was showering His people with abundance in the Old Testament thousands of years before Christ! (Dt. 28:47).  It’s very clear dear friends.  God’s love and His blessings are too much for us to manage on any given day.  The question is, “Will you receive?”

Here’s my confession –  “Lord, make me a joyful and grateful receiver of all you have for my life today.  Not just for what I need, but what I desire, and better yet, for what I am too limited to know to ask!  Thank you.”

I am a Receiver!  How about you?

Your Future Is In Your Heart

JESUS said, “…For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure [deposit] of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure [deposit] brings forth evil things.” What JESUS was saying is that the substance of our inner reality [heart] will over the course of time begin to spill over and come out of our mouths as words.  Those words spoken today create our future tomorrow; so that whatever we allow our inner reality to become will eventually grow to be our destiny.  Think about that.  You and I determine the quality of our life each time we decide what we allow to be deposited into our hearts.

Is your life upside down right now? Stop thinking about it. That’s right, stop!  One may respond, “But this mess I’m in is all I can think about…”  Not true.  It’s just that you have been depositing so much of [your mess] in your heart, [through your thoughts and words] that you are now being flooded with the very thing which you hate.  Why are we surprised when the thing we think about all day comes to our door?  What we dislike intensely will come upon us!  It’s a spiritual law.  When a human being hates, we make a vivid picture in the subconscious mind which then develops into our present reality.

Why does money not show up at our door daily?  Because we never think about money arriving, we see it leaving.  Rather than “Money Cometh,”  most people’s reality is that, “Money Goeth!”  We think about bills arriving.  So of course, we are greeted with more bills so that we can see our money leave.  Mission accomplished!  But we hate that mission, ahh, read on.

We’ve got to change the picture, right?  Well, not so fast.  Actually, the picture will change on it’s own.  It has to in response to how your present picture was created.  Because your present subconscious picture is the byproduct of your response to, your mess, right?  So as long as you keep pushing back and resenting your miserable state, the picture becomes even more vivid.  Remember Led Zeppelin?  If your song remains the same, so will your picture.  So here’s you’re exit strategy from hell, dear one…

CHANGE YOUR SONG!  “Bless the Lord Oh my soul and all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name.”  Start saying it now, don’t wait.  Declare it in the midst of crisis and calamity.  It drives the forces of darkness crazy. When you change your song (confession), the picture changes. It is never the other way around.

The spiritual law at work in our God-breathed universe is this:  Humans speak their world into existence.  So rather than bemoan your present state over and over, begin to rejoice in the midst of your circumstances; begin to “pre-play” your future with your words.  Thank God for this opportunity to once again prove His Word and His faithfulness in your life.  He has never left you, and He is not going to start now!

Sure, at first it sounds strange to say things like, “It feels so good that all our debt is canceled and wiped away…”   But don’t worry, the more you say it, the more you believe it and the more the picture changes.  The Lord will then begin to work for you and through you in natural and supernatural ways.  Ideas, opportunities and miracles will begin to flow as your life begins to conform to the new debt free picture.  You WILL be free!

Want out of the hole today?  Drop the shovel of complaining, hatred and anger and begin fashioning your ladder of escape by speaking the Word of God with faith and purpose.  Watch how quickly your new future is birthed.  And moving forward, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

You’re A Champion!  — PRG