Each day we awaken to a visible world which operates flawlessly by invisible forces.  The tides, air pressure, winds, temperature, precipitation all affect global harvests which affect global economies which affect every person on earth.  But as usual it is God who makes the first move.  He spoke the worlds into existence by the breath of His mouth.  He set everything we see in motion and then He gave us the stewardship over it.

Since we are created in the image of God He wants us to follow His example of creation every day of our lives.  He wants us to create.  How?  With our words.  And not just any words, but with inspired words.  Words that paint the world you want, not the world you have.  Words which pre-play successes, not re-play failures.  Your words create your world.  They are seeds which come back to you in the form of blessings or curses.

As the architect of your life you develop your personal metropolis.  What does your “life-city” look like?  Is it filled with huge bridges, tall doors and super highways?  Are there beautiful gardens, prosperous neighborhoods, lush parks and elegant buildings?  Perhaps your city is different.  Some people have a city which looks more like a ghetto overrun with weeds, pot holes and graffiti-sprayed walls.  Other cities lay in rubble like some of the mid-east desert cities we see on the news.  And still others may have a Gotham City; dark, mysterious and threatening.

Your words and subsequent decisions have created the city you live in today.  But regardless of the present condition of your city, you remain the creator, the Mayor if you will.   Now please listen carefully.  If your city is in trouble, it is not too late to begin a new city-wide re-development and infrastructure program!  You can change anything and everything.  How did NYC go from being one of the most dangerous cities in the world to the #1 SAFEST big city in the US?  The Mayor, (Giuliani at the time) made a decision.  He decided that it was time to clean up the city.  And he did.  You can too.  Use your words.

Today your words are attracting some people and repelling others.  Your words are attracting opportunities or keeping them afar off.  Begin building the kind of city you want to live in every day.  It’s your life and your choice.  PRG

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.

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?

We are so excited about a brand new feature here at DCTV.  It’s called Intimate Confessions.  This is a special place where you and I can meet the Lord and worship Him with His Word.  I take selected portions of scripture and personalize them as a prayer, a heart cry, an intimate confession.

This is a place of vulnerability, a broken place; a place which calls you.  But it is in this place that we connect.  And isn’t the inspiration of this connection all we really need?  For in that union holy things take place.  Things so boundless, so momentous, that mere words cannot explain.   It’s a holy place of intimacy between the Lord and His greatest creation, you.

Please let me know how Intimate Confessions is working for you and if you have any suggestions.  Plus, I welcome any scriptures you would like me to include in this exciting new element of Dream Church TV.

Rooted and Grounded in His Love,

Pastor Ralph D. Gerard