Luke 16:15 – “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, something stirred in me and made me think.   Numbers 5 tells an unusual story about jealousy and infidelity.   I think it is unfortunate that we focus on the natural and some on the seeming inequality in the story.  The woman, not a man, is being examined and judged.  Some cannot get past the natural and even wonder about the magic potion used.  That is to miss the message.

I see a treatise focusing on the power of words and covenant oaths or commitments.   This woman was asked to say certain things and then swear to their truthfulness.   The priest pronounced a curse for lying.  Breaking the oath (commitment) of the Covenant (marriage in this case) makes the curses immediately real.

The power of words is seen in the Aaronic Blessing of Numbers 6:22-27.  In Luke 16, the central message is faithfulness in responsibility and the importance of accountability. An interesting statement appears in verse 15: “God knows your heart.”    Self-justification flows out of self-deception. It does not impress God.

Each of us has been offered salvation and full deliverance in Jesus.   Our problem is that too often we follow the mentality of the Pharisee of Luke 18, “Thank God, I’m not like THEM.”   Our only legitimate comparison is Jesus, and none of us measure up.

The bottom line is choice. With Blessing comes responsibility and accountability.  Self-justification blinds us to the truth and binds us to our bondage. Honesty shines a light on us and exposes every blemish.

Stop saying, “I took a step back, but overall, I am making progress.” Yet, you keep going back to the bondage.  Why?   One reason is that it owns you; another is that you like its company.  Everything in life is rooted in choice!  If I continually revert to a bondage lifestyle, it is because I have rejected the victory Jesus offers and prefer to wallow in my mud hole of misery.  That is harsh, but it is reality.

“Whom the Son set free is FREE indeed.” (John 8:36).   No ambiguity there. No one steps forward and two back there.   No fallacious belief that I am getting better my way.  It is simply to give it to Jesus in total surrender, and He breaks the bondage.  It is choice, accountability, responsibility, and persistence.

Today, if there is any area of bondage in your life, place it on the altar to Jesus.  Do not justify it.  Do not excuse it.  Do not ignore it.  Do not compare it to others.  Admit it, confess it, repent of it, and receive your full deliverance! Then, with perseverance and accountability, replace the bondage with God’s precepts and promises.   Is that difficult? Usually, YES! But we are not doing this alone. But it begins with our choice!

LORD, help us never to be guilty of self-justification!

Luke 11:9-10 – “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the words “persistence” and “perseverance” filled my thoughts.  How many times do we fail in the area of persistence and perseverance?  How many times are we inconsistent and give in to temptation?  How many times do we lament our situation and even adopt a victim mentality rather than standing firm and resisting the devil?  Once is too many!

I love the story in Luke 11, where Jesus illustrates persistent prayer.   We tend to read “Ask, seek, and knock” in a nonchalant manner. The context and the Greek debunk that attitude.

The idea, need, and benefit of persistence are impossible to miss. Then, Jesus said, “Ask, seek, and knock.”   The Greek is “Ask and keep on asking. Knock and keep on knocking. Seek and keep on seeking.”   Literally, yell out with extreme urgency, beat on the door persistently, and search almost frantically for the answer.

Some say that they want freedom from sin and ask casually for God’s help, then succumb.  They come back, almost justifying themselves or blaming external stimuli or God, and ask nonchalantly for help, then return to the mire.

No!  The answer must become a matter of life or death.   The urgency must be impossible to ignore.  Desire and determination must become all-consuming as you press into God’s presence.  Then the Holy Spirit, and even angelic help, comes. Then, deliverance comes.

In Luke 13:23, Jesus was asked, “Are only a few being saved?”   His answer says, “Although the invitation extends to everyone, FEW will find the door.” Prayer for ourselves or others must be fervent and prayed persistently with perseverance: no more flippant asking, but persistent pursuit of the answer.

James 5:16 – “The effective (fervent, persistent) prayer of a righteous person is powerful.” How important is the answer?  How serious are we about the deliverance?  How willing are we to admit our need, confess our sin, and pursue the answer (Jesus)?

God will answer the cries of persistent perseverance.   When we get serious, God responds.    That will not automatically remove consequences, but it will give a new start.

LORD, help us to persevere persistently!

2 Kings 13:18-19 – “Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. ¹⁹ The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I sensed two specific needs in me and the church.

• Spiritual Eyes that see beyond the natural.
• Urgency, unction, gumption, and function.

Complacency and nonchalance produce temporary victories, at best.   In 2 Kings 13, we have the account of King Joash coming to Elisha’s deathbed. The prophet gave him instructions (symbolic prophetic tasks).   He was a bit nonchalant and complacent in his response.  It infuriated the prophet, who had lived his life totally invested in God.

Effectual, fervent prayer avails much.   Persistent asking, seeking, and knocking get results.  It is the endurance to the end that gets the reward. It is the prepared that gain the victory.

If something (including lost souls) is not compelling enough to keep us awake and on our knees, we will not go All In with God.  No move of God has come without being preceded by Travail.  No deliverance in Israel until people became desperate.

Our focus cannot be us, except to right our lives and move into His presence.   2 Corinthians 6:17 screams of the need, not a requirement, to give God Everything. “Therefore, come out from among them, and be separate, says Adonai.” Separation, not isolation. Separation from practices, views, lifestyles, and defilement.

2 Corinthians 7:1 looks back at that plea and instructs, “let us cleanse ourselves from ALL defilement of body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

Do we truly believe and fear God?   Do we?   How do we live?   How do we think?   How do we conduct ourselves?  Does that reflect a genuine belief that Everything He says is true and demonstrate a true fear (awe) of Him?

If we are half-hearted, living as if we had endless days to get it right, and without genuine concern for our lives or the lost, that shouts that we do not! 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 reveal that personal commitment requires personal action.   God will not do for us what He tasked us to do. God will not arbitrarily take sin from us. He waits for us to act!

My actions testify to what I truly believe! Lord, open our spiritual eyes so we can see!

2 Corinthians 5:11 – “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, my heart overflowed.   It seems that lately, in every session with the Lord and His Word, the matter of CHOICE comes up.  God is challenging people to make a choice.   It is “All In” or “Not In.”   We may deceive ourselves about where we stand, but as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:11, “What we are is known to God.”

In 1 Kings 18, we have the face-off between Elijah and 850 pagan prophets on Mt. Carmel.   The challenge to them was, “Put up or shut up.” The challenge to the people was, “Make a choice. All in or All out.” God has no in-between.

When Elisha was waiting for Elijah to be taken to heaven, he made the persistent choice to persist.   Elijah tested him three times, and Elisha refused to be deterred each time.   When God took Elijah in the whirlwind, and his mantle fell to the ground, it did not fall on Elisha; it fell on the ground.   To have the mantle, Elisha had to make a choice and take action.  The anointing is not automatic. He had to go and take up the mantle.  God gives us opportunities, but we have to choose to pursue them.   It is never forced; it is allowed.

Something interesting is in the account in 2 Kings 4, where the stew was poisoned with wild gourds. “O man of God, there is death in the pot.” This is about more than a meal in the natural.

When false doctrine gets mixed into the teaching of the church, what do we do? Often, we throw everything out and kill the cook. What did Elisha do? He put in flour (truth) and served the stew.  Not only did he preserve the stew, but it was multiplied to feed everyone with leftovers.

The Gospel is an endless supply.  God’s truth overcomes and de-poisons error.  We do not have to throw everything away and kill the one who errs.  God is greater than that, and God desires restoration wherever and whenever possible.

We need the veil removed so we can become transformed.  What we focus on, we become.   If our focus is on error, we will fall into error.   If our focus is truth, truth will transform us. We are New Creations, not modifications. God wants to transform us and is waiting for us to make the choice to receive the exchanged life!  If we keep believing the lie, we become the lie.

Choice!  Make the Choice!

Isaiah 66:8 – “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?  Can a land be born in one day?  Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, I was challenged in my spirit on several fronts.   We say we want God’s outpouring. We say there is going to be a move in the Last Days. We say there will be revival, renewal, restoration, and reformation. BUT, for the most part, we proclaim it will be, but we don’t do what’s required to bring it into the present.

What do I mean by that?  That is a strong indictment.  Is it justified?  What is the missing element or factor?   I believe it is Travail.  The deep longing that is so intense it consumes, for God’s kingdom to be established, lost souls to be won, purity of heart to prevail, and the powers of darkness to be destroyed. That is Travail.   Isaiah 66:8 – “For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth children.”

In 1 Kings 8, in the dedication of the temple Solomon built, we see something interesting. In verse 8, we read that when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud (shekinah) filled the temple…  It was so powerful that the priests could not stand to minister because the shekinah glory filled the temple.  Could we relate the Holy Place to us going into the presence of God in prayer (Travail)?

In Acts 1-2, we see the 120 in the upper room (place of prayer).   It became their place of Travail and Holy Place to enter God’s presence.  When they prayed (travailed), something happened: PENTECOST!   They travailed, and God moved!

What did Jesus identify as the Greatest Commandments?  Love God with our entire being and our neighbor as ourselves.  How is love, consuming our entire being, manifested?   How is Covenant Love demonstrated?  It will die, if necessary, to reach, provide for, and protect the object of Covenant. How much do we love God? How deeply do we love our neighbor? The presence or absence of Travail answers that question.

If having a move of God does not move us into Travail, it is a nice thought, not a consuming desire.   If the thought of eternity is only theoretical, we will not be moved with the needed compassion that drives us to Travail.

Remember the words to Ezekiel?  God made him a watchman charged with sounding the alarm. If he did not, the souls of the lost would be on him. I believe being a watchman is more than proclaiming; it is reclaiming in Travail.

Jesus died so we could live. In the Finished work of the Cross, we have the power and authority to bind hell and pluck souls from the devil’s clutches. Let Gethsemane be our example.   Our eternity was so valuable to Jesus; He travailed UNTIL He overcame and stripped hell of its power.

How deeply do we want a move of God?  How deeply do we want family, friends, and people saved? That will be expressed in our Travail.

The missing ingredient in the Last Days move is Travail.