Malachi 1:6 – “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is the fear of Me?’ says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?”

In Malachi, God states a fact, “A son honors his father, and a salve his master. Then He came to the point.  He took their own words and challenged them.  He still does today!  “IF,” as you declare, I am your father, where is the honor you should be giving me?  He was not looking for words but the commitment of heart and obedience.   Words have power but can be empty if the heart is not in the words.  They continually said the words but kept back their hearts.

Next, He said, “You call me Lord (master); IF I am, then why don’t you have fear and respect for Me?”  They were dumbfounded.   After all, they attended church and said all the right things, wasn’t that what was required?

There was defiled food on the altar. What is that?  It was giving God the second best and leftovers.  Spare Change (money and heart).  Tipping living.  They were allowing the profane to thrive and not shutting it out.  Feasting at tables, they should be overturned.   God accepts no offering that is not pure (whole-heart commitment).

Malachi 2:17 – “You have wearied Me with your words.”  His statement is penetrating, “You say evil is good, and everybody and everything is okay.”  Calling evil good and good evil incurs God’s disfavor, not blessing.

Malachi 3 speaks of the tithe, but it is more than just the ten percent tithe. It is about obedience, commitment, love, faith, and revelation.   God invites us to put Him to the test and prove to ourselves and the world His faithfulness.

Obedience in faith produces an open heaven.

The blessings promised are “until it is Beyond Enough.”  Beyond enough indicates abundance and even lavishness.  But God goes beyond that and promises that the devourer will be rebuked and restrained.   That is a promise of protection from corruption.   That means we have pure offerings that invoke more blessings and greater protection.   It becomes a perpetual cycle.  For His Glory.

Money is not the object.  God is!  Fulfilling the purposes of God is.  The harvest is.  Functioning in power is.

Paul told Timothy to fight the good fight of faith through the personal prophecies he had received.  He later spoke of imparted gifts through the laying on of hands and prophecy.

We have a commission, and Malachi reveals a pathway to God’s person, provision, and power.  Timothy reveals how to function in that.

God is saying to us, “Give Me Your Whole Self.”  Give Me all you are and have, and I will give you Myself, all that I am and have.  I will open heaven, and NOTHING will be impossible or withheld from you. 

Our Part is Obedience and Faith.   We must train ourselves to expect My promises to become a reality NOW!  GOD will not receive superficial offerings but will bless and multiply pure-hearted offerings.  We must learn to Speak to our problems, the Word of God.  Give God your best, and He will do the rest.

May God richly bless you today and every day!

Job 33:14-16 – “Indeed God speaks once, or twice, yet no one perceives it. ¹⁵ In a dream, a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber in their beds, ¹⁶ Then He opens the ears of men, And seals in their discipline.”

Elihu, the fourth man who had come to Job, was chastising Job.  In his critique in Job 33:14-16, something interesting leaped off the page and captured my thoughts.

He spoke of a way God communicates with people.  God communicates in a dream and a night vision.  (Not the same). While we sleep, God speaks to our unencumbered spirits where there are no distractions.   There, in sleep, God opens our ears and seals our discipline.  

Job 34:3-4 – “For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food.  Let us choose for ourselves what is just; Let us know among ourselves what is good.”

The question is, what words do we test?  We consciously test people’s words but also God’s.  How do we know what is just and good?  God’s Words!  We fail to hear God’s words in dreams and night visions because we lack understanding and expectation.

Often, people think it is unusual to have dreams and visions, so they do not expect them.   However, since God always speaks, what better time to communicate than when our minds and spirits are not distracted?

If we go to bed expecting God to communicate, He will.  It may take time to recognize and respond. Sometimes, we are unaware that He has communicated, but the answer or wisdom emerges as we encounter various situations.  Where did it come from?  God.  God communicated to our sleeping minds. 

I suggest that every night, each one commits their heart and mind to hearing and seeing what God is communicating.   It will change your life.  We must hear God clearly and regularly.   This is yours from Him. Receive it. Expect it.  Utilize it.

Wisdom is available for everything.  James 1:5, why not ask for it? 

May the Lord bless you richly as you pursue Him and His purposes in this life!

Revelation 4:1 – “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven…”

While there are many paths I could take with this text, I only want to pursue one: “Heaven’s Open Door.”  A few years ago, as we were traveling, my wife and I were listening to some old Gospel Music, and “I’ve Never Been This Homesick Before” made its way into the rotation of songs, and this scripture came to mind. 

That song says, “I can see the Father standing at the door.”  That reminded me of the parable of the Prodigal Son and how the father saw the returning wayward son at a great distance and ran to meet him.  That suggests that he was always “looking” for the return of his wayward child and possibly standing in the doorway of his house looking over the way, hoping that his son, that which was lost, would return. 

I can imagine our Heavenly Father looking over His creation at the doorway of Heaven and longing for us to “return to Him with a whole heart.”  At times, I can almost hear the sobs of the Father and my Lord Jesus as they weep over the condition of mankind in this day that we live.

When I think of a “Door Open in Heaven,” several things come to mind.  That tells me there is “open access” to God’s throne through prayer and how we must take advantage of that invitation and opportunity.  It suggests that God eagerly awaits us to petition Him and is willing to dispatch help to us at a moment’s notice.

The picture that comes to my heart and mind is that of a loving parent watching over their children and ready to protect and nurture them if there is a need and willingness to let them spread their wings to learn to fly.  I sense that there is a “Door Open in Heaven,” and God is extending a personal invitation for us to “enter in” through the vehicle of prayer and commune with Him and receive from Him His supply.

Whatever you do as you go through this day, hold in your heart and mind that there is an “Open Door in Heaven” for you right now!  

I pray that God will be with you and bless you richly today and every day!

Romans 8:10-12 – “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh…” 

We are, in a biblical sense, the “Living Dead.”  I am not talking about Zombies, even though Hollywood seems obsessed with them.    When I say the “Living Dead,” I am talking about people who have “died to sin” and “risen to life” in Jesus Christ through the Power of the Blood.  It is a beautiful place to be – the Living Dead!

Paul informs the Roman believers that “IF” the Spirit of God that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, that same Spirit will give us Life in our mortal bodies.  We are then Dead but Alive, and that is because we are not controlled by the “flesh” but the “spirit.”  As a result, we are no longer under the Obligation to Live According to the Flesh. 

That leads me to more questions – “Why do we?  Why do we allow the Flesh to have so much power daily?  Why do we allow the Flesh to be such a dominant force in our lives?  WHY?  There can only be one of a few possibilities.

• We are uninformed as to our position and condition in Christ.
• We are willing participants with the Flesh.
• We are so underdeveloped spiritually that the devil easily sways and overcomes us.

None of those are conditions that are required or that we are obligated to.  When Jesus came, lived a sinless life, died sacrificially on the Cross, rose on the third day, and ascended to the Right Hand of the Father – the devil was defeated.  That is not a maybe or someday; somehow, when we all get to heaven, he will be – he is defeated now! 

Jesus said that All Power, All Authority in heaven was given to Him, and He has given that to us.  Therefore, we have authority and power over the devil, meaning that the Flesh is to be subject to the Spirit of God, not vice versa. We are under No Obligation to succumb to the temptations or whims of the flesh.  We are More than Conquerors through Jesus; We can do all things through Christ!  That is our Covenant, Heritage, and Promise from the Lord Himself, so why not employ it and enjoy it?

Therefore, as you go through this day, go in the strength of the Power of the Spirit of God and walk in Victory!  God bless you richly, is my prayer!

2 Timothy 2:1, 11-13 – “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus…11 It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; 12 If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”

How about you?  Do you want to be “Strong in Grace?”  I believe I can answer that for you without violating your right to decide for yourself and say Absolutely!  In verses 11-13, some truths regarding our walk in Christ in this life by saying:

1. If we have died in Him, we will live in Him.
2. If we endure, we will reign.
3. If we deny Him, He will deny us.
4. If we are faithless, He will remain faithful.
5. God cannot deny Himself.

We are dead in Christ through the experience of the “new birth.”   We have been made new creations through the gift of Salvation and one day, we will live with Him eternally.  Jesus never hid the fact that we would face difficulties in life and the Christian walk, nor does Paul.  He tells us that the end of that enduring is reigning with Jesus.  He warns that if we deny the Lord, God will deny us on that day, which is not something that we desire.  He tells us that we may be less than faithful, but God will always be faithful because He cannot deny Himself, and He is faithful.

Therefore, to be “Strong in Grace” is to embrace the faith that is in Jesus Himself.  It is to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, words, and deeds. It is to allow the Holy Spirit to shed the Love of God abroad in our hearts and to teach us all things that Jesus said.  It is to allow the Holy Spirit to quicken our mortal bodies so that we shake off the shackles of carnality and move into the realm of the spiritual.  It is to become focused on the King and the Kingdom of God as paramount and supreme above all else.  It is to Surrender our lives totally to God!

In that condition and position, we become “Strong in Grace,” no matter what comes, we come out the other side In Christ and, therefore, Victorious!

May God be with you as you go through your day!

Daniel 3:16-25 – “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”  19 Saved in Fiery Trial Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”  25 Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”  NKJV

What a beautiful beginning to a new day.  I am sitting with my morning coffee, bible, and the presence of the Lord, reading and listening.  In the stillness, I heard, “There is a Fourth Man in the Fire!  Do you see Him!”

The Book of Daniel is a fascinating book to me.  I love watching the hand of God upon lives that are wholly committed to Him and seeing His delivering hand.  A truth that, too frequently, we forget and allow ourselves to fret, fuss, and fume over various situations and circumstances. 

The Hebrews taken captive to Babylon had, among them, four very distinctive personalities.  Daniel, whom they named Belteshazzar, but we always find him called Daniel.  Hananiah, the Babylonians renamed Shadrach, Mishael to Meshack, and Azariah to Abed-Nego, names we find them referred to in the book henceforth.  These four young men made some early decisions regarding their commitment to the Almighty God whom they served.

• They refused to eat the king’s meat or drink the king’s drink.  Oh, how we need to understand that we must “come out from among them and be separate.”  They did not try to make themselves noticeable to everyone around them in their difference; they just maintained their commitment to God and allowed the result to speak for itself.  Their commitment elevated them to prominent positions in the kingdom of Babylon, yet they maintained their integrity and commitment to God.

• They refused to bow before the king’s idol even though, in the natural, it meant sure death.  They responded to the king by saying, King, we do not need to try to justify our actions to you; we trust the God we serve, and He will deliver us; if not, no big deal.  We must never forget that this life here is just a sojourning; we are passing through as “strangers and pilgrims on this earth.”  This is a temporary home, not our permanent one.  Go therefore, keeping the focus on the “goal, the prize of the high calling” is more important than being politically correct or fitting in with the world.

• They were delivered by THE FOURTH MAN IN THE FIRE, whom Nebuchadnezzar declared looked like “the Son of God.”  Even the Babylonian king could not deny the truth of God nor His great power because of the commitment of these young men.

It does not matter what we face!  It does not matter what obstacles are laid in our path!  It does not matter what opposition comes our way!  It does not matter what danger our lives might be placed in – – THERE IS A FOURTH MAN IN THE FIRE! 

If we “seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness,” our eyes upon Him and our commitment firmly rooted in His Word and refuse, as the three Hebrew Children, to Bend, Break, or Bow, we will walk out of the fire either in this life or in the next unscathed and into His presence!  They may be able to kill our bodies, but they cannot kill our souls. Therefore, we need not fear them, whoever they might be!

I urge you to begin your day today with the confidence that if today leads you to the fiery furnace, the FOURTH MAN IN THE FIRE will be awaiting you there to cover you with His feathers, and under His wings, you can trust, rest, and be protected.  We will either receive deliverance or promotion, and both are victories!

I pray for the rich and bountiful blessing to be upon each of you as you go through your day!

Psalms 121 – “I will lift up my eyes to the hills — From whence comes my help?  2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.  3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.  4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.  5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand.  6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.  7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.”  NKJV

It is another beautiful morning in the DFW area. Summer is upon us, but there is a nice southerly breeze blowing, train horns shattering the morning silence, the coffee temperature is perfect, and my Bible is providing needed nourishment.  In conversation with the Lord, these passages came up regarding HELP.

Like the Psalmist, we all face possible or imminent attacks from time to time in our lives.  The Psalmist was looking to the hills (mountains) and asked where my help came from.  Was he looking at the natural mountains?  Was he looking to heaven?  Was he looking to Jerusalem? 

No matter, he identifies where his help is coming from – – The LORD who made heaven and earth.  He looked at the one who would not allow our feet to slip—who does not sleep or slumber.  The one sustains, keeps, or protects us in Everything!  He is our covering to keep us from being burned by the sun or trouble.  He is the one who preserves us from all evil and preserves our souls as we go out and come in.  He is our fortress, our defender, our protector, our deliverer, our guide, and our counselor.

I have experienced this protective care and keeping of the Lord more than once.  He would make a way when there seemed to be no way.  He came through when there was help from no other source.  He came through financially, providing funds when an emergency arose that my family and I would be devastated without His miracle.  He came through and provided healing when I faced cancer’s sentence of death and numerous other times when my physical condition prevented me from accomplishing His purposes for that time. 

He has provided wise counsel with a clear path to victory when there was confusion and searching for the way.  He has provided the loving touch of His hand when loneliness and despair had set in and lifted me from the pit of self-pity back onto the solid foundation of victory.  He has been my provider, defender, protector, guide, friend, counselor, and LORD in so many instances that time will not allow me to include him here. 

Where is our Help?  Where is our country’s help?  Where is our family’s help?  It is coming from the LORD!  He has promised that if we call unto HIM, He will Answer us!  Lord, I am calling, confident that you are answering!  As in the Old Western movies, the U.S. Cavalry is coming in the nick of time.  The Christ of Calvary will be ON TIME, EVERY TIME! 

Look up!  Your redemption draws near!  Today would be s a great day for each of us to begin the day rejoicing in the Lord and thanking Him for what He has done, is doing, and is going to do on your behalf!

May the LORD bless you richly as you embark on today’s journey! 

2 Chronicles 20:14-17 – “Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus, says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah, and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.” NKJV

As the darkness hovers over my backyard, there are faint signs of things beginning to spring to life for a new day. The stillness has a peace about it that is pleasant.   I am rejuvenated as I read God’s Word, and the energy source of the Word of God inspires and empowers me.  As I sat meditating and musing on the things of God, the thought of Standing Still and Going Ninety Miles an hour flooded my spirit…

We are at a crossroads in our nation and many of our lives today.  There are upheavals and troubles on every hand.  There is much debate, argument, and disagreement about what we need to and should do on many fronts.  We elect officials to govern, and often, they lose sight of the Republic’s fundamental objective and purpose.  We do that in our personal lives and try to “Stand Still and Go, Ninety simultaneously.” 

On the spiritual front, in our individual lives and as a nation, there comes a time when we need to realize that we face battles far greater than we are in our natural state.  We are surrounded by enemies on every hand who want to destroy us physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, politically, and spiritually.

The enemy of our souls has and will show no mercy; he is the devil.  Yet, if we seek the face of the Lord in true repentant prayer and intercession, there will come a time when the Lord says to us, as he did to Jehoshaphat and Judah, “You do not need to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah, and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.”

I am taking that as a directive for life on every front.  I am hearing the Lord whisper in my spirit to Stand Still and Listen rather than run ninety miles an hour doing, scurrying about, and planning. Just Stand Still and Listen to the voice of the Lord.  Once you hear His voice, then it is time to act!  That is in every arena of life!   Wait on the LORD; Hear His Voice, Act upon His Word.

I pray for God’s richest blessings as you go through your day!

Isaiah 40:28-31 – “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”  NKJV

Thank God that God never gets tired, although sometimes I wonder if He grows weary with us due to our inaction, unbelief, and resistance to His promises and plans.  He is the ALL-WISE creator of the universe and infuses His power into our lives when we are weak and need His strength.  He comes to us when we are faint and on the verge of collapsing under the load, enabling us to have renewed strength for the struggle, the journey, and the battle.

Here, Isaiah gives us something that sometimes, in our “Microwave World” and “Instant Everything,” lifestyles miss or find challenging to accept.  He tells us that those who Wait on the LORD will renew their strength.  The result is given in the word picture that the prophet uses.  We will mount up with wings like eagles. 

Eagles can soar high above everything and see with precision minute things on the surface below while soaring so high that they are almost invisible to the naked eye.  We will also run and not grow weary.  All of us who have ever had to run know that this is humanly impossible; therefore, it is a clear indication that this strength and stamina will come from Divine Sources.  Not only will we run and not grow weary, but we will not faint, give up, or give in our Walk!  We will move forward into Victorious Living!

The key to everything in this is Waiting on the LORD!  Not only is timing everything, but the development of character and the learning that takes place in the time of Waiting on the LORD is indispensable for a victorious spiritual walk.  If there is one thing I could teach all new believers, it would be the secret and art of Waiting on the LORD!  If I could convince people of the value and need of this, I would have enabled them to live above the circumstances, obstacles, and trials of life in a rarified atmosphere known only to the angelic hosts.

Instead of being impatient and in a hurry, learn and ask God to help you. Learn to Wait on the LORD!  As you do, you will find that you not only accomplish more, but you do so without the stress and pressure that life in human strength brings.

May God be with you as you go through your day!