Joel 2:28-29 – “It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. 29 “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

As I prayed, read, and pondered the Word of God today, I heard, “The Outpouring that is needed.” Then the Holy Spirit directed my heart to the Book of Joel 2:18-29

Let me take an approach that hopefully you can agree with, regardless of your particular theology regarding the ministry and manifestation of the Holy Spirit in this hour. Maybe you do not believe our world is in moral decline, but I do believe you realize that an infusion of God’s love, presence, and power would not be a bad thing, right? I hope so!

Regardless of your views on the timeline of this passage or when or if this has transpired in human history, we need an infusion of God’s Spirit in the hearts and lives of people today. That would be true of any generation, but as I see it, it is especially true of this generation. This passage is reflective of God’s Redemptive Heart and Nature. He wants mankind to be restored to right relationship with Him.

What would our world be like if there were a spontaneous and widespread outpouring of God’s Spirit into the hearts and lives of people everywhere? What was it like in your life when you first came to Christ? Some have told me that they came to Christ so young in life that they have never really known anything but being a Christian.

That was not the case for me. I went to Vietnam believing in God (not a Christian but believed God existed), but now I am walking with God (born-again). I had observed people in church doing and saying things that were so out of character with what I understood God to be that I allowed the deception of the devil to prevail, and my attitude was, “If those people are going to heaven, God cannot send me to hell.” That is a very wrong philosophy! But then that was a judgment that came out of youthful observation of people attending church regularly and professing to be Christians.

When the Holy Spirit arrested my heart and brought me to the conclusion that I was lost and headed to Hell, I was mortified, and depression became the norm of my thought processes. I was convinced I had broken too many commandments and done too much to be forgiven. I was lost and knew it, but I was convinced I had no hope.

Thankfully, there were those who knew better, engaged in intercession, and continued to chip away at the hard outer layer I had developed. God used them to break the granite of my heart, and through a simple passage of Scripture and the outpouring of God’s Spirit and Love, I was brought to the place of repentance and reception of Christ.

The moment I received Christ, I felt a weight of epic proportions lifted off my shoulders, and I felt lighter than air. Some testified that hearing my testimony made them feel the same way. It was not me; it was the Spirit of God! Things dropped out of my life and out of my language that I gave no thought to or effort to remove, but the Holy Spirit took them away.

I know what it is to have the Holy Spirit poured out into my life and the immediate and long-lasting impact that it has. So, I cry out for God to pour out His Spirit upon All Flesh! I pray for a revival and renewal to transpire in this world. I long for GOD!

Lord help us to receive what we need!

Numbers 13:30-33 –^“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses, saying, “Let us go up and occupy it, for we are well able to conquer it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against these people, because they are stronger than we are!” ³² Then they presented the Israelites with a discouraging report of the land they had investigated, saying, “The land that we passed through to investigate is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there are of great stature. ³³ We even saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak came from the Nephilim), and we seemed like grasshoppers both to ourselves and to them.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the thought, “What Do You Fear?” flooded my mind. 

Reading in the Book of Numbers, many things came to light.   Israel went from the joy of miracles to the annoyance of perceived lack.  The miracles didn’t keep them satisfied.  They were not unlike people today.  Many expect the life of faith to be a life of ease. 

People have a tendency to remember and even long for the world.   The thought is, “it may have been hard, but…”  

In Numbers 13, God instructed Moses to do reconnaissance of the land and the people.   He wanted to give a visual of the land to confirm His promise of a land flowing with milk and honey (fertility and abundance).  No promise is without a potential problem.   The occupants would reveal the heart of the people.  What would they see both with their eyes and their hearts? 

They saw the land as being everything God said it was.  That was the foundation for faith.  God told the truth.  If God told the truth, then we can trust Him.   The 10 saw the land, but the problem outweighed the promise.   When the visual becomes more powerful than the promise, rebellion, rejection, fear, and doubt prevail.   Fear of the giants negated their confidence.   They trusted what they saw more than what God had said and done. 

In Numbers 14:8-9, Joshua & Caleb saw the unseen.   Perception sees the present and allows fear to rule.  Faith sees the unseen.   Faith and fear are like oil and water – incompatible.

The question for us is, “What do we see?”  What we SEE shapes what we think, believe, and do.  In Numbers 13:33, the 10 said, “There we Saw Giants, the sons of giants, the descendants of giants, and we were in their sight like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes.”   The multiple mention of giants reveals their focus.   It produced a perception rooted in fact but devoid of faith.   Their faith was in what they saw.  

Joshua & Caleb’s faith was also in what they saw.  They saw the promise and the God of the promise.   They were convinced that if the land was what God promised and remembered their deliverance from Egypt and the miracles, THEN the giants were not a problem.  

In life, it all boils down to what we SEE and the eyes we trust.  Eyes of faith or eyes of natural sight.  Perception or Promise.    Victory or defeat is in what we SEE!   What do we see?

Lord, help us to see with our eyes filled with you, not fear!

2 Corinthians 2:11 – ^“So that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).”

Today, my heart and mind are drawn to the Cross, the Kingdom, the Enemy, and the Conqueror!  The reality of what God has done causes my heart to swell with appreciation and out of that a depth of love that is inexpressible.

In thinking about the events of the Cross and the Resurrection, I feel compelled to consider what the devil tried to do and what he desires to do. The enemy of our souls seeks to pervert God’s purposes and prevent us from entering into the fullness of God.

The Evil One seeks to pervert and prevent, but God has provided us with a pathway to fullness through the Cross and the Resurrection! We are engaged in a Real War with a Real Enemy.  That could be and often is frightening to many, but remember, we are not left defenseless but have been made ‘more than conquerors’ through Jesus.  We have been authorized and empowered to pull down strongholds, set captives free, and enforce the victory of Calvary in this present world at this present time! That is Good News!

But there is also Bad News! What is the Bad News? It is that too many who profess faith in Jesus do not know who the enemy is, and some believe him to be mythical. Too many know very little about the enemy and are thereby deceived and defeated because they are ‘ignorant’ of the devil’s devices, schemes, and tactics.

Satan’s Target is the Mind: (2 Corinthians 11:3; Colossians 3:9-10; Ephesians 4:17-24; Romans 12:2). God is in the business of Renewing Minds and thereby releasing the Fullness of His Power and Glory on Earth.   Luke 17:20-22 is incredibly revelatory about the Kingdom of God.

Many have made the Kingdom of God an event or a system, but Jesus said it is“in us.” Christ “in us” is the hope of Glory. Christ, “through us,” is the release. Christ “with us” is the manifestation.  We need to guard our minds and filter what comes in. In essence, Paul said in Philippians 4:8 – “If it is not true, do not let it enter your mind. Don’t give it the time of day!”

Our minds can reach into the past through memory and can reach into the future through imagination. Our thinking affects how we feel and thereby affects our will. Proverbs 23:7 – “For as he thinks within himself, so is he.”

Doctors tell us that we are what we eat. Psychologists tell us that we are what we think. The devil knows the incredible power of the mind and has made our thought processes a major target. If Jesus becomes LORD of our Minds, He will become LORD of our Hearts, and as LORD, He will lead us into the fullness of His purposes. The Resurrection made that possible.

I encourage each one to determine that we will give Jesus our all and dare to believe that Everything He said is True and that we, too, can do what He did and manifest the Kingdom in this World.  We are the Body of Christ, and Christ is ‘in’ us. If He is ‘in’ us, then the Kingdom of God is present because we are present. Let’s not just theorize!

May your day overflow with Joy and your mind with awareness of God’s Presence!

Luke 15:12 – “The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them.”

Luke 15:31 – “Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything that belongs to me is yours.”

As I read, prayed, and contemplated the Word of God today, the reality of “awareness” filled my consciousness.   Awareness?  The two brothers in Luke 15 provided the platform to tie the ends together and see a liberating and yet alarming reality.

Both were granted their share of the inheritance.  One knew what he had and wasted it. The other did not comprehend his inheritance, and it benefited him nothing. He lived in lack, sitting on a stack of money.  Not to make this about money, he failed to enjoy the benefits of the kingdom and lived as a hired hand, not an owner.  Verses 12 and 31 make it clear.  It was his, but he could not see that reality. He was waiting for a handful when he lived in a houseful.

We are often the Prodigal and waste in extravagance God’s goodness.  We become our focus.  Luke 15:12 addresses that lifestyle and mindset.  At other times, we are the elder brother and papers in the palace. God has given us great and precious promises, but they are someday promises to us, not present realities.

Luke 12:32 is germane. ” Do not be afraid, O little flock; for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”    Luke 12:34 is the key to understanding. Our heart’s longing reveals what our treasure is.  This is not about material things but eternal things.  If we have treasure in heaven. If we focus on the kingdom, we will be enabled to enjoy the bounty of the earth, let us.

Here’s a caution that is almost an aside. Luke 13:6-9 informs us that unfruitfulness has a time limit.  Then, verses 23-24 let us know that doing religious stuff does not get us in the door to God! Our hearts’ longing defines us by what we do and how we think.  Be neither the Prodigal nor the son in the house who never possessed his possessions. We do that with Gifts of the Spirit as well as the material.

Lord, help us to embrace Your promise so we can be harvesters in Your kingdom.

Luke 8:25 – “And Jesus said to them, Where is your faith?”

As I prayed, read, and pondered the Word of God today, a question caused unrest in my spirit. I was challenged greatly.  The question will linger for days as I unpack the revelation contained therein and surrender to the challenge.

The question came from Luke 8:25 – “And Jesus said to them, Where is your faith?”  The winds of adversity were threatening them, and they did what all good disciples would do: they asked Jesus for help.  He helped them, then chided and challenged them with this question.

Is it the where of location?  Is it a question of existence?  Was it that he was saying, “I don’t see it, so where is it?”  On the other hand, could it be a question of object?  What is it in? What is the focus of your faith?  Maybe it was both!

Sometimes, we unintentionally put our faith in some future events.  When this happens, then I’ll fulfill my purpose.  When my ship comes in.  When this or that happens, then… Is that faith in God or faith in an object or event that may or may not become a reality?

Faith that releases power is the faith of the woman who touched His garment.   It is the faith of the 3 Hebrew children that says, no matter what, we won’t bow.   It is the faith of Daniel.  It is the faith of Elijah to decree rain with almost nothing visible.  It is not faith in faith, or in some event or object, but in God alone.

According to the Word of God, we have all spiritual blessings in Jesus.  He has supplied all our needs according to His riches in glory. He is God!  When we hope in something or fear something, that object or event becomes our Lord. That makes it an idol and destructive.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 speaks to this. “He who observes the wind shall not sow; and he who regards the clouds shall not reap.”  Waiting on God is good, but delaying waiting on the when of fantasy destroys hope, purpose, and credibility. Where is our faith? If it is in anything but God alone, we may reach our journey’s end waiting. How will we then answer the question about fulfillment of purpose? Where is our faith?

Lord, help us to locate and identify our faith and place it completely in You!