Acts 1:8 – “ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  KJV

As I completed another trip through the Bible this year, I decided to reuse an old Bible with a wealth of notes in the margins for my next trip.   It was moving to read the Word of God and review what I had seen in the past.

The Book of Acts offers a powerful history and pattern to embrace.   Acts 1:8 brings us words in red—words that are direct quotes of Jesus.   He said they would be witnesses after or when they received the Holy Spirit. God’s choice of words is always purposeful. 

He did not say they would witness but would “be” witnesses.  Everything about them would testify of Christ and faith in Him.  This is being, not just doing!  The Holy Spirit gives the power and anointing to BE!  That anointing helps us navigate the will of God rightly.

An example of this is in this chapter and the next.   It is a visible contrast.   Peter, impetuous Peter, declared that they had to select someone to replace Judas.   Someone was to replace him. My question is, was it their responsibility to elect a replacement?  They were not elected; they had been selected by God, and now they are holding an election to determine God’s will.

They chose two men, prayed, asked God to pick from their picks, and called that His will.   Was it?   Possibly, but could it be that Paul was God’s pick, and He would have appointed him in His timing?  My thought is that without the anointing, we may make decisions attempting to get God to pick our pick.  However, with the anointing, we wait for God to give us His choice.

Acts 2 is a totally different scene.  It reminded me of an event some years ago as I led a congregation. I had exhausted all efforts to reach a man and failed each time.   One Sunday, I was preaching, and suddenly, I began to speak in an unknown tongue for several minutes.   Then, I finished my message in English.  It was an unusual occurrence!

A few days later, the man’s wife told me what had happened. Her husband asked, “Where did your pastor learn Swedish?”  She assured him that I did not speak Swedish. He said, “Yes, he does. ” Sunday, he spoke to me in fluent Swedish and told me things no one could know.”  A couple of weeks later, he was in the hospital, and I visited him.  He related that event, and in the course of our conversation, the man accepted the Lord. 

My human efforts had failed, but with the anointing, I became a witness that produced God’s desired results.   I have, at times, acted out of my knowledge, emotions, and preferences and failed.  I have tried to convince myself and others that our plan, like replacing Judas, was the right way.   It birthed an Ishmael or a Mathias who was obscure.  But the anointing produces an Acts 2 result.

We should seek God and refuse to act without His anointing.   Jesus ONLY did what He saw and ONLY said what He heard through the anointing.     We have the anointing if we have the Holy Spirit, and we “are” manifestations of Him.  I encourage you to begin exercising your spiritual authority today.  It is your heritage!

Have a Great Day, and may the Holy Spirit guard and guide your footsteps!

Genesis 26:2 – “The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; settle down in the land that I will point out to you.”

Genesis 26 was the launching pad for the reminder that the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart today.   Isaac had received Rebekah, his God-chosen bride, and then a problem surfaced.   It was not a problem between then or because of the union but a famine. 

The famine (though real) is a picture of troubles in life.   Difficult times came upon them and the land.   Isaac wanted to flee to Egypt.    Man tends to seek help from what he knows and to look for the easy way out of difficulty.

God said, “Do not…”  If God says, “Do Not,” it is time to stop the presses and Listen!    God said, “Do Not go down to Egypt; Stay in the land (place) of which I shall tell you.”    That’s the key – Careful and Detailed Obedience!

God rehearsed the Covenant Promises to Isaac.   Isaac obeyed the directive but almost messed everything up. He allowed fear and human reason to control him.   He told the king, “She is my sister.”    No, Isaac, she is your cousin and your wife, not your sister.   That was a lie.   Thankfully, God intervened.

Genesis 26:12 – “Now Isaac sowed In the Land…”  Of course, he planted seeds in the ground, but the land is the place God directed.   Sowing in any field that God has not directed will produce little.   It says, “…and reaped In the Same Year a hundredfold.  And the LORD blessed him.”   A hundredfold return sounds like a blessing to me; notice the word But…  The “But” indicates that God lavishly blessed him.   He became extraordinarily wealthy or blessed.

The Key is that if we run from trouble, we get into more trouble.   Each new trouble is piled on top of the original trouble, and we reach a state of hopelessness.   But, if we obey and stay where we are assigned, heaven opens, and blessings flow. Please remember that this may not be monetary, but we will become rich in God, and in that blessed state, we will have Perfect Peace and learn to live with No Sense of Lack!

Think about this reality – We cannot lack because we are His, and He has no lack!  Visualize the provision for whatever you truly need.  Health, peace, guidance, authority, finances, Anything and Everything!   What is there that God does not have or cannot do?

We can only enjoy access to the promises and provisions by staying where He assigned us and facing any lion in the street.  Remember, “We are More Than Conquerors!”

God has provided us the doorway to victory; let’s enter the door and embrace the provisions of the Kingdom.   Have a Great Day in Jesus!

Numbers 13:33 – “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.”

I pray that God will set divine appointments and encounters for each of you.  I ask that he bring angels unaware to lead you into His fullness and enable you to fulfill your purpose(s) in Christ.    I ask that whatever you need be provided materially, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.   I pray that no weapon will be able to stand and no obstacles able to hinder you!

A word kept echoing in my heart as I contemplated this devotional today.  It was the word “Grasshopper.”    Grasshopper?   Yes, the tiny creature that has little power and intimidates none of God’s creations.

In Numbers 13:33, the spies or forward recon squad saw the Nephilim (demonic giants), and fear overwhelmed ten of them.  They saw themselves in the mirror of their minds as grasshoppers.  As a result, the Nephilim saw them and saw themselves as grasshoppers.    They became grasshoppers figuratively.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 speaks to this condition.  As we look into the mirror of life (our mind’s creations of reality or God’s Word), we become what we behold.  If we have the veil of doubt removed through Jesus, we look into the mirror of the Word and are Transformed into what we see!

How do we see Jesus in our lives?  We tend to separate and compartmentalize ourselves.   But what we are, we are in totality.   How do we see Jesus?  How do we see Jesus in us? That determines how we see ourselves.   Are we Spiritual Grasshoppers or Overcomers?

God says that we are overwhelming conquerors.  The devil says we are grasshoppers.   How we think, live, talk, and react reveals who we are.  How do you see yourself?  How do you want to see yourself? 

Make it a practice to look into God’s mirror rather than the mirror of the mind.  You will become what you focus on.   Are you a grasshopper or an overcomer?  It is your choice; therefore, choose victory!

May you become Mighty in Jesus and not see yourself as a Spiritual Grasshopper.  Today is a day of overcoming!

Exodus 6:13 – “Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out.”

The symbolism and theology of this passage are expansive.   The Altar represents a dual thought – the place of prayer and the condition of our hearts.   The Fire represents the Holy Spirit and His anointing.   The question is, “How do we keep the fire continually burning in our hearts?   The simplistic answer is, “By prayer, commitment, and obedience. “

We are a kingdom of priests.   Therefore, we are all ministers or witnesses and proclaimed of the Good News.  In 1 Corinthians, Paul repeats the reality that preaching or witnessing, which is just words, thoughts, ideas, concepts, or even revelations, is incomplete without the accompanying Power of the Holy Spirit.

What is the Power?   It is the manifestation of God through the supernatural.   Preaching, which is mere words without power, is extremely deficient.   Yet, that is too frequently what is transpiring today.

Too often, our preaching is just words, thoughts, and oratorical excellence but powerless.    No matter how we slice it, without the power of God, our attempts to fulfill the Great Commission and Isaiah’s prophecy about the anointing become nothing more than theory.   Theory does not transform our lives or others.    The Power of God validating the Word does.  It captivates and captivates, then transforms!

We must remember that we are All ministers.   We are all to manifest God’s supernatural power.   He said, “ALL POWER is given to Me, and I give it to you – Go Ye Therefore AND…”   Expectation is the missing element for most of us.

Too often, we see the situation, the confusion, the need, and the bondage and offer words rather than through God’s Holy Spirit’s command to change.  Knowing what the Bible says is of little value without the demonstration of the Power of those truths manifested.

My goal for you and me is to be filled with expectation and demonstrate the power of God in changing the environment around us (I’m not talking about weather but people and conditions).

We have authority.  Why Not Use It?   Why tolerate the devil having illegal influence?   Why allow powerlessness to prevail when we are one with The Power?   Today, decide that you will dare to believe what God says and expect the supernatural.

Have a victorious day in Jesus!

Exodus 29:19-21 – “You are to take the second ram and Aaron and his sons are to lay their hands on the ram’s head, ²⁰ and you are to kill the ram and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron, on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot, and then splash the blood all around on the altar. ²¹ You are to take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on his sons’ garments with him, so that he may be holy, he and his garments along with his sons and his sons’ garments.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word, something was refreshed in my heart.     The anointing and anointed covering.   I’m not talking about what most call anointing, an unction to preach or function in what God has called us to do.    I’m talking about the anointing needed to live and minister in life.

Exodus 29:20-21 does focus on those in priestly service, but that anointing is relatable to everyone.    Why?   Because, as believers, we are all called to ministry.   Maybe not pastoral or pulpit, but we are a royal priesthood commissioned to take the gospel to Everyone!

God instructed them to apply the Blood (cleansing) to the right ear lobe, right thumb, and big toe on the right foot.

Ear = Hearing.

Hand = Work or Service.

Foot = Walk or life.

Then, the blood was applied to their garments (covering).  We Are Sanctified by Blood.   Trying to serve without sanctification is fruitless and leads to legalistic attempts to earn from God, Impossible!  An unsanctified covering opens the door for the demonic.  

The covering is dual.   It is a covering of our own lives by what we cover ourselves with.  It is not just our clothing but what we listen to, how we think or what we cover our thoughts with, and how we live.   We do so, either shunning even the appearance of evil or saturated in the Word.

Additionally, it is a Spiritual Covering. That is either a congregation or a mentor. We must ensure those are blood-sanctified, and in that anointed covering, there is protection that allows for growth.

Today, examine your anointing.  Your hearing, labor, walk, and covering.   If any are lacking or have leaks allowing attacks, then run to the altar and allow the sanctifying anointing to be applied again.   Victory is yours; receive it!

Have a fantastic day in Jesus!