1 John 4:7-12 – “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word, my heart was moved to cry out for grace.   The kingdom operates from love.  All God is, all God does, and all God has flows from Love.   It is who He is.  

Love refuses to be complacent and fights to complete its object. 

The incredibly simple but enormously complex directive of Matthew 18:15-35 is only possible through the power of love.  We tend to make Matthew 18:18-20 separate from vv. 15-17.  That robs us of the spiritual.

Out of the overflow of love comes the unrelenting desire for restoration.   We forbid bitterness of heart and release love and miracles into our lives.  Healing comes.  Restoration comes.  Power manifests itself.  Lives are transformed beyond those directly involved because love is the most powerful witness on earth.

The example Jesus used on debt makes the necessity of unrestricted forgiveness clear.  When we consider what He has forgiven us of, we are forced to compare that to any offense that comes to us. 

If we are faced with impossible situations and no answer seems forthcoming, we need to ask ourselves a penetrating question: Is there any hint of unforgiveness in our hearts toward anyone?

Do not justify it, gloss over it, or deny it.  Have we fully released that person?  Can we be around them without bristling inside or feeling the pain all over again?   Is the wound still sore?  Do we have an inner sneer when they speak?  If so, maybe we have not forgiven fully from the heart.

Matthew 18:19 – “…If two of you ask God for something in a symphony of prayer, My heavenly Father will do it for you.”

Can you pray for and with the person you forgave?  Can you agree with them in prayer?  Can you manifest the love of God to them and for them?

I want nothing to be allowed to stand between me and God.  I want nothing to hinder my access to the throne.  I want nothing to hinder the Gospel.   Love heals, but unforgiveness produces festive wounds that hinder faith and freedom.

When we stand before Jesus, and He asks, “Did you learn to love?”  What will we be able to say?   Love is demonstrated, and if our attitudes, thoughts, words, and deeds do not agree with our profession, we won’t be able to say, “Yes, Lord!”

We have authority, but Love must prevail for it to function fully.  Love releases power that would be tyrannical if released outside of love.  The Isaiah 61 anointing only comes through love!   Father, forgive me for not loving as You love, and help me to begin now!  Nothing is impossible in Him!

Keep looking up and expecting; God never fails!

Matthew 21:22 – “Everything you pray for WITH the fullness of faith you WILL receive.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, several things gripped my heart.   I will attempt to capsulize what I saw and heard.   In Matthew 21, we have the account of the instantaneous withering of the fig tree.

Jesus used it to illustrate the faith exhibited in the kingdom realm.  The words “speak out of faith’s fullness” arrested me.  (v21).  Matthew 21:22 –“Everything you pray for WITH the fullness of faith you WILL receive.” Do any of us live at that address and see that consistently in our lives?  If not, why not?  There has to be a reason beyond the escape clause: “Well, God is sovereign.” 

Let me ask, “Could Jesus’ interaction with the religious crowd be revelatory?”   Matthew 22 gives us possible insight. The invited guests to the wedding feast did not come.  Matthew 22:5 is powerful: “But the invited guests were not impressed. One was preoccupied with business…”

Likewise, the instructions of Jesus about responsibility and allegiance in that chapter also give possible insight.  The Roman coin bore the image of Caesar.  Jesus said, “You give Caesar what bears his image, and because you bear the image of God, give Him all that belongs to Him.”  What are we to give to God?  Ourselves!

Later, Jesus revealed the importance of love—love to and for God and others. In Matthew 23, Jesus addressed performance vs. motive. His message was about doing vs. being.

In Matthew 25, the ten virgins, five wise and five foolish, we see another dimension of why we do not consistently manifest the fullness of faith in our daily lives. The oil supply has to be adequate for darkness and light. 

Here’s what I heard in my heart:

• There must always be quick, total surrender and obedience to Jesus, regardless of what He asks.
• There must always be love without restrictions for God and man.
• We are to always be filled and stay full of God’s oil (Holy Spirit).
• We are to live daily with unshakable expectation that God will do what God said He would do.

Never deflect our lack by saying, “God is sovereign, or He knows best or in His timing.”  Those are true, but they can become escape pods to deter us from pressing into permanent residence in His presence, where we see what He is doing and hear what He is saying.  In that place, we never question, “Is this the will of God?”  We know the will, and 1 John 5:14-15 becomes a demonstrated reality for us.

The fullness of Faith is available NOW! 

Have a fantastic day, and keep expecting a miracle!

1 Samuel 9:21 – “And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the ^[c]tribe of Benjamin? Why, then, do you speak to me in this way?”

Several truths are preeminent today for anyone desiring to be used by God.  I want to remind you of some that have largely been forgotten or not maintained.

Humility – In 1 Samuel 9:21, Saul questioned how God could use someone as insignificant as he was.  Then, in 1 Samuel 15:17, Samuel informed him how pride had brought him into disfavor.   He had gone from being little in his own eyes to being preeminent in his own eyes. When the angel called Gideon, he used almost the same words as Saul: humility trusts and depends on God, while pride trusts self.

Part of Jesus’s statement to the 70 as they rejoiced over the power they had been given was to remind them of the devil’s fall.  Pride brought the devil low.  When God blesses us or uses us in the gifts and power, we must remain little in our own eyes.  It’s not about us, but Him.

Luke 11:35 Jesus made an interesting statement.   “Take heed, therefore, lest the light which is in you is darkness.”  How can light be darkness?  Through Pride and Deception!

Verse 36 – “If your whole body is lighted and there is no part in it dark, the whole of it will give light…”

The objective is to have our body, soul, spirit, strength, and mind be light.  Pride is like leaven and corrupts.  Humility is like leaven and touches every dimension of our lives. We must always be little in our own eyes (humble) and trust God completely.   He will bring us to His greatness so we can minister, not so we can brag.  Nothing is out of reach for the one who walks in humble obedience.   The provision and the power are yours. 

Today is your day of new victory!  Seize it.

Luke 6:38 – “Give and IT will be given to you.  They will pour into your lap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, running over.  For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.”  LSB

We are planting a crop that will be harvested in the coming days.  Well, crops because each day, we are sowing seeds that will come to fruition.  Don’t live sowing your wild oats, and spend the rest of your days praying for crop failure!  Sow for the harvest you want.

We tend to forget that our yesterdays are when we sowed the seeds that are producing the harvest today.  The Lord reminded me of something I wrote nearly 30 years ago as I contemplated life, sowing, and reaping when I considered living the abundant life that Jesus came to give.

Yesterdays

Sometimes we mortals seem to forget.

Each day is filled with things which tomorrow we may regret.

Our yesterdays with memories are filled.

Some make us sad, and with others, we are thrilled.

But once the day is over, and all its hours are spent.

We sometimes look back with regret at the message we have sent.

Our yesterdays are filled with decisions which daily we have made.

There we incurred debts which in our tomorrows must be paid.

If we would remember, each passing day.

That harvest time for this hour we will face along life’s way.

Daily we should live with this thought in mind.

The Fruit of what we plant today, tomorrow we shall find.

Live each day knowing that the Law of Sowing and Reaping never fails.  Luke 6:38 says, “Give and IT will be given to you.  They will pour into your lap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, running over.  For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.”  LSB

A key to remember is the little word “IT.”  What you give, you get.  You do not sow tomatoes and get watermelons.  We do not reap wheat and corn if we sow thistles and thorns.  Sow hate, and you do not reap love.  When we sow compassion, we will reap compassion. 

What is your greatest need and the greatest need of those around you?  Sow to it!   God desires to bless us and enrich our lives.  He wants us to have harvests that are beneficial and abundant with blessings, not filled with sorrow, pain, and defeat.

I pray that the LORD will enable you to sow to the Harvest You Desire!   May He bless you abundantly, guide and guard you, and enable you to see His Kingdom come, and His will be done on Earth as it is done in Heaven! 

Today would be a great day to sow kindness, love, mercy, goodness, and help where help is needed.  That is a harvest we could all stand more of!

Remember that in Jesus, Joy comes in the morning, and God’s blessings and mercies are new every morning.   Have a fantastic day, and rejoice; God is still on the Throne!

Have a Great Day in Jesus!