Matthew 6:14-15 – “And when you pray, make sure you forgive the faults of others SO THAT your Father in heaven WILL ALSO forgive you. 15 BUT IF YOU WITHHOLD forgiveness from others, your Father withholds forgiveness from you.”

During a recent rain shower, I was reminded of the refreshing of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is more nutritious for plant life than rainfall, and nothing is more nutritious for Spirit life than the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He makes God’s Word come alive and brings the transforming nourishment we need.

Recently, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart about hate.   He caused me to focus on hate in the church and in the hearts of people who identify as His.   In Matthew 6, we find what we call The Lord’s Prayer.   When embraced and implemented, it is revelatory and powerful, simple but succulent and transformative.

Jesus followed that up with a revelation that enables us to understand how His Kingdom operates and gives the key to answered prayer and peace of heart. Matthew 6:14-15 speaks directly to that!  There is no justification for hate!  I was reminded in verse 21 – “For your heart will ALWAYS pursue what you esteem as your treasure.” He reminded us of the pervasiveness and problem of a heart that blocks out God’s light. Hate blocks it.

In Matthew 7, we discover God’s pathway to peace, life, and interpersonal relationships. We are and always will be judged by the same standard we use to judge others. We see their flaws and ignore ours, which allows us to justify our hate. God offers no loopholes. He hates hate!

Hate has no place in the heart.  It is a spiritual cancer that is terminal and metastasizes from the heart to the whole person.   If we allow hate, we negate Grace to us and through us.  Hate separates.  There are no loopholes.  There is no justification.  God will never accept it.  If we compare our hurts to the sacrifice of Jesus, we realize that truth.  Hate is easy, although hard, whereas love is hard, although easy.

Remember Matthew 10:26 – “… God will bring everything out in the open, and every secret will be told.” Our seemingly justified hate will be exposed, and our victim status will be demolished. Only through the Blood of Jesus as we FORGIVE can we escape the eventual humiliation of judgment.

Therefore, “Show Hate the Gate.”  Don’t hesitate, don’t debate, give no place to hate of anything but sin.  God is love! Forgiveness is healthy and makes us whole. Hate is a gate to destruction. It is the wide gate where too many enter.

There is peace, power, provision, and presence in love, but chains await those who hate.  Your victory is ready. Receive it, believe it, and enter into it!

Have a fantastic day, and keep looking up; Jesus is coming soon!   Fill your heart with love, not hate!

Judges 2:1-5 – “Then the angel of Yahweh came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, ² and as for you, you shall cut no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not listened to My voice; what is this you have done? ³ Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a snare to you.’” ⁴ So it happened that when the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. ⁵ So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to Yahweh.”

Like nature’s weather, life has stormy seasons, but God is greater than any storm.   He loves us so much that He allows the storms to test and even seemingly defeat us as He draws us back to Himself. He wants us to trust Him.  No matter the storm, I am praying for a hedge of protection over each of you.

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word, the Spirit of God gripped, convicted, and challenged me.  God gave specific instructions when Israel went into Canaan, the Promised Land. Drive them ALL out!   They didn’t, as we were reminded of in Judges 1.

In Judges 2:1-5, the Angel of the Lord came to them after they had neglected to follow God’s orders explicitly and reminded them of God’s orders and covenant. He said, “But you did not listen (obey) to My voice. What is this you have done?”   Then he informed them that those people allowed to remain would be thorns in their sides AND (this is big) their gods would be a snare to them.

They and we suffer when we fail to follow God’s instructions explicitly. God will do in our lives what He did in theirs, in Judges 3:1-2.  “Now these are the nations that Adonai left to test all Israel who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of Bnei-Yisrael might learn from war, which they had not experienced before.”

War forces one to learn strategy, unity, and dependence.   Judges 2:6-11 reveals that Israel worshipped and served God as long as Joshua and those with first-hand experience lived.   Second-hand revelation never produces life or victory, only theory and religiosity.   God allows storms not to harm us but to help us so we can learn the devil’s schemes, develop strategy, unify, and become dependent.

Therefore, rather than cursing your difficulties, look beyond them to God and extract the strength to overcome them from them!   Remember, you don’t have any problems; you only have opportunities to trust God and see Him in His fullness! How we view life defines how we live life!

Rejoice and seize the day; it is the Day the Lord has made, and remember, Sunday is coming!

Matthew 18:21-22 – “Later Peter approached Jesus and said, “How many times do I have to forgive my fellow believer who keeps offending me? Seven times?”  ²² Jesus answered, “Not seven times, Peter, but seventy times seven times!”  TPT 

In Matthew’s Gospel, there is the revelation of an old but compelling truth.  It has captured my consciousness.   Knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord is life’s most important revelation and experience.   This is not knowing about Him but knowing Him!   In Matthew 16, Jesus asked the disciples what others and they thought about Him.

Everything Jesus taught was always a progression.  He shifted the question from what was speculated to what was known.  Peter’s supernatural revelation is the foundational truth that opens the door to life—you are the Messiah!  Then, the contrasting life views are exposed out of that revelation, Carnal vs. Kingdom.

If we view life through the grid of self, we live as paupers in the palace.  Matthew 18 is built on the foundational truths of Matthew 16-17.   If we do not truly know Jesus and have not truly surrendered our lives and wills to Him, we cannot or will not truly, completely, and properly forgive.  If we do not forgive, we do not truly live.

Jesus and bitterness, anger, and hate are incompatible.  We have the power to change entire cultures and control the demonic powers “IF” we know Him, fully submit to Him, and follow His precepts.  Forgiveness, which flows out of God’s love, is displayed and practiced; we can bind and loose!

We are transformed when we see forgiveness in the light of His act toward us on the Cross!  The story of the debts being forgiven (Matthew 18), the failure to reciprocate, and the ensuing torment is an arresting revelation or visual.  

The once forgiven but unforgiving debtor was handed over to the tortures until the debt was fully paid.  When will it be paid? NEVER!  That is the message!  Failure to forgive is a rejection of God’s mercy for us.  It elevates the self to the pinnacle and places our feelings and desires above God.

We may claim to be Christians, but if we allow unforgiveness to live in us, we deny Christ.  Christ cannot be “IN” us and hate, bitterness, and unforgiveness live there, too.  Knowing Him enables us to endure wounds and still love and forgive because we Trust Him.

Life is not about us.  It’s about Him, and in Him, there is fullness of joy and All Spiritual Blessings.  He fills us with all we need when He is our all.  It is the self of Jesus, not both. The debt owed to us by others is minor compared to the debt He paid for us. Embrace His freedom and release forgiveness to others. It releases forgiveness to us.

Don’t live as a pauper in the place through unforgiveness.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven, and that condition of forgiveness opens the windows of heaven, giving us eagle’s wings and enabling us to live in His fullness!

Have a fantastic day. He loves you unconditionally and totally forgives you!  We need to do the same!   God bless!

Proverbs 17:22 – “A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.”

Smile a while and give your face a rest is an adage based on the theory that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile.   After extensive research, the scientific community has no consistent conclusion on how many are required for either. 

However, the smile—transmitted consciously or subconsciously—is viewed across cultures as a sign of friendliness, especially when greeting others. Frowns are considered an expression of disapproval, sadness, or rejection. Therefore, a smile elicits a far better response than a frown.

There are forty-three muscles in the face; most are controlled by the seventh cranial nerve (facial nerve).  That nerve exits the cerebral cortex and emerges from the skull just in front of our ears.  It splits into five primary branches: temporal, zygomatic, buccal, mandibular, and cervical.  Those branches impact different portions of the face and enervate muscles that allow the face to twist and contort into various expressions. 

The Bible says that a merry heart does good, like medicine. (Proverbs 17:22).  It also says a broken spirit dries the bones.   Ezekiel spoke of the Valley of Dry Bones, but what about in the natural body when the bones are dry? What does that mean?  It is an indication of an unhealthy condition that can lead to many worse things. 

We need healthy bones just as we need healthy spirits.  Our bones provide support and structure for our bodies.  Our spirits do the same for our lives.  Our bones protect our vital organs, such as the brain, heart, and lungs, from impact and injury.  Our spirits do the same thing for our inner man.  

Our bones store essential minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, which are necessary for various bodily functions, including muscle contraction and never transmission.  Our spirits likewise enable us to function spiritually.  Our bones produce blood cells in the bone marrow, which are vital in fighting infections and keeping us healthy.  Our spirits keep us connected to the Blood of Jesus, which keeps us whole.

We do not want dry bones in the natural or the spiritual. Therefore, we need a Merry Heart and should follow Paul’s prescription in Philippians 4 and Ephesians 5:19. We should be like David and encourage ourselves in the LORD (1 Samuel 30:6).

Today, rather than succumbing to the mulligrubs and throwing a pity party, why not focus on God and choose to rejoice?  Why not choose to be glad in this day the Lord has made?   Why not let the inward smile reach the face and, no matter what comes, keep our focus on God and let the Joy of our hearts reach our faces even in the middle of a trial?  Why Not?  It is a Choice!  

I believe the Bible says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever and that God will Never Ever leave or forsake us.  God Does Not Fail!  Therefore, I choose to Rejoice and Trust Him!   I’m smiling right now!

Let the joy of the Lord flood your hearts and minds today, and receive the healing from having a merry heart.

Psalm 73:1-5 – “TRULY God is good to Israel, and to those who are pure in heart.² But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.³ For I was envious of the wicked when I saw the prosperity of the ungodly.⁴ For there is no end to their death, and their folly is great.”

This is both a warning and an encouragement.   This Psalm begins with confession and lamentation that he had been comparing himself to others.  The apostle Paul warned us not to compare ourselves with others.  Others are not our standard of measure, nor are others evidence of God’s favor or love – God is impartial and deals with everyone separately.  We never know what He is doing in any life but ours.

Paraphrasing, the Psalmist said, “I had just about reached the point of no return as I saw how the wicked prospered and got away with murder.”  In his eyes, the wicked did not seem to have any repercussions for their sin and wickedness.  Who among us has not done that at some point in our lives? 

A few verses later, the light came on, and he gained a revelation that produced victory through a proper perspective.  In verses 15 forward, he addressed the temptation to recount or rehearse what he saw, making it his view of life and God.

His confession was, this is what I was doing, and the end of that would have been my destruction.  I would have been finished and lost my faith.   He admitted that what he was doing was wrong.  It was a destructive mindset.  Then the light came on, and he declared, “When I came into the Throne Room, “my mind was enlightened.  I was set free!”

Notice that it was there that he understood that there would be a payday someday.  He understood that God is faithful and never forsakes His children.  He knew that his situation was his situation and that he was not to be judged or compared to anyone else.  He understood that God was working on him and working on him.   It was a path that no other human could walk for him.   He came to the revelation that it was God and him.  At the end of the day, he would (because of God’s Grace) come forth victorious Eternally!

Remember, GOD does not fail to see our situation, but if we focus on others, we lose sight of God in us.  Christ in us is our Hope. 

We need to make God first, not others, circumstances, hindrances, or anything.   We need to determine in our hearts and minds that we will seek God, His Kingdom, and His Righteousness First!  If you do that, then fasten your seat belts, for in that condition, He has a superhighway to bring us His enrichment.

Victory is not tomorrow’s promise.  It is today!   Victory is today’s promise!   See it, believe it, receive it.

Have a fantastic day today, and keep looking up; redemption is nearer than we first believed!