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 tribe of Benjamin? Why, then, do you speak to me in this way?”

Several truths are preeminent in my heart today for anyone desiring to be used by God.   I feel compelled to remind everyone of some truths that have largely been forgotten or not maintained.

Number One is Humility

In 1 Samuel 9:21, Saul questioned how God could possibly 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 supremely important.   The journey from humility to pride is always disastrous.

When the angel called Gideon, Gideon used almost the exact words as Saul: Humility trusts and depends on God, while pride trusts self.  Part of Jesus’s statement to the seventy as they rejoiced over the power they had been given was to remind them of the devil’s fall. 

Remember, pride brought the devil low. When God blesses us or uses us with gifts and power, we must remain little in our own eyes. It’s not about us but Him. In Luke 11:35, Jesus made an interesting statement.  He said, “Take heed, therefore, lest the light which is in you is darkness.”   How can light be darkness?  Through Pride and Deception!

Luke 11:36 – “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 remain 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.   Remember that nothing is out of reach for the one who walks in humble obedience.   The provision and the power for victory are yours! 

Today is your day of new victory!  Seize it and rejoice in what God has done and is doing in and through you!

2 Timothy 4:7 – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word, something exploded in my heart – –Persistent Commitment!

• Ruth made that commitment to Naomi.  (Ruth 1:16-17)

• Hannah made that commitment in 1 Samuel 1:11, Hannah made that commitment, and Samuel was given to God and became Israel’s major prophet.

• The woman who touched Jesus’ garment in Luke 8 evidenced that commitment with her persistence.

• In Luke 5:37-39, Jesus expresses that requirement.  Persistent Commitment. 

Growth in God and His Grace demands it.   If we want the newness of God’s wine, we must have our wineskins transformed.    Our minds must be reprogrammed and become pliable.   We prefer our comfort zones.   When we taste God’s Grace in salvation, we are satisfied, but if we want God’s fullness, we must be transformed. 

Persistent Commitment propels us into His presence and releases His power and revelation.  We cannot be complacent but persistent.  Determine that nothing short of fullness is acceptable.  

• Daily seek Him.
• Daily surrender everything to Him.
• Daily expect to hear Him.
• Daily receive from Him

We give out what we have in us.   Through Persistent Commitment, we press into Him and become manifestations to the world.  We fulfill His commission and become all He created and called us to be.

Today, let each of us determine that we are going to make a Persistent Commitment and watch what He does.  

This is your day. Rejoice and be glad, and let your light shine brightly so that others can see the True Light—Jesus!

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

This is the day the LORD has made, and it is filled with possibilities!  We need to rejoice and seize the day!   What I want to focus on today is that each of us is planting a crop that will be harvested in the days to come. 

There will be a harvest!  Why do I say that?  Because each day, we are sowing seeds that will come to fruition.   Some live in turmoil because they have sown their wild oats and are now faced with praying for crop failure!    Instead, we should be sowing for the harvest we 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 25 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.

We should live each day knowing that the Law of Sowing and Reaping never fails.  Luke 6:38 is our foundation.

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

My prayer for each one is that the LORD will enable us to sow to the Harvest We Desire!   May He bless each one abundantly, guide and guard us, enabling us to see His Kingdom come and His will done on Earth as it is done in Heaven! 

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

May the grace, peace, presence, power, and provision of the LORD be yours today and every day!  Have a Great Day. It is the Day He has made, and we are His, so it is ours!

Mark 13:5 – “Be careful that no man deceive you…”

There is an inescapable truth that we must adhere to if we are going to avoid deception.  We must have a personal relationship with God.

The same thing is revealed and repeated at the close of the Book of Joshua and the beginning of Judges.  In Joshua 24:31 and Judges 2:7, we read that Israel served God as long as Joshua and the elders who had seen God’s works lived.  When the eyewitnesses died, faith and faithfulness died too.

Judges 2:19 tells us that when the judges died, Israel became even more corrupt.  A personal relationship is the key to faithfulness and victory.

Without a deep, abiding personal relationship with God, we are easy targets for deception.  Deception caters to the flesh, the person’s desires, the need for ease, and the absolving of responsibility.

When we know God personally and intimately, we readily recognize the real, the imitation, and the counterfeit. Christianity is not easy unless we live in the fullness of Christ in us and Oneness with Him, abiding in the vine.

Too often, Christians live theoretical lives rather than lives of practical application of God’s principles and promises.

• We believe the Bible is God’s Word but find it challenging to make it practicable in everyday life. 
• We believe in salvation, but even that is futuristic.  
• We live with doubt and uncertainty because we do not know God intimately and personally.  
• We know about Him, and His Promises are theoretical or futuristic or for super saints.

If we know Him intimately, we know He Does Not, Will Not, and Can Not Lie!  We live in union with the impossible being possible All the Time when we live in union with Jesus! We can not depend on what someone else saw, heard, or experienced.  It is always Individual and personal.

God invites us to an in-depth personal relationship.   Make Him most important and refuse to doubt.  He is I AM!  His life is your life.  Be the one who keeps faith alive for others so they can keep faith alive after you.  Christ is IN us, and we are One with Him.  Let us live like He is truthful because He is!

Your victory is today.   You in Him, and He in you is to live above the Impossible!

Joshua 18:3 – “How long will you be backward about going in and possessing the land (promise) which the LORD of your fathers Has Given you?”

Today, I am praying for an open heaven for each of you.   My thoughts today are focused on the problem of having the Promises made to us but not possessing them.  That would demand the question, “Why?”

The Bible instructs us to Wait on God.   That is a good and right word.  We are told that those who wait on Him are strengthened and gain endurance.   BUT, if waiting becomes hesitation and trepidation, it can result in paralyzation and stagnation.

Joshua’s question about going backward is interesting.  They were waiting excessively after the promise Had Been Given!   The time to wait is Before the promise, not afterward.   We are not waiting for God to do what He has done but is going to do.  We need to possess what He has Promised!

Israel began to act upon the directive, and Joshua 21:45 tells us, “There failed not one of the good things which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel; ALL CAME TO PASS.” 

In Mark’s Gospel, when the storm came up and the disciples feared for their lives, Jesus calmed the storm.   He had told them to go to the other side!   That was the directive, but a problem arose, and they feared and waited for God to do it for them.   He asked why they were fearful and had No faith.   They had the promise but not the possession.  It was just a potential to them, but in God, it was a reality.

After feeding the 5,000, Jesus sent them to the sea, and a storm blew in.  He saw them struggling, and as He came on the water, “He wanted to pass by them. ” (Mark 6:48).

The key is that once we have received the promise, we must not hesitate or wait for God to do what He has done.  It is up to us to act upon His Word.   Succumbing to fear is to guarantee failure.   God will not do for us what He has empowered and directed us to do.  We must wait to hear, not wait for Him to do our part.   The objective is to Hear God, and once we have heard Him, we can walk in confidence that “It is Done!”

Has God promised you something?  He has also empowered and authorized you to possess that promise!  You have the authority, ability, and anointing,  even if you don’t think you do.  God Can Not, Will Not, and Does Not Lie!

Decide today that you will possess the promises!  He will go with you, but you have to go.  Don’t wait as in paralyzing hesitation.   Wait to HEAR, then act on what you have heard.  That is FAITH!

Have a fantastic day, and keep looking up for your redemption. The answer is on the way!