Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you know not.”

No weapon formed against you or any tongue of falsehood and judgment will be able to stand.  God is your defense. Stand still and see the deliverance of God.

Jeremiah 33:3 is a powerful reminder of God’s invitation and promise linked to prayer, surrender, and commitment.

• CALL to Me.
• AND I WILL ANSWER you.
• AND I WILL TELL you things you do know, things that are great and mighty.

There has to be an acceptance of the invitation Call upon God.  Nothing happens until we call.  We are invited to enter the Courts of Heaven, Throne Room, and Ask.  We have not because we either do not Ask or else we carnalize it and make it about us.  I need, I want, or I something.  Me, me, me!

Next, we must Hear.  God promises to answer, but unless we are conditioned to hear, we tend to say, “God isn’t saying anything. ” That is not what He said.  He said Call, and I Will Answer! If He promises to answer, but we do not know what He said, does that mean that He did not answer?  Maybe we did not hear.  Maybe what He said was not what we wanted to hear.

I see a correlation or connection between this and Romans 6-10. Romans 7, Paul lamented over the struggle of flesh and Spirit, and heart and flesh. Romans 8:1 – “THERE is therefore no condemnation to them who walk in the flesh after the Spirit of Jesus Christ. “In this passage, there is a frequently missed revelation.   It follows the disclosure of the battle between carnality and spirituality.  Our heart wants to do right, but our flesh disobeys.   Therefore, as we recognize that we are forgiven, we can be free of the condemnation of that conflict.  

Our problem is that we often beat ourselves up over acts we call sin. Still, here we see freedom from condemnation and realize this is a continuous work in us, not an instantaneous reaching of maturity and spiritual perfection.

We are saved through Hope!  Hope is not what we have but what we long for.  What we hope for, we persevere to achieve or gain.  God’s foreknowledge of our reception or rejection of The Gospel allowed Him to preplan (predestine) our future.  He called us, justified us, and is glorifying us in Christ.

Romans 8:35-39 is incredible.   Who can separate us from the love of Jesus?  What can steal from us or become a wall between us and the love of God?  Here is the thought, capsulized, that dropped into my heart.   Stop focusing on acts and focus on Him.  Believe His Word.

God said to Call, so let us start calling.  Let the Spirit of God expand our vision to see the Kingdom, not just your situation.   Our situation is minor compared to His Kingdom’s purposes. Let us set our hearts to Hear!  Ask for a hearing ear.  He said He would answer, and God cannot and will not lie. We can be assured that God loves us enough for Jesus to die and will never stop loving us.  Mistakes do not define us unless we make them the focus.  

We are all flawed vessels being transformed into Him.  We are three-part beings – Spirit, Soul, and Body.  We are saved in our Spirits, express ourselves through our Souls (mind, will, emotions), and live on earth in our Bodies.  The body will die, but our spirits are eternal.   The real you and me is who we are in our spirits, not what we do in our flesh or how we express ourselves in our souls.  Born again in our spirits, we are NEW Eternal beings.  The key is yielding our entire being to The Holy Spirit so the real us (spirit) can be manifested in body and soul.

The Bible affirms that there is no condemnation in Jesus!  If the enemy bring condenmnation, reject it, and declare – I AM A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST JESUS!  Shout it! My flesh is being brought into subjection to Christ, and until it is, I will live in Hope and press toward the goal.  I reject condemnation over mistakes because Greater is He Who is IN me… 

I realize this is an incomplete presentation, but it is part of what the Lord would have us consider and muse upon.  Begin rejoicing in your heart, mind, and spirit that you are transformed!  Do not make the acts or mistakes of the flesh the qualifier for receiving from God.  You do not earn favor; it is Grace, not work.   Expect His best even if you are not your best.

Have a fantastic day today, knowing that The Living Creator God loves you!

Jeremiah 51:15 – “The LORD has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out heaven by his understanding.”

Today’s theme is God’s immensity!  His deep love and our responsibility before Him and to ourselves and others.  Sensing our responsibility to God is readily apparent to most.  Sensing or knowing our responsibility to ourselves is visible to many.  But to others?  Well, that is a horse of another color. 

We sometimes allow stinkin’ thinkin’ to prevail.  “Do you know what they did?  Do you know they are not living, right?  Do you know they keep making the same irreligious mistakes?  My responsibility to others, what is that?” We need to see that anything in God requires us to see what Jeremiah declared: God is the Creator with all power and wisdom.  He knows all.

Jeremiah 51:36 – “Therefore thus says the LORD Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you; I will dry up the sea of Babylon, and make her springs dry.”

God pleads our case, and when retribution is proper, He exacts vengeance – We Do Not!  But we sometimes try to and pray against them rather than for them!  That is a vast difference. 

We discover in Romans 12-15 that the consistent message is that the strong spiritually care for the spiritually weak. That is taxing and requires more effort, compassion, and patience than most have learned.

If, as Romans 12 declares, I belong to God totally and have a gift or gifts from Him, my purpose is peace and nurture of others.  In Romans 12:18, he says, “If possible. So far as depends on you, be at peace with everyone.”   We protest, “But Lord…”  Romans 13:10 reminds us that love does not do evil against others.  Love for God, which allows us to love ourselves rightly, is translated into loving the unlovable and the loveable.   Hard?  Yes, but commanded by God.   Not manufactured or pretended but an outflow of the love in us.

Romans 14:1 instructs us to accept the one who is weak in faith and not judge them or look down on them. Remember, we were weak and still are in some areas.  We live for, in, and through Christ.  In that respect, we live for others and are our brother’s keeper.

Romans 15:1 – “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weakness of those without strength and not just to please ourselves.”  It is not about us!  Romans 15:7 tells us to accept one another JUST AS Jesus accepted us. 

We accept people, but we do not endorse or justify evil.  We pray for, love, and provide godly examples rather than spewing forth condemnation and judgment.  We are not God.  We, too, have flaws. 

Romans 16:17-20 is powerful and revelatory.   A professing Christian who causes division and dissension is to be noted.  They cause others to stumble and war against the body’s unity.  We do not embrace or enable evil, BUT we love and pursue peace (God’s peace, not just an absence of conflict).

We must focus on our responsibility to God and ourselves, get that in harmony with God’s Word, and respond to others JUST AS Jesus. Then…  Romans 16:20 – “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”   Peace will come to our house (our homes, businesses, and churches).

• First is the right view of God and our purpose.
• Second is the right view of who we are and how we are to live and think.
• Third is others, strengthening the weak, encouraging everyone, and demonstrating the Love of God to everyone.

I encourage you to ask the Father to help you prioritize rightly and relate biblically and godly.  Ask Him to transform you into manifestations and demonstrations of Jesus.   Then, we can declare, “Father, I give myself to You.” 

Today is the day of a new journey that produces God’s Peace and Power.  No weapon can stand, and no stronghold can remain.  We bow to You and set our hearts to be Who You said we are.

May today overflow with God’s goodness and presence and propel you to new heights in Jesus!

Jeremiah 4:3 – “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.”

In both Jeremiah and Acts, the message is clear.  Judah was backslidden and following false gods.  God was pleading with them to repent and return. He promised that if they did, He would fulfill His Covenant with them.

Fallow ground is untilled ground that has laid idle.  Stumps, roots, rocks, and weeds are present.  They have to be removed.  It is challenging work.  It requires diligence, persistence, patience, and commitment.   It has to be the undaunted purpose.  No thorns can be left. They will choke out the seed.  Remember the parable Jesus gave in the New Testament about the several types of soil?  It came from here. 

If we give God a heart that is ready to receive and totally surrendered, He will produce a harvest in us.  The Word prunes our vines and prepares our hearts for planting.

Acts 20:32 – “And now I commend you to God AND to the Word of His Grace, WHICH IS ABLE to build you up and give you THE inheritance among those who have been sanctified.”   

To be Sanctified is to be set apart and fully committed to God. That conveys the same idea as breaking up the fallow ground of the heart. The Inheritance is not just an inheritance but The Inheritance! 

Therefore, if we commit ourselves to God and allow the Holy Spirit to help us break up and prepare our hearts to receive, He will bring us into the Full Kingdom Inheritance He has prepared.   It is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

Remember, our focus must be singular – It must be GOD!  Our hearts must not be divided.  How do we break up the fallow ground of the heart?

• Repentance.
• Surrender.
• Prayer.
• Study the Word.
• Guard our lips.
• Exercise discipline.
• Seek Him.
• Be thankful and grateful.
• Speak to ourselves in Psalms, Hymns, and songs of the Holy Spirit.  (Sing in the Spirit with your understanding of what God puts in your heart.)
• Make time for the Word, prayer, praise, and fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

The process requires preparing the fallow ground of the heart, getting it ready for planting, then comes the harvest.  It is an ordered process and cannot be reversed.  It is first Preparation, then planting, followed by the Harvest.

Determine that you will allow the Holy Spirit to break up the fallow ground of your heart so you can receive the seed of the Word and see the harvest of God.  This is your day to bring a new Harvest.

Have a momentous day in the LORD and begin the process of preparation to be filled to overflowing with Him and His purposes.

Isaiah 59:1, 16 – “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear… He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.

As we read Isaiah 59 and the Book of Acts, several things capture the heart and mind.  Did you know God, who knows everything, can be astonished?  That is what Isaiah 59:16 informs us.  Amazing, isn’t it? 

The declaration in Isaiah 59:1 is that God can do everything and hears everything!  Because the people knew that truth, God was astonished that there was no one to stand in the gap and intercede.   Even though they knew who He was and what He could do, they should have produced intercessors; there were none! 

God told Jeremiah that before He was formed in the womb, He knew him and had called him.   God said, “I am watching over My Word to perform it.”  Then, out of a broken heart, God said in Jeremiah 2:11 – “But My people have changed (exchanged) their glory for that which does not prosper. “

They were trusting their ability and turning to idols and flawed philosophical ideas. They had become like the Athenians and worshipped an Unknown God.  I find Isaiah 65 incredible that God would allow people who are pursuing everything but Him to find Him.  He loves mankind that much.

If we are to love like God and have Christ IN us, we, too, must love mankind enough to intercede.   The measure of our love for God is demonstrated in our love for and intercession for people.  How much do we love?  How much do we focus on ourselves and ignore the lostness and needs of others? 

God has given direction and promise of provision.  He is watching over that Word to make sure it happens.  He has promised provision for every need.  We are taken care of.  As we minister to and intercede for others, God extends His protection and provision to us.

We do not know the hearts of others, but God does, including ours.  Our cry should be, “Lord, help me to feel Your heart and have Your compassion to the degree it drives me to my knees for the lost, hurting, dying, bound, and afflicted.” 

Therefore, since it was for freedom, we were set free.  We should shudder at the prospect that God would become astonished at our indifference.  We should desire for Him to see us as a people after His own heart.

We find peace, provision, power, and authority in that place.   We break all the strongholds and chains on ourselves and our families there.  God is on our side, so let us endeavor to be on His! 

I urge you to make the decision today to be wholly surrendered to Him, which He can use to stand in the gap and intercede.  That decision will lead to ultimate victory!   It is yours.  I urge you to See it, Believe it, and Receive it!

Have a fantastic day in Jesus; He is our Hope and Help! 

Acts 13:52 – “And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

The last verse in Acts 13 is my primary focus for this devotional. The word “continually” captures my thoughts.  The word “continually” means that it is unceasing.  It speaks of a state of mind and condition.

The order of words is interesting.  Joy is listed first.  They were continually filled with Joy.  Joy is an emotion that contains the expectation and anticipation of gaining possession or experiencing something.   It is a condition completely void of despair, doubt, fear, or hopelessness.   It is infectious and becomes a doorway for entrance into God’s presence.

We are to enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise.  The Joy of the LORD is our strength.  Whose Joy?  The Joy of the Lord is ours because we are one with Him.  He is in us, and we are in Him!  Being full of JOY continually, their hearts and heads were prime receptors for the continual flow of the Holy Spirit.

In today’s world, many have occasional moments of Joy but not continual Joy.   Many have occasional infilling of the Holy Spirit but are not continually filled. We marvel and almost fictionalize the New Testament Book of Acts Church with zero expectation that we, too, can have that presence, power, and result.  We can “IF” … The “if” is the clincher.   If we become as they were, we will see what they saw.

Their focus was continually on God.  They continually meditated on God’s word.  They were in a continual mindset of prayer.   They were 100% committed to Him and His purposes. They knew persecution, difficulty, and tests would come but were continually filled with Joy and the Holy Spirit.

Part-time Christianity held no appeal for them.  They had jobs, duties, families, and obligations, but God was their First and Primary focus.  The result – They lived in a state of overflowing Joy and the overflowing presence of the Holy Spirit.  They feared nothing, expected God to fulfill His Word, and knew they were more than conquerors through and in Jesus.

The Key is the word “continually.”  There were Continually… 

• They continually sought God. 
• They continually rejoiced. 
• They continually received.  
• They continually expected to hear from and see God move daily. 

Too often, we are okay with part-time Christianity, occasional Joy, and infrequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  When we decide it is “All In,” we will have what they had and see the harvest of God.  Life is not about us. It is about Him and the Kingdom.

Let me offer this challenge:  Decide today that you are “ALL IN,” then watch the flow of Joy and the Holy Spirit completely change your world.

May the peace, power, and presence of the LORD be with you this day and guide you into the fullness He desires for you today!

John 21:15-19 – “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” ¹⁶ He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” ¹⁷ He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep. ¹⁸ Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” ¹⁹ Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, “Follow Me!”

This account in John 21 is interesting and inspirational. Some have suggested that Jesus asking the same question three times was a reminder of Peter’s three denials.  That is possible, but I believe there was a much deeper purpose, one that applies to us today.

Jesus asked, “Do you Agape Me?”  Peter responded with the word for love (Phileo.)  Phileo is the brotherly kind of love that may be deep but not the zenith of love.   It leaves room for self and selfishness.

Jesus asked two more times, and I believe He was nudging Peter to see the deficiency in his profession of love and to move to the ultimate love that is unconditional and unshakable – Agape. Peter was filled with himself (like most of us too often).  Peter had denied Jesus in an attempt at self-preservation.   Peter was impulsive and reacted to external stimuli.

I suggest that Jesus was molding Peter’s thinking to equip him. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  The question is germane: how deeply do we truly love the Lord?  Jesus said, “IF” you Agape Me, you “WILL” keep my commandments.  The measure of our love is revealed in what we do, not what we say.  However, what we say flows out of what is in our hearts. 

When our hearts, words, and deeds align, we know Him fully and manifest Him.  We can live in a way (outwardly) that says we are something.   We can speak with words that suggest we are something.   We can do deeds that seem to indicate we are something.   But the heart is the key, and God knows the heart.

Therefore, for us to know God, we must know our hearts.  We can choose Agape or Phileo.  In that choice, the door opens wide to know Him in the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering, and become conformed to and transformed by His death.  We die to ourselves in choosing to live unto Him.

Love is a choice, not just an emotion.   Love grows. It is not a one-time deposit.  Love strives to honor its object.  Love liberates.  Agape sets the heart free because it eliminates the need to protect itself.  It fully surrenders, and in that surrender, it discovers life to the fullest.

Are you alive?  Do you Agape?  If we see the Cross, we see Agape.  If we believe the Cross, we receive Agape.  If we receive Agape, we begin to be transformed and become vessels of God’s power.   We become Who He said we are through Agape, the ultimate and unconditional love.

I offer this challenge:  Today is your day to know Agape!  Today is your day to Agape!  Today is your day to close the door on the past and discover the depth, breadth, and height of your purpose and power in God.  Refuse to be less than complete.

May the Lord richly bless you as you enjoy this day!

Proverbs 1:1-6 – “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: ² To know wisdom and discipline, To understand the sayings of understanding, ³ To receive discipline that leads to insight, Righteousness, justice, and equity, ⁴ To give prudence to the simple to the youth knowledge and discretion; ⁵ Let the wise man hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire guidance,⁶ To understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles.”

Those five words are – Wisdom, understanding, discretion, discernment, and discipline.   In a short devotional, we can only skim the surface of the revelation contained in those words and verses.  Therefore, we will offer some simple reflections for you to ponder.

Proverbs 1 – Solomon highlighted the value and source of all five.

Proverbs 2 – “Pay attention to wisdom.”  It is wise to listen to the wise!  “Incline your heart to discernment.”  Discernment is produced in the heart, the seat of the Spirit, not the intellect. “Call out to understanding, give your voice (what you say and how you talk) for discernment.”

Discernment must become valued as much as silver or great treasures.   The result is we will understand the fear of God and find the knowledge of God.  We will become intimately united with Him.  That will result in the reality that discretion keeps us, and discernment guards us.

Proverbs 1 – Solomon challenged us to receive discipline.  Discipline leads to insight, righteousness, justice, and equity.  Remember Paul’s teaching on discipline?

Hebrews 12:5-6 – “My son do not lightly regard the discipline of the LORD, nor faint when you are reproved by Him; FOR those whom the LORD loves He disciplines, AND He flogs every son whom He receives.”  Wow!  

Hebrews 12:11 reveals that discipline trains us, and the fruit is the peaceable fruit of righteousness.  It guides us in the right paths.

God wants us to enter into His fullness and exercise the power of the kingdom, but that Power will destroy us Unless we have been trained through discipline, ridding ourselves of self and becoming one with His wisdom, understanding, discernment, and discretion.  Without God’s shaping discipline, we think carnally. 

I encourage you to pray this prayer: “Father, we ask that You help us submit rather than resist Your school of discipline.  Train us so that we become walking manifestations of The Lord’s Prayer and persistence in pursuing God’s purposes.  People of power and purity.  Empty of self and full of the Spirit. Give us wisdom, understanding, discretion, and discernment that is learned through Your discipline.   Help us BE, not simply Wanna Be. Amen!”

May the Lord bless you richly as you enjoy this wonderful day in Him!

Psalm 119:162 – “I rejoice at Your word, as one who finds much spoil.”

The Bible is filled with accounts of people trusting and not trusting the Word of God.   Angelic visitations were often frightening.  The word they brought was not always embraced but was fulfilled.  Unlike conditional prophecy, angelic words are not conditional.  The only question is, will the hearer be a blessed participant?

Psalm 119 repeatedly speaks of waiting on the Word.   Waiting?  Have you discovered that most of us do not wait well because we trust only what we see and our ability?   This Bible not only gives revelation but guidance and protection.

Psalm 119:171 – “Let my tongue answer WITH Your Word, FOR all Your commandments are righteous.”  Psalm 119:162, 171 speaks volumes about the depth of the Word and how we should talk.

We find contradictory responses to angelic Visits:  Luke’s account of Mary’s visitation and Zechariah’s speaks to that reality.  Both had a visit from Gabriel directly from God.  Zechariah heard, but because he tried to interpret the Word through his experience, he still received the promise but was mute for nine months.

Mary’s mind could not comprehend the declaration, but rather than imposing her interpretation and reason, she asked for revelation and clarification.   She received the promise, and even in the face of public humiliation, she believed.

The Key: We need to learn to wait on the Word.  Both Mary and Zechariah had only the Torah. You and I have the Old and New Testaments.

We have the written Word as our foundation.   We have the Word from the Spirit (Rhema) and angels to further enlighten and illuminate.   We have the word of conscience to check and encourage us. We have the word of experience to build our confidence.

We must learn to wait for the word and then respond in obedience.  For nothing is impossible with God. (Luke 1:37).

Let me challenge you to ask God for ears to hear and eyes to see what He is saying and doing.  He will reveal His purpose, and we can be blessed participants or struggle as we see His plan unfold without or despite us.

Psalm 119:147-148 – “I eagerly greet the dawn and cry for Your help: I WAIT FOR YOUR WORD.  My eyes eagerly greet the night watches, That I may muse on Your Word.”

If hearing God becomes more important than anything else, we will hear!  Our reticular activating system will take over and filter out all other voices, but the most important.

I offer this prayer: “Lord, we wait for Your Word.”    Remember, God is speaking, and today, you can hear Him!

Have a fantastic day, and listen carefully for the still, small voice of the Spirit of God giving you guidance.