3 John 2 – “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.”  NASB

I have no problem with the KJV translating it ‘wish’ but I would remind everyone that the apostles were not ‘wish-ers’ they were ‘pray-ers’.  They earnestly contended for the faith and practiced the ‘effectual fervent prayer’ of the righteous.  They were taught by the Greatest Prayer Warrior of all time, Jesus.  They Prayed and Prayed with Faith and confidence in the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Promises of God.  I call this the Top Prayer of John and it dealt with three specific areas – Soul, Health, and Prosperity. 

It would probably be beneficial for us to consider a bit of history as we pursue this truth.  In the Dark Ages, just about everything important to the Gospel was wiped out by the religious hierarchy.  No longer did salvation come by grace through faith, the organized church dispensed it. That is worse than horrendous it is heretical. 

I am convinced that most who read what I am writing believe and understand that the core of the Gospel is the Atonement.  However, in Martin Luther’s day, if you were to ask a congregation how many knew they were saved or that they had been made the righteousness of God, not one hand would go up.  The Atonement had been erased from their consciousness.  Restoration of that truth began with Martin Luther, but it was hundreds of years before it became commonly believed. What you and I take for granted took a very long time to be Restored.  

Until the turn of the last century, the Atonement was viewed as one-dimensional.  But revivals in Galena, Kansas, and in the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles God began to Restore more and more to the Church.  Spiritual Gifts began to come back into many churches and lives and the understanding or belief that the Atonement not only included our Salvation but also our Healing through the Stripes of Jesus. 

I believe that is why and how John could pray as he did, for he was praying a basic premise of the Atonement and his prayer was for the powerful dual promise of the Gospel – Salvation, and Healing.  Healing both physically and spiritually.  Someone said, “Salvation” gets you in the family, and “Healing” makes you fit for the fight. But, what about the “Prosperity” part? 

Imagine the difficulty that Martin Luther had in attempting to get people to realize that the Church had no power to save them.  The move at the turn of the last century has endured the scorn and attack of the organized church, that embraced the message of Salvation by Grace through Faith but could not receive the second aspect of the work of Christ in the Atonement. 

Virtually all the church believes in the Atonement for Salvation, but a much smaller percentage believes that the Gifts of the Spirit are for today.  We have been on this restoration process for over 100 years, similar to Martin Luther’s plight in Grace.  We are told that we have Salvation for Jesus, who knew no sin became sin for us.  We are also told that we have Healing because He bore, in his body, the stripes for our healing as per both Isaiah and Peter’s writings.  But, what about that third leg?

2 Corinthians 8 is important in our consideration of this third leg.  Jesus was righteous and He became sin that we could be made the righteousness of God in Him.  Jesus was well, and He endured the stripes taking on our infirmities so that we could be well (whole).  He was rich and He became poor so that we could be made rich.  This is not a secondary part of the Gospel it is part of what God is restoring to the Church.  I truly believe that the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the righteous so that we can fund the Harvest of these last days!  Jesus bore our sins for us, bore our sickness for us, and bore our poverty so that we could be set free and have His abundant life. 

Anytime God Restores something to the Church there is opposition from without and within and there are abuses to that truth.  Our objective should be to ‘Seek His Face’ and allow the Holy Spirit to help us ‘rightly divide the Word of God’ and receive all He has.  Let’s have the whole loaf, not a few slices.  When revival comes, there is always trouble with the Old Crowd who resist change and fear moving into uncharted waters.  Flesh and Tradition die-hard and slow deaths. 

I encourage everyone to become diligent students of God’s word and just because you never saw it before does not mean that it is not real.  Allow the Holy Spirit to ‘guide you into all truth’ and never become complacent or settled in the idea that you have All Truth.  None of us have all the truth or understanding of the truth, we know in part! As we grow and mature in Him our understanding broadens and we can move from glory to glory and grace to grace. 

If the Word of God does not verify and confirm it, do not incorporate it into your life.  However, do not assume that because you have been taught that something is not for today and fail to carefully examine the entire Bible.  Learn to Listen to the Spirit of God and search the scriptures daily to find the truth.  God Promised that He would lead us into all truth.

What God is doing in these last days will cost BILLIONS if not TRILLIONS and He wants His Body to know Him in salvation, walk in health, and healing, and reap the harvest and receive the wealth of the wicked so that we can have the funds for the harvest.  Yes, God can supernaturally drop it in our hands and He can enable us to have a new idea, new opportunity, or new contact that will bring wealth to us.  That wealth is not for us to lavish on ourselves but to finance the Harvest. 

I pray that the Lord help each of us embrace the Full Atonement and not only experience the New Birth, but to become open to His Healing Touch, and His desire to put in our hands the Wealth of the Wicked for His Kingdom and Purposes.  I pray with John that you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 

God, bless you richly as you enjoy this day in Him!

Yesterday we discussed a little about the “Full Atonement of Jesus” and today I’d like to venture a little further into those often, uncharted waters.  My singular desire is to inspire us to press into God more and be open to whatever God desires to do in our midst.  I have encountered a philosophy in ministry that severely limits God in today’s world.  I believe that we, believers, are to be agents of change in our world impacting them with the message and person of Jesus and thereby bringing into reality the Lord’s Prayer of Matthew 6, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”

We all know or have known some who were diagnosed with ‘incurable diseases’ and felt powerless in the presence of that killer.  The only Hope is the Stripes Jesus bore in His body for our healing as is referenced in Isaiah 53 and 1 Peter 2:24.

I am confident that part of what God desires to ‘restore’to the Church is the miraculous as well as effectively restoring the guidance of the Church to the Holy Spirit.  I am not speaking of some legislative thing but a supernatural thing where the Holy Spirit guides our steps in the church as well as in our lives.  When that happens, it will get the attention of the world and will be severely opposed by some in various religious circles.  Every new move of God is opposed by those of the previous move and those following God in the new revival are often branded as heretics and called people of wildfire to be avoided.

God is, transforming minds so that we no longer categorically reject things we thought were of a bygone era but recognize the sovereignty of God and the authority of His word.  We will see the dismantling of man-made traditions and sacred cows of religion being offered on the altar of sacrifice.  We have the most highly educated and well-trained technological world that has ever been and that is visible in the church as well. 

What God is about to do and promised to do in the Last Days cannot be accomplished by education and technology alone.  It will be supernatural and that will cause many to be incredibly uncomfortable because our safe spaces and comfort zones will be shredded.

In the world, today the movers and shakers in the world of finance teach that Joe Average can become wealthy and make a lot of money.  They teach that success can be the experience of anyone willing to take the risk, put in the labor, and persevere.  In too much of the Church, there is the idea that only a few can have wealth.  Yes, some push the idea of prosperity out of bounds in both the world of worldly finance and in the church, but the idea of prosperity is a biblical truth. 

One thing the Hebrews had that too often we lack and a truth that has been stolen or lost in much of the church is the truth that In Christ there is no sense of lack.  What brought about the Doctrine of Insufficiency? One reality that I have learned is that anything that man cannot reproduce he will seek to disprove, deny, or discredit. 

The Commission of Jesus to His Disciples in Luke 9:1-6 seems to have led to a misunderstanding and misinterpretation in the church that we are to go with nothing and go unprepared financially.  Jesus did give that commission but if we consider the big picture and the whole context that followed and the Commission that followed we realize that Jesus was not advocating lack but trust. Consider Luke 22:35-36 – “And He said to them, ” When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” 36 And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.”  

Do you hear the LORD?  He is basically saying, “The last time, you went out to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, but now you are going to the wilderness of the heathen and when you go there you must have money and possessions.  You will have to pay your own way to win them. Therefore, do some commerce and get the finances and then go!”  The first commission was a teaching session and an exercise in trust, this time the Marching Orders are to go into ALL THE WORLD and that world is a Hostile World.

God does not want His soldiers to run around looking like a mile of a bombed-out runway or a fugitive from The Goodwill Store.  You are representing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  I am not suggesting lavish living, but I am suggesting that we take pains in how we appear before the world and be presentable, clean, not unkempt, and unwashed.  No, your suit or tie won’t anoint you and you do not have to wear them but don’t go ragged and dirty either.  Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves but most of all Go in the Name of the LORD and EXPECT Him to go with you!

I have more to discuss and hopefully, you will join me next time as we dig a little deeper in the Truth of the Atonement.  I know that some are saying, “Roy, you haven’t talked about the Atonement yet.”  BUT I have and you have not connected the dots yet, but hopefully we will. 

So, until next time, Go with God, and He Will Go with you! 

I feel compelled to challenge you! I am concerned that the Christian Church of today does not believe in the “Full Atonement” of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Let me venture further out on that limb and suggest there are some that do not fully believe in the Atonement.  Hopefully, I am wrong but it appears certain that there are those who hold a concept in their minds but do not embrace that truth or reality in their hearts.

Some years ago, the Holy Spirit began challenging me regarding the ‘Traditional Mindset’ and began to nudge me toward embracing things I had not yet seen or experienced in God.  That has been a richly rewarding journey and a terrifying and difficult one at the same time. 

One of the problems when we answer the call of God to move beyond our comfort zone and venture into the unknown, is we are introduced to trouble as we have never encountered.  I know personally, that the costs are seldom fully appreciated at the time we embark on the journey.  We are exposed to the wrath of hell and religiousness in a most disturbing way.  Although there is ‘nothing new under the sun’ there are things ‘new’ to us.  When we venture out into those uncharted waters (uncharted in our experience) we realize a new dependence on God.

We are living in ‘Troubled Times’ and in the midst of ‘Times of Trouble,’ God has promised to bring about Full Restoration to the Church.  That is exciting, will be difficult, but incredibly rewarding if we persist and pursue Him and His purposes.  I hope you will be stirred to venture a little deeper into the things of God and move outside your spiritual comfort zone.

Acts 3:19-21 – “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”  NASB

If we take the Bible as the inerrant and infallible Word of God (I do) and resist the temptation to make scriptures mean what we want them to mean, we will find some challenging passages in the Bible.  This is one of those for it says that our Lord Jesus would be ‘held in heaven’ or “whom heaven must receive UNTIL…”  Until What? The Restoration of All Things which God spoke by the mouth of His prophets from ancient time! 

Let me ask a probing question, “Is there anything that the Church had but is not experiencing or practicing today?”  I believe that the fulfillment of this passage of scripture and to facilitate the return of Jesus is why we have the ministries of Ephesians Four listed.  God wants us ‘equipped’ for service and ministry so that we can walk in His Restoration and reap His Harvest of these last days. 

There are wonderful things coming to the church but difficult times will also come. We will have times and rejoicing and weeping but God is building His Church and will keep His word fully.  I contend that the issue is not IF God will bring about Restoration but WHAT our position and participation will be.  Will we embrace what He is doing, or will we resist and label it heresy, apostasy, or something else and fail to ‘discern our times’ and miss the visitation of God?  I pray not!

Hoping to quell your concern about whether I’m drifting into a heretical place, let me say that RESTORATION is a “time of change.”  It is a resurgence, in my mind, of the gifts and power of God.  It is a return to the church local and universal being run by the Holy Spirit not boards, committees, or denominational headquarters.  It is a return to God being the Lord of the Church in reality and truth. 

The Holy Spirit is preparing His Body for the “New Wine” and in the process, will destroy the “Old Wineskins”. Much of today’s church is experiencing the Isaiah 61ministry or effect.  God is shaking that which can be shaken and is pruning the trees so that which is rigid, inflexible, and dry is pliable, flexible, moldable, and filled with the Oil of the Spirit of God.  We are seeing and will see a resurgence of the Anointing of God which breaks all yokes and the Harvest is going to be reaped in these last days. We are God’s instruments to effect change in our world and help bring about the reality of the Prayer of Matthew 6 which we call the Lord’s Prayer. 

I use a takeoff on the catchphrase of the NFL’s Monday Night Football, “Are you ready for some Restoration?”  Are you ready for the shaking that is coming and the outpouring of God’s Spirit on mankind and the resulting harvest of souls?  God is about to do a work in our day that even if someone told many, they would not believe, but soon they will see. 

“May the Lord bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you, be gracious unto you, and give you peace!” 

Ephesians 2:11-22 – “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ” Uncircumcision” by the so-called ” Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands — 12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17 AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”   NASB

Much is said regarding legal and illegal aliens in this country at this time and rightfully so.  It means something to be a citizen of a country, any country, and especially this great country the United States of America. 

I was born into my citizenship as were my parents, and their parents, before them, etc.  We’ve been here a long time and are proud Americans as well as proud Texans.  But that is not my point in this message. 

At one time, we were all strangers or aliens (not to the earth) but to the Kingdom of God.  We were on the outside looking in.  We had no claim to the covenants or promises of God because of sin, but now we have been afforded the opportunity to have “legal citizenship” in the Family of God through the Blood of Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross.  He broke down the barrier that separated us and provided us a door of entry into the Kingdom. 

Today, if we have accepted the Finished Work of Jesus Christ, repented of our sins, and now following Him we are Citizens of the Kingdom of God!  We are being built, fitted, framed, and assembled together into a growing holy temple in the Lord.  We are being formed into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. 

As a citizen, you have the right to petition. You can come boldly before the Throne of Grace and ask what you will of the Father in the Name of the Son and fully believe that He will not only give you audience but listen to your petition.  Once you have traversed this thing, we call Life and your travails on earth are over you will have access to that Heavenly Kingdom for Eternity, that where He is you can be also.  So, rejoice in the fact that You are a Citizen!  A Citizen of The Kingdom of God!  You are in that Kingdom legally and enjoy all its provisions and protections! 

Bless you, as you enter your day living in His kingdom!

Proverbs 16:1-9 – “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. 2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the LORD weighs the motives. 3 Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established.  4 The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil. 5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished. 6 By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.  7 When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.  8 Better is a little with righteousness Than great income with injustice.  9 The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” NASB

Solomon was deemed the wisest man on earth during his day and this bit of counsel is incredibly powerful if received.  Wisdom is valuable only if it is heeded, appropriated, and applied to one’s life.  If it is not then it’s just more words and becomes nothing more than theory to the hearer.  Listen to what the wise man says here and consider how you can apply it to our own life:

• Man makes his plans, but the true answer is from God.  

We all dream, we all have goals either written or in our minds.  We all have a more or less mapped-out strategy and idea of how we are going to reach those goals, but ultimately it is God who has the plan.  Therefore, if we are to truly be where we should be, and that God is the One in whom we should seek not our plans.

• Man justifies himself, but God knows the true motives and heart. 

We, most of the time, will attempt to find some justification, excuse, or reason for our actions, but God truly knows all and sees the end from the beginning.  Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.

• If we commit (dedicate) our works to the Lord, He will establish His plans for our lives, and we will walk into the fullness of what He has designed and desired for us.

• God is truly Lord of all, even those who will not acknowledge His Lordship at this time.  

There will come a day when every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord.

• Pride is abominable to God and will receive a just reward. 

He will judge everyone in love and truth, the good, obedient, and evil.

• The way to peace is following and pleasing the Lord for when our ways please Him he puts a muzzle on our enemies.

• Money is not the answer to all our problems, following God in righteousness is.

• Do not allow your mind to map out your life you don’t know the end from the beginning. 

Instead, seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and He will direct your path, your steps, and guide you into the ABUNDANT LIFE He has not only designed for us but promised to us.

Consider these things and allow the Holy Spirit to show you how to take the wisdom of this passage and apply it to your lives daily and I can promise you, your life will be richer and much more rewarding as a result. 

Blessings as you begin this new day He has made and rejoice in it!

Jeremiah 2:31a – “O generation, see the word of the LORD!”  NKJV

In picking up the thought of Seeing the Word of God and our being Called Out, the question comes to mind, “Called out to do what?”   Are we called to “be holy”?  Absolutely.  Are we called out to “go to heaven”?  We will, but that is not why you were saved that is a benefit of salvation.  You were saved for a divine purpose and have a divine destiny here on this planet. God has a Plan!  One of the greatest needs of this hour is for individuals and churches to know God’s Plan and understand Our Purpose. 

I am totally convinced God has a Plan and Purpose for here and now for each of us.  He has called us out to prepare and equip us.  He has given us the full armor of God which, in a real sense, is Jesus.  It is the time that the Body of Christ take up our weapons and launch into the battle.

If your mentality is “Escapism” or “Apostate” you will be fearful and may find yourself just trying to “hold on” and “hold out” unto the end.  That is a wrong mentality and I have good news the Gates of Hell cannot stop you armed with Jesus or armed in Jesus!  We are not those who are to be on the defensive.  We are not to simply “hold the fort” we are to GO YE, THEREFORE!  I am praying for the Church to develop an Offensive Mentality.  NO, not be offensive but go on offense.  Jesus is coming back for His Bride, and she is not an undeveloped little girl or an emaciated old woman, she is a radiant bride full of life and vigor.  The Bride He is returning for is Glorious!

Isaiah 42:4 gives something interesting, “God has called the generations from the beginning…”  The Generations!  I believe that God has designed things so that in each generation He would move and execute His plan unique to that generation always moving toward the Ultimate Goal.  Tragically too many churches and believers are simply trying to “wait it out” until Jesus comes rather than “becoming” and “being” what He has declared us to be.  We have a unique place in history for I believe this is the generation that will usher in the greatest move of God mankind has ever witnessed and we will see the Restored Church rise up and reap the harvest of the End Times.

There are several things that are worthy of note.  Psalm 33:11 declares, “The thoughts of His heart are extended to all generations.”  In Psalm 45:17 we read, “I will make They Name to be remembered in all generations.”  Psalm 100:5 reminds us, “His truth endures to all generations.”  Psalm 145:13, “Your dominion endures to all generations.”  Psalm 119:90 declares, “Your faithfulness continues through all generations.” 

In Acts 13:36the writer declares, “David served God’s purpose in His own generation…”  Isaiah 58 speaks of the foundations of many generations.  In Psalm 17:18 we have a powerful prayer, “Oh God, forsake me not until I have shown Thy strength unto this generation and Thy power to everyone that is to come.”   At some point in human history, God will raise up a people that will demonstrate God’s power and love to Everyone that will Come!  Always keep it in the forefront of your minds that we are, as Peter declared, “…a Chosen Generation…”  (1 Peter 2:9).  That is Us! 

If we understand that a generation is a “single step in the line of descent from an ancestor”.  We have a destiny that God has purposed for each of us.  Many, like me, have had a sense of destiny all their lives and that sense of destiny keeps me moving forward. The devil has tried numerous times to stop me. 

As a child I was sickly and the doctors did not think I would live to adulthood, but I did.  There were times in my youth that I had brushes with death but didn’t die.  In Vietnam, on several occasions, I can pinpoint specific times when God did something miraculous to keep me out of harm’s way.  As an adult, I have had the sentence of death on me, and God healed or delivered me. 

If we realize our Purpose and embrace our Destiny, we must become people of prayer and out of that relationship I believe will become people of power.  In that state, we will become voices that can be called nothing less than prophetic as we speak His truth and light to the world.  That will make us Radical Christians and we will learn to be the Glorious Church Jesus came to build exercising dominion and power over the powers of darkness.

So, believers allow the Holy Spirit to birth in your hearts a sense of destiny and purpose and allow the visions of God birthed in your heart to become the outworking of your life.  

God bless you as you embark on your new journey in Christ!

Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  NKJV

I had a minister tell me that he believed in God and was a follower of Jesus but could not accept the account of Genesis 1:1 as the explanation of the universe’s existence.  I cannot fathom how one can discount the Beginning and hope to attain the End spoken of in Scripture.  The Bible declares and I believe that GOD Created everything.  If I disbelieve the first declaration of the Bible, how can I believe the remaining proclamations?  If I lose faith at the outset, at what point will my faith be solidified and grounded?

Creationism is not an inconsequential topic in the Word of God. It is found in numerous passages, stated in varying ways but the clear message is GOD is the Creator of all that is.  That requires faith to believe but so do the theories of evolution and its variations.  In the Book of Genesis, we find that God not only created the heavens and the earth but all that lives on the earth including man.  I suggest that you read (Psalm 90:2; 95:5; Isaiah 42:5; 45:18; John 1:1-3; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16).  In this world there is design, and any rational mind will recognize that design implies a designer.

Most credit Charles Darwin with originating the thought or theory of evolution, but if you examine the historical record, you will realize that this thought existed long before Darwin’s work in 1859, “The Origin of the Species.”  Some of the proponents of theories contrary to the Genesis account were:

• Anaximander (610-546 BC) introduced the theory of “spontaneous generation.”
• Diogenes (412-323 BC) advanced the idea of primordial slime.
• Empedocles (495-455 BC) introduced the theory of survival of the fittest and natural selection.
• Democritus (460-370 BC) taught the mutability and adaptation of the species.
• Lucretius (99-55 BC) believed that all life sprang from mother earth rather than a specific deity.

After the birth of Christ, others advanced the theories to which Charles Darwin ascribed including Bruno, Leibnitz, and Buffon who taught that man ascended from the apes.  Then you have Swedenborg’s nebular hypothesis which was an early “big bang” theory and Kant.  Man has long sought to discount and remove God from the equation.  Much of that stemmed from a desire to remove the moral code of the Bible as a guide for life but some of it was simply disillusionment and scientific error.

The Founding Fathers were well acquainted with the various theories long before Darwin brought them together in his book where they gained incredible acceptance.  Our Founding Fathers spoke openly about God and Creation and that is evident in the Constitution as well as in their various writings on matters biblical. 

Thomas Paine, probably the most antireligious of the Founders addressed leaders in France in 1798 and denounced their educational system for teaching students that man was the result of prehistoric cosmic accidents and had developed from some other species. 

He said, “It has been the error of schools to teach astronomy and all the other sciences and subjects of natural philosophy as accomplishments only, whereas they should be taught theologically, or with reference to the Being who is the Author of them, for all the principles of science are of Divine origin.  Man cannot make, or invent, or contrive principles; he can only discover them; and he ought to look through the discoveries to the Author.  When we examine an extraordinary piece of machinery, an astonishing pile of architecture, a well-executed statue, or a highly finished painting…our ideas are naturally to think of the extensive genius and talent of the artist.  When we study the elements of geometry, we think of Euclid. When we speak of gravitation, we think of Newton.  How, then, is it that when we study the works of God in creation, we stop short and do not think of God?… The evil that has resulted from the error of the schools in teaching natural philosophy as an accomplishment only has been that of generating in the pupils a species of atheism.  Instead of looking through the works of creation to the Creator Himself, they stop short and employ the knowledge they acquire to create doubts of His existence… But infidelity, by ascribing every phenomenon to properties of matter, conceives a system for which it cannot account, and yet it pretends to demonstration.”  WOW!  What a statement!

Daniel Webster addressed the issue of God as the First Cause of all things and Thomas Jefferson eloquently declared, “The movements of the heavenly bodies, so exactly held in their course by the balance of centrifugal and centripetal forces; the structure of the earth itself with its distributions of lands, waters, and atmosphere; animal and vegetable bodies examined in all their minutest particles; insects – mere atoms of life – yet as perfectly organized as man or mammoth; the mineral substances, their generation and uses; it is impossible, I say, for the human mind not to believe that there is in all this design, cause, and effect upon an Ultimate Cause – a Fabricator of all things, from matter and motion – their Preserver and Regulator while permitted to exist in their present forms – and their Regenerator into new and other forms.”  

Many other of the Founders echoed the same beliefs in the Divine as Creator.  Ecclesiastes 1:9 informs us that there is nothing new under the sun, and that is absolutely true.  John Quincy Adams summed it up saying, “It is so obvious to every reasonable being that he did not make himself, and the world which he inhabits could as little make itself, that the moment we begin to exercise the power of reflection, it seems impossible to escape the conviction that there is a Creator.”  AMEN!

I believe the Bible account and through the study of science and the limitations God put on the interaction of species as well as the intricacies of the human body and much more, I cannot believe there is no God.  Rather, I BELIEVE IN GOD, and HE IS CREATOR!

God bless you as you embark on today’s journey!

Psalm 46:1-3 – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.”  NKJV

I would encourage you to read the entirety of Psalm 46.  Psalms 46, 47, and 48 were written at the same time by the same person.  After you read this Psalm, I suggest you go to 2 Kings 18-19.  In these two chapters, we have one of the great records of faith in the Bible.  It is in those passages we discover the “Ways of Faith” and I believe it so vital that we should examine the account with some detail.  It is quite possible we will discover some things about Faith we have never before seen.

In this account, we see one of the “Mad Dictators” of the Middle East of that era.  This type of ruler has always been a problem in that region and amazingly they always seem to originate by the River Euphrates and most move against Israel at some time or other.  That Despot is named Sennacherib, King of Assyria and he self-identified himself as, “The Great King, King of all the Earth.”  What a display of humility, right?  His goal was to take over and rule the entire Earth as he knows it.  He has already subdued the ten (10) Northern Tribes [Israel] which leaves only Judah to conquer.  Here, twenty years later he has returned and is on his way to Egypt and travels through Jerusalem where he encounters the King of Judah, Hezekiah.

Hezekiah is a “man of faith.”  He hears the terrible news that Sennacherib is coming with plans to obliterate everything and everyone in his path that resists.  Finally, Hezekiah says, Enough!  In a seeming olive branch, Sennacherib demands that Hezekiah must pay an exorbitant tax to him.  Sennacherib passes by and continues toward Egypt with Judah’s gold in his treasury. 

However, as he passes by, he realizes that passing by is a mistake for Hezekiah is not the kind of man to quietly go into hiding and submission, so he turns back.  He sends his choice generals to Jerusalem, and they gather outside the city walls.  Their presence draws a very large crowd of people.  Everyone is there, watching and waiting!  The Generals tell Hezekiah that Sennacherib has changed his mind and Judah must submit to an unconditional surrender.

This is an incredible conversation.  The generals say, “Hezekiah don’t give us this foolishness that you are going to trust in the Lord your God.  We know your history and you’re subject to saying something like that.  Well, let us give you a little history lesson about where the Great King of Assyria has been and then you will see the futility of your decision and actions.  Every city we came to said, ‘We will trust in our gods, but where are they today?  Their gods have been burned with fire and they are in captivity.  What good were their gods?  Hezekiah, Hezekiah, if your God says He will look after you, believe us, there is no God anywhere that can match the Great King of Assyria.  He is the GREAT KING OF ALL THE EARTH!”  

The people of Judah hear this and then the generals begin to speak in the common language that all could understand and say, “Don’t listen to Hezekiah.  Don’t listen to his plan that your God is going to work on your behalf.  Face reality!  Save your own hides!  Come out in surrender and we promise that you’ll have life in abundance with us!” 

The generals then wait for the expected answer.  Hezekiah goes back into the Temple of the Lord. He is distressed and distraught. There is a massive storm brewing just outside the gates and turmoil inside his own heart.  He is in a major crisis, and he begins to survey his situation.  He talks to himself and God saying, “It is obvious if we do not surrender, Sennacherib who is just down the road in the Sinai will return after he has defeated Egypt and will be furious.  At that point, it will be over for us.  This is the Apocalypse!”   This is an incredibly serious situation.  The beautiful dream of the world that Hezekiah seeking for the Israelites is over. This is pressure with a capital “P”. What is he to do? 

Then, he remembers the speech of the generals wasn’t about Hezekiah at all.  Virtually everything they said was about GOD.  They said, “Who do you think your God is?  He is no match for the Great King of Assyria.”  They have insulted and blasphemed God Himself.  But why doesn’t God do something?  Where is He?  Is He listening?  They have openly challenged God, His power, integrity, and authority.  They have cursed His name, so why doesn’t He do something?   This is serious and his faith is terribly shaken. 

Hezekiah’s response was to send a message to Isaiah the prophet, who was also a man of the court, possibly a Royal Prince himself.  He is the man of God of the court, so Hezekiah says, “Man of God, what do you say?”  Isaiah did not hesitate and spoke definitively, “This is what God says:  I will put a spirit in Sennacherib so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land.  Relax, he’s not coming here!”  Really? 

I can imagine the conflict in Hezekiah’s heart and mind, but Hezekiah is ready to grasp at any straw he can find, and he speaks to the generals advising them He Will Not Surrender!  They are totally caught off guard and shocked and when they inform Sennacherib, He is Furious!  He writes a letter to Hezekiah relating what the generals have said in 2 Kings 19:10-12. 

It is a simple letter in which he says, “Hezekiah, I’ve had enough of you!  I’m fed up with your stupid religious talk.  Your God cannot help you now.  You’ve had it, chum!”   The letter arrives and Hezekiah reads it and then took it into the Temple and spread it out on the table.  He assumes God can read the letter and then he prays…   It is in the prayer that we find the incredible power of faith.

Hopefully, I have whetted your appetite, and encourage you to study this account and see the faith of Hezekiah and the Power of God!

God bless you as you enjoy this day the Lord has made and be glad in it!

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  NKJV

1 Corinthians 13:13 – “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  NKJV

Even a cursory reading of the New Testament reveals the emphasis Jesus placed on Love!  John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  35 By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.”   I would suggest that in truth all of the actions that we are enjoined to take toward “one another” are simply Love in Action!  Philippians 1:9, “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in the knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.”

I am 100% convinced when there is a sufficient flow of Agape Love in a life and a church, divisiveness will shrink into nothingness because Love drives out darkness and disarms the devil, like nothing else.  Love brings to light that darkness cannot endure.  Love covers differences in nonessentials and enables “oneness” to become reality.  I, therefore, believe that one of if not the greatest needs of the church and the individual is Agape Love!

When it comes to relationships in churches or believers we would do well to remember and determine that We are Family!  We are “members of one another.”  That is a foreign concept to some but interesting, nonetheless.  I wonder how many would deliberately do damage or hurt another part of their own human body?  Would you deliberately cut off a toe because it bumped into the bedpost during the night?  Yet, we do that very thing in the Body of Christ.  Amazing, isn’t it?

One of the clear messages of the New Testament is that we are “members of one another.”  Every New Testament writer confirmed and echoed that truth, but the apostle Paul made it crystal clear by using the analogy of the Human Body in 1 Corinthians 12:14-26.  There is no way that even the most carnal and immature believer could miss Paul’s message.  He wraps up powerfully in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are the Body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it.”  

I wonder if many or possibly most believers miss Paul’s emphasis here.  We have been told to search for and attempt to discover our spiritual gifts in order to function in the Body of Christ.  We have been told that because in these passages the apostle makes extensive reference to spiritual gifts.  However, if you examine the passage more closely you will find that idea nowhere in any exhortation that the individual Christian is to look for or try to discover their spiritual gift.  I suggest you cannot find that in the Bible.  But, before I lose you, if I have not already, let me address what I believe Paul is emphasizing.

• No Individual Christian can function effectively alone.

Question:  Have you ever gotten a speck of dust or something in your eye?  When you do the natural instinct is to take your finger and rub it, right?  It took more than the eye to resolve the problem.  That is the natural response but in the spiritual, we seem to think we can be islands needing no other member of the Body of Christ.  Wrong! 

• No Member of the Body of Christ should ever feel he is more or less important than any other member.

No individual believer has exclusive rights to God’s grace.  We are all equal at the foot of the Cross.  Romans 12:3, 5, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt with each one a measure of faith… 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”   Ephesians 4:2, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

• Christians should work hard at creating UNITY in the Body of Christ.

We cannot function effectively alone we need each other as the natural body needs all its members for the most efficient functionality.  None of us is more important or less important than anyone else in the Body of Christ even though some have a more prominent role or position.  We are to be clothed with humility, remembering that even the one who has the greatest responsibility is also to be the greatest servant.  Therefore, all of us should strive for Unity and Peace because We Love the LORD and We Love One Another!

Did you follow it?  The emphasis was not on the gifts but preserving the Bond of Peace and creating Unity in the Body of Christ.  The gifts will become visible as the need presents itself and we utilize them, but Peace and Unity are things we must work toward and seek diligently.  I truly believe that Agape Love is the one of, if not the most powerful weapon, the Body of Christ and individual has in combating the forces of hell. 

Agape Love is our ultimate weapon against darkness.  There is no difficulty that enough Agape Love will not conquer.  There is no wound that enough Agape Love will not heal.  There is no door that enough Agape Love will not open.  There is no division that enough Agape Love will not bridge.  There is no wall that enough Agape Love will not scale or pull down.  There is no sin that enough Agape Love will not cover and redeem.

So, make it your goal to Walk in Love at all times and in all things! 

God bless you as you go through this wonderful day in Him.

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  NKJV

1 Corinthians 13:13 – “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  NKJV

The most prolific word used for love in the New Testament is Agape which describes “love at its ultimate.”  However, there are three other Greek words for love and of the four only three are used in the New Testament. 

• ERAN (Eros) – A word that describes the passion and the impulses that go along with it.  It focuses on the physical and sensual and it might be surprising to note that this word is not used in the New Testament.  This can be sinful as in lust but is the natural type of love that occurs between a man and a woman within the confines of marriage.
• STERGEIN (Storgi)- I would venture to say that many have never heard of this type of love but it refers to “natural affection” and is used to describe the love of parents for children or children for parents.  It is found in the New Testament twice with the prefix “a”, denoting the lack of natural affection.  [Romans 1:31 and 2 Timothy 3:3]. 
• PHILEIN (Phileo) – The word means ‘fondness, affection, or liking.’  It is used to describe the love between friends and is NEVER used to describe the love we are to have for God.  It is used 45 times in the New Testament.  It is not a passionate love like that between a husband and wife.  When Jesus asked whether Peter loved Him was “agapao” but Peter, possibly being caught off guard said, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” [John 21:15].  The word Peter used was “phileo” or brother love.  At that point, Peter apparently didn’t get it. 
• AGAPAN (Agape) – This is ultimate love or love.  It is not based on emotion but a conscious decision to act for the welfare of the object of that love.  It is used 320 times in one form or another in the New Testament.  It is not human in origin and is received then given back and is always associated with the love of God.

Love, the song says, “Is a many splendored thing” and without it, there is always Disunity in lives, homes, and churches.  I believe that “love problem” or problem from the lack of love we identify as Disunity is one of the greatest threats to churches in today’s world.  Conversely, Unity is one of the most needed qualities any person, family, or church can have, and I am convinced that Unity can only be achieved through Love, but I am not talking about Eros. 

Paul tells his listeners in Ephesians 4:15-16, we are to “Speak the truth in love.”  He makes it clear that as that transpires, “they will, in all things, grow up into Him who is the head, Jesus.”  He identifies that in that relationship and condition, “the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”  If you dissect and digest that you will find enough meat to feast on for years and it will change your life.

Over and over the New Testament writers exhorted believers to engage in specific activities that would enable the Body of Christ to function effectively and grow spiritually.  Often, we find a unique word to describe this mutual and reciprocal process – Allelon, “one another”.  It is used 58 times in the New Testament including the Gospels and the apostle Paul uses it 40 times.  Although some of the concepts are repeated from letter to letter, but when all of the One Another exhortations are studied and grouped according to their specific meanings they can be reduced to approximately twelve significant actions that Christians are to take toward “one another” to help build the Body of Christ.

I do not have time to detail them in this devotional but will say that the greatest is Love!  Paul described this as a more excellent way in 1 Corinthians 12:31 and 13:13. The exhortation to “love one another” is found in his writings more than all the rest.  Of the 48 references what we are to do to “one another” as fellow believers 11times we are told to “love one another”.  If you incorporate Christ’s direct commands to “love one another” from John’s gospel the number climbs to sixteen.  It is without question; Love is the most important issue for the believer in the New Testament.  To love fellow believers is a basic injunction and is evidence of spiritual life and salvation.  Yet, amazingly believers are often deficient in exhibiting “love to one another” for one reason or another.

We will pause here and pick up next time in considering this matter.  God bless you richly as you walk in His light and love.