2 Chronicles 15:8 – “When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged.  He removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had seized in the Ephraimite hill country. He repaired the altar of the Lord in front of the porch of the Lord’s temple.”

This passage and the entire chapter of 2 Chronicles 15 brought inspiration, a directive, a warning, and a promise that challenged me.  2 15:8-15 provides the foundation for the message of the Spirit of God to my heart.

In 2 Chronicles 15:1-7, Asa, the king, was in the presence of the prophet Azariah.   The prophet’s message was age-old – if you seek God, He will let you find Him.  In verse 7, the prophet said, “But you, be strong and do not lose courage, FOR there is reward for your work.”

The revelation, inspiration, warning, and promise are embodied in that passage.  In 2 Chronicles 15:8, notice the progression: when Asa heard, he did not put on hold for later study.  When he heard the prophecy, he “Took Courage and Acted.”    It was immediate obedience.

He removed the abominable (the very appearance of evil as well). He Restored the altar of the Lord (place of commitment, sacrifice, worship, and prayer) personally and corporately, but the action was Immediate!

2 Chronicles 15:15 – “…so, the LORD gave them rest on every side.”

In Matthew Chapter One, we see this in Joseph, Mary’s husband, an example of this principle—“Hear, take Courage, and Act.”  When Joseph found out his fiancée was pregnant, it was a major system shock to his Hebrew religious mentality.   

He did what any man in his time would have done, but God gave him a dream and told him what was happening.  In verse 24, we see the principle put into action.  Joseph got up and married her but had no physical relations with her until Jesus was born.  His response was immediate.   There was no hesitation or theorizing, just obedience.

Later, after the visit by the Magi, another dream and warning, and “in the night,” Joseph acted.   His response was immediate in complete obedience.

The danger is that delay in obedience can become disobedience and thwart God’s desire for us.   It gives the enemy an opportunity.   The Key is knowing God, knowing His voice, and obeying out of that place of confidence. God provides guidance and protects us when we walk in obedience.  

2 Chronicles 20:20 (perfect vision 20-20) Jehoshaphat heard the prophet and acted immediately. He said to the people what we need to hear and heed: ” Put your trust in the LORD your God, and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets, and you will succeed.”

We “Hear” the word either in a word or in the Word (Bible).  When you hear obey, we are to Act!  Obedience shows us the door to an open heaven.  When the door is not visible, we should see if there has been a failure to obey immediately.  God desires to bless, guard, and guide more than we want, so receive it. 

Have a Great Day, and Determine that you will always Act in Immediate Obedience to the Holy Spirit’s Directive!

2 Chronicles 26:14-16 –“And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging. ¹⁵ In Jerusalem, he made machines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones.  And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.  ¹⁶ But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction.  For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.” 

As I read, prayed, and pondered today, I was reminded of a great danger for believers.  That danger was made plain in 2 Chronicles 26:16.

Uzziah trusted in himself after victory and blessing.  Rather than becoming even more dependent on God, we tend to become filled with Ourselves after spiritual victory.

Uzziah was king when some people in his kingdom invented powerful, unknown weapons of war.   Verse 15 says, “…he was marvelously helped UNTIL he was strong.”  Then, in verse 16, we read, “BUT when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, AND was unfaithful to the LORD…”   He presumed upon the office of the priest and was smitten with leprosy for the rest of his life.  God will not honor presumptuous pride.  He shares His glory with no one.

2 Chronicles 26:5 says, “…as long as he sought the LORD, God prospered him.”  Man tends to think the blessings are because of his specialness.   God requires humility and obedience.

If we keep pride out of our hearts and always remember that it is because of God’s grace, not our goodness or specialness, God will do what God does, and no weapon, enemy, or obstacle can stand.

If we trust ourselves, we doom ourselves.   If we trust God, we guarantee success.  It is a choice and a total surrender.  We need to guard against “I” trouble.   God honors the humble and stumbles the proud.   God’s desire for us is victory!

Have a great day in the Lord’s peace, power, presence, protection, and provision!

Matthew 16:13-20 – “When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven! ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered today, something refreshed my spirit as I read Matthew 16 and beyond.  Jesus asked, “Who am I to the crowds?”  Then He asked, ” Who am I to you?”   That’s the key!

Peter’s response should be our response.   Out of that revelation, Jesus informed Peter and us that Who He Is provides the basis of our spiritual authority.  

THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM

Keys unlock and lock doors.  An unused key is a worthless piece of metal.   A used key is a mighty tool used rightly.  Through the revelation and embracing of Who Jesus Is, we can access the Kingdom provisions.

We can bind because we have the key and can unlock the door.  We can reach into the kingdom, see what is bound, and bring it into our present.   Likewise, we can see what is loosed and bring that reality into our present.  There is more to operating in that authority than just believing He is the Christ.  There is dying to self and becoming childlike in faith and trust.

It involves purity of heart and complete forgiveness of Everyone and Everything!    It involves relationships with God and others in the body.

Matthew 18:18-22 is worthy of in-depth study but suffice it to say that unity with pure hearts, right motives, and total forgiveness opens the door to the miraculous.

Binding and loosing are connected to belief but also to complete forgiveness.  Agreement, in that context, allows us to exercise our spiritual authority and bring the kingdom and ALL its provisions into the present.   Nothing is impossible for that person or group of people. 

No self-centeredness can remain.

In Matthew 19, we have the story of the rich young man who reveals a dimension of this truth.  He wanted to “do” something to earn acceptance, but Jesus said “Be” something.  Jesus told him that he must Release that which you treasure and consider yours to me.  That can be possessions, or it could be a harboring of a hurt or anything else.  Release that which holds your heart and surrender totally to Jesus.  The keys will become functional, and the world of the supernatural will open to you.

You do not have to be the devil’s whipping boy.  You Have Authority.  Use it.

Have a wonderful day of rejoicing in Jesus!  You are Victorious!

Nehemiah 4:4-6 – “Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Return their reproach on their own head. Reduce them to plunder in a land of exile! ⁵ Do not cover their iniquity, and do not wipe out their sin from your sight, for they have bitterly offended the builders.  ⁶ So we rebuilt the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height.  The people were enthusiastic in their work.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word, a prayer of Nehemiah drove home a truth for Today!  In Nehemiah 4:4, Nehemiah prays for God’s help against the enemies, trying to prevent their accomplishment of God’s purposes.

“Hear, O God, how we are despised!  Return their reproach on their own heads AND give them up for plunder in a land of captivity.”

He was reversing the curse.   Israel had been in captivity, and these foes were pronouncing curses on them.  Nehemiah prays – “Let their curses be their lot.”  After he had broken and reversed the curse, verse 6 – “So we rebuilt the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, FOR the people had a mind to work.”

A truth we need to grasp is that reversing the curse frees the heart and mind to focus on God’s purposes. It enables right or correct thinking and focus and transforms. The curse can come from without or within. Both are belched out of the pit of hell, and both are paralyzing.

Curses have power through expectation.   We expect the worst, but Jesus came to reverse the curse and enable us to enter the Kingdom.

In the Kingdom, there are no curses.   Curses cannot operate without legal grounds.  Believing or expecting the fruit of the curse provides legal grounds for the devil to function.

• The question is – What do we do? 
• The answer is – Repent and return to the Lord. 

We choose to believe God and expect His Promises to become realities Now!   So, whose report do we believe?  What we say, think, and do testify to which report we believe.

Remember that Preparation Always precedes blessing.   We need to Plan and Prepare for God’s blessings, not the devil’s curses.   It likely will not be easy, but God’s Word is the true reality.   A curse without a cause (legal ground) cannot alight (operate).

Matthew 6:33 directs us to Seek God and expect His help. The Bible reminds us that we are more than conquerors, and Jesus has redeemed us from the curse. We need to reverse the curse orally and declare God’s promises. Victory is for the taking, so take it.

Have a great day of victory in the Finished Work of Jesus!

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 – “ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 we are given some powerful instructions, “Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt ²¹ but test them all; hold on to what is good, ²² reject every kind of evil.”

As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, it would be beneficial to consider the Power and Authority of “Thanksgiving!”  God desires that His children live victorious lives.   He desires that we grow in His Grace and mature to the place where we are no longer intimidated by the enemy.

Thanksgiving is a reminder of our Spiritual Authority as well as our material blessings!   We have the authority to speak to the devil and tell him to “shut up.”  We have the authority to tell him to “begone devil.”  We have the authority to “Resist the devil in submission to God and watch Him run like a scared jackrabbit.”   That is something to be Thankful for!

Let me suggest to you that “Thanksgiving” is a manifestation of the Fruit of the Spirit, and Thanksgiving Day should be a day of Thanks Giving as we manifest the Spirit’s Fruit.   Ephesians 5:17-20 reveals to us God’s Will and His desire for us.  The Bible reveals that a Thankful Heart will be present in a Spirit-Filled Life!

We can lament our lack or rejoice in God’s Greatness!   Some complain and even express anger toward God, accusing Him of not coming through in their hour of need.  But many of those people do not ‘Do’ what He has instructed. 

We Enter God’s Gates with “Thanksgiving” and His Courts (or courtroom) with “Praise.”  Thanksgiving opens the Door; Praise presents our case.

Thanksgiving should be the earmark of all that we do!  We will view life differently if we live with an “Attitude of Gratitude” and express our “Thankfulness” to God.  We will no longer look “at” the problem; we will look “through or beyond” the problem to the solution.  When we learn to SEE into the Invisible Realms, we will find that ungratefulness is virtually impossible.

• Thanksgiving Strengthens Faith.
• Thanksgiving Triggers the Miraculous.
• Thanksgiving is the Doorway.

I suggest that you make a list of the things you have in which you can truly be Thankful.   Make a list of all that God has done for you in the past.  Then, begin to voice your Gratitude before you make your petitions.   Enter the Door with the Key – (Thanksgiving), then move to Praise and present your case before the Throne!

Victory is yours, and you have much to be Thankful For!  Happy Thanksgiving Day!