Malachi 1:6 – “A son honors his father, and a servant his master…”

As I read, prayed, and pondered, my mind exploded with whispers of the Holy Spirit, making the Word alive.  The veil was being lifted, and I was challenged on several fronts.

In Malachi, God began by asking a chastening and challenging question: “A son honors his father, and a slave his master.”  Then, he came to the point. He took their own words and challenged them—and he still does today.

He said, “If, as you declare, I am your Father, where is the honor you should be giving me?” He was not looking for words but commitment of heart and obedience.   Words have power but can be empty if the heart is not in the words.  They continually said the words but kept back their hearts.

Next, He said, “You call me Lord (master); IF I am, then why don’t you have fear and respect for Me?”  They were dumbfounded.   After all, they attended church and said all the right things, wasn’t that what was required?

What is God talking about when He says defiled food on the altar?  It is giving God the second best and leftovers.  Spare Change (money and heart).  I call it “Tipping Living.”

They were allowing the profane to thrive and not shutting it out.  Feasting at tables, they should be overturning.   God accepts no offering that is not pure-hearted commitment.

In Malachi 2:17, God said, “You have wearied Me with your words.”  His following statement is penetrating, “You say evil is good, and everybody and everything is okay.”  Calling evil good and good evil incurs God’s disfavor, not blessing.

In Chapter 3, the matter of the tithe surfaces, and it is more than just the tithe. It is about obedience, commitment, love, faith, and revelation. God invites us to put Him to the test and prove to ourselves and the world His faithfulness.  Obedience in faith produces an open heaven.

The blessings promised are “until it is Beyond Enough.”  Beyond enough indicates abundance and even lavishness.

The Promise becomes even better as He promises that the devourer will be rebuked and restrained.   What you have and do is protected from corruption.   That means you have pure offerings to give that invoke more blessings and greater protection.   It becomes a perpetual cycle.  It is for His Glory.

• Money is not the object God is! 
• Fulfilling the purposes of God is! 
• The harvest is! 
• Functioning in power is.

Paul told Timothy to fight the good fight of faith through the personal prophecies he had received.  He later spoke of imparted gifts through the laying on of hands and prophecy.  We have a commission, and Malachi reveals a pathway to God’s person, provision, and power.  Timothy shows how to function in that.

I heard: “Give Me Your Whole Self, all you are and have, and I’ll give you Myself, all that I am and have.  I will open heaven, and NOTHING will be impossible or withheld from you.”  What is our part?  It is obedience and faith.   We must train ourselves to expect God’s promises to become realities Now!

God will not receive or accept superficial offerings but bless and multiply pure-hearted offerings.  Therefore, I urge you to begin speaking to your problems.  Speak the Word and Promises of God.  Give God your best, and He will do the rest.

May today be a day of overwhelming victory for you!

Genesis 1:1-2 – “GOD created the heavens and the earth in the very beginning.² And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water.”

As I read, I prayed and pondered several things tugged at the strings of my heart.  One was God’s Perfection.   God is perfect, and what He creates is perfect.

Genesis 1:1-2.   Virtually all translations say that the earth WAS without form and void.   Two Hebrew words – “tohu” and “bohu” are used.  When combined, describe a place of chaos or a wasteland of darkness. Did God create a wasteland of darkness and chaos?  Isaiah 45:18 tells us God created the earth to be inhabited.  That sounds inconsistent if God made it formless and void.

The word was (hayah), which means a change or progression.  It could be translated (to become).  Genesis 19:26 – “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

When did the change in creation become a reality?   I ask that you consider this possibility and maybe probability:  when Lucifer and his followers fell and the ensuing war.  Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning.”  He was hurled down to the earth by God!  Imagine the force God used and the destruction that could result.

If we remember that God gives good gifts and what He creates is good, we can develop a new view of life.  Satan is the corrupter.   He seeks to destroy, mar, damage, and render useless.  But God comes to give life. 

Let me suggest a verse from Aramaic to English – Genesis 2:4 – “These are the GENERATIONS of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the heavens and the earth.”  The six days of creation are called generations.

The snake is subtle.   I call him the sneaky snake.  He caught Eve off guard by asking a question.  “Did God say you can’t eat from any of the trees?”  He sought to instill the idea of unfairness and unreasonableness on God’s part.

From the time of his fall, the devil has been producing chaos.  Chaos is not God.  Resist chaos and take authority over it. God is restoring what Satan and man are destroying.   Jesus is our restoration and our restorer. 

The devil is trying to destroy; God’s promise is restoration!   That is your heritage-RESTORATION!  Today is your day to exercise the spiritual authority you have been given. Do not put up with chaos and destruction.

May God fully restore you to His desired place and allow you to enjoy His perfection!

Genesis 19:12 – “What are you doing in this place?” 

I heard a question as I read, prayed, pondered, and mused on the Word and the Lord.  It was the first of several questions.   The angels sent to judge Sodom and Gomorrah asked Lot an expansive question.   A question that was both geographical and spiritual.   Genesis 19:12 – “What are you doing in this place?” 

Geographically, it was speaking of Sodom.  However, the emotional, mental, and spiritual factors were also to be considered. Your geography can be so saturated with corruption that it steals your heart, distorts your thinking, and diverts your faith.   But even more powerful is the question, “Why are you willing to let the lifestyles and ideologies of corruption have a place in your heart?”

We are in but not of the world.   We cannot avoid corrupt people.  But we can avoid corrupt thinking.  We can be in the world but not of it.  We can be separate without being self-righteous.   We can be lights in the darkness.  Yet, sometimes, the Spirit of God asks, “What are you doing here?” 

If we get comfortable with the corruption around us, we may and probably will have a longing for the provisions and temporary pleasures found there.   Acceptance is a huge factor for most people. 

To gain acceptance, many live in a place and have a mindset that elicits the question. “What are you doing in this place?”  A prime example is Lot’s wife.  She looked back, and it cost her her life, if not her eternity.  We are not those who look back longingly or desire the comfort zone of acceptance that demands the tainting of our souls.

We are lights, witnesses, examples, and manifestations of God’s love, person, purpose, and power.  If we are being drawn away from purpose geographically, emotionally, or spiritually, are we in the right place?  In Christ, there is peace, power, and purpose.

If our spiritual authority is lacking, it might be good to ask, “What am I doing in this place or condition?”  Is what we are experiencing what God says we are and can be?  If not, what are we doing in this place?

Submit Everything to God and fasten your seat belts. Your world is about to change.  No more riding coach class; 1st class is your call.

May the LORD of All Creation empower you to break free from whatever holds you back and propel you into His Presence so you can fulfill His Purpose for your life!

Matthew 11:27 – “You (Father God) have entrusted Me (Jesus) with ALL that You are AND all that You have.” TPT

The Holy Spirit challenged me to believe big and expand my understanding of who we are in Christ. That nudge energizes me.

The declaration of Jesus in Matthew 11:27 is powerful and vitally important to victorious Christian living.  We need to meditate upon that declaration and let it soak into our spirits.  God entrusted Jesus with ALL God is and ALL God has.  Muse on that a moment.  Jesus was the expression and demonstration of ALL God is and has.

We are IN Him, and He is IN us.  Jesus said in Luke 10:19 that He has given us ALL authority (the authority He has).  Paul said in Romans 8:17 – that we are Joint heirs with Jesus. That means we have been entrusted with ALL Jesus us and has, and He is entrusted with ALL the Father is and has.  That gives additional power and revelation to Matthew 11:28-29.  It reveals the incredibleness of that promise.

“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden?  Come to Me.  I WILL refresh your life (not just you momentarily but your life), for I AM your oasis. 29 Simply join your life with Mine (die to self and become one with Jesus).  Learn My ways and you WILL DISCOVER that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please.  (Most people do not believe that. They think that God is hard to please).  You WILL find refreshment and rest in Me.  For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.”

Whatever we need, whenever we need it, is embodied in Jesus, and we are IN Jesus.  We need to develop spiritual eyes to see, ears to hear, and minds open to His revelation.   Matthew 13:12 – “For everyone (how many?)  Everyone who listens with an open heart WILL RECEIVE progressively more revelation UNTIL he has more than enough.”

It’s time we ceased begging God to do what He gave us authority to do.  It is time to quit making excuses and offering justifications for our lack. All things are possible with God, which means ALL things are possible with us.

Whom does He say we are?  Who do the devil, the world, other people, and our minds say we are?   We have to believe one report; which one do we choose?  Making that decision is step one.  Learning to believe and live it is number two.

We can only become once we decide to be.  God does not, cannot, and will not lie.   Therefore, today, He says we have authority, are joint heirs with Jesus, and are more than conquerors, and nothing is impossible.   What do we say?  Our answer determines our future and could mean life or death to many.

We can Be who He says we are!  He will take every step we take in the process of becoming.  The prize is ours IF we are willing to make the trip.

Have a fantastic day as you become who God says you are!

Genesis 26:2-3 – “The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. ³ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.”

Genesis 26:12-14 – “Now Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him, 13 and the man became rich, and continued to grow richer until he became very wealthy; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and herds and a great household so that the Philistines envied him.”

Here, we see Isaac in great obedience and faith.  There was Famine (trial, trouble, difficulty, lack, need, etc.). God said, “Do Not go down to Egypt (trust flesh, ability, possessions, others).  Stay Where You Are!” 

The Promise – “I will be with you and will Bless you and your descendants.   I Will Keep My Promises!”  In other words, Bloom Where You Are Planted through Obedience and Faith.  Isaac did just that, and God fulfilled His Promises.  Verse 12 – “Then Isaac sowed in that Land and received in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.”

Wait just a minute!  He obeyed and received a hundredfold return.  Isn’t that a blessing?  But it says, and God blessed Him.  It was blessing upon blessing and in that Year!  It was not down the road someday in the sweet by and by, but in the now and now.

We can see things in the lives of the patriarchs that are missing in believers today.  What is that?  It is Expectation!  They believed that whatever God said, no matter how impossible it seemed, He would perform.  Therefore, obedience was a faith walk filled with sure hope and eager anticipation – Expectation!

To Bloom Where We Are Planted requires faith, hope, determination, trust, and expectation. In Hebrews 4:1-2, 6, we seem to miss a powerful truth.  Hebrews 4:2 – “For the gospel was preached to us as it was to them.”  It was the Gospel?  Yes, the Gospel has been proclaimed since the Garden of Eden- Passover for them, the animal skin covering for Adam and Eve, and the Cross for us.  They possessed as they walked in faith and obedience.

We can Bloom while resisting disobeying and trusting ourselves.  We need to surrender, believe, obey, and receive the promises.  God plants sometimes to enable us to learn obedience and trust.  Blooming comes from embracing His purposes rather than imposing our preferences.  I see the buds of the Bloom in you.  Embrace His purposes and watch the blooms come forth.

May you become the planting of the Lord and Bloom with His fullness!

Genesis 32:28 – “He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but ^[a]Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”

The thought of wrestling with God gripped my heart.  In Genesis 32, Jacob was returning home but knew Esau was coming.  He envisioned destruction because he knew his deception and Esau’s hatred.  

In the night, all alone, he encountered God and wrestled with Him.  The Lord or the Angel said, “Let me go, for the night is over, and daybreak has come.”  Jacob refused.  Persistence and a thirst for answers, assurance, protection, peace, and power drove him to persist.  Jacob said, “No way!  I won’t quit unless or until you answer my prayer.” Verse 28 contains a truth or revelation often overlooked. 

Here, we encounter his name or character change.  But what about the statement, “You have proved your strength wrestling with an angel and with man and have prevailed.”  He had Laban behind him, Esau in front of Him, and God or His angel in the present.  He prevailed!  

Proved his strength to whom?  Not God’s, He knows.  Not Esau’s.  Not Laban’s.   Whose Strength?  It was Jacob’s!  He learned the power of persistence.

In Hebrews 10:38 – “BUT the righteous shall live by MY faith…”

If we determine that nothing will be acceptable or that the only acceptable thing is God’s answer, peace, power, provision, protection, and person, we, too, will prevail and learn to live in His faith.  Nothing will deter us.  We will be who He says we are.  Who are we?

Wrestling with God is not to change God’s mind but our view of God, life, and ourselves.   As Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, it is those times that we overcome all obstacles in the spirit realm so that we can see God’s purposes in the seen realm.

On a personal note, we had hail the other morning, and I felt directed to command it to stop.  As I did, I sensed the angels closing the door of the storehouse of hail.   It stopped!  That is not to promote me but to reveal that sometimes we just need to exercise the authority God has given us as believers!

God will do that in everything you encounter.   Wrestling with God is for us and enhances our spiritual authority and power.  It is a confidence builder.  We may, like Jacob, walk with a limp, but we will be changed and see His protection and provision.

May God bless you richly as you pursue Him!

James 3:14 – “But if there is bitter jealousy or competition hiding in your heart, then don’t deny it and try to compensate for it by boasting and being phony. “ TPT

A reminder of God’s faithfulness and foresight loomed as I prayed, pondered, and read today.  As governor of the land in Egypt, Joseph said twice to his brothers.   “Your actions were intended for my hurt, but God took them and combined all the bad for His good purposes.”  

James reveals something that is most disturbing (to the flesh) and yet revelatory for victory.   Singleness of mind, focus, faith, and confidence are impossible to miss in his discourse.

Controlling the tongue is impossible without the Holy Spirit, and it enables us to bring our whole person into submission to God.  In James 3:14, he identifies the root of most of our trouble – the heart.

We tend to allow our mouths to talk us out of the blessings and victories God offers.  We often speak without weighing our words.  People have said, “I didn’t mean it when they spoke a curse on themselves or another.”  I do not know the motive, so I cannot judge, but if we are to walk in purity, which is needful to walk in power, we must guard our lips by guarding our thoughts.

James 4:6-10 should be memorized and implemented every day.

• Submit to God Totally. 
• Resist the devil in Everything and Every time.
• Draw near to God with Our Whole Hearts.
• Cleanse our hands (not just physical hygiene), but what we do.  Purify our hearts.   Ensure it is with pure motives and biblically correct.
• Humble ourselves and mourn (over sin, wrong attitudes, and actions).

If we seek God, we will find Him; He is always findable.   If we first seek God, then resist the devil out of God’s presence; the devil runs like a scared jackrabbit.

If we do not have it because we have not positioned our hearts to receive it, then, out of that condition, we petition God.   We have the promise of healing, deliverance, provision, power, and purpose.   In that condition, James 5:16 is fulfilled – “The effectual (effective) fervent prayer of the righteous is powerful and pulls down strongholds. “

That begins with confidence in God and obedience.   It flows to singleness of heart and mind.  It is manifest in our words and actions and results in God’s power being manifested.  We must train ourselves to think and talk right and to walk right.  If we press in, He reveals Himself and demonstrates Himself.

Today is your day of victory.   Refuse to be turned aside from the promise by your rudder (the tongue). Let it be a well of life, not death.

Exodus 4:31 – “The people believed God…”

God’s guidance and provision are your promise in Jesus.  He Never fails!  Several things challenged my heart as I read, prayed, and pondered. 

In Exodus, as God was issuing His promise of deliverance to a hopeless and abused people, He released Moses to begin the deliverance.  Moses hesitated and questioned in the wilderness.   Then, he yielded and believed the promise and went back to Egypt.

Moses shared with Aaron all that God had said, and with excitement and anticipation, they told the people that deliverance had come.  Exodus 4:31 tells us, “The people believed God.”  Of course, they were hoping hopelessly for this.   Moses had returned after 40 years with a revelation that deliverance was now.  They broke out in praise and worship.  They had been given a good word.  They expected it to be easy and would be for that moment in time!

It Was Not!  Things got much worse, so they turned on the messenger and began their pity party on steroids.  In Exodus 5:21, they spoke a curse on Moses.  They said, “You did this. Why? “The Lord spoke to my heart.  Proverbs 24:10 –  “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”

Also, we must never cast away our confidence in God. 

The promises of God are seldom without opposition and difficulty.   The devil is unwilling to see us prosper and thrive without challenge.    We dare not forget that our enemy seeks to devour.  In 1 Peter 1:13, Peter says an amazing thing – “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind…”  Who is to do that?  We are!  From the loins flow life or reproduction.

In 1 Peter 2:5, he makes another revelatory statement: “You (who? You!) as living stones, BUILD UP YOURSELVES and BECOME spiritual temples and Holy priests…”

God’s promises require our endurance and confidence in God.  We lose hope if we allow what we see to be in control.  We are to live by or in faith, not by what we see or perceive.

Israel believed UNTIL…

• Until Difficulty came. 
• until Persecution came. 
• Until it was no longer easy. 

Remember, being Easy is not the determiner of God’s Promise.  Job – “Though He slay me, I will trust Him.”  The 3 Hebrew children, “God can, but even if He doesn’t, we will not compromise or faith.”  When he knew the law had been signed, Daniel prayed, knowing his fate.   Paul, “I’ve fought the good fight, finished my race, and kept the faith.”

God Can Not and Will Not Lie!  Therefore, No Matter What, we must trust Him.  We must gird up the loins of our minds and retrain ourselves to agree with God.  He will not fail.   We will reap if we do not quit.  What we see is less real than what God says. 

We have a choice.  Will we believe what we see or what God says?  Victory is within our reach.  The outcome is dependent on enduring until.   We need to relearn or learn how to see, stop looking AT our problems, and begin looking to His Promises.   He Is the Living God!

May God equip and inspire you to trust Him fully and pursue His purposes with abandon!

2 Corinthians 11:3 – “But now I’m afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s clever lies, your thoughts may be corrupted, and you may lose your single-hearted devotion and pure love for Christ.”

A fundamental problem in deception is a wrong self-image. In the text, the apostle Paul expressed the concern that deception steals the peace and simplicity that comes from a pure and single-hearted devotion to Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 10:12, he warned against opening that door of pride by comparing ourselves with others.   What another has or does is not the measure of who we are.  Our measure is only our obedience and devotion to Christ.  It is not what we do but our devotion and obedience that God looks at. 

The Law of Reciprocity works in every area of life.  The harvest does not flow out of our great exploits but our love and willing obedience.   God gives us seed to sow and bread to eat.  Every grace abounds in the obedient and enables us to give.  We give what we have, and that is often other than material things.

In 2 Corinthians 6:6, he speaks of unhypocritical love.  What is that?  How can love be hypocritical?  Agape cannot be, but Phileo or Eros can.  Maintaining the sincerity and purity of our devotion enables us to walk as Jesus walked.  Jesus said, “I only do what I see the Father doing.  I only say what I hear the Father saying.”   That expressed His complete obedience as being the basic requirement of a relationship with the Father.   Singular devotion is essential.  Unhypocritical love is the key.

My prayer is, “Lord, help us never look at others as a comparison, but to see their need and pray about it and be generous in helping them.  Help us to have ears to hear & eyes to see.  Help us willingly allow the Holy Spirit to guard our minds, ears, hands, and mouths.   Transform us.  Amen.”

Today, I urge you to examine your hearts and eliminate any comparison to another person. Your standard is not someone else; it is the purity and sincerity of your devotion to Jesus. If He is FIRST, relax. You are where you need to be at this moment. Do not get stuck or complacent, but another’s gifts, abilities, blessings, or labors are not your concern—your heart is your concern.  

Just relax and be.  God will work His purposes in and through you in His time and way.  Just be!

May the Lord bless and keep you in my prayers!

Matthew 6:1 – “Examine your motives…”

Today, the Lord challenged me with challenging thoughts, and out of that, some powerful encouragement arose in my heart and mind. What was the challenge and encouragement?

Motives are possibly more important to God than acts—the why more than the what catches His eye.   In the matter of prayer, Jesus brought to light the reality and need to be simple, concise, and real.

Recently, I heard the LORD say, “Just talk to me. Don’t beg Me and try to manipulate Me. Just talk to Me.”  In Matthew 6, Jesus instructed us on the pathway to effective prayer. Some think that if they repeat a prayer, phrase, or declaration enough times, it influences God. Not according to Matthew 6.

Jesus said, “Follow this example of prayer…”

• Acknowledge God and His sovereignty.
• Make God the center or foundation out of which all we think and do streams.
• Invite God’s presence into our lives and situations.
• Embrace His purposes in our lives and open our hearts to His kingdom realm and authority.
• Acknowledge with Thanksgiving and Gratitude His provisions daily.
• Forgiveness – from Him to us and from us to others.   EVERYTHING!
• Release others from the chains of our judgment and release our judgments to God.
• Ask for and expect God’s deliverance in EVERY TRIAL, TEST, or TROUBLE.
• Recognize and verbalize God’s Lordship and power.  Bask in the reality of who He is.

Then, to remind us of the key element in effective prayer, He adds vv. 14-15 – “And when you pray, make sure you FORGIVE the faults of others SO THAT your Heavenly Father in heaven will also forgive you. 15 But if you withhold forgiveness from others, your Father withholds forgiveness from you.”

• What do we want most? 
• What is most valuable to us? 

Is it God and His purposes or our desires and preferences? This will reveal the motive of our prayers and our actions.

Matthew 6:22 is revelatory, “The eyes of your spirit allow revelation-light to enter your being.  If your heart is unclouded, the light floods in!”

What clouds the heart?   Anything that is elevated above or detracts from God and His purposes.  

The Golden Rule of Matthew 7:12-14 is critical in achieving peace, purpose, and power in God.

Matthew 6:12 – What we call the Golden Rule is not a stand-alone verse or truth.  It is connected to verses 13-14: “Enter through the narrow gate (treating others the way we want to be treated and following the precepts of God’s Word).  The wide gate to destruction is (living selfishly and mistreating others).” It says, “…nearly everyone chooses the crowded road (the road of self).  The narrow gate and difficult way (treating others the way we want to be treated and forgiving) the road that leads to life – so few find it.”

The way, the truth, and the life are ours, as is the promise that effective prayer moves mountains.   We have been called to be citizens of the kingdom and empowered to demonstrate it in this world.  

May the Spirit of the LORD guide you into the pathway of effective prayer and overwhelming victory in Jesus!