Online Journals

Rhema:

Luke 12: 29 “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things[c] shall be added to you.
32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Inspect:

We are commanded not to look for, worry over what the rest of the world does i.e. eat and drink. We don’t need to worry over or look for because our Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need. And since our Heavenly Father’s mind is so much higher than our and His heart so much bigger than ours, He know what is the best for us. If we instead seek God’s kingdom, by learning about the King and obeying Him, we will get all the kingdom has to offer from a King who takes pleasure in giving.

Commit:

I must stop expending my time and energy on looking for and worrying about my survival, physical needs. I need to really grasp onto the fact someone who is smarter, wiser and more caring about my needs and my future is taking care of it. I need to instead focus on God, learning what pleases Him and doing my best to do it.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, you are so great, you care for me better than anyone else can care for me. Help me to focus on you instead of focusing on providing for my own needs. Help me to obey you. Have the Holy Spirit remind me that You take great pleasure in giving me what I need.

In the name of the one who will provide my every need, who will help me to love the Father above all, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Luke 11: 9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread[d] from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Inspect:

God will gift us, but we need to ask. The promise here is if we ask, it will be given. If we see, we will find. If we knock it will be opened. If we want the Holy Spirit we will get it, if we ask.

I wonder why God just doesn’t give it to us before we ask, show it to us before we look for it and open the doors before we knock?

I think if God worked that way, He would be doing us a dis-service. We would come to expect that everything would just happen to automatically work in our favor. We would need to ask, seek or knock and we would get everything. I think we would develop a very naïve, self-centered and inaccurate world view.

But if we have to ask, before it is given, we would need to know who the source is. We would need to think through whether or not it would be appropriate to ask for it, and thus we would learn the mind of the Father.

But if we have to seek, before we can find, we would need to know who to look to and where to look. Again, we would learn to know the mind of the Father.

But if we have to knock, before the door is open, we would need to know if it is the right time for the door to be open. Once again, we would learn to know the mind of the Father.

He loves us too much to give before we ask, find before we see and open before we knock.

Commit:

I must ask. I must seek. I must knock. If I do my part and learn the mind of the Father, He will give me to me what I need.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for loving me so much that you want to me to learn your mind. Help me with your Holy Spirit to help me to ask when I need something, seek when I need to find something and knock when I need a door to be open. Help me to be more and more like you.

In the name of the one who give me when I ask, show me when I seek and open when I knock, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Luke 10: 1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also,[a] and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. 2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.

Inspect:

I didn’t see this before. Jesus sent the seventy out to places before He would go to those places. I would have thought that Jesus would go first, and then send the disciples in to bring in the harvest. However, we see that Jesus directs the seventy to go before He goes. His instruction to them was to:

- Pray for more help. The harvest is ready, what is needed is more help to bring them in. We are to pray for as much help as we can get. We can’t think that we can do it better ourselves. The harvest is more important than the harvesters. We need to harvest, and then train the harvested to go out and be harvesters themselves.
- Lambs among wolves. We are going to face opposition. We will be opposed not by people like us i.e. other lambs, we will be opposed by wolves. Just as lambs don’t have the same weapons as wolves, we’re going to have to defend ourselves with non-wolf behavior. Our protection will come from the Lord.
- We don’t bring anything extra. We are not bring extra money, extra clothes, nothing that would hold us back. God will supply our needs if we’re doing His work.
- We are not to greet anyone on the way to our assignment. We are not get distracted. I believe this is not to say that if we get into a Good Samaritan situation we should not stop. I believe the word “greet” is used specifically to talk about situations where there is not divine interruption i.e. someone who is in obvious need. This is a situation where we get distracted and delayed from the destination and appointment that Jesus has given us.

Commit:

These instructions are for me. I must pray for more help. I must not let pride prevent me from gathering help. I must be prepared for the wolves, but I must not act like a wolf. I must rely instead on weapons of truth and humility, rather than deception and pride. I must not rely totally on my preparation, God will supply all of my needs. I must not be distracted on the way to my assignment.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing my role so clearly. Please send me your Holy Spirit to help me to pray for help. Help me to rely on your supplying of my needs. Help me to keep focus on my assignment.

In the name of the one who sends me to go ahead of you, who is the Lord of the harvest, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Psalm 113: 1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.

Inspect:

We are so vain. We think we’re the ones building. We think we’re the ones protecting. We think we’re the ones providing.

But we are wrong.

It is God that is building. It is God that is protecting. It is God that is providing. Not us. If we are not in the will of God, we are wasting our strength and time.

But if we are in the will of God, then He uses our strength to build His house. We become part of something that is beyond what we could do alone. He can use the uniqueness that He puts in us to build a house that is strong, beautiful and everlasting.

If we are in the will of God, we become part of the guard that protects His kingdom. He uses our unique position, where He places us to protect those that are present there.

If we are in the will of God, we become part of the provision that provides blessing. He uses our unique gifts to bring what is needed in that particular place.

So we need to be sure we are in His will.

Commit:

I must be sure to be in His will. I must seek His will in His Word. I must seek His will in prayer. I must seek His will in the authority of those that He has put over me. I must seek His will in those that are driven by the Holy Spirit.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this reminder to be in your will, otherwise it is all for nothing. Please show me your will. I don’t want to waste the strength, time or gifts that you have given me. I want to build your kingdom. I want to serve. Show me where you want me. Show me what you want me to do . Show me so that I can walk in the center of your will.

In the name of the one who builds, protects and provides for the house, the one who will help me to be in the center of the Father’s will, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Luke 8: 9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

‘ Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand

Inspect:

Jesus spoke in parables, He told stories to illustrate and to propagate the truths of God’s kingdom. I believe that Jesus knew that we humans are created to listen to stories and to tell stories. We pass along stories because it is fun to tell them, and fun to listen to them. We pass along the elements of the story, even without realizing the truths that it carries along. Even we humans have realized this in coming up with fables like Aesop’s, myth’s and legends because they get passed on from person to person and from generation to generation.

So Jesus tells the story of the sower, we pass the story along and it spreads from person to person and from the generation to generation. We may not completely understand it, but the Holy Spirit will reveal the truths that the story carries.

It is our job to listen to the stories and to tell them to others.

Commit:

I must tell stories. Sometime, I want to cut to the core and just bring out the truth, but Jesus knew better. He only told the truth to those that were ready to receive the truth. There are those that aren’t ready, and they need stories. They may not remember the truths, but they will remember the stories. They may not understand the truths, but they will tell the stories to others. I must learn to tell stories as the Lord Jesus has.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for really understanding us. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me to tell stories. Give me stories that will be remembered, stories that will be passed on. Then bless these stories with your Holy Spirit so the truth will be birthed and grow and eventually set them free.

In the name of the one who has given us stories that carried the truth that has set us free, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Luke 6: 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

Inspect:

From the disciples point of view, I believe the Lord is telling us to be submitted to the teachers that He has put over us. He has put teachers in our lives with their particular knowledge and DNA because they will be a blessing to us at that place and time. Our job is to submit and be trained, not just trained but perfectly trained.

From the teacher’s point of view, I believe the Lord is telling us to be submitted to Jesus that He has put over us. He has put Jesus in our lives with His knowledge and DNA because they will be a blessing to us. Our job is to submit and be trained, not just trained, but perfectly trained.

This makes so much sense. If teachers are not submitted to Jesus, they cannot expect students to be submitted to them. I teachers are not willing to be perfectly trained to be like Jesus, they cannot expect students to be perfectly trained to be like them.

Commit:

I must commit to submit to be perfectly trained so that I can be like Jesus. If I don’t do this, then my students will wind up like me. I don’t want them to wind up like me, I want them wind up looking like Jesus!

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me what I need to do to become like you, and to help others become like you. Please send me your Holy Spirit to transform my rebellion into submission. Help me to be perfectly trained to become like You and the teachers you have put over me. Help me to be perfectly trained so that those you have sent to me will be perfectly trained to become like you.

In the name of the one who submitted Himself to the Father and became perfectly trained, and became like the Father, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Psalm 123: 1 Unto You I lift up my eyes,
O You who dwell in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the LORD our God,
Until He has mercy on us.

Inspect:

In the Old Testament days it was the responsibilities of the servants to carefully watch for instructions of their masters and mistresses. Master and mistresses would give instructions not just verbally but by signals as well. Hand signals were used to give instructions to the servants. Sometimes these signals were large and overt, sometimes slight and subtle. It was the job of the servant to watch carefully for these signals and understand what the intent of the signal was.

The instruction here is that we need to have the same relationship with God as servants to their masters. We need to be attentive to the instructions of the Lord. Sometimes the commands would come in the form of verbal instructions, but sometimes they are subtle leadings of the Holy Spirit. We need to be attentive and seek to understand. The Lord wants us to understand, He does not want to deceive or mislead those that diligently seek Him. If we sincerely desire to obey Him, He will have mercy on us.

Commit:

I must sincerely desire to watch and obey the Lord. I must look for His leading in His Word as well as through the leading of the Holy Spirit. I must not just look to receive the instruction, I must obey as well, this is expressing our sincere desire to watch and obey the Lord.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to watch and obey you. Please transform my heart so that I might watch you intently. Please transform my mind so that I can understand what you want me to do. Transform my spirit so that I will passionately obey you.

In the name of the one who watch the hand of the Father, and obeyed till death, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Luke 4: 18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,[j]
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”[k]
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.

Inspect:

Jesus announced the beginning of His ministry by quoting from Isaiah. He declares the following:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me - not any spirit, not even my own spirit, it is the Spirit of the Lord that we need to request and declare is upon us.

Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor – God anoints us with the power and the authority of the Holy Spirit to bring the gospel to the poor, to those that need it.

He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted – My assignment is to take His healing to the brokenhearted. He chooses us to heal them through us.

To proclaim liberty to the captives – We are to bring truth to those that are captured by the lies of the enemy.

And recovery of sight to the blind – We are to bring truth to those who cannot see the goodness of God.

To set at liberty those who are oppressed – We are to break the bondage of oppression and set them free.

At first, this seems like a very prideful declaration, one that draws attention to self.

But if read carefully, it is a declaration of humility.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me – it is not His spirit, it is the Father’s Spirit.

Because He has anointed Me – He didn’t anoint Himself, the Father has anointed Him.

He brings the truth of the Father to bring healing, freedom, restoration and liberation.

Commit:

I must do the same as my Lord Jesus. I must humble myself and let the Spirit of the Lord to come upon me. I must then bring the Father’s truth to those that need to be saved, freed, healed, restored and encouraged.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to be used of you. Please pour out your Spirit upon me and anoint me to spread your truth and healing. Use my life to have your Word become true this day!

In the name of the one who first declared it, and will help me to do the same, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Daniel 6: 3 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.

Inspect:

We see here that God wants to excel in the marketplace so that our influence can be increased. God wants our influence in the marketplace to be increased so that we can fulfill the Great Commission and the Cultural Mandate. We are to make disciples that make disciples. We are to transform the culture.

It starts by allowing God to put an excellent spirit in us. Through the gifting and power of the Holy Spirit we will be able to do more than anyone else. We will be able to distinguish ourselves because we will be equipped with supernatural knowledge, wisdom, counsel and power of the Holy Spirit.

Commit:

I must submit myself totally to the Holy Spirit. It is only through the Holy Spirit will I have the spirit of excellence that will allow me to distinguish myself for the rest. My influence will increase and I will be able to make disciples and transform the culture.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to increase my influence. Please help me to submit myself totally to the Holy Spirit. Help me to do things with your spirit of excellence. There is no better way.

In the name of the one who baptizes me in the Holy Spirit, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Luke 2: 49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

Inspect:

When Mary and Joseph found young Jesus at the temple this was His response when they chastised Him. Jesus responded to Mary and Joseph was that He was at the temple doing His Father’s business. What was He doing? Jesus was sitting in the middle of the teachers both listening and asking questions. And He was amazing everyone who heard because of His understanding and answers. It makes sense because as the Son of God, Jesus would have the understanding and knowledge of His Father that no one else had.

I believe the Father’s business referred here was to bring knowledge and understanding of the Father to all. Through the listening and the understanding God’s plan and love for us would be communicated to us.

We too must be about the Father’s business. Through listening and asking questions, by our answers and our understanding we need to lead others to know our Heavenly Father.

Commit:

I too must be about my Father’s business. I must spend my time to help others come to the understand of the Father’s love for them.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank for your Son showing us what it means to be about your business. Please help me ask questions and have understanding as Your Son. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit who brings revelation of you and all knowledge and wisdom. Let me bring others to the saving knowledge of your love and your Son.

In the name of the one who showed us what it means to be about the Father’s business, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Luke 1: 18 And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

Inspect:

I think this is a great demonstration of faith over logic. The angel Gabriel has just brought a message directly from the throne of almighty God to Zacharias, that he would be having a baby.

Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth had been trying for years to conceive, in the natural and in logic voices his doubt to the angel.

So the angel Gabriel tells Zacharias that he will be mute until the prophecy becomes true. So Zacharias is struck speechless. The last words he speaks is one of doubt. I believe that being made mute is al lesson that we can talk ourselves out of God’s promise. Like Zacharias, if we can’t see how God’s Word will come true, we may need to be struck speechless. Because if not, we may talk ourselves into doubt, we may share our doubts with others, and now our lack of trust, our unbelief can multiply to others. So Zacharias is struck speechless until the prophecy is fulfilled and a child is born. He remains speechless until he fulfills his part of the prophecy is fulfilled by himself. To finish the prophecy Zachariah has to obey the prophecy and name his son John. As soon as he does so, his speech is returned to him.

The first words out his mouth? Zacharias praises and prophecies. The last word he speaks is one of doubt. The miracle happens. The first words out his mouth is praise and prophecy.

Commit:

I need to guard my thoughts and speech. I need remember this lesson to mean that I need to stretch and take risks. When God speaks direction over me, I must not react with doubt. Instead I must respond with faith and not skeptic and doubt. I need to move forward with a heart of expectation and gratitude that the prophecy will reviewed at the perfect time for the Lord.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to obey you better. Please help me to patiently await your timing by reminding that you will reveal miracles at a time that is perfect for the situation that we are in. Help me to take more of the Holy Spirit so that I may speak words of faith and not of doubt.

In the name of the one who was obedient, even to His death, so that we might be saved. Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Ezekiel 44: 17 And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house.

Inspect:

What struck me was this instruction to the priests to not wear any wool when they were ministering in the temple. I believe it is to separate the sacrifice from the service. Sheep were sacrificed as a payment for sin or for thanksgiving. The life of the sheep was taken as an offering. To then take part of the sheep with you into the temple as wool on your back, may remind you of the sacrifice of the sheep. I believe the Lord is reminding me that Jesus was the perfect lamb of sacrifice. He took care of all of my sins. When I come into the temple, into the service of the Lord, I am not bring any sin with me. I am to change my garments from wool to linen. Linen is a plant material, not requiring any sacrifice of life to produce it. I believe that when I come in to serve the Lord I must think of life rather than sin.

The sheep was slaughtered, and then it was thrown on the fire. There was no wool left after the sacrifice. So there should be no wool brought into the temple. I must bring a new garment of holiness in the temple, not the skin of sin.

Commit:

I must hold on to the truth that the sacrifice of Jesus, the perfect lamb of God washes away all of my sin. It pays for my forgiveness with the father. I can no longer be judged by that forgiven sin. So I must bring in a garment of holiness that has no trace of sin on it. It is with this garment of purity and holiness that I come in to the presence of Mighty God.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you again for sending you Son as the perfect lamb to be sacrificed for me. It would show the weakness of my faith if I were to walk into the service of the You, dragging along pieces of sin. The power of the blood is complete. The only way sin is brought in is if I bring it in. Help me to leave it outside.

In the name of the lamb who was killed that I might live Holy, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Psalm 128: 1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD,
Who walks in His ways.

Inspect:

If fear the Lord and obey Him, we will be blessed. It sounds simple doesn’t it? And I believe it is simple, but hard to accomplish.

We need to fear the Lord, not merely respect Him. We need to be afraid of His judgment. He will judge our sins and He will bring the penalty of sin, because He is a just God. The penalty of sin is the curse of sin with sickness, disease, lost, destruction and ultimately death. There is no way that God will NOT judge us, it is this we should fear. It is when we fear God that we then submit our selves totally to the Holy Spirit to transform our sinful nature. Without the sacrifice of Jesus and the transformation of the Holy Spirit there is no way we can avoid the consequence of sin brought on by the judgment of God.

Commit:

I must fear God. I must not fool myself into thinking that a merciful God will NOT judge me. Furthermore along with the judgment for sin, there cannot be blessing. God would not bless me for disobedience, because that would encourage my disobedience. God loves me too much to do that.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, you make it very clear what you expect from me. You expect me to fear you and obey you. Thank you for sending your Son to pay for my disobedience. Please help me to submit myself more to the Holy Spirit so that I might fear You more and obey You more.

In the name of the one who save me and will transform me into someone who fears and obeys God, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Psalm 145: 1 I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 I[a] will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And on Your wondrous works.[b]
6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.

Inspect:

Praise is important. I don’t think God needs praise from us because Jesus said that if we don’t praise Him, He would get the rocks to praise Him. I think the importance of praise is for us.

Praise helps us to remember who the true source is. Praise reminds us that the source is not us, not anyone or anything else than God.

Praise helps us to remember that God has blessed us in the past and so will bless us now and in the future.

We need to be reminded of this daily, so we need praise daily.

We need to praise with others to remind them as well. Not only our generation but the next.

Commit:

I must praise the Lord daily to strengthen my memory and thus my faith in the Lord. I must praise the Lord both by myself and with others so that we can strengthen each other’s faith. I must praise with my generation and the next so that faith can be propagated forever.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank for teaching me about the purpose of praise. I ask that you help me to praise you daily. Help me to remember your blessings of the past which will help me to trust you for the present and trust you for the future. Help me to praise you solo and with others. Help me to praise with my generation and the next.

In the name of the one who is my only true source, who is deserving of my praise, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Psalm 110: 2 The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!

3 Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.

Inspect:

God’s promise to us is that His strength will be extended through us. We will rule over those that oppose us. God declares that our people will volunteer. We are promised that we will be renewed each morning.

This is an incredible promise. God doesn’t have to express his power to us, but he chooses to. We are differentiated from the world who often must force and conscript people to fight for them. The Lord promises that people will volunteer. I believe it is because God appeals to the heart of the people. When the people sees how He has sacrifices, they will then sacrifice.

Commit:

I must have the confidence in the promise of the Lord. I must use His strength and authority and not my own. I must trust that the people will volunteer when they see God’s heart and not my own. I must have the confidence that God will renew my strength so I need not worry about fatigue.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your promise to me. Please help me to use your power and strength and not my own. Please help me to show your heart and not my own, so people will volunteer. Please renew my strength every morning.

In the name of the one who is my strength, authority, heart and my daily renewal, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Ezekiel 34: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”

Inspect:

God tells us what He considers to be the mark of a bad shepherd, a bad leader.

- Take from the team, but does not build them up. The bad leader only looks at what they can gain from leading the team. The good leader build up team, not themselves.
- They do not strengthen the weak, or heal the sick. The good leader help the weak to be strong, helps the sick to get well again.
- They do not look for those that are lost, or who have been chased away. The good leader searches for those that are missing, brings back those that others have chased away.

As a result the team comes apart and becomes vulnerable to the enemy.

Commit:

I must be the good leader. I must build the team up. I must make strong the weak. I must help the sick to be healed. I must chase after those that have gotten lost. I must bring back those that others have driven away.

Exalt

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me the difference between a bad leader and a good leader. I pray that you help me to build the team. Help me to make the weak strong and the sick well. Help me to pursue those that have been driven out, and search for those that have gotten lost. Please help, me I feel so inadequate. Send your Holy Spirit to give me compassion, wisdom and power to build your team.

In the name of the one who builds me up, who heals and strengthens me, who leaves the 99 to find me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema: Daniel 3: 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. 27 And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!

Inspect: Earlier in this incident the King had directed the construction of a giant statue of himself that he ordered all to worship. Those that refused would be thrown into a furnace. So I’m thinking what is going through the King’s mind is that no one would refuse to worship the image. If they refuse, it would mean that they don’t respect his authority and / or they aren’t afraid to burned alive. So when the three men refused, I believed at first the king was surprised and then furious. So much so, that he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter and threw them in. When God protected the men from the fire, we hear the king voice the scripture above. The king himself saw that the men thrown in to the fire were not burned, did not even have the smell of smoke on them! The king himself then professes a blessing on the one true God! The king himself described how God used the three Hebrew men who submitted their lives, to show that God is the true God. I believe that without the extreme obedience of these three men, the King of Babylon would have never come to this revelation. Through their obedience, God was made famous throughout the most powerful empire on earth.

Commit: I must obey. I now realize that God uses our obedience to show His power and His care to those around us. I must obey even though it requires sacrifice. I must trust that the Lord will see me through to the end.

Exalt: Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how you use my obedience to bring others to you. I ask that you help me to trust that you will take care of me no matter what happens. Just as the fire had no power over the Hebrew Men, there is no power that can harm me when I’m in obedience to you. In the name of the one who protected the Hebrew men from the fire, and will protect me, Jesus!

Rhema:

Daniel 1: 1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia [a] and put in the treasure house of his god.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. [b] 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service.

Inspect:

I love reading Daniel. My rhema is that what happened to Daniel is exactly what happens to us today.

Here’s the parallel.

Nebuchadnezzar conquers God’s people, takes the best of them and trains them to serve his kingdom. God then blesses the chosen, who remain obedient to God and promotes them into positions of influence. From these positions of influence they transform the kingdom of the enemy into something that glorifies God.

This is the situation today. The world is under the rule of the enemy. We because of the curse of sin, are forced to labor. But, God will bless those that labor and remain obedient to Him. These, God will promote into positions of influence so that we might redeem the world for His kingdom.

What is our part in this?

The Israelites from the royal and noble families are selected? In other words children of royalty were chosen. Well, guess what we are, we are children of the King? We are royalty!

Next those who are without physical defect and handsome. I believe that this means we need to care about physical health and appearance. We are to work to be fit, and neat in our appearance.

Next, they needed to demonstrate an aptitude for any kind of learning, well informed, quick understanding and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. We too need to work hard at learning how to learn. We need to stay informed of events occurring around us. We need to demonstrate the sensitivity and protocols of dealing with relationships and processes of the place of work.

After then learning the culture, they were put into service and later we see God promotes them into a place of influence for the Lord and blessing for themselves. For us, we need to be diligent in learning what we need to do to get the job done and patiently wait for the Lord to promote us into a place of influence and blessing.

Commit:

I need to prepare myself to be selected. I must take care of my health, my appearance. I must be mindful of what is going on around me. I must train to be quick to analyze and apply wisdom. I must be willing to spend time to learn the method of service. I must be patient and wait for promotion instead of seeking it.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me our mandate. I ask to be used as a Daniel. Help me to prepare myself for selection. Help me to train diligently. Help me to work patiently and leave the timing of the promotion to you. You know when I’m ready. You know when the circumstance are ready. Help me to take more your Holy Spirit to get me better prepared.

In the name of the one who prepares me and promotes me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Lamentations 3: 22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “ The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“ Therefore I hope in Him!”
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man to bear
The yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and keep silent,
Because God has laid it on him;
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—
There may yet be hope.

Inspect:

If it wasn’t for God’s mercy, we would be goners. Through the work of the enemy who’s always planning to take us down. Through the consequences of our own dumb doings. If it wasn’t for God’s mercy we would be gone. We need to remind ourselves that it is God’s compassion for us, that gives us a fresh start. Through His forgiveness AND restoration, we have the hope of starting fresh again.

It is our job to have faith and trust Him. We need to wait for Him, for His timing, rather than panicing and trying to find the solution through our own limited abilities or through an alternative that leaves God out. We need to bear the yoke of patience, of knowing that He will come through, and when He does, it will be more than our expectations, beyond our hope. But we need to wait humbly. We need to not be presumptuous, demanding the rescue, we must be humble, lowly, face in the dirt. God honors our faith, and our humility. He pulls down the high, but lifts up the low.

Commit:

I have a lot to learn. Rather than hope and wait quietly, I fret and worry and pace about. Rather than bearing the yoke, I try and dump it. Rather than being humble, I’m indignant. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. I need to reverse. Hmmm, that’s repenting isn’t it? I need to hope and wait quietly. I need to bear the wait. I need to put my face in the dirt.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your promise. Please help me to transform my ways. Help me to wait quietly with hope. Help me to bear the yoke with humility.

In the name of the one who took the yoke of my sin, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Obadiah 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,
You who dwell in the clefts of the rock,
Whose habitation is high;
You who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’
4 Though you ascend as high as the eagle,
And though you set your nest among the stars,
From there I will bring you down,” says the LORD.

Inspect:

Pride is so deceptive. It makes us feel that we’re higher than anyone else. I makes us feel invulnerable. But it is a deception. Our pride causes us to put our trust in ourselves, in our own strength in our abilities and experiences. But we are limited. There will come a time when our strength, ability and experiences will not be enough, or they will be flawed, and we will be at best disappointed, and at most destroyed. The Lord loves us too much to let that happen, so He will pull it down. Kind of how we see tree trimmers pull down dead or weak branches before it falls on someone, God will pull us down before we really get hurt.

Ouch, yes it may. But in the end, we will not be destroyed, we will be stronger and safer.

Commit:

I must watch out that my pride doesn’t make me feel superior or invulnerable. I must accept it when God pulls me down, because it is for my own good.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your great love for me. Please help me to guard against pride. Please help me to endure it when you do pull me down. I know you would only do it when I’m in a place of danger that would lead me to injure or destroy myself.

In the name of the one who brought Himself down from heaven, from the cleft of safety to earth, as an example of humility for me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Jeremiah 42: 13 “But if you say, ‘We will not dwell in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the LORD your God, 14 saying, ‘No, but we will go to the land of Egypt where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor be hungry for bread, and there we will dwell’— 15 Then hear now the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah! Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘If you wholly set your faces to enter Egypt, and go to dwell there, 16 then it shall be that the sword which you feared shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; the famine of which you were afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die. 17 So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to dwell there. They shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. And none of them shall remain or escape from the disaster that I will bring upon them.’

Inspect:

Our stubbornness always gets us in trouble. God commanded the people to stay in Babylon. He would use them to transform the Babylonian culture and make them successful there. However, the people were stubborn, they insisted on returning to Egypt. The people reasoned that if they returned to Egypt they would be free from conflict and have enough to eat. They did not trust the Lord to provide peace and provision for them. So the Lord had to teach them. For the good of the people, they had to realize that peace and provision did not come from the hand of man, but from the hand of God. God loves us too much, to have us trust as unreliable and untrustworthy resource as man. He wants us to put our trust in a source that is always reliable and always trustworthy, God!

Commit:

I must put my trust in God and nothing else. Even if I’m in a difficult environment or situation, I must not try to get out the situation, instead I must put my trust in the Lord. I must not hope for the situation to end, instead I must pray for delivery from the Lord.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for taking care so good care of me. Help me to look to you to deliver me out of tough situations, rather than hoping for the situation to end. You are the deliverer that will always come, and you will always be able to deliver. Your love for me will never end. Your power to save has no limits.

In the name of the one who will rescue me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Revelation: 12: 7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them[a] in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Inspect:

This is an amazing scripture. We see that Michael and the other angels in battle with the enemy. The enemy could not win and so they were kicked out of heaven. We see it was through the blood of the lamb and the word or their testimony and their selflessness which accomplished the victory.

The blood of the lamb paid the price of sin, and eliminated any hold the enemy has over us. Price was paid, we’re free from the enemy.

But then it takes our testimony. We need to live in obedience so that our testimony is true. Because if we do not, then we are still in the hold of sin.

Finally, we must live without love for our lives. Because if we love our lives, we will not love the Lord.

Commit:

I must rely on the blood of the lamb and nothing else. We cannot rely on our works, our accomplishments, the defeat of the enemy comes from the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I must live in obedience, so that my testimony is true. My testimony must be about the victory that the Lord brings in my life. Finally, I must live unselfishly. My motivations must never be from a love for myself. Only by doing this can I join in the battle and victory over the enemy.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to join the battle and the victory over the enemy. Please help me to remember that it starts from your Son’s blood on the cross that made it all possible. There was no way that I could have paid for this on my own, I was not worthy. Please help me to testify of your work in my life. Please help me to love you more than I love my own life. I cannot do this without the help of the Holy Spirit.

In the name of the one who’s blood and who’s Spirit helps me to join in the battle and victory against the enemy, Jesus!

Amen

Rhema:

Ezekiel 30:18 When I break the yokes of Egypt there.
And her arrogant strength shall cease in her;

Inspect:

Israel constantly looked back at Egypt for various reasons. Egypt was a place of many sensual pleasures including the variety of food, the security of being the most powerful country in its region, the arts as well as immoral pleasures and idolatry. For the good and bad that Egypt brought, what came with it was an arrogant strength that rebelled against the Lord. So Egypt became a type of sinful behavior. This is behavior that brought pleasures, but along with it came an arrogant strength that came to bind your up, and entrap you in habitual behavior that leads to destruction and eath.

To free Israel, they had to leave Egypt. They needed to remove themselves from the influence. Only then can the arrogant strength be broken and no longer serve to hold captive the people.

I believe this applies to us when we are held by sinful behavior. Our pride, our greed, our unforgiveness are examples of the “Egypt” in our lives. These may give us short term pleasures as our pride is appeased, our greed satisfied, or are unforgivness vindicated. But after a while, we realize that it is a rebellious strength that becomes a captive yoke around our necks. A yoke that gradually weighs us down, weakens us and left unchecked will kill us.

We need to allow the Lord Jesus to break these yokes, so that this arrogant strength stops.

Commit:

I need to remove myself from the influence of sin. I must not be seduced by the pleasures. I must open my eyes so that I can see the true nature of this arrogant strength. It may only seem to give pleasure and satisfaction, but in the end, it brings destruction and death.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the warning of Egypt of sin in my life. I pray that the power of the cross break every yoke of sin in my life. I pray the Holy Spirit open my eyes so that I may see the death and destruction that this arrogant strength brings. Help me to give in to your strength, not an arrogant one, but a humble one.

In the name of the one who broke the yoke by going to the cross for me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Ezekiel 22: 20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. 21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My fury on you.’”

Inspect:

The process of refining silver takes work. Silver ore consists of a small amount of silver mixed with impurities such as bronze, lead and tin. In order to separate the precious silver out, fire is required. Extreme heat is required to separate out the silver away from the other metals.

I believe the lesson that God is trying to teach me here is that I am like silver ore. Within me is precious silver, put there by the Lord. The silver in pure form is useful not just in beauty, but in utility, used to make electronic components and precision instruments. So within me are spiritual gifts that are useful to the Lord as well, in making disciples and reflecting God’s glory here in earth. However like silver ore that is contaminated with other metals, I too have been contaminated by the curse of sin. My character has been contaminated by pride, by greed and many other not just useless, but things that block the precious gifts from being used. Just as silver is purified by fire, I must allow the Holy Spirit, which is sometimes represented by fire to purify me. The Holy Spirit has to burn, melt away all the other elements that prevent God’s gifts to be used. I believe that this isn’t necessarily a pleasant process. Fire burns and melts, those parts of behavior and character needs to be gotten rid, this will take work to get rid of. The scripture describes it as the fire of God’s wrath. I believe this means that it will take the discomfort of God’s judgment to gradually take all the junk out of our life.

Is this worth it? I believe so, not just for ourselves but for others. Allowing God to purify us will allow Him to use us more powerfully and effectively. Is this a frightening thought? Absolutely, because God loves us, He will personally judge us so that we can become free from the impurities. As we do this we become more precious to him and others. As we do, He will create us in His own image, there is not better.

Commit:

I need to allow the wrath of God to blow continually on me so that pride, hatred, frustration, rebelliousness all get removed from me. I need to endure know that it is only because of God’s love that He will personally see to it that I become precious to Him and others.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for personally blowing your wrath on me. Please send me your Holy Spirit to help me to endure your wrath, until I have reached the level of refinement you need. Help me to help others go through their own refinement. Let my silver be a mirror so that others can see You in me. Let my silver be a conductor that I may convey your love, care and strength to those that need it.

In the name of the one who blows judgment upon me because He wants to refine me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Ezekiel 16: 62 And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, 63 that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord GOD.’”

Inspect:

The Lord is amazing. No matter how much we disappoint Him. No matter how far we go to reject Him, to turn away from Him, He will always provide a way back to us.

He will establish a covenant with us. Even though we don’t deserve it, He will establish a contract, a promise with us. We will be ashamed because we let Him down. He was constant in His care and love, it was us who moved away. It is us who sinned and because of our sin, we cannot come back to Him because He is holy. But He provides a way back. He provides atonement, a way to pay four our sins, a way so that we can come back to Him.

The Lord is amazing!

Commit:

I must trust the Lord. I must remember that He will always bring me back to Him. I must always remember that it is He who provides the way back, not me.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, you are so good to me. Even though I don’t deserve it, you establish a covenant with me. You will always keep you covenant even though I don’t. Help me to tell others of this covenant.

In the name of the one who’s covenant with me lead to His death, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Revelation 5: 12 saying with a loud voice:

“ Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Inspect:

Jesus in obedience gave up everything including His life. And in return He won our lives for us, for all eternity. And in the end He received everything He gave up and more. All of His power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing has been restored. He had everything, how could it be more? Before His obedience He had everything but us. After He obeyed to death, He got us! At first it may seem so insignificant us compared to all the riches in the universe, but the universe was made for us, everything we see is for us. Everything is so that we may have a relationship with God.

We must do the same. We must give up everything. We must be obedient even to the extent of giving up our lives as well. If we don’t give up everything, we won’t get Christ. If we don’t get Christ, we will get all of His power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing.

Commit:

Jesus gave up everything so that He may get us. I must give up everything so that I may get Jesus.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your amazing love. You sacrificed everything for me, gave up everything, including your Son’s life so that you would get me. Please help me to give up everything. Don’t let me chase power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing, let me chase you. I know if I get you, I will get the rest.

In the name of the one who gave up His life for me, Jesus!

Amen.