Online Journals

Rhema:

2 Thessalonians 3: 13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Inspect:

This a lesson in discipleship. Let’s break it down:

- But as for you: this is directed to each one of us, no exceptions. We are all directed to be mentors, to make disciples.
- Do not grow weary in doing good: We must not stop trying. We need to draw upon God’s strength which has no limit, instead of relying on our own strength which has limits.
- And if anyone does not obey our word… note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed: We need to deal intentionally with folks that are disobedient. We are not to keep company with them. Through this they will realize that they should be ashamed for not obeying. They should not have our companionship as those that obey. Through their shame, they will work through to obedience.
- Yet do not count him as enemy, but admonish him as a brother: An enemy intends to destroy us, to take what is ours and make It their own. We should NOT treat those that disobey like this. Instead we are instructed to treat them as brothers and sisters. They are our own flesh and blood, they have the same DNA as we do, they have the same parentage as we do, and therefore have the same potential as we do. So we need to help them, not as enemy to destroy them, but as family to build them up.

Commit:

Boy did I need this. I slip so easily into treating somebody who disagrees or disobeys like an enemy. I must be persistent in helping them. Each time I get tired, I must draw upon the strength of the Lord. I must use learn not to keep company with those that disobey the Lord. I must not treat them like an enemy, but I must not keep company with them either. I must allow them to be ashamed for disobeying the Lord. But I must love them faithfully as a family.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to make disciples. Please give me your patience and your strength to help me to not tire of helping others. Please give me the knowledge and wisdom to not give company to those that disobey you. Help me to do this as you do, to withhold company, but not to treat them as enemy. Please give your love so that I can treat especially those that disobey like brothers and sisters.

In the name of the one who helps me to be ashamed of disobeying the Father, yet always treats me not like an enemy but as a brother, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Thessalonians 1: 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.
6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. 9 For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

Inspect:

This a neat scripture. Paul is describing the Christ followers at Thessalonica.

- The gospel was not delivered in word only. I’m taking this to mean that we need to not just talk about the gospel. We need to do more.
- The gospel was also delivered in power. I think this means that it was delivered with authority, i.e. as the Word of God, not just any word.
- The gospel was delivered in the Holy Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit guided and empowered the delivery of the gospel.
- The gospel was delivered in assurance. This means that the gospel was delivered with sense of confidence, without timidity.

And it worked! The Thessalonians became followers of Christ and of the disciples, their mentors. They then saved others as they were saved. They used not only their words but in power, in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance. Their lives were a testimony of the gospel to others around them.

Commit:

Here’s a lesson that I need t learn. I can’t stop at just delivering the word of the gospel, I must bring it in power. I must allow the Holy Spirit to guide and empower me. I must do so with the assurance without doubt and timidity.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing how to effectively bring others to the Lord. Please help me. Give me the power, the power that is dangerous to the enemy, that will destroy the barriers and lies of the enemy. Please help me to follow the leading and to faithfully use the gifts to bring the gospel. Give me the assurance that will help others to know that the word that I bring is like no other word. I want to make disciples that make disciples. Please help me.

In the name of the one who will help me deliver in power, in the Holy Spirit and with much assurance, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Matthew 26: 6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. 8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”
10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”

Inspect:

We know this story of the woman who extravagantly worshipped the Lord. She brought an extremely expensive container of perfume and used it to anoint Jesus. When others complained that the perfume could be sold for a great deal of money, so the poor could be helped, Jesus gave them a great response. Jesus responded that we will always have the poor that we can help, but Jesus was deserving of our worship for the sacrifice that He made, His very life for us.

I believe that the Lord is speaking to me about worship. So often we help the poor, but we don’t worship the Lord. We will always have opportunity to help the poor out, as well as other ministries, but how much time and sacrifice do we allocate to the Lord? Do we wind up giving and sacrificing extravagantly for the poor and have nothing to left to give to the Lord. After all He gave His life for us, doesn’t he deserve some, if not the best of our sacrifice in gratitude of Him dying for us?

I believe that when we give the Lord our best in worship, He will give us more to bless the poor with. Similarly, the same thought is expressed in ! Corinthians, where we can give everything away to the poor, but if we have not love, it is futile. We cannot have love, if we don’t have the Lord.

Commit:

I need to change my pattern. The Lord is most deserving of my best in worshipful gratitude for His suffering and dying for me. I believe this scripture teaches that we will always have an opportunity to minister to the needs of and sharing the Word, but are we obedient to the Holy Spirit in giving the best of our best in the worship of the Lord? I need to change, too often God gets my leftover time and not the best.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me the proper way to worship. I am to give you maximum blessing / glory. But I must sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit who show me how I can also bless the poor. Please send your Holy Spirit to give the first of my worship to you. Don’t let me give you the leftover worship.

In the name of the one who is deserving of my very best, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Matthew 25: The Parable of the Talents

14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Inspect:

Several things here hit me.

- The Master knew his servants. He knew who to give 5, who to give 2 and who to give 1. We are all different. Not one better than another just different. We see the outcome that both the one who was given 5 and 2 both were welcomed into the joy of the Lord because they did what was expected of them. I believe what we have is exactly what the Lord intends for us. We shouldn’t be coveting what He’s given to someone else. I believe God has the same expectations of all of us, that we get a good return on whatever He has given us.
- In order to multiply what God has given us, we need to trade it. I believe this means we need to risk it, invest it and build it. These are the ways to multiply what has been entrusted to us.
- The final thing was the expectations of the Master. The servants that multiplied the investment were rewarded by being invited to enter into the “joy of the lord.” We compare this to what was given to the servant that didn’t take a risk, the servant that feared losing so much that he buried the talent, to this servant was thrown out. The other two servants were welcomed in, but wicked servant was thrown out.

Commit:

I must be content with God has given me. I must not complain of why others have been given more and why others have been given less. God knows exactly what I can handle. I must also trade what He’s given me. I must invest in it, I must risk it, that’s the only way I can multiply it. I must fear God’s judgment on doing nothing with what He’s given me.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this helping me to multiply what You have given to me. Help me to be satisfied with the exact amount that You have given me. Your wisdom and knowledge are higher than mine, You know I don’t. Please give me the courage to risk what You’ve placed in my hand. Please give supernatural knowledge, wisdom, counsel and power to multiply back what You have entrusted to me. I want to enter into Your joy, I definitely don’t want to be thrown out.

In the name of the one who has given me what I need to give back to the Father, more than what He has given me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Matthew 20: 1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle,[a] and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’[b]
8 “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ 9 And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.

Inspect:

There was a landowner who needed work done. He kept going to the marketplace all day long to get laborers. I found this interesting because, why didn’t he just use who he found in the morning? Why didn’t he just use what he had and then just allow the work to take longer? I believe the lesson for me today are two things. The first is that the landowner had a sense of urgency to bring in the harvest. He kept going out into the marketplace to get more workers so that he could bring in more of the harvest faster. There would be many reasons for this including that the fruit would fall to the ground and be wasted, pests such as insects and birds could ruin the crop or perhaps enemies and thieves would come to steal / destroy. Whatever the reason the landowner had a sense of urgency and would pay whatever it took to get as much help as he could to bring in the harvest. I think this is a lesson about our God, who Jesus calls the Lord of the Harvest. Our God wants to bring in as much of the harvest of souls as possible. God doesn’t want the souls to fall to the ground or die before they have a chance to be saved. The Lord of the Harvest doesn’t want the enemy to ruin the crop or to destroy it. Our Landowner – Lord of the Harvest will do whatever it takes to bring in as much of the harvest as possible.

The second lesson for me is about the laborers in the marketplace. It doesn’t matter when you start, there’s work to be done and the reward will be there. I think of the last bunch of laborers, they may have told themselves, there is only a short workday left, why should I commit myself to do this job, the work may be menial and not pay much. But the Landowner surprised them, I believe that there was much work, and their reward was beyond their expectations. The lesson for me is it is never too late to start, there is work to be done and the reward will be beyond our expectation.

Commit:

I need the sense of urgency that the Lord of the Harvest has. I must see the harvest of souls as a field of ripened fruit. I need to go out and get them before they die, before they are stolen or destroyed by the enemy. I must be like the last group of men in the marketplace. I must not feel that it is too late to start, I must jump in, and do what I can. The reward, I will leave to the Lord of the Harvest to determine.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me the heart of the Lord of the Harvest. Please help me to have the same heart. Give me the sense of urgency to go out and gather the harvest. Please give me the same sense of urgency to go out into the marketplace to bring more laborers in to train and employ them to help with the harvest. Finally, help me to realize that it is never too late to start anything. There will always be work to do and the reward will be from a God who already gave His very best to me, His Son!

In the name of the Lord of the Harvest, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Matthew 17: 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;[d] for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Inspect:

Jesus was able to cast out a demon that the disciples were not able to. When asked why, Jesus exploained.

- They did not believe. Somehow, they must have prayed and tried, but they didn’t believe it would work, and so it didn’t.
- They didn’t exercise the faith that they had. How much faith does it take? Jesus said we only need faith the size of a mustard seed, which is pretty small. I think the point here was not the absolute amount, but rather, we should be using the faith that we have, it may seem too small for us, but it is enough.
- They didn’t pray and fast. I believe that belief / faith comes from prayer and fasting.

It takes belief. Belief takes faith. Faith is exercised through prayer and fasting. I believe Jesus is tying the ability to do this miracle back to prayer and fasting. Prayer builds our faith because we get to know the one who we place our faith in. Fasting builds our faith because it teaches to put our trust not in ourselves, but on God.

Commit:

I must go back to basics, prayer and fasting. It’s so easy to be tempted to learn and use “techniques” to make miracles happen, but if Jesus said, prayer and fasting, than that’s good enough for me.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to do miracles that bring glory to you. Help me to pray more and fast more. I want to use my mustard seed faith to move mountains for your glory and not mine. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me.

In the name of the one who will help me to believe, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Matthew 16: 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some 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 and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed[o] in heaven.”
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

Inspect:

Jesus asked who people said that He was. The answers were all over the place. Some said that He was John the Baptist, someone who came and preached repentance to get people to change their ways to prepare for the Lord’s coming. Some said that He was prophet like Elijah or Jeremiah that spoke for the Lord to warn them of God’s judgment should they not turn back to the Lord. Then Jesus asked Peter a different question. Jesus didn’t ask Peter who other’s said, Jesus asked Peter who he thought Jesus was.

Peter answered that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus explained that this was revealed to Peter by the Heavenly Father. Jesus went on to say that this was the truth that the church would be built on. This was the foundation that would permit us to defeat the enemy and provide a way to get blessings from heaven.

I believe the lesson here is that it doesn’t matter what other think about Jesus. The only thing that matters is what you think. Other’s don’t matter only you. And it matters what you think. Yes, Jesus was a prophet in that He spoke for the Father, and He did call for the repentance of the people, but what matters is that we know Him as the Son of God. Because only as the Son of God does He bring us salvation.

Exalt:

I must hold on to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God. Yes, He is my shepherd, healer, provider and many others, but I must always remember that He is the Son of God. As the Son of God He has all authority, all holiness. He will save me, but He will judge me as well. I must hold this truth for myself and lead others into this same truth.

Commit:

Heavenly Father, I thank yo for this understanding. Please help me to hold onto the truth that Jesus is your only Son. And as your Son, He has your full holiness, authority and love. Only through this truth can I defeat the enemy and receive the blessing of heaven. This is the only truth that I should share with others, because this is the only truth that will save them and defend them and bless them.

In the name of the only Son of the living God, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Matthew 11: 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Inspect:

The Lord Jesus calls out to us. He’s calling those who work and are bearing a heavy burden. He doesn’t call us to give us more work and more load, instead He is offering us rest.

Jesus asking us to take the yoke that He has for us. Jesus describes His yoke as gentle and lowly. I believe this means that in contrast, the yokes that we put on ourselves are harsh and prideful. Jesus’ way of getting things done is gentle. Isaiah describes the Messiah as one who would not break off a reed that’s already bent or snuff out a ember that is struggling to stay lit. To do it Jesus’ way is to get results AND get rest for our souls. The world’s way of harshness and pride will result in NOT getting the desired outcomes AND in our soul that is burnt out.

We need to do it Jesus’ way, the easy and light way.

Commit:

I must do it the Lord’s way. Why wouldn’t I do it a way that works and yet provides rest? I think it is hard, because of my pride. The perception is that if we do it the hard way, we can then take more credit for it. The devil wants me to do it my way so that I get frustrated from a lack of results and get burnt out.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for giving me a better way of doing things. Please send me your Holy Spirit to help me to submit your way of doing things. Don’t let me tempted by the devil’s way or my fleshly ways to do things the hard way, the way that burns me out. Help to learn your unforced rhythms of grace.

In the name of the one who’s ways are the best ways, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Matthew 9: 27 When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”
28 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it. ” 31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.

Inspect:

It is good to learn how God works because his ways are so much higher and better than ours.

We see how two blind men receive healing from the Lord.

- There are two of them. Sometimes, we need each other to encourage each other. These two had to follow Jesus, keep calling out to Him, all the way into the house that He was at. I think there were many opportunities to give up.

- They follow the Lord on the road and are calling out to Him. They knew who Jesus was, they knew that Jesus healed people, that was evident in their calling out to Him. I can imagine just how hard it is for two blind guys to follow someone on the road. But their faith kept them following and crying out to Jesus.

- They followed the Lord into the house. The faith of these two are amazing. Others may have thought, okay, Jesus didn’t stop and heal us on the road, He’s going into the house, might as well forget it. But they went in.

- They then asked the Lord to make happen what they wanted, but more importantly what they believed that the Lord could do. They had enough faith to answer truthfully when Jesus asked them, if they believed. They said yes!

Through all of this, Jesus did what they asked, did what they believed. They wanted their sight back. They believed Jesus would. They got it.

They did their part and Jesus did His part!

Commit:

I must be like the two blind men.

- I must encourage others and allow myself to be encouraged.
- I must follow the Lord no matter how tough the road is. Especially if I don’t know the way and can’t see, I just need to follow the Lord.
- I must follow the Lord all the way and come into His house. It’s not over till I meet him face to face.
- I must tell and show the Lord that I believe that He will give me sight.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me what I need to do to receive sight for myself and for others. Please help me to submit myself to others. Please help to be a persistent follower of you. Please help me to believe.

In the name of the one who will help my unbelief, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Matthew 7: 1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Inspect:

We have no right to judge. When we judge others we raise ourselves as better than others. With our limitations we can only see the limitations of others. This is not truth. We hurt others and hurt ourselves. We try to help others with wrong motives created by pride and greed. If we are allowed to continue we will hurt them and ourselves.

Instead Jesus gives us a better way. We are to allow the Lord to remove our limitations. Only then can we help each other without doing them harm and ourselves harm.

Commit:

I must stop trying to judge people, thinking that I am helping them and helping the kingdom. I must first submit myself to the Lord and allow Him to remove my sin, my shortcomings, my limitations. Only then can then help others safely, for them and for me.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me what I need to help others the right way. I submit to you, please take the plank out of my eye. Help me to realize that the only affirmation I need is from you. I do not need the approval of any man, only you. So, take it out of me so I may help others.

In the name of the one who removes the plank from my eyes, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Matthew 3: 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He[k] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Inspect:

We can learn a lot from the baptism of Jesus.

At first John humbly refused to baptize Jesus because, John knew that Jesus was Lord. But Jesus as humbly submitted to John’s ministry. Jesus didn’t want to set an example that He would not do as others would do unto the Lord. If others were to be baptized, then Jesus would also be baptized.

Then I believe as an affirmation to Jesus’ submission and obedience the Father sent the Holy Spirit upon Him. The Father then affirmed the relationship of a loved Son and that He was pleased. Obedience and submissions brings affirmation.

Commit:

I must submit and obey to all things. I am not above anything. What is asked of others, I must also do. If I submit and obey, I will trust that the Holy Spirit and the affirmation of the Father will come. I must help others be baptized as well, so that they too may be blessed and affirmed.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how your Son submitted and obeyed. Please help me to be as humble as your Son. Let your Holy Spirit alight me. I long for your affirmation. I know that you love me. I want you to be pleased with me.

In the name of the one who was sent to show me how to submit and obey, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Corinthians 12: 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the best[d] gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.

Inspect:

There are many roles in God’s house. Each and every role is important as each and every part of the body is important. We need to want to receive and invest in these gift, because we should all desire to be help the body to function well and multiply. However, there is a better way. What follows next is 1 Corinthians 13, the well known “Love Chapter.”

I believe that we are being taught to desire the gifts so that we can serve, however this desire for the gifts should not over-ride our love for each other. Without love these gifts are useless. And I believe that without gifts, we can have love but no growth.

Commit:

I must look for the gifts that benefit the body, but I must not overlook that I also need love to benefit the body.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me what I need to do to help the body of Christ grow. Help me to receive and invest in the gifts that will help the body. Help me also to have the love for each and every part of the body.

In the name of the one who gives the gifts and love, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Corinthians 10: 33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Inspect:

This is an amazing verse when we realize the kind of man Saul was prior to conversion. Paul was passionate, focused man with a mission. He didn’t care about people, he cared about his mission, and his mission was to shut down the Christ – followers. The Bible records that Paul pulled out all stops to find Christ-followers and have them arrested, in order to stop the spread.

So it is a surprise to me when we see Paul say here in sincere humility that he no longer wants to go around and impose his will on how people should worship God, but now he puts his own agenda behind him. Paul now puts the needs of others before his own, because he now realizes that this is the way to get people to come to true worship.

I believe that this is the way to save many. We need to put the “profit” or welfare of others above ourselves. This should be no surprise, because this is what God did. The Heavenly Father put us ahead of His own profit. God gave His only Son, that whoever, believes in Him would be saved.

This is God’s way, it must be our way as well.

Commit:

Sometimes I get this so reversed. I want others to please me. No surprise that this doesn’t work! People are not getting saved. Instead, I need to do it God’s way. I must please others. I must bring profit to them. Then they will be saved.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for straightening me out, for reversing my course. Please help me to put others profit ahead of my own. Help me to humble myself and put the needs of others in front of mine. Help me to do whatever it takes to save people.

In the name of the one who was put on the cross so that we might be saved, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Galations 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Inspect:

God commands us to do good. We are to do it whenever we have the opportunity. I believe we are to proactively do good, not just to wait for an opportunity, but to create opportunities.

We are to do good not just to some, but to all.

We also see special instructions here to do especially good to those that are brothers and sisters in the faith.

Why is this important? I believe it is important because God is like this, God does not ask us to do anything that He would not do Himself.

God does good to all. He blesses us all with a world that is made just for us, to supply all of our needs, whether we are His or not.

But to those who are His, to those that have accepted His offer to become His sons and daughters He is especially good.

When we do as God does, we then draw everyone closer to Him. We bring sinners to salvation and we bring His sons and daughters closer to Him.

I also believe that we are especially good to brothers and sisters so that they too can then receive impartation to do good to others as well.

Commit:

I must do as God commands. I must look to do good to everyone. I must especially be good to brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me what I need to do to bring others closer to you. I ask that you send the Holy Spirit to transform my heart to do good as you do, at every opportunity, to everyone and especially to your children.

In the name of the one who does good for me at every opportunity, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Galatians 4: 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.

Inspect:

Paul is reminding the Galatians that we are children of the promise, vs. children of the flesh. I believe this is saying that if we are children of the flesh, then we inherit the things of the flesh. These are things that are limited and temporary. Things of the flesh can only come about through our strength and abilities. As a result, they can never come to the level of children of promise.

When we become children of promise, that is become adopted to become the sons and daughters of almighty God then the situation is totally different. As children of promise, there is no limitation. We inherit all the riches that God has. More importantly we become like our Father, we adopt His nature of holiness, of helping others to achieve their destiny, of giving, of healing, or protecting and much more. We no longer persecute or pull down people, but instead we serve them and lift them up.

What a difference! Through promise comes live. Through the flesh comes death. Our choice is to either remain as children of flesh or to choose to become children of promise.

Commit:

I commit to be a son of promise. I will not strive with my flesh, instead I will choose to obey by faith. In this way I will grow into the character of Heavenly Father, and inherit the riches of the universe.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this amazing lesson. Help me to kill off the child of the flesh and walk out the life that is the child of the promise. Help me to lift others up so they may too become children of promise. Don’t let me pull them down, because they will then be content by remaining who they are, child of flesh.

In the name of the one who died so that I may be adopted to become a child of promise, Jesus.

Amen.

Rhema:

Job 28: 28 And to man He said,

‘ Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Inspect:

This is the path to wisdom and understanding. It is through the fear of the Lord and to stay away from evil. We need to fear the judgment of the Lord. I believe it is this fear that motivates us to seek ways to stay away from evil, and through the motivation we gain wisdom and understanding. We gain it because we exercise our spirit and our hearts and minds to find ways to obey the Lord against the temptations of the flesh and the devil. It is this process through which our wisdom and understanding becomes strengthened.

Just as our muscles and stamina are built when we move against resistance, so is our wisdom and understanding built when we resist evil and strive to obey the Lord. If we don’t fear the Lord and don’t try to stay away from evil, then just as muscles atrophy when there is no resistance, so will our wisdom and understanding.

Commit:

Just as I commit to exercise to use weights and machines to place resistance to my muscles and cardiovascular systems in order to strengthen, I must commit to fearing the Lord and departing from evil to build my wisdom and understanding. I must not be lazy and fear the pain and sweat.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me the way to wisdom and understanding. Please help me with your Holy Spirit to fear you, to know that you will judge my wrong doing. Help me to depart from evil, to stay away from it.

In the name of the one who will help me to fear the Father and to depart from evil, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Mark 16: 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.

Inspect:

This is an amazing promise. After Jesus went back to heaven, after appearing to the disciples after his resurrection, this was the report on the disciples.

They went out, they didn’t stay in.

They preached everywhere, they didn’t keep the good news to themselves.

The Lord worked through them, confirming the Word through accompanying signs which are miracles. The disciples were not on their own, the Lord Himself validated the truth and the power of the Word through the working of miracles. That’s the sole reason for miracles, it is not to bring attention to the speaker, it is to confirm the truth of the Word.

Commit:

I claim this for myself. I want to go out and not stay in. I want to preach the Word and not stay silent. I want the Lord to confirm His Word through miracles. I don’t want to draw attention to myself, I want people to believe the Word.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this encouraging promise. I want to claim this. Help me to do my part, to go out and preach the Word. Help me to trust you to do your part, to work miracles to confirm Your Word.

In the name of the one who will do the miracles, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Mark 14: 38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Inspect:

Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane urged the disciples to pray. Jesus said that the prayer was the prevention against temptation. He said that the although are spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak.

This makes sense than why we need prayer to prevent us from yielding to temptation. With prayer we make our spirit stronger, which can resist the temptation. Without prayer the flesh becomes stronger.

Jesus spent time in prayer and fasting in order to resist temptation. If Jesus did, we need to do it so much more.

Commit:

I must spend more time in prayer. I must feed the spirit and starve the flesh.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to resist temptation. It is so simple, and yet so hard. Please help me with your Holy Spirit. Help me to spend time in prayer and in fasting. I want to feed the spirit and starve the flesh.

In the name of the one who showed us how to fast and pray, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Mark 12: 8 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving[k] that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’[l] This is the first commandment.[m] 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’[n] There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul,[o] and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
But after that no one dared question Him.

Inspect:

I heard a great sermon this week on doubters vs. contrarians. Doubters are truth seekers vs. contrarians are conflict seekers. Here we have a scribe that differs from the scribes described before him. I believe this scribe was a truth seeker, he really sought to understand vs. the other scribes who were contrarians, who had no interest in truth, instead they had interest in discrediting Jesus.

This truth-seeking scribe listened to numerous attempts by his fellow scribes to make Jesus look bad, but he heard Jesus handling each one successfully, so this scribe seeks the truth by asking a question. A question that flows from the confusion that the other scribes were throwing up. This question was an attempt to cut through all the noise and go straight to the truth. And Jesus didn’t disappoint, Jesus gave the great commandment, to love God will our total being. I believe that the Holy Spirit confirmed the truth in the heart of this scribe. The truth resonated so much that the scribe was able to articulate the truth with the spirit. The scribe understood, he got it! The Lord Jesus graciously affirmed it, by encouraging the scribe saying that he had the truth of the kingdom of God.

The Bible describes that the other scribes went silent. I believe this means that the contrarians went silent. Those that weren’t sincerely seeking truth saw the truth in what they were doing seeking conflict vs. seeking truth. This went against the core foundation of what a scribe was supposed to be, a person who was dedicated to seeking and preserving truth.

I think this is an important pattern to follow. We must not be afraid to question God, if our intent is to discover truth. God will give His truth to those that are sincerely seeking it. He give it and He will affirm it by having it resonate with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Commit:

I want to be like this wise scribe. I must seek truth and not be reluctant to seek truth with God. I must try and understand it and seek God’s confirmation to make sure I got it. It is only the truth that will set me free and nothing else.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for teaching me about the wise scribe. I ask you to send me the Holy Spirit to seek truth by digging into your Word, by listening to the teachings of others and hearing directly from you. Help me to understand it and seek your assurance that I have it correct. I pray for your affirmation and your confirmation.

In the name of the one who is the truth and the one who will lead me into the truth, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Mark 10: 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Inspect:

Servant Leadership. Jesus never asks us to do anything He would not do Himself. He not only teaches us that in order to lead others, we must serve them, we must know their needs and meet them, before we can lead them, but Jesus show us how to serve. He not only explicitly showed it in washing the feet of the disciples, but I believe that He did it every day. I believe Jesus served by praying for them, being patient with them, helping them to grow in the man that God meant them to be. Being a leader doesn’t mean to have others meet your needs, as the world does it. The world’s leaders expect others to meet their agenda’s and goals. God on the other hand, wants leaders to meet the agenda’s and goals that He has for others. I believe that when God’s goals and agenda’s are achieved for others that is when we are in His will. There is no greater achievement, than helping God achieve His will with others.

Commit:

I must serve others. I must help others achieve the goals and agenda that God has for them. I must not worry about achieving my own goals and agenda’s, God will make that happen through the leaders that He places over me.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this instruction on leadership. I thank you that your Son showed me how to do it. By serving the needs of the disciples, they became what you wanted them to be. Through this the legacy of your Son lived on. Help me to do as your Son did. Help me to serve those around me, as your Son serves me.

In the name of the one who washes my feet and become my slave, Jesus!

Amen.