Online Journals

Rhema:

Judges 8: 27 Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.

Inspect:

We remember Gideon as the reluctant hero, and now we see that he had weaknesses as well. And through his weaknesses we can learn of our weaknesses. Gideon had asked the people to bring some of the jewelry they had gotten from defeated foes. He made these pieces into an ephod, with the intent I think to remind himself of the victories of the past. Now, I think this could be well intended to remind himself of the God’s great mercy and grace. However, we see that this piece eventually became a stumbling block. Instead of worshipping the God who made the victories possible, they began to worship an object.

I think this is a great lesson for us. God alone is worthy of our worship and honor. We must never get seduced into focusing on blessings that God has allowed us to obtain through his grace and mercy. In today’s age, our ephods may take the shape of money, awards, accomplishments, even disciples we have mentored. We can get seduced into spending more time and attention on these, rather than on the God through His love has brought these things to us.

Commit:

I need to be careful, to not to focus and dwell on blessings from the past. I must focus and dwell on instead on the God who made past blessings possible and make present and future blessings possible.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this lesson from the life of Gideon. Please help me to be careful not to be tempted by the blessing of victory that you have given me. Please send me your Holy Spirit to help me to focus on you. Help me to worship you and you only.

In the name of the one gives me victory, and who alone is worthy of my worship, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Judges 6: 11 Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”

Inspect:

I think this is amazing scripture. Gideon was an unknown. In fact the scripture here records that he was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to avoid having to fight off the Midianites from stealing it. So I find it amazing that the angel of the Lord addressed Gideon by calling him “Mighty hero.” I believe that Gideon did nothing heroic up until that point in his life. In fact, we see that even after God prophesied his heroism, Gideon asked for confirmations by asking for miracles with fleece. Not very heroic behavior.

However, we see how God calls us not because of what we’ve done or who we are. God calls us because of what we can be. God sees the potential in us that will be realized when we obey Him. God saw that Gideon would be a mighty hero, when no one else did. God called Gideon a mighty hero even when Gideon himself didn’t see it in himself.

But Gideon had faith, though reluctant at first, he obeyed God and through his obedience Gideon did indeed become a mighty hero. He lead a brave bad of men against a much larger force and became a mighty hero.

Commit:

I must have faith in the Lord. I believe my Lord is calling me out to be a might hero. I must obey and stop out, and allow the Lord to equip me to do great deeds for the kingdom, and become a mighty hero. I must consider how others see me, or even as I see myself, I must trust what the Lord has seen in me.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the lesson of Gideon. I really need your help in this. All I see in me is everything BUT a might hero. I see problems, weaknesses and lack of potential. Help me to see what you see. Help me to have faith that you will anoint and equip me to be a mighty hero for you. Immerse me in the Holy Spirit that I might become a mighty hero for you and to help others as well.

In the name of the one who has called me out to be a mighty hero, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Judges 3: 1 These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. 2 He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle. 3 These are the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers), all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath. 4 These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses.

Inspect:

This is so interesting! God wanted to make sure that people would grow. During this time, there were those that went to war and those that didn’t have the experience of battle. Here we see that God wanted everyone to have the experience of battle. Many can obey the commands of the Lord when everything is peaceful, but it takes maturity to obey when there is conflict. When there is conflict it tests whether or not we really do fear the Lord. When there is no conflict, it doesn’t cost us anything to be obedient. However, when there is conflict, that will mean that some sacrifice will be required to obey the Lord.

Back in these days in order to maintain obedience to the Lord, they had to kick ungodly people out, destroy their idols and gods and reject their lifestyle. This would have been very tempting to be able to just coexist with the ungodly, to accept their gods and lifestyles. It would have taken sacrifice to give up the easy, seductive and potentially more rewarding ways of the enemy.

This is no different from today, we come into conflicts each day, and we must sacrifice in order to obey the Lord. So we need to recognize these tests and overcome them. In this way, we can become stronger and stronger and we will grow in the Lord. The Lord allows enemies to come against us, to tempt us to disobey the Lord, to help us to learn to sacrifice in order to obey the Lord. God knows that that this will strengthen us. As Dr. Ed Cole says, what we resist grows weaker and what we submit to grows stronger. So when we learn to resist sin, it grows weaker and as we submit to the Lord, we will grow stronger in Him.

Commit:

I now better understand God’s wisdom. I need to resist the temptations that come up against me. I need to help others to do the same. This may mean not taking the temptation away from them, but instead helping them to recognize the enemy and how to resist it.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to grow myself and others. Please help me in the battle to recognize the attack and know how to overcome it. Please help me to help my brothers win as well.

In the name of the one who allows me to be tested, but will help me to win, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Corinthians 10: 31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles[f] or the church of God. 33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.

Inspect:

Paul shows an amazing heart of humility. Here was a very learned man, a man that rose to the top of his profession, a man that did nothing half-way. But Paul humbled himself for the sake of saving others. He did everything to bring glory to God and not himself. He did everything to build relationships with others so that they would be saved.

It takes humility to draw the attention of others to God. It takes humility to build relationships with others. It takes both to save someone. It takes relationships to draw people to ourselves. It then takes God to save them.

Humility is the key.

Commit:

I must be like Paul. I must give up everything to build relationships with others. I must give up everything so that God is glorified.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank for showing me what it takes to save others. Please help me to humble myself. Help me to do what it takes to please others and build relationships with them. Help me to what it takes to draw attention to You.

In the name of the one who humbled Himself for me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Corinthians 9: 19 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. 21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law,[d] I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.
22 When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. 23 I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

Inspect:

Paul did everything he could to save people.

- He gave up his rights. He became a slave to others.
- Though he was free from the law, he subjected himself to the law to win those that are subject to the law.
- Though he was strong, he subjected himself to the weak to win those who were not strong.

Though he was an individual, he found common ground to build relationships to win them to the Lord.

Connect:

I need to do the same. I must give up my rights. My rights have no value compared to the worth of a soul. I must not flaunt my freedom, which would turn off those that currently bound by the law. I must submit myself to others to find common ground with them. My sacrifice is nothing compared to what Jesus gave up.

Inspect:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me why Paul was so successful. Please help me to be like him. Help me to submit myself to others. Help me to find common ground with everyone. Help me to do anything to save others.

In the name of the one who did everything to save me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Corinthians 8: 1 Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. 2 Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. 3 But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.

Inspect:

Who does God recognize? Why do we care? When we stand at the gate of heaven, it is only those that God knows, who will gain entrance.

It is not how much we know about God, it is how much God knows us. Our knowledge of God makes us feel important, but God’s knowledge of us will gain us heaven.

If we think we know, we don’t really know much. We think that with knowledge the church is strengthened, but God states very clearly here it is love that strengthens the church.

If we love the Lord, let Him into our hearts, in every part of our lives, I believe this is what is meant by God knowing us. Those that love God, God knows, and those He knows He will bring into heaven. Those he doesn’t know, He will cast away forever into hell.

Commit:

I must love the Lord and love others. Through love and not knowledge are others strengthened. Through love for the Lord am I recognized by Him as His son.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me the relationship between love and knowledge. Please help me to love others and you above all. Help me to know that knowledge is important, but it is love that strengthens, it is love that God recognizes.

In the name of the one strengthens me and recognizes me because of His love, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Joshua 14: 10 “Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. 11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. 12 So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”

Inspect:

Caleb was an amazing man. When he was forty years old, he entered into a spy into the Promised Land. He saw giants as others did, but where others saw the giants as a major obstacle blocking them from receiving the blessings of the Lord, Caleb as well as Joshua knew that if God meant them to be blessed, God will provide a way. Here now, forty-five years later, Caleb has lost none of his courage and his willingness to fight. He saw again the same giants he spied on forty-five years ago, and this time, he was ready to fight them. Caleb was ready to go take on the giants, defeat them and then go and claim the blessing that God had promised him.

Commit:

I want to be like Caleb. No matter how long it takes, no matter how giant the obstacles, his faith would make it possible to claim the promise that God gave him.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me the secret of receiving your blessings. Please help me to strong in faith. I want to claim your blessings no matter how long it takes, no matter how giant the obstacles.

In the name of the one who gives me His promise and the strength and determination to receive it, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Joshua 14: 10 “Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. 11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. 12 So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”

Inspect:

Caleb was an amazing man. When he was forty years old, he entered into a spy into the Promised Land. He saw giants as others did, but where others saw the giants as a major obstacle blocking them from receiving the blessings of the Lord, Caleb as well as Joshua knew that if God meant them to be blessed, God will provide a way. Here now, forty-five years later, Caleb has lost none of his courage and his willingness to fight. He saw again the same giants he spied on forty-five years ago, and this time, he was ready to fight them. Caleb was ready to go take on the giants, defeat them and then go and claim the blessing that God had promised him.

Commit:

I want to be like Caleb. No matter how long it takes, no matter how giant the obstacles, his faith would make it possible to claim the promise that God gave him.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me the secret of receiving your blessings. Please help me to strong in faith. I want to claim your blessings no matter how long it takes, no matter how giant the obstacles.

In the name of the one who gives me His promise and the strength and determination to receive it, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Psalm 37: 7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.
Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.
8 Stop being angry!
Turn from your rage!
Do not lose your temper—
it only leads to harm.

Inspect:

It is my first reaction to do something when anything goes wrong. I can’t sit still and wait till the situation resolves itself, I need to do something. However, that’s not God’s way. Here the Lord says that instead of trying to do something, we need to be still. We should wait for the Lord to bring about the action.

It is so easy to watch people around us get away with “murder,” while we struggle with trying to do what’s right. We see them seemingly impervious to getting caught and more so profiting from improper activities. This bothers us because it isn’t fair.

The Lord warns us about the danger of anger. If we aren’t careful, it will turn to rage. Where anger can be constructive, rage leads to uncontrolled behavior which leads to destruction. If lose our temper, we hurt others, we hurt ourselves.

Commit:

When I feel like doing something when things go wrong, I must be still. When I can’t wait, I need to. I must leave it for the Lord. I must not look around to others and envy them, the Lord is just. They will get theirs. I must control myself. I must not let anger turn to rage. I must not lose my temper.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how I should be acting when things go wrong. Please help me to follow your commands. Help me not react naturally, but supernaturally. Please send your Holy Spirit to remind of your ways which leads to life and blessing vs. the enemy’s way which is act on our own, be envious of others and just losing it.

In the name of the one who will vindicate me, who is always just, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Corinthians 2: 1 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan.[b] 2 For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
6 Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God[c]—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.

Inspect:

Paul demonstrated amazing gifts in communicating and influencing people. Here we see two approaches in dealing with two kinds of people.

The first group represents the unsaved, the new believer. With this group, Paul just shared the basics. He focused on Jesus Christ. Paul came with humility. He relied not on his own eloquence but on the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul wanted them to focus on God and not on him. Paul knew that the message was more important than the messenger.

The second groups of people were the mature believers. With this group of people, Paul went deeper. With this group, Paul shared the deeper wisdom. However, Paul was careful to share not the kind of wisdom that belongs to the world or the rulers of the world. This is wisdom that is temporary. What Paul will share is the wisdom of God, the plans of God for us. And the purpose of this wisdom and plans? It is ultimately for our glory!

I believe the lesson for us is that we need to demonstrate the same type of wisdom. For the unbeliever or the new believer, we need to focus on Jesus Christ. We must help them to focus on the message and not the messenger. We need for them to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit. For the more mature believer, we need to begin to unfold the wisdom of God. With these believers, they need to begin to realize the eternal truths of God, and learn His plan for them. Just as salvation is act of faith that must be submitted to by the unbeliever, the realization of God’s plan for our lives requires us to submit our will to God’s path.

Commit:

I must be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit regarding the group that I’m communicating / ministering to. As Paul I must communicate the right thing in the right way.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to minister with your wisdom. Please help me to hear and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit when you present me with opportunities. Help me to submit to You, because You know what’s best in every situation, every occasion.

In the name of the one who knows exactly what everyone needs, and wants to fulfill it through me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Deuteronomy 30: 6 “The Lord your God will change your heart[a] and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!

Inspect:

God is so amazing! He knew that for us to be able to obey Him and all His commandments, was to change our hearts. God knows that if our hearts are not right, then it would be impossible for us to obey. And if we do not obey, we will be cursed and cannot live. So God changes our hearts. He takes out the pride that causes us to sin. Once our pride is out of hearts, we will be able love the Lord with all our selves.

He is also amazing that He cares not just for us but for generations after us as well. God promises us that He will change the hearts of our spiritual sons and daughters as well. As we yield our hearts to Him, He will change it and when He changes it, we will have life.

Commit:

I must allow God to change my heart. God can only change a heart that is yielded to Him. I must submit my pride and humble myself before the Lord.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing the way to life. Please help me to constantly offer my heart to you, so that you can change it. Don’t let me prevent you from changing my heart, because that is a way to my death. Change my heart so that I will love you with all my heart and soul. I want to live.

In the name of the one who changes my heart, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Galatians 6: 14 As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross,[c] my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. 15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. 16 May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.

Inspect:

This is an amazing passage of scripture! Here Paul boils down, what I think the essence of Christ-like character needs to be.

- I never boast about anything except the cross… Paul would never boast of his accomplishments or of anyone else. He realizes that the cross is the source of all blessings.
- Because of that cross, my interest in the world has been crucified… Paul has realized that when you have the cross, nothing else matters. In fact everything else is a distraction and must be crucified or done away. We must not let anything get between us and the cross.
- And the world’s interest in me has been crucified… I believe that this means that once the world realizes that the cross becomes the center, the source and the priority in our loves, the world realizes that it can no longer use us for its gains, we are in a sense dead to the world.
- It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not… It doesn’t matter what our outward symbols are, what matters is our inward change into a new creation. It doesn’t matter what we do with our appearance, what matter is that our old selves are deliberately and intentionally put away, so that the new life can take hold and transform us.
- We are the new people of God, transformed from the old to the new by His mercy, the curse gives way to His peace.

Commit:

I must focus and focus and focus on the cross. There is nothing else. I don’t need to add to it, the cross is all that warrants my interest. I must crucify everything that is not from the cross. Only then will the world give up trying to take advantage of me. The devil doesn’t care about the dead, they are a lost cause. The devil cares about the living, because they can be added to his kingdom. However, if I’m dead to the world, then the devils has no concern for me.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for lesson on humility. Please help me to focus on the cross. Please help me to know that the cross is my only true source. Help me to crucify everything that is not from the cross. Help me to be dead to th e temptations of the world.

In the name of the one who died that I might live, the one who desires for all of us to experience his mercy and justice, Jesus!

Amen

Rhema:

Galatians 5: 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

Inspect:

If we belong to Jesus, then just as He nailed fleshly, prideful passions to the cross, we need to as well. Our desire to become conceited or to put others down, or to envy what others have needs to be put away. Instead we need to follow the Spirit’s leading to do things in a just, merciful and humble way. We need to do this in every part of our lives, not just at home, or not just as work, but in every part of our lives.

Commit:

I need to let the Holy Spirit lead in every part of my life, instead of having my own fleshly passions and pride.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to put away my fleshly desires and pride. Please help me to remember that what I need to do is to nail those things on the cross. I need to have the Holy Spirit lead in every corner of my life.

In the name of the one who defeated the flesh and sends the Holy Spirit to lead me in every part of my life, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Deuteronomy 20: “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you! 2 When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops. 3 He will say to them, ‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them. 4 For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’

Inspect:

It is so easy to be frightened and intimidated when coming into situation where everything seems to be going against you. It may seem that everyone is lined up against you, that the processes make it impossible and systems are hurting rather than helping. However, God is reminding us that we should not be afraid. God reminded them that in the past, against all the might and power of Egypt, God brought them out. It is the same God that defeated the powerful Pharaoh and his armies, will come against any person, process and system that rises up against us. And we know that nothing can come against the Lord and win. In the end the Lord will win, and He will win for us. His victory becomes our victory.

Commit:

I must remember this. I must look at the Lord at what He has done for me. I must base my trust on what I see in the Lord and not what I see around me.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this encouragement. Please help me to remember that with you there is always victory. Help me not to focus on the challenges but on you.

In the name of the one who will fight my enemies and overcome my obstacles, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Deuteronomy 17: 18 “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. 20 This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.

Inspect:

This is what God instructed the Kings of Israel were to do. They were to hand copy God’s Word by hand. They were to do this in the presence of priests. Then they had to read it daily. God explains the purpose of these instructions. God intended that the copying of God’s Word by hand and the daily reading, would keep the King from being proud and keep him humbly obedient to the Lord. If we have a king that humbly and diligently reads God daily, God promises that he and the kingdom will be prosperous.

Commit:

I must obey these same instructions. I must be diligent in the study of God’s Word. I must read it on a daily basis. I must allow the Word to keep me humble and obedient to the King!

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me the instruction you gave to the Kings of Israel. Please help me to do the same. Help me to copy or study your Word. Help me to read your Word daily.

In the name of the one who is the Word, who will help me to study and read it more and more.

Jesus.

Rhema:

Galatians 1: 15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me[e] so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.

Inspect:

This is Paul speaking. He is saying that God planned and prepared him from the beginning to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. And it wasn’t because of Paul’s special skills or accomplishment, it was grace. Grace means that it was strictly by God’s generosity, it was totally an unearned thing.

I think this applies to all of us. God through His grace has prepared all of us to bring the Good News to everyone.

Commit:

I too have been prepared and being prepared to bring the Good News to the Gentiles. It is not through my heritage or my skills, but strictly by the good graces of God.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for choosing me and preparing me. Lead me to the additional preparation and the opportunity to proclaim your Gospel.

In the name of the one who prepared and is preparing me and will lead to opportunity to proclaim the news, that is you, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Deuteronomy 11: 26 “Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! 27 You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. 28 But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before.

Inspect:

We have choices. Yes it is good if God blesses us for obeying Him, but wouldn’t it be even better if He blessed us even if we disobey Him? Wouldn’t that be a merciful God? Or maybe, at least if He didn’t bless us for rejecting His command, He could just top blessing us. Why does He have to all the way to cursing us if we disobey Him? How can that be merciful? That actually sounds cruel.

But I think cruelty is giving a blessing to those that disobey God’s laws. What if God blesses us for lying? I think we would feel good about being blessed for telling untruths. This would encourage us to tell more lies. The cycle repeats as we get blessed for lying, we lie even more. I believe that this has limits, as pretty soon we no longer know the truth from a lie. We don’t know if we’re speaking truth or deception and soon we don’t know if what we’re hearing truth or deception from others. Yes we may be blessed, but soon we get lost in the fog of lies and truth. This isn’t love, I believe this is cruelty.

I think the same thing can happen with each one of God’s laws, if we continue to disobey God’s law, we get damaged. That’s why God doesn’t bless us when we do wrong. Because we will continue to do wrong. He cares too much for us. He loves us so much that He will curse us in an effort to help us to stop and repent. God doesn’t want us damaged, by the consequences of disobedience. He wants to turn us back to obedience where the consequences are good.

Commit:

I need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and realize when I’m suffering the curse of sin and figure out what I’m doing wrong and stop it. Similarly, I need to see where the blessing is happening, and figure out what is it that I’m doing that pleases the Lord, and keep doing more of it.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for blessing me, and I also thank you for cursing me when I mess up. Please help me to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so that I can stop the disobedience faster and I can do the obedience longer.

In the name of the one who blesses me when I do good and curses me when I do bad, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:
Deuteronomy 8: 16 He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. 17 He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ 18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful,

Inspect:
Sometimes, okay many times, we forget why God values humility. Here we see why God provided manna to the children of Israel wandering around the wilderness, rather than a more conventional food i.e. God could have had corn or wheat or even chickens (well he did it with quail), just appear to feed them. This scripture explains that God chose to use manna, a food that was totally unfamiliar to them. The people had to stretch their faith and trust God, that this totally new substance would meet their nutritional needs.
God loved His people so much that He wanted to them to know positively that it is the Lord who supplies all their needs and nothing and nobody else. I think that if God supplied food in a more conventional way i.e. chickens or corn, they would have tried to rationalize some “logical” explanation on how the corn got to them, maybe by some freak windstorm or some to other act of nature (even this would have been by God’s mercy). So God took the opportunity to let them know in no uncertain terms that He and only he supplies their needs. They had to humble themselves and obediently gather the manna the way the Lord instructed to them. This was the only food they had. To disobey was to starve.
Commit:
I need to trust the Lord, no matter if it makes sense of not. I must not let logic or experience keep me from experiencing the full measure of care from God.
Exalt:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how you grow me. I know you put in situations where only you can provide my solutions and needs. Help me not to rely solely on logic and experience to accept the situation, help me instead to know and trust that You will never let me down. You may send a solution which is totally outside of my experience, but I must trust you.
In the name of the one who continues to send me manna every day, Jesus!
Amen.

Rhema:

Deuteronomy 3: 25 Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.’
26 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough!’ he declared. ‘Speak of it no more. 27 But go up to Pisgah Peak, and look over the land in every direction. Take a good look, but you may not cross the Jordan River. 28 Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.’

Inspect:

Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land because of his disobedience. Instead God instructed Moses to commission Joshua to lead the people. It was going to be Joshua who would take the people across the Jordan River and take the land that God had promised him.

My rhema was the specific instructions that God gave to Moses regarding Joshua. Moses was to:

- Commission – Moses was to formally and publicly pass the authority of leadership over to Joshua. I think this is important in that there is a releasing that must be done. Moses had to release the authority that was given to him, and pass onto the person that is delegated. We shouldn’t hold on to what God asks us to pass on. It is also important to do this publicly. Those that are now under the authority must see for themselves that a new authority has been put over them.
- Encourage – Moses was instructed to encourage Joshua. Moses could not just pass over the authority and just leave it at that. He was asked to encourage Joshua to address any doubts, feelings of inadequacy or meeting expectations. Moses needed to not just pass on the mantle, but pass on the confidence that God does not put any of us on a path to failure.
- Strengthen – Moses was instructed to strengthen Joshua. So it’s not enough to give the assignment or even try and build up the confidence of Joshua, Moses was instructed to strengthen. I believe that this means it was Moses needed to equip Joshua with what he needed to successfully carry out the job.

I believe God has given all of us “Caleb’s” in our lives to commission. This is part of disciple making, as we make leaders we need launch them out. But we can’t just send them out as is. We need to encourage them, to give them the confidence that God has called them. Then we need to equip them, or strengthen them so that they have what they need to succeed.

Commit

I must learn to commission, encourage and strengthen. I cannot just commission, they would not want or be able to succeed. I cannot just encourage, they would have no authority or ability to succeed. I cannot just strengthen, they will not take responsibility, and they will not have vision.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to build leaders that build leaders. Please send me your Holy Spirit, I cannot do this alone. Help me to commission them so that know that you entrust them with authority. Help me to encourage them, by showing them how you see them. Help me to strengthen them by showing how to strengthen themselves through your Word and the Holy Spirit.

In the name of the one who has raised up generations of leaders to eventually lead me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Mark 10: 42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Inspect:

This scripture keeps speaking to me. The world’s rulers are in the mode of using their authority to further their own interests. The Lord’s way is just the opposite. The Lord taught that leaders should be driven by helping others. They must identify the needs of others and do whatever is in their power to meet them. Jesus goes further to say if we want to be the first, we must be slave to everyone else. I think this means to go further, because as a slave, we need to yield our very rights to everyone else. Not just to serve, but to give up our life for others.

Jesus did not only teach this, but he did it Himself. Jesus gave up His life that we all could live. He became a slave, giving up all of His rights so that we might live.

Commit:

I need to do this. I must not try to help myself. I need to help others. I must not try to have others do my will, I must give up my will, so that they will give up their will as well.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how Jesus lead and saved others. Please help me to do things His way. Help me to serve others. That way I can lead them to you. Help me to be the slave of everyone else, so that I can lead them to salvation. Take out my pride, my greed and my fear.

In the name of the one who did served me, who became my slave, so that He could save me and make me His disciple, Jesus.

Amen.

Rhema:

Mark 9: 30 Leaving that region, they traveled through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was there, 31 for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them.

Inspect:

Jesus never asks us to do anything He wouldn’t do Himself. In the Great Commission, He commands us to go out and make disciples. Making disciples goes beyond making believers; it involves teaching and modeling so that their behaviors are changed into sons of God. It can be tempting to spend all of our time evangelizing with all of its immediate gratification. Jesus could have spent His time gaining the glory of the crowds by performing miracles and His dynamic speaking, but here we see that He balanced that time with spending private time with His disciples. Jesus remaining time on earth was limited, and He needed to prepare His disciples to be able to carry out the Great Commission, that is to make disciples that make disciples.

Making disciples needs to be done away from the crowds. There is teaching that the crowds would not understand. There is coaching that cannot be done in public. There are questions that cannot be heard by those who do haven’t been through it before.

We need to make time away from the crowds to disciple and be discipled. We need to balance time away from the immediate gratification of miracles and cheering to the understand the value of investing in the spiritual growth of another.

Commit:

I need to balance my time. I must invest time into discipleship. I must make time away from others to invest in private time to make disciples.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how Jesus made disciples. Please help me to balance my life, to make sure that I invest time into making disciples. Help me to draw away from the crowds and to find fulfillment into the long but necessary process of making disciples.

In the name of the one who made disciples that made disciples that eventually helped me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Mark 8: 34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

Inspect:

People followed Jesus for all kinds of reasons. Many followed Jesus to have their physical needs met. They were hungry so Jesus fed them. They were sick so Jesus healed them. They were bored so Jesus entertained them. But here Jesus described the kind of followers that He wanted. He wanted followers, who were not interested in themselves, but were willing to sacrifice for others. Jesus wanted those that did what He did. Jesus took up His cross, which were the sins of others, so that He could set them free. I believe that Jesus, is looking for people to take up the cross that they are to carry. I believe we are given individual crosses to bear, ministries that we need to do, that no one else can. These ministries can be done, but requires sacrifice. When we give up our lives, God will use it to bless others, just as Jesus did when He sacrificed His life on the cross. And in the same when, God raised Jesus from the dead, in effect saving Jesus from death, in this way will Jesus will save our lives. We sacrifice our sinful, selfish lives and Jesus will resurrect us as righteous and loving. Where our sin and selfishness caused us to be impoverished and afflicted, God’s love and righteousness will cause us to be blessed and whole.

Commit:

I need to give up my self, my dreams, my will and put it down. Just as Jesus laid down His life, I must lay down my life. I must trust Jesus will raise me up. It may not be right away, but it will happen.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to minister as your Son ministered. Help me to sacrifice my life, so that others will be saved. Help me to know that you will resurrect me.

In the name of the one who gave up everything for me, who will me to give up everything for Him, Jesus!

Amen.