Online Journals

Rhema:

Amos 5: 21 “I hate all your show and pretense—
the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
22 I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.
I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
23 Away with your noisy hymns of praise!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,
an endless river of righteous living.

Inspect:

What a sobering word from the Lord. God is saying that He doesn’t just dislike hypocrisy, He downright HATES it!

When feasts and fasts became just form instead of expressing true praise and passion, the Lord hates it.

When offerings no longer are given cheerfully with a heart of gratitude, the Lord will no longer accept it.

When singing and the playing of instruments are not offered in spirit and truth, the Lord will no longer listen to it.

So what does the Lord want?

He wants to see justice. He wants to see us to act justly, to deal with the good to make it better. To act justly is to deal with wrongs and make it go away.

The Lord wants us to see a life that is an ongoing series of thinking right, speaking right and doing right.

Commit:

I need to be so careful here. I must focus on justice and righteousness. Feasting, fasting, giving and worship are important only if I do it with justice and righteousness, in spirit and in truth. If I don’t the Lord will HATE it. What the Lord wants is justice and righteousness from me.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father I thank you speaking to me so clearly about what you expect from me. Please send me your Holy Spirit so that I will act justly, act righteously as much, and as long as I can.

In the name of the one who hates my hypocrisy and will help me to be righteous and just, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

2 Timothy 3: 10 But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance.

Inspect:

This is Timothy’s spiritual father, Paul talking to him. Paul wanted to impart:

- Know what I teach – the disciple needs to know what is being taught. Faith is based on knowledge and knowledge on the Word of God. Paul taught from the Word and Timothy needed to do so as well.
- Know how I live – the disciple needs to know how to live life. How life is lived can either help or hurt the teaching. A poorly lead life can negate a masterful lesson, while a well-lead life can amplify any lesson.
- Know what my purpose in life is – the disciple needs to know the intent of the teaching, the purpose of his life. The purpose of Paul’s life was to make disciples, to build people that could build people
- Know faith, patience, love and endurance – the disciple needs to see a demonstration of faith, patience, love and endurance. These are the essentials that will bring about the teaching, the life and the purpose.

I believe that this is the way of discipleship. It needs to go beyond teaching. I must show life and purpose. It must inspire and instruct the disciple to build their faith, patience, love and endurance.

Commit:

I must be a good disciple, I must understand the teaching, the life and purpose of those that God put over me. I must learn to build my faith, patience, love and endurance.

I must be a good master, I must not just teach, I must show my life, I must be true to God’s purpose. My faith, patience, love and endurance must be model for my disciples.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to be a disciple and to make disciples. Please help me to go beyond teaching, to live right and to have a clear and determined purpose. Help me to strengthen my faith, patience, love and endurance.

In the name of the one who has built amazing disciples who built amazing disciples and will build me into an amazing disciple, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Timothy 5: 21 I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the holy angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone.

Inspect:

The words “solemnly command” really got my attention. There are times when it may not be clear that something it the Bible is a suggestion, or for information, however, here it is very clear this is a “solemn command.” There is no doubt that this is meant for us to do, and failure to do so would be a sin.

We are to obey these instructions without regard to anyone. We are not to show favoritism with anyone. God loves everyone equally. He sent His Son to save everyone. If God paid the ultimate price for everyone, who are we to treat anyone as any less? We cannot.

Commit:

I must obey this command. I must treat everyone equally. I must not take sides.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you being clear of what you want me to do. Please help me in this, to treat everyone equally. Please help me to not take sides with anyone. I must love everyone as you do, equally and not taking sides.

In the name of the one who will help me to love everyone as He does, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Timothy 4: 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. 15 Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

Inspect:

This is coach Paul mentoring his spiritual son Timothy. The first was that although a gift is freely given, he needs to invest in it. The spiritual gift must be protected. The spiritual gift must be exercised to make it stronger. Timothy is told that give it his complete attention. Focus is important. A gift is given to be used and developed, never neglected. Timothy is told to throw himself into it, there is no turning back, commit to it all the way. Paul tells him that he needs pay attention to the details of his life and work.

The final instruction was that to do it all for the sake of Christ who gave us salvation. We need to do it to save others.

We are Timothy’s. We need to accept these teachings. We all have received spiritual gifts. So what Paul tells Timothy, applies totally to us.

Commit:

I must accept Paul teaching to Timothy for me as well. I must not neglect my gifts. I must focus, commit and do it with attention to details.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for teaching me as Paul taught Timothy. Please help me to handle the gift that you’ve given me with care. Help me to invest in it, to dedicate and commit to it. Let me remember that I’m doing this for you who has purchased my salvation , and for others to lead them to salvation.

In the name of the one who has given me the gifts and will help me to build them for your sake and others, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Timothy 3: 1 This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder,[a] he desires an honorable position.” 2 So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife.[b] He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. 3 He must not be a heavy drinker[c] or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?
6 An elder must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall.[d] 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

Inspect:

What does it take to be a leader in the church? First of all to want to be a leader is a good thing. It is investing in the gifts that God has given you to do good for the kingdom.

- His life must be above reproach. He or she must be well thought of by others.
- He must be faithful to his wife. He or she must honor their covenant to their spouse.
- He must exercise self-control. He or she must not “lose it.” They must be considered in their actions and reactions.
- Live wisely. Wisdom must be exercised in their lives, decisions should not be made foolishly.
- Good reputation. Must have a reputation that is considered good and not looked down upon.
- Must enjoy having guests in their home. God welcomes us into his spiritual home, we must welcome others into our home as well.
- Must be able to teach. Must be able to increase the knowledge and wisdom of others.
- Must not be a heavy drinker. Must be self-controlled and not given to addictions.
- Must not be violent. Should not use violence to get things done.
- Must be gentle. Must not be destructive.
- Must not be quarrelsome. Should not love to argue.
- Must not love money. Money should not be the top priority in their lives.
- Must manage their own family well. Is able to lead the family and manage the household.
- Must be a mature believer.

As leaders, we must build leaders. We need to build these traits in ourselves and in others.

Commit:

I must strengthen these traits in myself to be a good leader for the church. I must also teach others to be good leaders as well.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing us what it takes to be a good leader. Please send your Holy Spirit to be a good leader. Please help me to teach others to be a good leader as well.

In the name of the one who put the desire in me to be a leader and will help me to be a good leader, no matter how long it takes, Jesus!

Amen

Rhema:

2 Kings 4: 38 Elisha now returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. One day as the group of prophets was seated before him, he said to his servant, “Put a large pot on the fire, and make some stew for the rest of the group.”
39 One of the young men went out into the field to gather herbs and came back with a pocketful of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the pot without realizing they were poisonous. 40 Some of the stew was served to the men. But after they had eaten a bite or two they cried out, “Man of God, there’s poison in this stew!” So they would not eat it.
41 Elisha said, “Bring me some flour.” Then he threw it into the pot and said, “Now it’s all right; go ahead and eat.” And then it did not harm them.

Inspect:

What a great example of faith in leadership.

During this time there was a shortage of food in the land, so these prophets of God didn’t have a lot of choice in what they had to eat. So Elisha had them put a large pot on the fire so that they could eat together. Unfortunately, someone who probably didn’t understand how to gather food and cook went out and gathered what he didn’t know was poisonous gourds. When the stew was served, someone fortunately recognized that the stew was poisonous.

When Elisha was told about it, he took some flour and declared it safe to eat. I find this so amazing. I am certain that it wasn’t the flour that made the stew safe to eat, it was a miracle that God performed. The act of putting in the flour was a prophetic act so that God would be glorified, and their faith would be increased. Those that ate the meal, stretched out their faith and ate it, believing that God had made it safe to eat.

God puts leaders over us. Sometimes even in the act of obedience we mess up, but all is not lost. God will always make a way to provide all of our needs and grow our faith in the process. We need to keep trusting in the leaders that God put over us and in our God who will never let us down.

Commit:

I need to trust those that God has put over me, that when they ask us to do something, I need to just do it. I need to realize that there will be times that I mess up, but God will make it right.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this lesson in trusting you. Help me to know that you will always make things right, even when I do screw up. Help to have faith in you and in the leaders that you put over me.

In the name of the one who leads me and watches over me and rights all the wrongs that I do, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Timothy 1: 5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. 6 But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. 7 They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently.

Inspect:

I think why this scripture caught my eye, that Paul is saying that the purpose of his instruction is that we are filled with love. This surprise is not just to me, because this scripture indicates that others like me have missed the point too! We have taken Paul’s teachings and have engaged in meaningless discussions, wanting to one-up each other to be recognized as teachers. But this is not the point. The point is not to win arguments or to be recognized as a teacher. Paul states very clearly that the purpose of the teaching is that we would be filled with love from a pure heart, clear conscious and genuine faith.

We have to be sure our motivation is right. Let’s take the teachings of the Lord and use it help others to have a pure heart, to have a clear conscience and to grow a genuine faith so that they will be filled with love.

Commit:

I must teach for the right reason. I must do not for myself but for others, to have them filled with love. I must not be motivated by ego in this.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for reminding me the purpose of your instruction. Please send me your Holy Spirit to only teach for the right reason. Don’t let me do it for my affirmation by trying to win arguments, have clever discussions or to be identified as a great teacher. Let me only do it so that others may be filled with love. Help me to teach them to have a pure heart, a clear conscience and a genuine faith.

In the name of the one who fills me with love, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Colossians 3: 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Inspect:

As a representative of someone we have a two-way responsibility. The first is way is that we bring back communications from others to the person we represent. We bring back needs and messages back as accurately as we can. The other way is what this scripture is addressing, we represent this person to others. What we do and say is not done on our own, but as an accurate reflection of the person we reflect.

So in order to represent accurately the Lord Jesus in our speech we need to truthful and loving, knowledgeable and wise, graceful and merciful among a whole lot more of the traits of our Lord. Our actions should be the same, they should be gentle and nurturing, constructive and purposeful, tireless and with excellence among much more. We must not do it our way, because we are not representing ourselves, we’re representing our Lord. We don’t want people to see us, we want to see the Lord.

And we do it do it with thanks. Our gratitude should come with the realization that if God didn’t love us and sacrifice for us, we would not have a life. So we need to show our gratitude by representing all that He is so that others can be saved as well.

Commit:

I need to remember that there is nothing that I do or say which does not reflect on the Lord. I must be careful, really careful to show the truth and love in my speech and my actions, because this brings life to people. Representing myself to others, only brings death. My choice.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father I thank you for showing me my role and responsibility. This is a tough one that the only way I can do this is with the Holy Spirit. Please let the Holy Spirit transform my speech and actions to be representative of your Son. Let me sound like Him. Let me look like Him. Use me to draw attention to Him and not myself.

In the name of the one who never wanted to draw attention to Himself, but always tried to represent the Heavenly Father, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

1 Kings 19: 19 So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field. There were twelve teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. 20 Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!”
Elijah replied, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.”
21 So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.

Inspect:

This passage describes the great prophet Elijah calling to service, the prophet that God said would replace him.

Elijah found Elisha hard at work. Here was a man of means as he was in charge of at least 12 teams. However, we see that Elisha himself was working the fields. He probably didn’t have to, but here was a man that was a hard worker.

Elijah went over to Elisha, took off his mantle and put it on Elisha. In those days this was a very solemn ceremony. It spoke not just of passing on the authority, but also of placing the disciple under the protection and provision of the mentor. By accepting the mantle, Elisha demonstrates his submission and acceptance of the calling to leave what he is doing and follow Elijah.

We see that Elisha took the oxen sacrificed them and roasted the meat on a fire fueled by the plow he was just using. This was an act of “burning bridges,” Elisha was not going back to the old ways, he was moving forward. He then followed Elijah as an assistant. This further demonstrated his obedience and humility willing to humble himself and serve Elijah until the time came for him to take over. How unlike the world today, when often the successor is someone who impatiently waits for the mentor to hand over the reins without investing the time to learn by serving.

Commit:

I must know humble and submit myself. I realize that I am called to serve the Lord. I must submit and serve those that have been put over me until the time comes for me. I must move forward and not backwards.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for this lesson is submission and obedience. I thank you for calling me into your service. Please help me to humble myself and submit to authority. Help me to learn by serving and to be patient until your time for me comes.

In the name of the one who has put his mantle upon me, the one who will protect, provide and train me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

2 Chronicles 16: 7 At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. 8 Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians[e] and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers?[f] At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them over to you. 9 The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.”
10 Asa became so angry with Hanani for saying this that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. At that time Asa also began to oppress some of his people.
Summary of Asa’s Reign
11 The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians. 13 So he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

Inspect:

What a valuable lesson of trust.

King Asa early in his reign won a major victory over a larger force and more powerful force of Ethiopians and Libyans because he trusted in the Lord. Unfortunately, later in his reign when threatened by enemies, instead of relying again on the Lord, the King took valuables from the God’s Temple and used it to gain the support of a neighboring king. So God sent the prophet Hanani to warn him. Unfortunately, King Asa was stubborn, and rather than changing his ways, through the prophet into prison. This refusal to put his trust in the Lord extended to his own illness. Here we see that King Asa developed a serious foot disease, but instead of asking the Lord to help, the King relied solely on physicians. As a result he died.

Clearly stubbornness is not good. Here we see that it can not only rob us of victory over enemies, but it can also lead to our death. It is obvious in this passage of scripture that if King Asa had humbled himself and brought himself back to relying on God for solutions, he would have been healed and he would have enjoyed peace from his enemies.

Given the choice between stubbornness and humility, let’s choose humility.

Commit:

I need to choose humility. I must learn that I cannot rely on myself or others, I must rely on God.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me the danger of stubbornness. Please help me to rely on you. Help me to see that reliance on you brings about peace and provision.

In the name of the one who will never disappoint me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Philippians 4: 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Inspect:

Paul’s closing comments to the Christ followers in Phillipi is so good! He commands us to fix our thoughts. There are many things we can think of, we need to realize that we are in control of our thoughts, it is our responsibility and within our ability to choose what we think about. So we are commanded to…

- Things that are true vs. things that are not true. What benefit would it be to focus on untruth? If we focus on things that are not true, how will that help us? If we don’t know the truth, we won’t have a reference point, we won’t know true north, we won’t know what 12 inches are, or a pound. We won’t know what the right is. So will benefit so much more from focusing on the truth. What is the truth? It is God’s Word.
- Things that are honorable vs. things that not honorable. Similarly, if we focus on the honorable, then we know what we need to do to earn the honor of God and of men. We become a blessing to them and as a result become blessed ourselves.
- Things that are right vs. things that are wrong. By knowing things that are right, we will know things that are wrong. But knowing things that are wrong, won’t get us to the right. We need to know what God’s will is in every situation, that is the right.
- Things that are pure vs. things that are impure. If we know what purity is, then we have a clear vision to go to. If we only know what impurity is, we won’t know when we get there. Christ set the example for pure living in every part of His life, in His dealings with the people, we see the purity of his attitude, motives and actions.
- Things that are lovely vs. things that are unlovely. This is so neat, that God wants us to know things that are lovely vs. things that are not. We need to know what things appeal to the harmony, balance and beauty that is part of all of God’s creation.
- Things that are admirable vs. things that are despised. We need to know what God and people admire. Qualities that God desires and wants to see in us.

Paul reminds that we need to focus on things of excellence and worthy of praise. We need to increase our understanding of things that are done well, things that are recognized and spoken of as excellent.

Finally, we need to put it into practice. I believe Paul never asked his disciples to do something that he wouldn’t. So Paul not only thought of these things, he put them into practice as well. I believe this is why he was such a blessing. He focused his thinking, and then he put it into practice.

Commit:

I want to be like Paul. That means I must first focus my thoughts and control my thinking. I must think about the excellent way that Christ did everything. Then I must put it into practice. Thinking creates the vision, the plan on how to implement excellence in the situation in front of me. Then I must execute it. I must trust that the excellent way that Christ did it, will be the best way for my situation as well.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to get your blessing and your peace. Please send me your Holy Spirit to help me to control my thinking. Please guide my thinking according to this scripture. Align it to these things and away from the things that I shouldn’t think about. Please then help me to do it. Just do it. Let me trust your ways and not my ways.

In the name of the one who transforms my mind and heart to think and do it with excellence, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Philippians 3: 12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,[d] but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Inspect:

God has a plan for us. His plan is to perfect us into the person that He meant us to be. Our plan needs to do what God wants us to do to make that happen. Unfortunately, this is going to be a journey that involves setback and detours. Our encouragement here is that Paul has experienced the same thing, he too suffered setbacks and detours. So how did Paul get through it? He looked forward. Paul didn’t let the things behind him hold him back and discourage him from getting to where God wants him. So Paul kept moving forward, looking for where God wants him and getting there. So we need to as well, we need to take each setback and detour and put it behind us. We then need to press forward. Instead of focusing back, we need to focus forward and see where God wants us.

I remember a statement by the famous hockey player Wayne Gretsky, where he was complimented for being such a great player. Gretsky, said that instead of speeding to where the puck is, he would go where the puck is going to be. I think this is what we need to do, instead of focusing on where we were or where we are, we need to focus on where God wants us to be and get there.

Commit:

I must stop focusing on the past and where I am. I must focus on where you want me to go. If I’m to go forward, I must focus forward.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank for showing me what I need to do to be the person you want me to be. Please help me to focus on moving forward. Don’t let me focus back or even where I am. Send me your Holy Spirit to keep my eyes looking forward to where you want me to be.

In the name of the one who will lead to the place where He can perfect me, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Philippians 2
Have the Attitude of Christ
1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,[a]
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b];
he took the humble position of a slave[c]
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,[d]
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Inspect:

There’s so much good stuff in this chapter of Philippians which made it difficult to choose. But this is the one.

It begins with a challenge, a question to me to consider how my behavior and attitude differ since I belong to Christ. If I truly belong to Christ than I must be like Him, my behavior and attitude must be like His, otherwise how can I truly say that I belong to Him? He loves me and sacrificed for me, and wants to lead me. Just as Christ gave up everything to lead others to the Father, Christ wants to lead me to do the same, to equip me so that I can lead others to Him.

So I need to:

- Not be selfish. My motivation should be to do things to bless others and not myself. Christ did nothing for Himself, He gave up His position, His everything to serve others.
- Don’t try to impress others. My motivation is to not draw attention to self. Christ did everything to draw attention to the Father and not to Himself.
- Be humble, thinking others as better than self. My motivation is to not try and make myself look better than anyone else. Christ did everything to lift others up, He didn’t try to make Himself look better than anyone else. After all, He died so that others might live vs. the world’s way is to have others put down, so that you might be elevated.
- Don’t look out for your own interests, but in others too. My motivation is to prioritize the interests of others ahead of my own. Christ did that. His whole life centered around the interest of others. He died so that others might live, He suffered so that others wouldn’t need to, He went to others, so that they didn’t need to come to Him.

This is the attitude and behaviors that need to be exhibited by those that belong to Christ. Christ showed us how He did this, we need to follow his example. We are encouraged that He will give us the desire and the ability.

13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Commit:

I need to do this. I belong to Christ, so I must have His attitude, I must do as He does.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father I thank you that you have allowed me to belong to you. I claim the promise of Your Word, that you will give me the desire and the power to do what pleases you. I cannot do it without your promise. There are times when the desire is not there, and I do exactly the opposite of your Son does. Sometimes I have the desire but not the power, and again I do exactly the opposite of your Son. So please help me, send Your Holy Spirit to give me the desire and the power.

In the name of the one I belong to, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Philippians 1: 28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.

Inspect:

I love this verse! The command is that when we have enemies, we are not to be frightened or intimidated by them. Instead we are told to stand up to them, that we are going to be defended by God himself. By not backing down, we are actually showing them that we believe our God will save us. Yes!

This obviously takes trust in the Lord. We need to trust in His love and His ability. We must know that God will never stop loving us, ever. We must know that God is able to take out anything that comes against us. There is no enemy that can stand against God’s power!

I believe that this is not an act of courage but of trust. It is not that we believe we are braver or stronger than our enemy, it is simply trusting that God’s care and power means that He will save us.

Commit:

I must trust the Lord and stand without intimidation. I must also realize that this standing up is a witness to the enemy that the Lord loves me and can take care of me. This may do more than save me, this realization may lead my enemy to be saved as well.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how I should stand up to my enemies. I really need your Holy Spirit in this. I need a constant reminder of this promise when the enemy arises against me. Let the Holy Spirit remind me of your unfailing love and your unstoppable power.

In the name of the one who will save me from every enemy, always, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Ephesians 6: 5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.

Inspect:

Just as we do our best for God because of respect, fear and love, we need to do our best for our earthly masters. Just as we need to please God all the time, because He truly sees us all the time, we need to please our earthly masters all the time, not because they see us all the time, because they don’t, but God does. We need to do it with a sense obligation, but with enthusiasm and with all of our heart, mind and souls. Even though we might feel that we won’t get the recognition or reward, the promise of this scripture is that God will reward each one of us for the good that we do.

Commit:

I must try to always remember this. No matter who I do something for, I must do it as to the Lord. That means in fear and respect and in love. That means with full heart and enthusiasm, with full sincerity.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father I thank you for reminding me that everything I do, I need to remember it is for you. You have put me in the place that you have, with the authorities over me that you have. So whatever I do, wherever I do and for whomever I do it, it is for you. So I may not fear or respect or love them as I should, but I need to , because I should fear and respect and love you. Help me, I can’t do this without your help. Help me to do my very best, sincerely, all the time.

In the name of the one who did this Himself, in obedience to even the earthly authorities that the Heavenly Father had put over Him, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Ecclesiastes 10: 1 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink,
so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.

Ephesians 5: 15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Inspect:

Both of these scripture speak to the same issue that we need to be careful about our behavior.

In Ecclesiastes, we are warned that it only takes a bit of foolishness to offset a lot of wisdom and honor. It seems unfair that it isn’t more equitable that it would take a lot of foolishness to offset a lot of wisdom and honor. However, I believe that is the spiritual principle in that it is never a matter of balancing foolishness and wisdom, it is not just trying to do more wisdom than foolishness.

In Ephesians, we see the teaching reinforced. Here Paul warns us to act wisely and not thoughtlessly or foolishly. We are told that we need understand what the Lord wants us to and then to do it with wisdom. We are warned to be careful.

I believe the Lord wants us to focus on doing His will, which does not include acting foolishly. We cannot think about balancing foolish and wise and just try to do more wise than foolish. God is a Holy God, and He wants us to be Holy. The encouragement is that God gave us His Son so that our lives are redeemed from foolishness and we are born again to wisdom and honor. The encouragement is that Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit to transform us every day from foolishness to wisdom and honor. Our part is to accept Jesus and submit to the Holy Spirit.

Commit:

I must be on guard against the temptation to act foolishly. I must try always to act wisely in honor and wisdom. I must not try and do it on my own strength, instead I must remember that I am redeemed from old foolish nature, it is a defeated and behind me. I must submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit who will equip me to find the way to act with wisdom and honor in every situation.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for warning me about foolishness. Please help me to remember that my foolish self has been crucified with Christ on the cross and has no hold on me. Please send your Holy Spirit to transform my heart, mind and spirit to act with wisdom, and honor in each and every situation.

In the name of the one who redeemed me from foolishness and sends the Holy Spirit to lead me to wisdom and honor, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Ecclesiastes 8: 2 Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would. 3 Don’t try to avoid doing your duty, and don’t stand with those who plot evil, for the king can do whatever he wants. 4 His command is backed by great power. No one can resist or question it. 5 Those who obey him will not be punished. Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, 6 for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble.

Inspect:

I think the reason why this is rhema to me is because the relevance to today. We may not have pledged allegiance to a king, but most of us have agreed to work under a boss. Our employment contract whether explicit or implicit binds us to act in obedience to our boss and in return we get to keep our job. So this portion of scripture applies to us today.

- Obey the king since you vowed to God that you would. When we work, we submit ourselves under the authority of our bosses, who God has placed over us. Our obedience to God needs to be expressed in our obedience to our bosses.
- Don’t try to avoid doing our duty. We must work to the best of our ability. We give it all of our experience, skill and strength.
- Don’t stand with those who plot evil. We must not associate ourselves who seek to defy, deny or decry the purpose of the work place. We must be in unity with the mission of the organization.
- The king can do whatever he wants. The leadership of the company can do what they want, our job is to obey. This is the same with God. God can do whatever He wants and we need to obey. We need to trust that what He does is for our good, even though we may not understand it at the time.
- Those who obey will not be punished. God will punish us for not obeying because He loves us and wants the best for us. When we disobey our bosses, we give them the right to punish us, because they are responsible for keeping the workplace running correctly.
- Those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble. At times we might find it difficult to obey, but the promise here is that the wise will find a way to do it. Through God all things are possible, there is no problem that God cannot solve. So if we are obedient to God, He will help us to find a way for us obey those that He put over us, because He doesn’t want us to fail.

So, we need to apply this instructions for obedience to the king, to help us honor God in obedience to the boss.

Commit:

I must do this. God has put bosses over me. I must patiently do the best that I can to obey the boss. I believe God will help me to find a way to obey every command.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you that your instructions are timeless. What you gave thousands of years ago is useful for this very moment. Please help me to see that obedience to the bosses you have put over me is the same as obeying you. Help me to see that you will judge and punish those that disobey you, so you will judge and punish those that disobey the boss. In the same way as you have rewarded those who obey you, you will reward those that obey the boss that you put over me. Finally help me to remember that you will provide me all knowledge and wisdom needed to obey you and those you have put over me.

In the name of the one who obeyed the Father even to death, and will help me to be obedient as well, Jesus!
Amen.

7 Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.

Inspect:

It is a sobering thought when the wisest man in the world, King Solomon tells us something, I pay attention. After all the source of his knowledge was from God himself.

King Solomon warns us to be very careful in what we say to the Lord. We are not to make promises in a casual fashion. We may get tempted thinking that either God really doesn’t hear us, or His mercy is so great that He will excuse us from our promises. I believe that God loves us too much to permit that. If we aren’t serious about what we say to God, we get careless with what we say to others. Pretty soon no one believes us, and we also don’t believe ourselves. Our lives begin to spiral away as we spend more and more time daydreaming and doing things which have no purpose.

If we want to be successful, if we want to gain influence then we need to live a life of purpose and have a reputation that we will deliver on whatever we promise. I believe that we need to start with God. We are to be careful speaking to Him, only making promises that we intend to keep. We need to fear God’s judgment and punishment. As we do, God himself will help us to obey Him, we will begin to build our integrity. We become more purposeful and develop a reputation of credibility.

Commit:

I now better understand how blessings and wisdom and knowledge begin with the fear of God. This fear will help me to take seriously what I say to the Lord. This will help me to grow in the Lord, and build my character and credibility. This sit he path to blessing.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to avoid daydreaming and useless activity. Please help me to fear you. Help me to take everything that I say to you seriously, knowing that you love me too much to allow me to become careless with my speech. I ask that you help me to be the person that you want me to be, with purpose and credibility.

In the name of the one who will grow me into the image of Himself, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Ephesians 2: 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

Inspect:

It is so amazing how God chooses to build His house. Unlike how people build a house by picking and choosing what goes in and what is left out. This scripture tells us God’s better way. God takes everyone. God puts us all together, and together we become His house. No one is left out. There is no in or out, everyone who comes will be in as together.

There is a however here, though. All the parts of a house must rest on the foundation. The foundation provides a stable base, a common platform and a boundary for all the parts of the home. Our foundation is the work and words of the apostles and prophets. These mighty men and women of God gave up their lives to faithfully convey God’s Word and minster to the people. The critical portion of the foundation is the cornerstone. The cornerstone controls the whole integrity of the foundation and therefore of the entire house. So, we must rest and guide all of our thoughts, feelings and actions on the example set by Jesus Christ.

When all of these come together, we have an amazing temple for the Lord. The temple is a place of worship for the Lord, and what better worship than that which includes everyone, built upon the sacrifice of the apostles and prophets and aligned and guided by Lord Jesus Christ himself? There is nothing better!

Commit:

I want to be a part of God’s house. That means I must be inclusive, I must join together with everyone else who wants to be a part of the house. I must stand together with everyone on the word and works of the apostles and prophets. I must be aligned and bounded by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for choosing to build your house with all of us. Help me to be a part of your house. Help me to not put boundaries between me and anyone else. Help me to stand firmly on those that went before me. Help me to be in perfect alignment with your Son. The Lord Jesus has shown and is showing me how to stand. Help me to bring others in to be part of your house. Help me to bring them in, plant their feet and set their direction.

In the name of the cornerstone of the house, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Proverbs 31: 10 [g]Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.

Inspect:

The capable and virtuous wife is one of the most precious things that God gives to us men. Capability is the capacity of being able. A capable wife is described by God’s Word is being knowledgeable and wise in the provision and protection of her family. A virtuous woman fears the Lord and acts with dignity and purity. Either alone would be good, but both having both in the same is extremely valuable.

Only God can grant these gifts. Us guys can’t make this happen. We may try to find this rare woman who has the combination of grace and virtue, but she may not be available and worse yet she may not like us. But God will give promised to withhold no good thing from us. If we are faithful to Him, He will be faithful to us and provide each one of us the perfect women of virtue and capability.

Commit:

I know this is true, because God has given me this virtuous and capable wife. I must pray for the same for my sons, natural and spiritual.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for giving me a wife that is more precious than anything else. I ask that you provide wives that are virtuous and capable for my two sons and for all my spiritual sons as well.

In the name of the one who will provide these precious wives at the perfect time, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Proverbs 29: 25 Fearing people is a dangerous trap,
but trusting the Lord means safety.

Inspect:

This proverb explains a lot. When we fear people, we start our way down a slippery slope. We fear losing their acceptance. We fear losing their respect. We fear losing their love. The trap that we fall in is that this fear causes us try to please them and unfortunately trying to please people is to come down to their level, or even lower. This means compromising our integrity, our purity, our strength among other things. This compromise leads us further and further down. A dangerous trap because we don’t realize it because we’re acting out of fear.

However, if we trust God, we are safe. When we trust in God, we don’t have compromise our integrity, purity and strength. We trust that God will protect us from anything that person could ever do to us. We trust that God can protect us from anything in all of creation.

Commit:

I must remember to not fear any person. They may be able to destroy my body, my career or my property, but they cannot touch my soul. God protects my soul, and no body or no thing can ever get through God.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me the right way. So often I fear people, where I should be fearing God. So often I should be trusting God, but instead I trust people. Please send me the Holy Spirit to do things right. Help me to fear you and not people.

In the name of the one who will keep me safe from all people and all things, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Proverbs 25: 6 Don’t demand an audience with the king
or push for a place among the great.
7 It’s better to wait for an invitation to the head table
than to be sent away in public disgrace.

Inspect:

This is great advice in dealing with those in authority, especially when one considers that the writer of this proverb is the ultimate human authority in the land King Solomon himself. The King probably dealt with a lot of people who were self-promoters who pushed their way into the presence of the king, or tried to become one of the inner circle. One could imagine that some of these guys were called on their presumptuousness and asked to leave, how embarrassing this would be!

The wise way is to wait for recognition. It is to remain humble and trust that God who sees all things in secret or in private will reward those that obey Him. God is just, and He will place us in positions of influence at the best time for the situation and for us. God will bring about the invitation, which is His promise. We must do our part which is to do what He commands. We see this pattern many times in the Bible with Daniel, Joseph and Esther as a few examples. They all were faithful in the obedience of God and as a result God caused them to be invited into positions of influence and authority.

So the lesson here is to not focus on the invitation or getting into the company of the influential, because the danger is that our timing will be wrong and we will be disgraced. Instead we focus on the Lord, being obedient to Him, and He will bring us the invitations the opportunities to join the influential. We need to trust that God will do this with perfect timing.

Commit:

I need to be patient and obedient. I need to maintain my focus on the Lord and strive to obey Him in every part of my life. I need to trust that at the perfect time, God will causes those in authority to invite me in. God will cause me to be in the company of the influential when the time and place are right.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for giving me this lesson in trusting you. Please help me to obey you in every part of my life. Help me to focus on this as a goal, and not on attaining positions and the company of individuals. Help me to be patient, trusting that you know me better than anybody and you know the situation better than anyone, so that when you cause the invitation , it will be the perfect time. Help me to not force the situation, moved by impatience. Help me to work diligently and obediently and wait for your time.

In the name of the one who will help me to remain obedient to the will of the Father, and to wait for the perfect timing of the Holy Spirit, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Proverbs 24: 5 The wise are mightier than the strong,
and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.
6 So don’t go to war without wise guidance;
victory depends on having many advisers.

Inspect:

The world tends to crave strength over wisdom. The world tends to fear strength more than wisdom. The world tends to use strength more than wisdom. However, this is not God’s way. Where the world values strength, God tells us here that it is wisdom and knowledge that will get the victory and not the strong. I believe that the reason that wisdom and knowledge can overcome strength is because of the limitations of strength. The value of strength can only be realized if it is used at the correct way, in the correct place and at the correct time, if not then the strength will go to waste. Wisdom and knowledge can overcome strength by causing it to be used in the wrong way or in the wrong place or at the wrong time. Interesting thought, that for strength to work, all three things need to come together i.e. way, place and time, but all it takes for strength to be defeated is to have only one thing go wrong i.e. either way, place or time.

So it does make sense for those with knowledge and wisdom to go stronger and stronger, while those with strength only get weaker and weaker. Those with knowledge and strength will plan and use their strength in a way that overcomes the strong. That’s why the proverb goes on to encourage us to get wise guidance from many advisors. Wise men in their humility realize that their wisdom and knowledge are limited and so will seek other wise guidance. This allows for the wisdom and knowledge to be wider and deeper which leads to more strength and eventual victory.

Commit:

I must develop my wisdom and knowledge. I must humble myself and seek after wise guidance from many advisors. I must not rely on my own strength to achieve victory.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me Your way to achieve victory. Of course your ways is the best way because it is so high above any other way. So please send me your Holy Spirit to help me to develop wisdom and knowledge. Your Word tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so I pray that the fear of the Lord be upon me. I have come to realize that the fear of you will motivate me to obey you despite the obstacles. It is during this effort of figure out how to obey you is when you give me your wisdom and knowledge. I also ask you for humility so that I will seek wise guidance from advisors. I believe King Solomon never asks us to do anything he did not do himself, so if King Solomon the wisest guy says to find advisors, then who am I to think that I don’t need advisors. Help me!

In the name of the one who will give me strength through wisdom and knowledge, Jesus!

Amen.

Rhema:

Proverbs 21: 5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity,
but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

Inspect:

It looks like Project Management is a good spiritual principle! I have really learned to love the proverbs from King Solomon. The Lord has gifted him to be the wisest, most knowledgeable person in the world. I think the appeal to me is that I realize that despite his wisdom and knowledge, King Solomon values planning and hard work. I would think with his level of wisdom and knowledge, there would be so much temptation to do things hastily, to take shortcuts because he can figure his way out of the problem or with his wealth, just do it over. However, King Solomon here teaches us that we need to plan well. We need to apply the knowledge and wisdom that we have to sit down and plan before we start doing. We see that in Jeremiah 29:11, that God has plans to prosper us, that means God himself is a planner. Planning is an act of producing order and harmony from chaos, is a creative act that God does, and since we are His children, we should do it as well.

We also see that we must also work hard. I believe that the lesson is that in addition to having a good plan, we must also work hard. A good plan is not worth much if it is not executed diligently. The end result of a good plan and hard work is prosperity. On the other hand, the lack of a plan and taking shortcuts will lead to the ruin of poverty. We need both. If we just work hard be a bad plan, we will just be working hard, without getting good outcomes. Similarly if we have a good plan, but don’t work hard at it, then we wind up with less than optimal results. So we need both.

Commit:

I need to take the time to work out a good plan. I need to use the wisdom and knowledge that God has given me to work out a good plan, not a hasty one. I must also work hard. God never does anything half-way in either completeness or excellence, I must do the same as well. I want to be prosperous, not just for the sake of being blessed for myself, but that I might draw people to God and use the blessing to bless others.

Exalt:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for showing me how to prosper. Please help me to take the time out to plan. Help me with your Holy Spirit to give me your spirit of planning that has your infinite creativity, wisdom and knowledge. Please also help me to work with your spirit of work, that has your completeness and excellence. Help me to not be hasty, worrying that time is being wasted. Help me not to take shortcuts, thinking that it won’t make a difference.

In the name of the one who planned my life well and is working hard to perfect it, Jesus!

Amen.