It's about the Journey

I always marvel when I think about the way God does things. Why did He allow history to unfold for 4,000 years before He sent the Messiah? Why is history still unfolding 2,000 years after the Messiah? Why is there such a long process for everything? Why did Jesus come as a baby, grow up to be a man, & live on the earth 33 years? Why did He wait until age 30 to begin ministry?

It always boggles my mind how much God loves the process. Especially as Americans, we are always looking for the destination, the goal, the achievement, the success, etc. However, God loves the process. Life is not only about the destination; it's about the journey.

Many times we end up frustrated when we think we've arrived at some end goal & realize that it's not all it's cracked up to be. We need to realize, however, that life is about walking with God every step of the way no matter the circumstances. It is only then that we begin to see the journey of life as just a little speed bump in the long road of eternity that is designed to keep us connected to the Master of the Process.

Immanuel: God with Us

What an amazing thing it is that God became flesh & dwelt among us. It was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah that He would be called "Immanuel," which means "God with us" (Is. 7:14). How remarkable it is that God took on a human body & became a little baby (Mt. 1:23).

He became "God dwelling among us" in the flesh (Jn. 1). The disciples could touch Him, talk to Him, eat with Him, & laugh with Him--just like we can with our friends & family. It seemed His death would separate them from that reality.

However, before He died, Jesus promised that He would not leave his disciples as orphans but He would send the Helper who would not only dwell among us, but reside IN US. All who believe in Christ Jesus as their Lord & Savior have Jesus living inside them through the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we near Christmas day & the celebration of Jesus' birth, let us remember to celebrate "God with us"--the living, breathing, loving God who is with us right now. Thank you, Jesus!

They Loved the Praise of Men More than the Praise of God

While reading this morning in John 12, verses 42 & 43 jumped out at me, "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."

It is amazing that even though the Son of God was standing before them performing signs & wonders in a human frame, they did not confess him because of the fear of man. Upon reading this, my first reaction was to cry out in repentance for my own desire for the praise of man & to ask God to root that terrible thing out of my heart. I desire to live before His eyes alone.

My second reaction was to realize how much that longing in the human heart is going to corrupt men & cause them to fall away in the last days. In a public event recently, someone introduced a sermon by putting Jesus on the same level with Buddha, Allah, Hinduism, & Atheism. A clergymen followed the introduction with a sermon that did not correct that information or give any clarity as to who the true God is. That clergyman may have believed in Jesus as the one true God, but he did not stand up & say so in the eyes of the public.

This is terrifying, & the church is going to face this more & more as we near Christ's return. Anyone who does not claim Jesus Christ as the only Way, Truth, & the Life does not know Him or stand for the Truth. As preachers & ministers of the Gospel, we are held accountable when we allow the praise of man to hinder us from our confession. Lord, have mercy & purge us of the fear & praise of man so we can stand on Your truth in the eyes of the world. Amen.

His Gentleness Makes Us Great

I am so overwhelmed at how good God is, & His gentleness. So many times, we are so hard on ourselves & beat ourselves up for never getting anything right. We have these false expectations on ourselves that we can actually get things right. Yet, we are like little kids who are feeling our way through life, not really knowing how to do things. If we do something the wrong way, we beat ourselves up for it.

But a relationship with God is organic & growing. His laws concerning sin are set & we cannot transgress those, but many times, we treat ourselves like sinners for things that are not sin--we just don't know how to do something we think we should know how to do. Maybe we don't handle a relationship situation right, or we are fumbling through decisions concerning life direction or we handle situations a certain way that could have been done better. The Lord doesn't hate us for that, & He doesn't expect us to get it right. It's His gentle leadership that makes us great (Ps. 18:35), & every situation in our lives is designed to get us to talk to Him & ask Him questions. Life is a journey with Jesus. Amen.

The Alpha & Omega: Beginning & End

God is so glorious & faithful! It was amazing to read the entire Bible from "In the beginning" in Genesis 1 to "I am the Alpha & Omega" in Revelation--all in a matter of 4 days. I was forever marked by the fact that we read the Bible in 67 hours & 9 minutes. I know I will never be the same. My life has to change now.

It is amazing how the story of redemption runs through every single book of the Bible. God has always been faithful & the things He does are absolutely amazing. He never drops the ball. He never quits, and His story is the greatest in all the Ages!

Thank you Lord that you never leave us! Thank you that You are so faithful no matter what happens. It is possible to love You more everyday & what an adventure it is! Help us all to love you more & see you rightly, Lord. Oh how beautiful you are!

Bible Marathon: Day 3

Hello! Well, the 72 hr Bible Marathon has been alot faster than that. We are actually in I John 3 right now. We're almost to the end! I accidently overslept & missed alot of the New Testament--I went to sleep in Matthew & woke up in II Corinthians. Haha. I was dissappointed, but its ok. I needed the sleep.

This has been such a precious experience for me. The Holy Spirit has been visiting each one of us who has been doing this, and I think I love the Word of God & Jesus more today than I ever have in my life! He is so precious & He is such a gift to us. Thank you Jesus!

I will update you at the end. I want to be engaged for the Book of Revelation...

72hr Bible Marathon: Day 2

Good Morning!

It's Day 2 of the Bible Marathon & we are in Isaiah 34 right now. This has definitely been an impacting experience for me, & its not over. I am excited about today because we will be reading the Prophets all day long--until around 1am in the night.

I have always tried to read through the Bible--I don't know how many times I have set my heart to read Genesis to Revelation & I always get stuck in the Prophets. I don't think I have ever read all the way through Jeremiah, Lamentations, & Ezekial. I always get stuck there & can never get past it, but today I think I will do it.

Not that it is something to check off my list, but there is really a spirit of wisdom & revelation on this Bible reading (Eph. 1:17). It is amazing the things that are jumping off the page at us. I really want to understand the Word, & it is amazing how it makes so much more sense, when you see the Bible as a whole--what better way than reading it all the way through?!

Reading the Bible thru in 72hrs: Day 1

Today's adventure is a 72 hour Bible reading I am participating in. There is a group of us from the House of Prayer reading Genesis to Revelation straight through in 72 hours, & recording it. We are cutting out everything we can in our personal lives to read as much of the Bible as possible between 6pm Thursday to 6pm Sunday.

To do this, I am sleeping on a classroom floor for a few days. I have slept on many church floors all over the place, & every time I have a cry in my heart to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life (Ps. 27, 84).

The story of Samuel always come to me when I sleep in a place of the Lord. I always ask Him to come & speak to me as he did with young Samuel in I Samuel 3.

We started with Genesis 1 last night & we are in I Kings 2 now. Oh Lord, come & speak & increase our hunger for You!

From Friction to Fire

If you are like me, you are probably always wondering when the pressure is going to lift, when you can stop fighting, when the problems are going to cease, etc...If you are like many people, you may be bitter & angry at God for the injustices you see in the world.

Let me put a challenge to you though. Every single thing in our lives can either draw us closer to God or farther away--it depends on how we carry our hearts in the matter.

Sometimes God allows friction in our lives--like two sticks rubbing together that eventually combust into a flame. That flame turns into a fire that burns up everything in us. Then, we pick up the ashes, hand them to the Lord, and He turns them into beauty (Is. 61, Mk. 8:35).

Unfortunately, many times we abort the mission at the friction process & try to run away from the situation to relieve the tension. However, it is in the presence of our enemies that we find the banqueting table of fellowship with the Lord (Ps. 23).

I challenge you to begin to see every situation as an opportunity to grow closer to the Lord.

The Five-Fold Ministry: The Prophetic

All parts of the body function under the Head, who is Christ & they function in relation to one another, for the benefit of the body as a whole. Although each part is designed to function alongside the other, they rarely do. However, as the Lord prepares His bride for His return, He will restore the five-fold ministry, & the Bride will begin to prefer one another in love & humility--working together.

One of the most controversial & misunderstood roles in the body of Christ is the role of the prophet. In the five-fold ministry, there is an office of a prophet that has been vastly misused, misunderstood, & even neglected.

There are different types of prophetic ministry & prophetic roles, & everyone who has the Holy Spirit living in them is called to prophesy according to the description in I Cor. 14:3 where it says that prophesy is for edification, exhortation & comfort for the Body. Every person is called to do this, but there is also a specific place in the ministry of the church for the office of prophet.

A prophet receives revelation from the Lord & is meant to give vision or restore vision to the people. Many times, a prophet is used to call someone into apostolic ministry & implant or confirm a vision in them for the beginning of a new task or direction. However, the primary role of a prophetic voice is to call the people to return back to the original vision, & turn back to what God intended for them (repentance).

A prophetic voice restores holiness & the fear of the Lord element back into the church, calling them to turn when they are heading the wrong way, & encouraging them forward when they are headed the right way.

This person helps give vision & helps the apostles & teachers understand the times & seasons, & helps encourage them behind the scenes. A prophetic voice also works hand-in-hand with the teacher, who helps establish sound doctrine. These two balance each other out even though they are typically the most opposite personalities.

Most people whose primary gifting is prophetic are good at receiving revelation & seeing what is happening, but they are not always as good at interpreting & applying revelation. This is where team ministry comes into play with the apostles & teachers who can interpret & apply the revelation. Teachers are also typically better communicators than prophets & can more clearly shape the message for the average person to understand.

Lord, help your body to work together & function as a whole. We are so disjointed, Lord, but make us one in Your love.

The Five-Fold Ministry: The Teacher

In addition to apostle, pastor, & evangelist, the teacher is another role in the five-fold ministry. Many of these roles overlap, & many times a pastor also has a teaching gifting--as do others in the body. However, the primary function of a teacher is to establish sound doctrine & ground the body in the sound doctrine of the whole of Scripture.

An apostle primarily preaches the apostolic gospel of the death, burial, resurrection, & return of Christ. An evangelist preaches the salvation message, & a pastor focuses more on matters of an individual's heart. A teacher, however, systematically teaches the whole of Scripture to ensure that sound doctrine is established to balance all of the messages. The message of the teacher typically works hand-in-hand to balance the prophetic ministry which we will see in the next session.

Within the body of Christ, there are usually many people gifted in teaching & it is important to call them into that gifting & allow them to use it because many different perspectives & voices allow for a more thorough view of God. There are so many different aspects of the nature of God & each of us has a tiny picture, but the more voices released means a greater view of the whole nature of God.

Set Me as a Seal Upon Your Heart...

I am taking a break from the five-fold ministry series today to share something on my heart (athough this revelation is foundational to operating in the five-fold ministry).

There comes a point in love where it moves beyond the fulfillment of one's needs & becomes a mature love that is willing to do anything without receiving anything in return. This is unconditional love.

In the New Testament, many apostles referred to themselves as "bondservants" or "bondslaves." A bondslave was a slave who after 7 years of serving a master, made the decision to be bonded to his master for life--not only his life, but the lives of his children after him. This slave would be taken to the doorpost of a house & an awl would be driven through his ear. An earring would be placed in the hole & they would become a bond-slave for life. It was completely voluntary on the part of the slave, & it was the seal of a blood covenant.

Jesus was also called a bondservant (Phil. 2:7). He also entered into a blood covenant & was pierced in the flesh. Jesus called all who would follow Him to enter into this same blood covenant by taking up their cross & following Him (Mk 8).

In Song of Solomon 8:6, the Bride is coming up out of the wilderness after many trials of both favor & persecution. After going through a long process of purification, her love is brought into maturity & she is totally reliant on her Bridegroom--willing to follow Him anywhere & do anything for Him. She says, "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; For love is as cruel as death, Jealousy as cruel as the grave..." She is asking for Him to mark her heart & her arm with a mark of unconditional love that will never be taken away--literally to take a hot branding iron & sear her flesh with an eternal mark of unconditional surrender.

The only way to enter into the unconditional love of Christ is to surrender to Him no matter what it looks like & ask Him to set His seal on your heart. Ask Him how to enter into this blood covenant with Him & to mark you for the point of no return.

The Five Fold Ministry: The Evangelist

One ministry role spoken of in Ephesians 4 is the role of the evangelist. An evangelist is a person with a God-given gift for winning people to Jesus Christ. Evangelists tend to be able to engage in conversations with total strangers easily & they find natural in-roads to preaching the gospel.

A difficulty of an evangelist is that they are typically very mobile & lead people to the Lord, but are not as gifted at discipleship. Many people tell the evangelist that they should disciple the people they lead to the Lord, but actually an evangelist should partner with someone who is pastoral & have them oversee the discipleship aspect. An apostolic person has the tendency to see the evangelistic gifting on a person & see the need for a church to be established because of the new converts. Then, the apostolic person also sees who has a pastoral calling & plugs the new believers into discipleship groups led by a pastoral person. The evangelist should keep evangelizing & utilize team ministry for the discipleship process.

Although an evangelist's primary role is to evangelize, they should also call the body of Christ as a whole into the task of evangelism. An evangelist must exhort, train, & teach others in the body to evangelize--even those who are not gifted in that area. Also, they should equip & encourage the body to receive the new believers & disciple them.

The Five-Fold Ministry: The Pastoral

In Ephesians 4, Paul begins by exhorting the body to walk worthy of the calling that God has over their lives by walking "with all lowliness & gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace..." He goes on in that chapter to speak of the five-fold ministry after stating that Christ first descended before He ascended, which is reminiscent of the humility in Philippians 2 & the seemingly foolish leadership of the Cross in I Corinthians 1 &2.

Paul was teaching that those operating in the five-fold ministry must walk in love, meekness, & humility in order to prefer one another & keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The pastoral role is one of the five-fold ministry gifts. The role of the pastor is to make disciples of Christ & to oversee the overall wholeness & well-being of those who have been brought into the church through salvation. After salvation, the pastor looks after the overall well-being of the person. I believe this may involve teaching & some of the deacon-type ministry (diakonos, see Acts 6:1-5). It may also include some of the bishop (overseer) role (see I Tim. 3). It also includes counseling, inner-healing, basic needs, & life instruction.

Each of the roles of the five-fold ministry may interlap in a person here & there, but the Lord created a five-fold ministry to balance the needs of the people over several different leaders so that one person is not burned out or trying to fill a role that they are not fully gifted in.

The problem is that with the current model of church in America, there is usually one person over the church who tries to fullfill the roles of each of the five-fold ministry. As a result, many people take to "church-hopping" because there may be a teacher at one church, a prophetic person at another church, an evangelist at another church, etc... (There is more to be said about the mentality of church-hopping, however, that is not the topic I am addressing at the moment.)

As a result, many pastors are over-worked & burnt out. However, the church was designed to be a body where each part is working together in submission to the Head, which is Christ. Not only should there be a five-fold ministry present in leadership, but also each member of the body should be activated in their giftings & should also contribute to the body as a whole. It takes humility & meekness between each person involved--especially in leadership, for this goal to be accomplished.

Read Ephesians 4 several times throughout this week of my teaching on the five-fold ministry.

The Five-Fold Ministry: The Apostolic

Recently, I have been thinking alot about the five-fold ministry. This term refers to the passage in Ephesians 4:11, "And He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, & some pastors & teachers..." Paul continues by listing the reasons for this five-fold ministry, "For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith & the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ..."

Paul continues the rest of the passage speaking of how this ministry is to bring up the rest of the saints as a whole into maturity. He begins that chapter speaking on having meekness & humility toward one another.

I have been specifically thinking about the apostolic ministry--what it means to be an apostle. Something that has really stood out to me is that an apostle has the ability to see what needs to be done, notice the giftings on other people, & call them into the giftings that are on their lives.

The sad thing is that many use their apostolic gifting to build their own ministry & establish networks of churches under them that all answer to one person as the head. The true apostolic ministry, however, is to promote Christ as the head, and to promote the maturity of all believers--pushing & pulling others into the fullness of their calling so that the body can be mature as a whole.

Each part of the five-fold ministry is designed to help & aid the other part for the edification of the entire body of Christ. The apostolic helps to call each person into their piece of the puzzle.

Help us, Your body, to come into the fullness of all You have planned for us, Lord.

Staying Plugged In...

Most people try to live a good life in their own strength. They attempt to live a life of righteousness & display the fruits of the Spirit without the actual help of the Spirit. They are called "fruits of the Spirit" for a reason. True love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control can only come from a life in the Spirit.

The key is not focusing on the fruits, but focusing on staying plugged into the Vine. Jesus said in John 15 that if you abide (remain) in Him, He will remain in you & you will bear much fruit. However, if you do not remain in Him & abide in His love, you will be cut off.

Jesus said if we love Him, to obey His commandments (John 14:15). We cannot live a life of sin & expect to be abiding in His love. However, sometimes we are not living in sin & still cannot hear Him or feel Him. It is in those moments that we BELIEVE Him & what He said concerning His love for us. He will never leave us or forsake us, & He will reward those who diligently seek Him (Rom. 8:37-39; Heb. 13:5). He will come to us & visit us.

The Love of the Father

Before I left for California, someone prophesied over me that the Lord was giving me a new way to deal with the stress of leadership--"just laugh it off." I knew what the Lord meant. He was saying that I needed to stay in the identity of being His child & stay in tuned with His love, affection, & delight for me.

While I was leading the team in California, anytime I began to stress over something, I would just close my eyes & connect with Jesus--His eyes looking at me & His thoughts toward me. I would feel the joy of His feelings for me. Nothing else matters if my life is pleasing to Him & I can connect with His love for me.

One day in California, there was a significant moment where the Lord touched me in a real way with His love & I have been different since then. Not only did I experience it in a real way, but I have also been able to release it to other people & they are able to connect with His love & affection for them. I was able to preach on the love of the Father that night & people were receiving His love in a real way. Ask the Lord to give you a deeper revelation of His love for you; you will never be the same again.

"They Didn't Stand a Chance..."

On our trip to California & throughout our ten days there, we got to know our primary bus driver Keith really well. After we stopped at a gas station in Arizona & all the kids got back on the bus with testimonies, Keith said that those people didn’t stand a chance. They didn't know what hit them when a busload of 55 firey evangelists swarmed a truckstop. Keith had been in the ministry for many years & was so encouraged by watching the students. I was also so proud of them as I walked through the truckstop & saw groups of students praying for people in every corner of the whole place. Some unsuspecting bystanders rededicated their lives to Christ, others were healed, others were engaged with the Gospel message, & believers were encouraged & strengthened in their walk with God.

It was like that everywhere we went. Some bus drivers took us to a casino for breakfast. Although we did not want to go there, the enemy’s plan backfired on him as students were praying for healing & people were testing out their knees & hips that were being healed. The gospel was preached & even the lady cleaning the bathrooms commented on how well-behaved & polite these 250 students were. In college campuses, restaurants, gas stations, casinos, streets, and coffee shops from Kansas City to Southern California—and all over, the gospel was preached & demonstrated through power, love, & humble acts of service. In San Diego, every time our team preached in a spot, we would clean up trash in that area. One person was so moved by this simple act that he asked how he could be saved.

Modern Day Stories like Acts

In Acts 2, 120 disciples were praying in an upper room & suddenly there was a sound of a rushing wind, flaming tongues of fire & all of them staggered out seeming to be drunk & prophesying in other tongues so that languages of many nations could hear. Peter told them that they were not drunk with wine, but with the Holy Spirit...

Over the past year here at the House of Prayer, the Lord has been pouring out the "wine of the Spirit" healing our hearts & freeing us from the fear of man. Each day before we went out to evangelize at UCSD, the Lord would visit us with the wine of His Spirit on our bus ride to the campus. We would be so full of joy that people were just shocked that we were so happy.

Two different days, 60 of us set up handdrums & guitars on highly populated areas & sang the same songs that the Lord has been ministering to us--"Now I have a purpose, Now I have a destiny, You made me for your Glory, You made me for your Glory!" We made up songs--"My God is a God who heals! (3x) He's better, He's better, He's better!" People would be so curious that they would stop & look, and many of them would allow us to pray for them, tell them the gospel, and people got saved and healed.

We were so happy & laughing so much that two students walked by & one said, "That's why we don't legalize weed..." It was like a modern-day version of what they said of the disciples. One of our students stopped them and said, "Oh no! It's not weed--it's the power of the love of Jesus in our hearts!" And she preached the gospel to them.

Prodigal Returned Home at Azusa Street

Our California trip was divided into two parts. The first half, I led a team of 60 people to San Diego to minister at JHOP-SD and UCSD. The second half, we were in LA & participated in the Fight Conference & Student Call with Lou Engle. The first night of part II, 350 from IHOP, plus many from local churches gathered at historic Azusa street where the Lord poured out his Spirit in 1906 resulting in the Pentecostal movement. We cried out for another historic wave.

Before we began, some of the students in my group came asking for my help with a lady they were witnessing to that had wandered up to the gathering. She was speaking many things that weren't true & yet she was hungry for the Spirit. I demonstrated to the students how you can take authority over the lies by interrupting & interjecting with truth. I told the story of the prodigal son. She began to cry & rededicated her life back to Jesus. Then, she began speaking in tongues. I explained to here what Azusa street was & why we were there, and then walked her through repentance and what she needed to do next. I explained to the students that as believers, we have authority over lies. When lies are spoken, we can reign in the conversation and speak truth that cuts through the lies. It is better for the person and can completely change the atmosphere. The power of the Holy Spirit--Christ in us, the Hope of Glory (Col. 1:27).

Adventures of Kingdom Life

Hello All,

I have decided to change the style of my blog. From now on, I will give short daily excerpts of stories, highlights, revelation from the word, etc...to keep you informed of what is happening in my life and to encourage you on a daily basis. I hope you will follow my blog and encourage others to do the same.

Over the next few days, I will write stories from our IHOPU trip to California that I just returned from last week. The International House of Prayer in KC sent 35o students to universities all over Southern California for ten days to preach the gospel on the streets. Lots of really cool things happened that I will be telling you about over the next few days...

Devo 68: A Covenant of Life & Peace

Devo 68: A Covenant of Life and Peace October 14, 2010

“My covenant was with him (Levi), one of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear me; and so he feared me and was reverent before My name. The law of Truth was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.”
Malachi 2:5-7

In this passage in Malachi, the Lord is addressing the backslidden and careless states of the priests of Israel during this time period. The Lord was stating that the covenant He gave to Levi was one of “life and peace.” Levi was the tribe that Aaron and his sons came out of and they were the first priests of Israel. The Lord promised that this tribe would be His priesthood, and through Moses, the Lord gave them many instructions to follow so that the Lord’s name would be feared and reverenced among the people. The covenant was put into place not to allow for carelessness and false grace to ensue, but for the Fear of the Lord and holiness to become a part of their lives.

The problem, however, is that over and over again it was the priests (and judges, and kings) who led the people astray. The Lord was constantly calling them back to holiness. The book of Malachi was the last book written in the Old Testament, just before the “400 years of silence” called the “Intertestamental Period,” or the time of the Maccabean Revolt in Israel. This last book was a call—primarily to the priesthood, to come back to holiness and the law of the Lord and stop leading people astray.

Some of the foremost accusations revolved around the degradation of marriage, marrying daughters of other gods, adultery, divorce, and not taking care of wives, orphans, widows and children. The Lord warned the priests that He would not hear a man’s prayers who abandoned his wife for a newer model. He also said that He would send a prophet who would turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children and the children back to the fathers, otherwise He would smite the land with a curse. Unfornately, the Lord ended the very last sentence of the Holy Scriptures with the word “curse.” Four hundred years of silence followed that last word. Now days, Jews will not even finish the book of Malachi like it is written because they dislike the last word being curse, so they reread verse 5 at the end of their liturgy practices.

The problem was not just the outward behavior of the priests, but it was way deeper than that. They had no fear of the Lord. They did not honor or respect Him—Creator of the universe, Father of all, and yet they dishonored Him and disregarded His name as though He did not exist.
Unfortunately, these same symptoms are rampant in our society today—and throughout the world. However, we can still take the book of Malachi and apply it to our lives and ask the Lord to change us and make us Holy priests before Him. I Peter 2:9 says that we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.” Under the new covenant, they are no longer only certain ones who are priests, but now the identity of EVERY BELIEVER is a priest.

A priest is someone who stands before the Lord in worship and intercession. Worship is adoring Him and telling Him how beautiful He is and intercession is praying what He tells you to pray. Intercession is prayer on behalf of someone or something else. You can actually intercede for yourself as well, but the idea is that you are an “intercessor” or someone who is a voice for someone else. Jesus was the ultimate intercessor who lived and died for the people. He was our ultimate High Priest who sympathized with our weakness and now we can boldly approach the throne of God as intercessors and priests (Heb. 4).

Intercession and Communion are to different expressions of prayer but they both revolve around friendship and dialogue with God. The amazing thing about the new covenant is that now we do not have to go into a temple made with hands, but we can have fellowship or communion with a God who lives INSIDE US! He is Christ in us, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).

Romans 8 is a classic passage that speaks of the indwelling Holy Spirit and His relationship with us in prayer and intercession. See, the Lord wants to make us 24/7 houses of prayer on the inside! In Romans 8:4, Paul says that a life in the Spirit is “life and peace.” I believe He is referring back to this “covenant of life and peace” God made with Levi. As long as Levi was walking in the covenant of God, He had life and peace.

As long as justice was on His lips and he was walking in peace and equity, and turning people from sin, Levi was walking in life and peace. As soon as he stepped outside that covenant however, and used the grace he was given as permission for sin and carelessness, he stepped outside of God’s covering. The grace given of “life and peace” was for the furthering of holiness, not for disregarding the Lord and forgetting about a relationship with Him.

It is the same for us to learn how to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). God has given us the Spirit so that we can walk in the priesthood of all believers and be in constant communion with Him (John 15) and constant intercession for others (Romans 8:26). Paul says that we do not know how to pray as we should, but that the Spirit will help us in our weakness and will intercede for us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26).

The Lord gives us the same grace (or ability) to walk in the priestly covenant of life and peace that He gave the priests of Levi. He made each one of us to be messengers with the law of God written on our hearts and lips. Even if we are not Bible scholars at all, the Holy Spirit who is called the Spirit of Truth will come and teach us all things and bring everything He has taught us tom remembrance (John 14:26). Even if we are not able to spend long hours in a prayer room, the Holy Spirit will give us the grace for prayer and worship so that we are a walking, talking, living breathing house of prayer where God is worshipped in Spirit and truth from every place in the world (John 4).

So, let us take up that life and peace and enter into our identity as priests of the Holy God. Let us ask Him to truly give us the Fear of the Lord that enables us to live lives of holiness and dedication to Him. Let us lead others into the law of the Lord and become living houses of prayer.

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Amanda

©Copyright Amanda Rich 2010

Devo 67: Missions & Prayer: The Love of God & the Fear of the Lord

Devo 67: Missions & Prayer: The Love of God & the Fear of the Lord
October 12, 2010

“'From the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My Name shall be Great among the Gentiles; In every place, incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,' says the Lord of Hosts." Malachi 1:11

Have you ever had a moment where you had a sudden perspective change concerning something you have been passionate about for a long time? This happened to me recently. It wasn’t necessarily that my perspective changed completely, but it was like my eyes were lifted higher and I saw something from a different point of view.

The Lord has been stirring my heart tremendously concerning the uniting of Missions and Prayer. I have been burning every day for the lost and for a Spirit of travailing intercession that births souls (see Rom. 8:26).

I have been passionate about missions and evangelism my whole life, and I have also been a person of prayer. When I was in college, I was in the Missions department trumpeting prayer; Now at the House of Prayer, I have been trumpeting missions. I have always been like, “God, what am I doing here? I’m an evangelist, how long am I going to sit in this chair? Why can I never fit in with the rest of everyone else?”

Well, recently I had the opportunity to be a part of an evangelistic campaign in the area, and I was doing the work of missions and evangelism over 40 hours a week for over a month and a half—on top of my normal prayer room and house of prayer staff responsibilities. As I worked with them, I loved it and wanted to just jump full-swing into a mission organization. However, the Lord made it clear that He wants me to continue being a part of the House of Prayer for right now. He said that He needs “missions people” in the prayer movement and “prayer people” in the missions movement—because He wants the two to be completely married and no longer separated. He needs people with the DNA of both to be in both movements.

As for the perspective change, I cry over lost souls all the time—lately nearly every day. I go through seasons where the burden is more strong or less strong, but I am always asking for the salvation of the lost.

Thursday, however, the Lord drastically changed my perspective to the fact that it is not just lost souls I am crying out for but it is the fact that Jesus is worthy of all worship, honor, power, and praise from every nation, language, tribe, and tongue. I can’t just cry over the fact that people are dying and going to hell, but also over the fact that Jesus is worthy of worship from people who are rejecting Him. He is worthy of songs and prayers of thanksgiving and lives of worship from literally every person on the planet.

Only the combination of the Love of God AND the Fear of the Lord can bring about this perspective. Sometimes we get so caught up on mercy and compassion that we completely forget about justice and we make God out to be the “bad guy” who is trying to kill all the people in the world while the people are looking at a beautiful, wonderful, loving, Holy God who they are turning their eyes away from and denying.

Jesus is not willing that any would perish but that all would have eternal life. However, we must also understand that Jesus is worthy of worship. He is worthy of the praise from every person and winning souls and praying for the lost should always be God-focused and not man-focused. Only God can truly give us a heart for the lost. His heart is way more broken over the sin and depravity of man than ours will ever be.

The passage in Malachi is a wonderful piece of writing that brings the Fear of the Lord and Love for the Son together to bring the reality that every nation should worship the Son of their own free will because He is worthy, but nevertheless, they will worship Him. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. However, now people have a choice. When that time comes, they won’t.

The book of Malachi was not written to the lost, however, but it was written to the priests and the people of Israel who had lost reverence and honor for God and His law. They had put God on the backburner and had lost the Fear of the Lord. God said that regardless of how they responded His Name would be great among the nations and incense would arise from every place.

Malachi addressed the injustice primarily regarding the institution of marriage, which God loves, and he addressed adultery and divorce which God hates. Malachi used the terms God loves marriage and hates divorce in chapter 3.

He also addressed the lying and man-pleasing lips of the priest who God would come to purge and that the priests were to teach the law and not change it to please the ears of the hearers.
Malachi ends with a promise that God would send Elijah who would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He also says that if those hearts are not turned, He would smite the land with a curse.

In all, Malachi is about repentance and the Fear of the Lord. The Lord is Holy and to be revered and His plan will come to pass. He gives man freewill, but He is also sovereign, and those who deny Him will perish, and those who turn to Him will be as happy as a fatted stall-fed cow turned out to pasture in the springtime (to use Malachi’s expression in ch. 4). Also, he says that to those who Fear the Lord, “The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings…”

These passages were written to the priests whose job it was to stand before God and worship Him and they were to be the messengers who taught all others to worship Him. His name shall be great among the nations and He is worthy to be worshipped.

So now, I look at the uniting of missions and prayer not just with the Love and Compassion of God for the lost, but also with the Fear of the Lord and reverence that His name should get all the worship He deserves. He is worthy of worship and praise from every nation, tribe, and tongue and He desires a Holy priesthood throughout the earth who chooses His name because He is worthy.

©Copyright Amanda Rich 2010

Devo 66: The Parable of the Talents

Devo 66: The Parable of the Talents
August 31, 2010

I really got some significant revelation today concerning the parable of the talents in Matthew and Luke. In college, I remember this parable really stuck out to me and I had this fear because I knew I had been given many gifts, calllings, talents, and a very good Christian upbringing, and it made me nervous because I was afraid that there was no way I could sow everything I have been given.

As a result, I have been feeling for the last four years that I must always be sowing every gift and talent I have or I am not being a faithful steward. Because of that, I continue getting into cycles of overcommitting, working myself into the ground, and trying to do too many things at once. A friend called me out last week and said that I cannot possibly focus on everything I am called to at every moment of my life.

So last night, I realized that this mindset I had was a result of a wrong view of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, and the minas in Luke 19. This morning I was asking the Lord about it and got some major revelation. I’m going to unpack it here.

So the context of the parable of the talents in Matthew is within the chunk of Matthew 24 & 25. This is about the endtimes and how Jesus was actually not going to take over the kingdom on earth right then, but he was going to wait a while, and the people needed to watch, pray, and be faithful until He comes.

He gave many different signs that would happen before He came and made it clear that it wasn’t Him unless they saw the flash across the sky.

Then, he shifted into talking about faithfulness until He comes. The parables of Matthew 25 are in the context of waiting for His return.

There are three parables in Matthew 25. The first one is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Mt. 25:1-13). The second is the parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30). The third is the parable of the sheep and the goats (Mt. 25:31-46). (It is actually more of a real story of what will happen).

The first parable is about watching for the Lord’s return, not being burned out when He comes, but being full of the anointing that comes from an intimate relationship with Him.
The third parable is about taking care of the poor, oppressed, blind and naked. It is about works of justice. The master said that he threw the goats out of the kingdom because they thought they knew Him, but they did not take care of people, therefore he cast them into hell.
The first parable is about intimacy and the third parable is about works of justice. And right in the middle is the parable of the talents. The parable of the talents is not just about DOING good works, nor is it just about BEING intimate with God and the knowledge of God, but it is about both. It is about being faithful in being intimate with Him and doing works out of that intimate relationship with Him. This parable is about being faithful in all that he has commanded us to do until His return—being faithful to sow in the Spirit in relationship and deed.

I read David Pawson’s commentary and it was saying that the primary focus of Matthew is the balance of word and deed. He says that we must balance the indicatives of what Christ does for us with the imperatives of what we do for Him. If we only focus on what God does for us, it can lead to license (how I live does not matter), but if we only focus on what we do for God, it leads to legalism.

The parables of Matthew 25 balance intimacy and works of justice, which shows us where the grace for what we do for God comes from.

John 15 talks about abiding (Gk. menene; abiding, being verb) in the Spirit and the love of Christ which is where we find the grace to do what He did in giving up His life (in John 15:13). This is the “being” of remaining in His love.

Galatians 6 uses the word “walking” in the Spirit which incorporates the act of doing (Gk. peripateo; walking, action verb). Walking in the things of the spirit comes out of being in the Spirit. This is what the first and second commandment is about and what the first and third parable of Matthew 25 is about, and the parable of the talents right between them ties it all together. Be faithful in what He has given you while you are waiting for His return.

The statement Jesus keeps coming back to throughout these parables is reference to the coming of the Son of Man and eternity. The beginning and end of each new thought in Matthew 24-25 occurs with the reiteration of looking for His coming and a perspective of eternity. We have to realize that what we are sowing is not just for this age, but also the age to come.

A parable similar to the talents in Matthew is the minas in Luke 19, and this parable gives perspective on the relationship between this age and the next. The owner gives each servant minas and sees how they invested it, then when he returns, he gave them each authority over the number of cities that corresponded with how much they gained from their investment.

This is what the reign of Jesus will be like when He returns and gives authority to those who sowed into the kingdom in this life. He will give them authority over cities and nations.

Another similarity between the parable of Luke and Matthew is that the Lord told this parable in both instances to reveal to His disciples that He was not going to take over the kingdom and overthrow Rome at that exact moment. He was warning them that it would be a while before He comes back and does that, and that they needed to be faithful in the meantime because they might lose their way in the waiting.

Even though he was giving this revelation in Luke, he still got on the donkey right then and had the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But, he still warned that he will not be taking over now but it was a picture of His coming return. All of the followers were crying out “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” When the Pharisees protested and told Him to rebuke His disciples, He said no that even the rocks would cry out if they were silent.

The basic point of all three parables is to be faithful until He comes, and that He is not coming until the events of Matthew 24 happen. Right now, we are in the waiting period and we must be faithful to “get oil” in a relationship with Him and also do the works of the kingdom until He comes. Basically, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

©Copyright Amanda Rich 2010
Written on August 31, 2010

Devo 65: Consecrated

Devo 65: Consecrated June 8, 2010

“Jesus stepped in front of me and took His hands with the bloody nail scars and pressed them into my hands. His blood was left on my hands and I realized that even my sacrifice was His sacrifice…”

The Hebrew word “consecrated” literally means “hands full of blood,[1]” and was used to describe the priestly ministry because they had bloody hands after sacrificing animals at the temple altar. They were then stripped naked and bathed in front of the whole assembly of Israel, redressed by Moses and blood was put on their ear, thumb, and big toe. They then stood in the door of the tent of meeting for seven days—just waiting there.

It is amazing that when Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice, He was pierced through His hands. He literally had “hands full of blood.” It was the ultimate consecration as a priest. He was the priest and the sacrifice. His hands were full of His own blood rather than the blood of bulls and goats.

When Jesus asked us to take up our cross and follow Him, He was saying not only to take up a life of sacrifice, but take up a life of priestly ministry—of “consecration.”

However, the more I learn about it, the more I realize that even this sacrifice of ours is not really ours, but His. We can only do it through His Grace, which comes through the blood that He shed. No matter how zealous we are to fast, pray, give, and live lives of righteousness—we only accomplish it through His Grace. Works of our own are as filthy rags, but when we enter into His rest, it is His work of grace that works righteousness in us. It was by His obedience that we were made righteous (Rom. 5:19).

These nail scars of Jesus were more than just sacrifice and priestly ministry, they were also the fulfillment of a promise to Israel. In Isaiah 49:15, Jesus said, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget you, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands…your walls are continually before me.

Jesus inscribed Israel on the palms of His hands according to His promise. Those nail scars are a continuous reminder of the remnant He will never forget. He was pierced for their trangressions and wounded for their iniquities—and ours (Isaiah 52-53).

His very name in Hebrew “Yeshua” literally means “salvation.”[2] So, the places in the Hebrew Scriptures where the word salvation is used, it is the same word as the name Yeshua. So, Isaiah 49:6 says, “Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be my salvation (yeshua) to the ends of the earth.’”

I heard a teacher[3] say that even the Hebrew letters YHVH (the Name of God) basically translate as “The hands,” “Behold,” “The nail pegs,” “Behold.” I have to research that more in depth to make sure it is legitimate, but it is amazing to think about.

The Grace and Salvation of the Lord far exceeds what we can ask, think, or imagine. I used to think that salvation was the point where the blood of Jesus covered us, but after that we needed to live holy, obedient, and work as hard as we could to live a life of righteousness. Well, that is true to an extent, but actually it is His grace that helps us do that as well. It is only by His blood we are saved and by His grace we keep on the path of righteousness.

We have to realize the power of the blood of Jesus. He was only “salvation” when He did that one act on the cross, but He IS salvation. His name is still Yeshua. His name is Salvation. Every time we interact with Him, we are interacting with Salvation. In Him we exist, move, and have our being (Rev. 4:11). Every moment is because of His saving grace.

It was through His sacrifice and surrender to the will of God that He entered into the rest of God and also created the way for us to enter into His rest.

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His (on the Sabbath). Let us therefore enter into that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience…
Hebrews 4:9-11

How do we enter this rest? What does it mean to enter the rest of God? Verses 12-14 go on to speak of the word of the Lord that divides soul from spirit and determines the thoughts and intents of our hearts. We cannot hide anything from Him, but all things will be revealed. We will have to give an account. I believe this is speaking of the motives for why we are striving to do our own works and entering into everything but the rest of God. However, there is a High Priest who sympathizes with us…

Seeing then that we have such a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but on all points was tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16

We see our High Priest and we hold fast to our confession. What is that confession? It is the confession of His blood sacrifice that He gave, and therefore we can enter into the rest of the Father, by approaching His throne where we obtain mercy and find grace.
Mercy is something we obtain, but not through our own works, but by approaching His throne and holding fast to our confession that we have been bought with the blood sacrifice of Yeshua, our salvation. If we came to that throne claiming righteousness by any other work, we would not obtain mercy, but rather the wrath of God.

When we approach His throne, we find grace. It is almost as if unexpectedly, grace comes to us. It is as if we are there groveling, hoping that in the midst of His glory, fire, and the fear of the Lord we may obtain mercy, and we feel as though we will never amount to anything or do anything right. Yet, right in that place, we find grace. Grace is not merely forgiveness, but it is empowerment to become what God has designed you to be. It breaks off condemnation, shame, and sin that has already been bought. Grace is a wonderful gift that God gives us so that we can live a life of righteousness—a life of consecration.

It is as though the very blood from His hands covers our hands and gives us the strength to follow His example in living a life of being totally His. Not only were we bought out of sin into life, but we are given the grace to be transformed and to live a life of taking up our cross and following Him.

Ask God to give you that grace (strength) to remain in His righteousness. Ask Him for grace in time of need. Ask Him even before you feel you need it. Ask Him to strengthen you, and focus on the fact that everything—literally everything is about Him.

Bless you in the name of Jesus.
Amanda

[1] Apostolic Foundations. Art Katz
[2] Eitan Shishkoff. Israel Mandate Conference. 2010
[3] Dr. Terri Terry

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 64: Keep Me in Perfect Peace

Devo 64: Keep Me in Perfect Peace March 29, 2010

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.

Isaiah 26:3-4

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You,”—what a remarkable statement. What would it be like to be “kept in perfect peace”?

There is a saying when someone is contemplating the validity of a decision—whether it is good or bad. One might say that they “have a peace of mind” about something, or they do not have a peace of mind about something. But, what would it be like to be “kept” in a peace of mind? Wow.

If there was a pill that would give someone true “peace of mind” around the clock, 24/7, 365—with no side effects, that pill would probably be one of the most expensive, hottest commodities on the planet. The people who produced it and owned rights to it would be the richest people in the world.

Everyone knows this is true. So many people in the world are on anti-depressants right now that the numbers are staggering. Even though those drugs may help, however, they could never possibly “keep a mind in perfect peace.” They may help with anxiety and nervousness, but they create all other kinds of problems—mood swings, blood pressure side effects, financial burdens, demonic dreams, nightmares, hot flashes, etc...

Other drugs are the same way. People try to medicate their minds with all kinds of things. They want to “numb out,” “veg out,” “check out”—and every other kind of “out” possible, because their minds never stop processing everything that is happening in their lives, and they can never possibly understand it all or react correctly to it all. The swirl of activity causes people to run to anything possible to get away from that constant stream of thoughts pulsating through their minds and reacting to everything that happens.

Some people react to things in their lives by becoming dead to their emotions and to things happening around them. They put up walls and blockades, and become so calloused to outside influences that they never really feel anything and never really attach to anyone. They become numb to the point that they are not even real with themselves.

Others interact with their surroundings by being influenced and persuaded by everyone and everything that comes across their path and they continue to spiral downhill until something catastrophic happens in their lives. They are such chameleons that they do not even know who they are or what they like.

Of course, both of these are extreme cases and stereotype people somewhat, but many people fall into one of these categories when they lack the influence of the Lord, or if they have not been continually receiving healing in their walk with the Lord.

But, can you imagine what it would be like to always, always, always have perfect peace in your mind and in your soul? That would be incredible.

This verse says that God will keep us in perfect peace if our minds are fixed on Him. Not only are our minds fixed on Him, but we trust Him. Not only do we trust Him, but our minds are fixed on a certain revelation of who He is. We trust His name as “everlasting strength.”

He is everlasting strength. It is His nature. Some translations say that He is the “everlasting rock” or “Rock of Ages.” He is unmovable. He will never leave or never be moved. That is the foundation for our trust in Him, and the reason for our perfect peace. He will never move, never leave, and never forsake us (Heb. 13:5).

In Romans 8:6, Paul says that being carnally (or fleshly) minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. That life and peace comes through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. When we have that steadfast communion with Him, we can stay in that life and peace of mind. And it's free! We do not have to pay a thing for it. This peace has already been paid for.

Jesus told us to abide (remain) in Him and in His love and He would abide (remain) in us (Jn. 15:4-9). When we do that, we are constantly in the Spirit and not in the flesh. The only alternative to being in the Spirit is being in the flesh. If we remain in the Spirit, we can rest in the fact that we are resting on the Rock of Ages, and we can be kept in perfect peace.

Of course, none of that is easy—nor has it ever been perfectly accomplished by any human being other than Jesus, but it is worth it—and the alternatives aren’t that great anyway.

God is willing for us to have peace at all times. That is His desire. However, that does not mean that the circumstances surrounding us will be peaceful, but that in whatever circumstances, we can have absolute perfect peace, if we are keeping our minds on the fact that God is our Rock.

So here is a good prayer to pray: “Lord, keep my mind stayed on You. Keep Me in perfect peace. Show me how You are my Rock. Show me how You are The Rock of Ages. Reveal to me how You are everlasting strength and that I can put my trust in You. Take away everything in me that keeps me from trusting You or seeing you in a right way. I want to walk in the Spirit and be kept in perfect peace. I love You, Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings,
Amanda

Devo 63: The Kingdom like a Child

“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:3-4

Jesus said that for us to enter into the kingdom, we must become like children. He is not only speaking of salvation here, but also of living the kingdom life. The things of God are foolishness to the wise, but they are powerful and they put to shame the things which are mighty (I Cor. 1:27).

Most of the attributes of the kingdom of God are completely contrary to the way we think. God said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways…” (Is. 55:8-9). The way He does things are so contrary to the way we do things. He who is humbled will be exalted, and he who exalts himself will be humbled.

The God of all creation came to earth, lived a sinless life, and died for the sins of all mankind. Even though he was God, he did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped, made Himself of no reputation and took up the cross. Therefore, God highly exalted Him and now He sits at the right hand of the Father (Phil. 2:6-7).

Stop for a second. Think about that. Everything seems so upside-down there. This is the kingdom of God.

Many times on the road of being transformed into the image of Christ, we come across a blockade in our mind. Our mind must be renewed because the things of God are not natural things that can be understood by a natural mind, but they are spiritual things that must be understood by a spiritual mind (Rom. 8; I Cor. 2).

This is why we must become like a child. Before a child begins to do something, they do not think about the process it takes to do it. They just do it. Children do not reason through something and talk themselves out of it. When icecream is sat in front of them, they do not wonder how many calories are in it, how many miles they have to run, or if it will cause Type II diabetes. They just eat it.

If they go out to play in brand new clothes, they do not worry about whether or not grass stains come out with a certain stain remover, or if they will come out at all. They just play.

Jesus said for us to enter the kingdom of heaven like a little child. So when we lay hands on the sick, we do not need to think about the scientific improbability of something happening, or whether that person will think we are dumb, or whether God heals today, or why He hasn’t healed before, or if we are saying the right formula or not. We just need to lay hands on the sick.

If the Lord whispers a word to us, we don’t need to go through the mental gymnastics of whether that was God, or if God really speaks that way, or what those people will think of us. We just give the word. Just like a little child would. They do not think about what other people think of them. They just say it like it is. That is why parents cannot gossip around little kids because they just repeat what they hear, and they will say it right to the person.

The problem is that many of us do not know what it is like to be a child. Many of us had our childhoods stolen because of tragedy, trauma, abuse, or false responsibility. Some never had parents or their parents treated them badly. Some were abandoned or sick or never saw what it was like to have fun.

Many people believe that they are stuck with the childhood they had and they can never get it back. However, this is not true. You are adopted now. You have come under a different family and you can start your childhood all over again—and it’s not a bad thing this time.

You have been adopted by a heavenly Father, and no matter how good or bad your earthly father was—every single believer must learn what it is like to be adopted as a child of God.

It is no wonder that one of the names of the Holy Spirit is the “spirit of adoption” (Gal. 4; Rom. 8). That is His actual name. He is the one who cries out from within us and bears witness that we are sons and daughters of God (Rom. 8; Gal. 4; Eph. 1).

The only way we can know what it is like to be a child is to have a genuine revelation of the Father. We have to focus on who the heavenly Father is—not who we think He is, or why we do not know who He is, or if we will ever know who He is—but actually who He is. We must focus on scripture that tells our mind who God really is, and then pray and ask God to make that revelation real to us.

God is a Good Father who loves to give good gifts to His children (Lk 11). He is delighted in us (Ps. 16, 18). He delights in giving us the kingdom (Lk 12). He is forgiving (Lk. 7).

Jesus came to show us the Father (Jn 14). Everything Jesus did was a revelation of the Father. He only did what He saw the Father doing (Jn 5:19).

When we realize the joy and delight our Daddy God has over us, then we will be able to become like children and fully enter into the kingdom, which is our inheritance as sons and daughters.

Ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you as Father. Ask Him to pour the love of the Father into your heart. Ask Him to help you become like a child. Ask Him to give you the faith of a child. Ask Him to let you see the kingdom of heaven come to earth and let you be a part of it happening.

Grace and Peace to you in Jesus Name!

Love,

Amanda

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 62: Spirit, Soul, & Body

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then, you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will…”

Romans 12:1-3

When we first get saved, we are buried with Christ unto death, and raised into newness of life (Rom. 6:4). At that point, we are justified by faith, and we are a new creation (Gal. 2:16; II Cor. 5:17). This is called “justification by faith.”

From that point on, however, we go through the process of “being transformed from glory to glory” to be conformed into the image of Christ (II Cor. 3:18). This process is called “sanctification by grace.”

Every human being has a body, a soul, and a spirit. Before salvation, they are led primarily by bodily (fleshly) desires and appetites. The body usually leads first and whatever they want to do, they do it. Then, the soul follows.

The soul is made up of the mind, will, and emotions (heart). Some people are more led by their intellect (mind). Others are very strong-willed and led more by stubbornness and whatever they will themselves to do. Still others are primarily led by their emotions--depression, anger, happiness, sorrow, etc. We all know people in each of these categories.

No one who is unsaved is led by the spirit—even those in the occult, because their spirit is dead. Even those in the occult or in other religions are led by the body, soul, and demonic influences, but the bible makes it clear that their spirits are dead (I Cor. 2, Gal. 5, Rom. 8, II Cor. 10, etc).

However, upon salvation, the resurrection life of Christ enters that human spirit and then brings life to their mortal body (Rom. 8:11). The Holy Spirit then dwells in that person and begins the work of sanctification.

The first thing that person begins to do is to bring their body into subjection of the Spirit. They lay down drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality, etc, but many stop there and never know how to proceed further into sanctification.

It is important that we learn to walk in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Many of us go from “Body=>Soul=>Spirit” to “Soul=>Body=>Spirit” or “Soul=>Spirit=>Body,” but if we stay in any of those places, we will never get victory and we will never walk in the fullness of what God calls us to. We must be led by the Spirit.

This passage in Romans 12 gives us a pattern for transformation/sanctification.

1) In view of God’s mercy

2) Present your body as a living sacrifice

3) Do not be conformed to the world (righteousness, holiness)

4) Be transformed by the renewing of your mind

5) That you will be able to test and approve God’s will

This passage hits three of the four elements of body and soul (mind, will, emotions). It begins with a right view of God—His mercy. He is the one who brings about sanctification, through His grace, but that is the agent of transformation, not an excuse to stay the same. It is not a false grace, but a grace that leads us to be conformed into His image (II Cor. 3:18).

So, in obedience and as an act of worship, we must present our bodies as living sacrifices. Romans 6:11-13 speaks of “presenting our members [body parts] as instruments of righteousness” and being dead to sin but alive to God. In Galatians 5, Paul encourages us not to live unto our fleshly, bodily desires, but to live according to the Spirit.

The next step according to Romans 12:1-3 is to not be conformed to the world. This means that we separate ourselves from the ways of the world and set our focus on walking in holiness and righteousness. We are to be set apart in every area.

Instead of being conformed to the world, we are called to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. The renewal of our mind is the only option to not being conformed to the world. If we do not win the battle in our mind, then we are still living in sin—even if we do not act on it outwardly. Jesus spoke of this in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. He said if you even think lustfully toward a woman, you have committed adultery; or if you have hateful thoughts toward your brother, you have committed murder.

In II Corinthians 10, Paul tells us that we do not have fleshly weapons of war, but that we have spiritual weapons that are used to pull down strongholds. He says that we must hold every thought captive and tear down everything in our minds that deems itself higher than the things of God—every sin, every lie, every wrong view of God, etc…Our mind must be transformed.

Thus, when our mind is transformed, it impacts our will. When our mind is submitted to the Spirit and transformed by the Word and power of God, it then leads the soul into transformation. Then, we are able to discern the good and pleasing will of God. At this point, we must surrender our will over to His, which is what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. However, because we are undergoing a complete transformation, we are able to willingly take up our cross and follow Him. We not only can discern His will, but we can say yes to it and do it.

So, the acceptable pattern of God according to Romans 12:1-3 is:

Body Submitted to=>Spirit=>Renews Mind=>Tranforms Will. Then the transformed will lead the emotions. Transformed will does not suppress emotions like an untransformed will might, but a transformed mind and will leads the emotions. Emotions are terrible leaders, but wonderful followers.

The point of all of this is to be led by the Spirit. However, sometimes when we break it down, it is easier to pin-point where we are on the journey when we cannot see a foot a head of us because of the storm. Once we realize that this is the process of transformation, we can seek to submit every area to the Spirit at every point in our lives—and we can recognize when an area is not submitted to the Spirit.

I would encourage you to ask God every morning when you wake up to give you strength to be led by the Spirit and not by the flesh. Actually speak to your spirit and bless it to lead. Ask the Holy Spirit to take charge and transform your mind, will, emotions and body. Actually present your members as instruments of righteousness. Say out loud, “Lord, I present my mouth to you as an instrument of righteousness. I present my eyes to you…etc,” and go down through the different areas that you need to present those parts to Him in. (i.e. “I present my eyes to only look on what you would have me look on. I present my ears to only listen to what you want me to hear. I bless my ears to hear in the Spirit, and my eyes to see in the Spirit. I bless them to have discernment and only listen to truth. I bless my mouth not to speak gossip of slander, but only truth…).

Come up with your own version too. I recommend doing it everyday. You will find yourself living differently.

Grace and Peace to you in the name of Jesus!

Love,

Amanda

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 61: Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever…”

Psalm 23:5-6

In John 15, Jesus said to his disciples, “You are clean because of the words I have spoken to you. Abide (remain) in me and I will remain in you as the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me” (Jn. 15:3-4).

Jesus was telling his disciples to remain (abide, dwell, live) in the “cleanness” of the Word that had already been spoken to them. This was a continuation from chapter 13 where Jesus was washing the disciples’ feet and said that if they did not allow Him to do this, then they would have no part in Him (Jn. 13:8). Then, Peter basically said, “In that case, wash all of me!” (paraphrase). Jesus said that he only had to wash his feet because he was clean because of the words that Jesus had spoken to him.

This revelation of being clean is an important part of abiding in the vine. Jesus talked about abiding in His love or remaining in His love and how if we do not do so, we will be cut off from the vine.

There are many different things that can cut us off from the vine. Sin is the main one, but for those of us who confess and repent of sin, there is something that continues to keep us cut off from the vine—condemnation and shame. Condemnation keeps us from receiving true forgiveness and being cleansed of the sin we committed.

When we confess our sins and repent, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I Jn. 1:9). He gives us a clean slate immediately. However, condemnation continues to hold our minds in a prison of shame and accusation, so that we do not return to that place of abiding in those words.

In Psalm 23, David speaks of how the Lord set up a banqueting table in the presence of his enemies. As long as we are sitting at the table of the Lord, our enemies cannot separate us from His love. Our problem is that we allow our thoughts to dwell on our enemies rather than on the table of the Lord set before us. We allow ourselves to be cut off from the vine by believing that we are not cleansed from the sin that the Lord has already forgiven us for.

If we confess to the Lord and plead the blood of Jesus, He forgives us in that moment. When Satan stands before God to accuse us night and day (Rev. 12:10), Jesus stands there and says, “Not Guilty…Not Guilty…Not Guilty…”

However when Satan comes to accuse us before the judge, many times we are asked, “How do you plead?” We always say, “Guilty!” Our hearts condemn us, our minds condemn us, Satan condemns us, but Jesus says, “You are clean because of the Words I have spoken to you. Remain in my love.”

We have to stop agreeing with the prosecutor in our lives. Jesus is our Advocate who stands at the doorposts of our hearts painting His blood over them, and commanding the death plague to “passover.”

When we continue to beat ourselves up for what we did wrong after we have already confessed it, we are denying the power of the blood of Jesus and the forgiveness He has given us.

Jesus said to “Remain in His love.” When we do so, we are sitting at that banqueting table even when enemies are all around us. In doing that, we can dwell (abide, live) in the House of the Lord forever.

Our bodies are the temple of the Lord. They are the dwelling place of the Most High God and it is His desire to completely inhabit us. He wants to abide in us and us abide in Him. When we sit at His table, His goodness and mercy follow us, and we are not condemned, but we are cleansed. We are not cut off, but we remain.

“Lord Jesus, help us to receive your love and forgiveness. Let your goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives, and let us dwell with you forever. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness—even memories of it, God. Keep us from playing those memories like reruns over and over again. Cleanse us from bitterness and unforgiveness towards ourselves, others, and You. Cleanse us from shame, condemnation, and accusation. Help us to never separate ourselves from remaining in Your love and abiding in Your presence. Thank You, Jesus. We love You. Amen.”

Blessings,

Amanda

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 59: The Genesis One Creativity of Healing

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them…And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 1:1-2; 26-27; 2:7

Imagine Jesus kneeling down in the dirt, making the first man. He probably put some dirt in His hands and spit in it (sound familiar?). Forming clay, He molded hands, feet, eyes, head, mouth, nose…Not only that, but He shaped organs. He shaped the lungs—the bronchial tubes, the alveoli, pleural membrane, cilia—little intricate organisms. He shaped the cells—mitochondria, DNA, ribosomes, chromosomes…He shaped the heart and arteries. He shaped the brain—the different hemispheres, the brain stem, the synapses, nerve endings, spinal chord, nervous system, etc…He sculpted every nook and cranny of the colon, stomach, liver, spleen, diaphragm, muscles, bones, veins, tendons, ligaments, cells…Every little part of the human body, Jesus formed it by hand.

He is a Craftsman. Proverbs 8 personifies Jesus as Wisdom. As He speaks of the formation of the world, Jesus says, “Then I was beside Him as a Master Craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men” (Prov. 8:30-31). Jesus was creative—of course. He is the Creator.

Psalm 139 speaks of how God cares about the human body. The psalmist says:

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Psalm 139:13-15

Our physical bodies are precious to the Lord. He made them. He also loves to heal them. Asking for healing, releasing a prophetic word, or praying for heaven to come to earth are actually ways to release the creativity that God has given us.

We are made in His image, and He is Creator. We cannot create anything, but through us, the Holy Spirit can create. He can speak through us with the same power and authority that He created the world.

When we realize our God is the Creator, we can understand why humans love creativity. We love art. We love knew ideas. We love to see beautiful structures that man has built. Man is made in God’s image, therefore creativity is part of human design.

Even natural men can be artistic, creative, and have ingenuity. However, men cannot create in the natural. They can only take what is already created and reform it to make something out of it. Jesus did that when he formed man. He formed man out of dust—but of course, He was the one who spoke the dust into being.

When we partner with the Lord, however, we can see things in heaven and call them into existence on earth. It’s called faith. Faith is the substance of things unseen, and the evidence of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1). We can bind and loose things in heaven and earth (Mt. 18). When we behold God the Creator and get a grasp on what things are like in heaven, we have the boldness to pray for them on earth.

Jesus told us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” (Mt. 6, Lk 11). Although this does pertain to the time when Jesus establishes His reign on earth, it is not limited to that time. The kingdom is our inheritance as sons and daughters. The Lord originally designed men to have dominion over the earth, but man gave his dominion over to Satan when he sinned.

However, as we come under the reign and dominion of Christ and are seated with Him in heavenly places, we also have His authority through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many times, we try to fight our way up to heavenly things as though we could do anything on our own strength, but God puts everything in us, and He is the one who has called us sons. He made us sons and also heirs (Gal. 4). We are already seated with Him in heavenly places. We can do nothing to earn it.

We often have so many reasons in our mind why we should not pray and believe for healing—mostly unanswered prayer. We prayed and the person died anyway. Our hearts were broken. We ask why. We have physical problems in our own bodies. We do not understand and become discouraged.

All of those thoughts, feelings, and emotions are real. However, we must have faith and just keep asking, keep believing, keep asking, keep believing. The problem is that sometimes we feel it is just too painful for our hearts. We do not want to put ourselves out there anymore. Its too vulnerable, too painful, too difficult…So, we become burned out, discouraged—and if we let that go long enough—offended, bitter, and angry. We stop believing and stop asking.

But, the testing of our faith produces patience, and when patience has its perfect work, it brings us into maturity, lacking nothing (Js. 1). Not only that, but our faith is accounted to us as righteousness (Heb. 11). Not only that, but faith is the foundation for the kingdom of God. We must become like a little child (Mt. 18:3). Little children just believe. They do not know any different.

Also, healing is real. It actually happens today. The kingdom of God really exists and people are actually healed.

In Matthew 8, a centurion came to Jesus and asked for his servant to be healed. The centurion said that if Jesus only said the word his servant would be healed without Him even going back to his house. It says that Jesus marveled at the man. I heard someone pray the other day, “Jesus, Give me faith you can marvel at.” What a wonderful prayer. Jesus, give me faith you can marvel at.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He said, “Let there be…” and there was. God took so much care in sculpting the human body. He cares what we do with it, how we take care of it, and He loves to heal it. So, let’s just ask—and keep asking, and ask again—and just believe, keep believing, and believe again.

Blessings,

Amanda

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 58: There is no Fear in Love

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

I John 4:17-18

As the world continues to spiral downward in economics, politics, morals, spiritual decline, crime, etc…many people find themselves terribly afraid. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of debt, fear of loss, fear of men, fear of rejection, fear of pain, fear, fear, fear…Fear is one of the most paralyzing influences on a person.

Many people struggle with fear. Even those who seem confident in outward appearance are, many times, terribly afraid on the inside. However, people will cover up fear with anything and everything, filling their lives with lots of “noise” to keep themselves from being alone and afraid.

Jesus said that in the last days, men’s hearts will fail from the “fear and expectation of things to come” (Lk 21:26). Basically, men will have heart attacks from the fear of the future—fear of the unknown, uncertainty, insecurity. The world will be rampant with fear in the last days.

However, as sons and daughters of God, fear is not our inheritance. Our inheritance is the spirit of adoption that cries out “Abba! Father!” and breaks the bondage of fear! (Rom. 8:15). Our inheritance is the love of the Father. His perfect love casts out all fear.

I John 3 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God!” Then, I John 4 talks about this love and how it is manifested to us and through us. It is in this context that John speaks of love being made perfect among us, which casts out fear.

When this love is perfected, it also gives us boldness in the Day of Judgment. This is our inheritance, because even though we may not know individual twists and turns such as finances, deaths, disasters…etc, we know the ultimate outcome. We know that Jesus is coming back and He will make the wrong things right. We know what He says in Revelation and other books concerning the things to come. We are instructed in how to carry our hearts during these times—love, humility, abiding in the Spirit, etc.

In Philippians 3, Paul speaks of those who set their mind on earthly things. He says that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, but “our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies that it may be conformed to His glorious body…” (Phil. 3:18-21). Our challenge is to live for heavenly things even while we are still on earth.

We belong to a kingdom which cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:27-28). In the last days, the Lord will shake not only earth, but heaven also (Heb. 12:27-28). He will shake the 2nd heavens where the demonic principalities and powers have their dominion (Eph 6.) Jesus says that this is the time when men’s hearts will fail because of fear—when the heavens are shaken (Lk. 21:26).

Revelation 12 speaks of the time when Michael will throw Satan out of heaven onto the earth. This is comes as a result of the intercession of the saints prevailing over the principalities and powers in the 2nd heavens, because the saints have found their identity not on earth or in the 2nd heavens, but seated with Christ in heavenly places (in the 3rd heavens) (see Eph. 2:6, 6:12-13; II Cor. 12:2).

At this time, Satan will be cast down to earth and this will be the time of the greatest persecution of the saints and Jews that the world has ever known. However, the saints will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the Word of their testimony (Rev. 12:11).

The Lord is preparing our hearts now to be free of fear so that we will have boldness in the Day of Judgment. Even if bad things happen to us and around us, we will have the courage and boldness to set our mind on heavenly things instead of things on earth. We will have answers when everyone else has questions, anxiety, and fear.

Don’t count yourself out! The immediate response when I say something like that is to say that this cannot be for you. You cannot have that kind of freedom. That is not true. The enemy wants us to believe that because he wants to keep us in bondage to fear so that we will not realize our inheritance as sons and daughters, and take our place seated with Christ—above Satan! When we truly realize that and make conscious choices to walk in that everyday, we become deadly to Satan, because it is the result of our prayers that will ultimately cast him out of heaven and call forth Jesus to return.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is—there is freedom! (II Cor. 3:17). We do not want to be enemies of the cross by thinking that we cannot be free and therefore setting our minds on earthly things (Phil. 3:18). We must be anxious for nothing, but set our minds on whatever is noble, lovely, true, and pure (Phil. 4:6-8).

This week, meditate on the love of God. Meditate either on Jesus love for us by dying on the cross (Jn 15:13) or on the love of the Father (Rom. 8:15, I John 3:1, I Jn. 4:19). Pray the following kinds of prayers out loud. Ask the Lord to reveal His love to you. Ask Him to prepare your heart to receive His love and ask Him to remove fear or anything that stops you from receiving His love. Ask Him to make you able to comprehend what is the width, length, depth, and height, of the love of Christ which passes all knowledge (Eph. 3:17-18). Ask Him to perfect you in love and to make you bold in the Day of Judgment.

Grace and Peace in the Lord Jesus!

Amanda
 
Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 57: Where the Seed Falls

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.


But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
Luke 8:11-15

Jesus said that understanding the parable of the sower is key to understanding all the other parables. This parable has more truth in it than I fully comprehend right now, but there are several things I want to point out which are crucial for us in the time in which we live.

By the Wayside: We all have seen how the seed falls by the wayside and is stolen before a person has time to receive it and believe. This happens everytime the Word is preached to an unbeliever and they remain unbelieving.

However, the other three types of soil apply to people who believe or have believed the Word in some capacity during their lives.

On Rocky Soil: For the first type of soil—or rock rather, the person hears the Word and receives it with joy, but then when trouble or temptation comes, they fall away (Mt 13 & Mk 4 say tribulation and persecution). These are people who get saved, but they only have a surface-level knowledge of God and relationship with Him.

However, it is not just that they have never developed a root or had personal growth any, but their root did not grown as fast as the plant, and they have not tilled the soil for the root to grow. So, the storms come or temptation or persecution, and that plant does not stand up to the testing, because it has not developed a root system.

Jesus said that anyone who does not abide in the vine or abide in His love will be cut off (Jn 15), but He gives many promises for those who remain in Him. Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:17, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, may be rooted and grounded in love, and may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the width, the length, the depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes all knowledge…” We must be rooted in God’s love. We have to believe that what He says about us is true and ask Him to constantly fill us with His love and make us able to receive it.

Among Thorns: Other seeds fell among thorns. Some thorns are the cares of the world—sickness, disease, financial hardship, relationship trouble, circumstances, etc. Other thorns are riches, pleasures of this life—things that distract us. These things pull our attention away from growing. They outgrow us quickly, become taller than us, and consume all the light, so that we are stifled out, and get no light.

If you have ever grown plants, you will know that they always grow toward the light. If you turn a houseplant away from the window, its leaves will reach toward the window. However, say that a plant was surrounded by thorns and so focused on the fact that there where thorns, that it does not grow towards the light. This is how a plant dies from lack of light, and this is how our spirits get choked out from the cares of the Lord. Want is our focus on? Is it on the thorns or the light?

We have to focus on the light rather than on the things that are choking us. Paul said that when we behold God, we become more like Him (II Cor. 3:18). We must focus on Jesus and what He is capable of doing, rather than on everything surrounding us and what they are capable of doing.

James 1 talks about how the testing of our faith produces patience, which when patience is perfected, it makes us perfect or complete, lacking nothing. Being perfect here means mature. The Lord allows testing to produce a fruit of the spirit in us called patience, which brings us into maturity.

However, many times, we allow that testing to choke us out and keep us from bringing any fruit to maturity (Js 1, Lk 8:14). Jesus said that anyone who abides in Him, must bear fruit or it will be cut off and thrown in the fire (Jn 15). We must not only have a deep root, and grow tall, but we must bear fruit.

In Good Soil: Finally, the seed falls on good soil. These are those who hear the word, keep it, and bear fruit with patience. They hear the word, receive it, cultivate the ground, and grow towards the light. They keep the Word, which means they hear His word and obey it. They are ones who abide in His love, and because they love Him, they obey His commands (Jn 15: 9-10, 14).

Those who cultivate good soil bear fruit. Jesus said we must bear fruit (Jn 15). However, we cannot bear fruit by our own strength—that would be works of the Law or works of the flesh, but we must bear fruits of the SPIRIT. We cannot grow this fruit without abiding in the Spirit and allowing Him to prune us, and produce these fruits in us.

This includes coming against things that keep us from believing in His love, which damages our root. This process of bearing fruit includes focusing on the Light—Jesus, rather than the thorns surrounding us. It says those with good soil, bear fruit with patience. They allow the testing of their faith to produce patience, and the patience to bring them into maturity.

Ultimately, this parable is not about different types of people, but about different experiences of discipleship as we grow in the Lord. We go through each process many times in all areas of our lives.

After Jesus told this parable, He said, “He who has an ear, let Him hear!” The Lord is speaking to us through this parable, and it is especially important for the time we live in as the wheat and tares are being brought up into maturity and the harvest is made ready. The Lord will return soon for a Bride who has been brought into maturity, and we must take heed, so that we do not allow the things of the world to keep us from bearing fruit that will last for an eternity.

“Lord, help us to cultivate good soil. Help us to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Strengthen us with might in the inner man that we may know the love of Christ that passes all knowledge. Help us to abide in your love. Guard us and deliver us from the evil one. Give us ears to hear and eyes to see. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen”

Love,

Amanda

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved