Author: jma47

Magnify Part Three

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One of the essential ways that we magnify the Lord is through praise, worship, and adoration. Psalm 147:2 says, “While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”
 
New songs come from within. They bubble up because we are so full from gazing at the Lord. We sing them back to an audience of One. They are a form of heart-worship that is not practiced, nor something thought out nor perfected. The songs bubble like a spontaneous combustion of inner joy. It is the heart-praise-fruit of communion with the Lord.
 
David wrote Psalm 63. I can just imagine him sitting before the Lord, allowing his heart to be filled with wonder and awe. Verse 3-4 says, “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus will I bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.”
 
Verse 5 in the Amplified says, “My whole being shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.”
 
Yesterday afternoon I continued my reading in the book of Acts. I read Gamaliel’s advice in chapter 5:33-40. Verse 39 says, “But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it–lest you even be found to fight against God.”
 
Fact: COVID19 has been allowed by God. He has the power to stop it, but He hasn’t. It made me pause. I asked the Lord how He wanted me to pray about this pandemic. He said: Praise Me. My character never changes.
 
2 Chronicles 20:22 says, “Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes…and they were defeated.” When Judah was about to be overrun by the enemy, the Lord gave specific instructions to the king. Verse 21 says, “…he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness…”
 
Let us collectively spend part of our prayer time praising the Lord for His character that never changes. Psalm 36 5-6 names three of them: mercy, faithfulness, and righteousness.” I would encourage you to write out as many of the Lord’s attributes that you can think of. Then as you gaze upon Him in your quiet time, let your heart be filled with wonder and awe, and express that back to Him in new songs.
 

Magnify Part Two

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David said in Psalm 34:3, “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” To magnify is to make something more visible, because it was too small to see distinctly.
 
The Lord is most clearly seen, or magnified, to others as we emulate Him. We may be the only Bible they read. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “By which have been give to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature…”
 
We are partakers or sharers of His nature. In order to magnify Him, we need to exemplify His character. Our trials are His instruments to develop that character of Christ in us.
 
Another way we magnify Him is through our right responses to our trials. Believers and unbelievers are watching how we navigate through difficult or adverse situations in our lives.
 
I think of how the Lord displays His church. Ephesians 3:10-11 says, “To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
 
Peter and John magnified the Lord when the man who had never walked from birth was healed. John 3:9 says that all the people saw him walking and praising God. Can’t you just imagine it? Verse 10 says, “Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened.”
 
What about the blind man Jesus healed in John 9? The Pharisees questioned him. The now fully sighted man answered in verse 32. It says, “Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.”
 
May the Lord be magnified in our lives. Right now is our opportunity to practice this truth. When countless are restless and agitated, our right responses would glorify Him. Let us emulate His patience and peace in the midst of this pandemic.

Magnify

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When I was still in grammar school, my two younger cousins taught me the power of a magnifying glass. I first found them huddled over something. To my horror, they were ‘frying’ earthworms!. My loud protests caused them to change course. They showed me how to catch a leaf on fire. That continued until my uncle came upon the scene and my lesson was abruptly stopped. However, I never forgot the power of the sun through a magnifying glass.
 
Psalm 138:2 says, “…for You have magnified Your word above all Your names.” This verse continues to amaze me. Think of the power of Jesus’ name.
 
Remember this scene? The detachment of troops, and the officers from the chief priests and Pharasees came to arrest Jesus. When He said, ‘I am He’ they drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:3-8).
 
Acts 4:12 says, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which they must be saved.”
 
Philippians 2:10-11 says, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
 
John 15:16 says, “…and whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
 
The name of Jesus is powerful in every aspect of our lives. Yet, David said that he magnified God’s word above His name. We have the privilege to magnify the Son who is the living word.
 
How do we do that? One way is to make His word our essential. Job did. Job 23:12 says, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”
 
Jeremiah did. Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”
 
His word, when it is magnified in our heart, will expand within to increase our capacity to embrace and practice what He has commanded us to do. It is not a duty, but a supreme honor and privilege to drink deep of His word daily.
 
 

More Free Ebooks

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3 FREE ebooks today and Monday on Amazon

Free To Be You: embracing your uniqueness

Triumphing Over Shame: healing from abuse

Freedom From Self-Hatred: embracing your design

 

The first one is from the last chapter in Victorious Garden, and the others are from the first two chapters in Victorious Heart: intimate communion with God

Removing the Superfluous Part Two

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Another essential is to personally apply God’s word to our heart. Joshua 1:9 said to observe to do. I lived under the sound of the word. It wasn’t until 1972 that I learned that there were principles in His word to live by. Commands are not suggestions.
 
Matthew 6:25 says to not worry about our life. Verse 33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Worry is a distraction. It preoccupies our thoughts and keeps us from implementing our essentials.
 
Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
 
Fear is another distractor. It occupies our mind. The antidote is Isaiah 26:3 which says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
 
Keeping a record of wrongs is another distractor. Please say these words out loud: You bore the sin of the one who hurt me. You forgave the one who crushed my spirit. You gave me Your forgiveness to forgive as I have been forgiven.
 
When we refuse to forgive those who hurt us, we clutter our hearts with walled in bitterness and resentment, and we leak defilement over those around us.
 
Wallowing in the past, holding onto things that are passed, and rehearsing the hurts, keeps us self-focused. It blocks are God given gifts. It defiles our fruit-testimony.
 
1 Peter 2:1 says to lay aside. Verse 2-3 says, “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
 
Worry, fear, unforgiveness are non essentials that need to be laid aside. They stunt our spiritual growth. Confess them as sin and move forward. Embrace God’s word. Hide it in your heart. Fill your heart-reservoir with truth that will set you free. It is experiential truth that clears the heart of the superfluous so it can be occupied with the essentials.

Removing the Superfluous

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Superfluous means excess and unnecessary. Cluttered desks, cluttered tables, and cluttered living spaces cause our thoughts to be cluttered and undisciplined.
 
When I typed the 35 ebooks in 2016, I put two spaces after each sentence. It was the way I was taught back in high school. However, in compiling seven ebooks into a paperback, I have to delete the extra space. You would be amazed at how much it saves in the printed product.
 
The superfluous in our lives is an entanglement. 2 Timothy 2:4 says, “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
 
We are soldiers in God’s army. In order to have clear minds, we need to remove the superfluous. This sheltering in time is a great opportunity to evaluate the essentials.
 
An essential is something that is absolutely necessary. It is extremely important. Therefore anything that pulls us away from walking in truth needs to be removed. 1 Peter 1:24-25 says, “…all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
 
Verse 25 reiterates for us that God’s word is an essential. It is through His word that we learn the truth to apply to our hearts. 1 John 1:6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
 
Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Part of speaking truth in our hearts comes from verbally speaking God’s word.
 
Psalm 46:10 says, “…Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 131:2 says, “Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Psalm 23:2 says that our Shepherd leads us beside the still waters.”
 
Moses’ words to the children of Israel are great words for us as well. The uncrossable Red Sea was before them, and Pharaoh and his army behind them. They were in a humanly impossible situation. Exodus 14:13 says, “…Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today…”
 
Learning to be still before the Lord is an essential. We cannot hear His still small voice when our heart is cluttered with the anxieties and cares of this world. Jesus went apart from the crowd to be alone with the Father.

3 FREE ebooks

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FREE ebooks today and tomorrow on Amazon
 
Heart Forgiveness: embracing truth that will set you free
 
Watermarks: authenticity of a follower of Jesus
 
Trophies of Grace: steadfast endurance
 
These are from chapters 4, 5, 6 in Victorious Garden. Note: it helps to put J Marilyn Adams after the title in the search.

The Legacy

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Joseph took his two sons to Jacob. Now watch what happened. I never connected the significance of this conversation before. Genesis 48:5 says, “And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Rueben and Simeon, they shall be mine.”
 
Later when the tribes of Israel were named, Jospeh was not there. Ephraim and Manasseh took his place and the place of Levi. Judah received the blessing of the firstborn since Reuben abdicated it through his immorality.
 
In chapter 49 Jacob called his sons to tell them what would befall them. He revealed their legacy through their character. Here is what he said about Joseph. Verse 22 says, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall.”
 
Jacob died and they carried his bones to Canaan to be buried beside Leah. Then as Joseph was dying, he foretold what would happen in Genesis 50:24. “…God will surely visit you, and bring you out of the land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
 
Verse 25 says, “Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry my carry up my bones from here.” That was fulfilled in Exodus 13:19. “And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath…”
 
What legacy are you leaving to your natural children and your spiritual children? David taught Solomon about wisdom. When the Lord said ‘Ask’ Solomon knew to ask for wisdom. God gave him wisdom such as never before him nor after him.
 
Psalm 20:4-5 says, “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.” There are many ways we can sow into our legacy. One is through prayer, that they may reap His righteousness in their lives.
 
 
 

Joseph’s Dreams Fulfilled Part Three

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Joseph had to tell his brothers twice who he was. Then he declared again God’s purpose in all his trials. Genesis 45:7 says, “And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
 
Then Joseph sent them back to get his father and their families. Genesis 45:17-20 are Pharaoh’s words after he heard that Joseph’s brothers had come. Verse 20 says, “Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.”
 
When the brothers got back to Canaan, they told their father that Joseph was alive and that he was the governor over Egypt. Verse 26 says that Jacob’s heart stood still. His heart stopped in shock. Verse 27 says, that after they told him all and he saw the carts which Joseph had sent, “…the spirit of Jacob their father revived.”
 
Note: the entire family that went from Canaan to Egypt was 66 persons. 430 years later, the children of Israel could not be counted because there were so many.
 
God sent Joseph to preserve his family, who would become the twelve tribes of Israel to enter the promised land. Joseph’s dreams included the promise that the Lord made to Abraham. Genesis 15:5-6 says, “Then He brought him outside and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them. And He said to him, So shall your descendants be. And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”
 
Whatever the Lord speaks, He fulfills. Circumstances do not deter Him because He orchestrates them. His word will not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11). He completes what He begins (Philippians 1:6). His timing is impeccable. His gifts and callings are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). He acts for those who wait for Him (Isaiah 64:4). He waits to be gracious to us (Isaiah 30:18).
 
As we shelter in, the temptations will rise to do something in our own strength, or to attempt to interpret what only the Lord knows. This time certainly brings out the hidden impatience. James 1:3 says to count this trial as joy. The JBP says to welcome it as friends.
 
Hebrews 10:26 is a great reminder. “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.”