Ephesians 1:8 Amplified says of His grace, “Which He lavished upon us in every kind of wisdom and understanding (practical insight and prudence).” When I think of the word ‘lavish’ I am reminded of an artesian well. It perpetually bubbles up with freshness and vitality. Are you living in His lavish grace?

The fruit of humility is walking in His path of righteousness that is strewn with grace. James 4:6 says that He gives grace to the humble. This morning I woke up with the phrase of a song that attempted to describe His grace. ‘Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, Freely bestowed on all who believe!’ 2 Corinthians 9:14-15 says, “…who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift”

I love to think about John 1:16 in the Amplified. It says, “For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) upon gift.”

I encourage you to stand and keep on standing in His grace box. Let all four sides hem you in with His words to Paul. 2 Corinthians 12:9 Amplified says, “…My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you (sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully); for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves more effective in (your weakness)…”

Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” There is so much foundation truth in this one verse. Through Jesus’ shed blood, He paid the full penalty of our sin. He was the perfect sacrifice. He redeemed or bought us back from satan’s sin-block, which bound us with no hope of ever being free.

Here is David’s testimony of redemption. Psalm 40:2-3 says, “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth–praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.”

Here is Job’s testimony. Job 19:25 says, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth.”

Let us proclaim our testimony and not keep silent! Psalm 107:2 says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.”

We were redeemed from destruction and forgiven ALL of our sins: past, present, and future. Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” In 1987 I was in Ecuador. I straddled the line between the north and the south. They meet, but the east does not. Amazing illustration to help us understand that we will never meet our sins again.

We are forgiven unequivocally and given His grace to forgive others AS we have been forgiven. Do we dare to withhold heart forgiveness from those who hurt us? Colossians 3:13 says, “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

Ephesians 1:3b-4 says, “…that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us…according to the good pleasure of His will.”

We were birthed in His love. Predestined means predetermined, set, and fixed. Psalm 8:3-4 says, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” God created man to have a personal relationship with him.

God was before He created the earth. Genesis 2:7 says, “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.” Just a side note to those who don’t believe that God has anything to do with their lives. Daniel 5:23 says, “…the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.”

Isaiah 43:7 says that we were all created to glorify the Lord. In love He created us with the express purpose of relationship with Him, and through that relationship we would bear fruit that would glorify Him. That is His purpose for us.

We celebrate His love for us because without Him, we never would have existed. It was His love that sent Jesus to the cross. He died for us, bearing our sin, which was judged in wrath by God the Father. Everything we have and are is because of His love. John 10:10 says, “…I have come that they may have life, and that may have it more abundantly.”

Today as we celebrate His love, let us extol Him for His abundant love, grace, mercy, and faithfulness, and all you know to add. Let us honor Him with our lips with heart expressions of thankfulness for choosing us, adopting us as His own, and accepting us through the shed blood of Jesus. Celebrate!

Here is my article that was in today’s local newspaper:

Last year is now our past. Even a minute ago is in our past. Everything that has happened is over and done with. We can’t bring it back, nor can we change one moment of it. We keep the past alive through our thoughts. Yet why do we hold onto something that only exists in our minds? In actuality we have a new canvas. In the world of an artist, that presents a wonderful creative challenge.

I am sure that we can all agree our past year of 2020 was difficult beyond words. The COVID pandemic hit worldwide. No one was prepared for such radical life-altering changes.

We always have two choices. We can remain in futile thinking, or we can intentionally go forward. I like to think about the trapeze artists. They have to let go of the first bar in order to grasp the oncoming bar. If they held onto the first bar while reaching for the second bar, all manner of chaos would ensue.

A trapeze artist is very focused44. They have predetermined to let go of the first bar. Once they swing off their platform, their goal is to abandon their bar in order to fully grasp the bar coming towards them. It is one fluid motion.

The apostle Paul described it well. It is an essential lesson for a victorious life. Philippians 3:13-14 says, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Can you apply Paul’s words for yourself? My take-away: as I release my past to the Lord, He will empower me to reach my present goals. It is a great perspective. Letting go of the past means that I need to continually renew my mind with the truths of God’s word.

What does the Bible say about our past? 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that the old is passed and the new has come. Let’s read these words together. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Here is another verse. 2 Corinthians 4:2 says, “But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”

The Lord knows what we have been through in our past. When we bury our emotional pain it goes underground, so to speak, into our unconscious. Even though it is no longer on our radar, it continually seeps into our thought processes. It affects our perceptions, what we believe about ourselves, and our actions.

The apostle Paul had a lot of pain in his past, yet he brought it before the Lord and released it all to Him. His words are amazing to me. Acts 24:16 says, “This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” How could Paul say this? In his own words he said that he was the chief sinner. 

Paul had a clear conscience because he did not let the past hold him back from his pursuit to serve the Lord. Thirteen books of the New Testament were written by him. They are excellent instructions for us. Many of them were written while he was imprisoned for his faith.

Let’s apply his God-given knowledge and understanding to this new year of 2021. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do NOT look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

This life is short, but eternity is forever. Have you settled in your heart where you will spend eternity? Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I urge you to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior while there is still time. You have no guarantee of your next minute.

Rejection is a universal emotional pain. Since it is so prevalent, how do we gain heart-healing? We need to take into our heart the three unalterable truths of Ephesians 1:4, 5, and 6. We are chosen, adopted, and accepted. When we truly believe this, it will be woven into the fabric of our being and become part of our thought processes.

We were IN the heart of God before He set the foundation for the world. He loved us~birthed us. He created us as He knew we would be~His unique creation. Remember that this was before we existed. We had not done anything to gain His love. God’s love for us is unconditional. It is eternal love that will never be changed by what we do or don’t do.

Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born, I sanctified you…” Before He placed you in your mother’s womb, He set you apart for Himself. Psalm 119:73 says, “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.”

Here is something else that He fashioned before you were born. Think about the power of this verse. Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”

He thought through how He wanted you to be. Then He placed you in the womb that He chose. NO one is a mistake! Even if you were conceived outside of marriage, your life is precious in the sight of God. Let this be a banner over every abortion clinic! May the Spirit of God speak it into the fabric of our nation!!

Jesus was rejected by men. He knows the pain of rejection, and He is the only One who can heal your wounded heart through His truths. Let them become experiential truths that will set you free.

Ephesians 1 is a great chapter. I read it last night and thought about the first six verses. We were chosen. I think back to my grammar school days. I was tall and lanky and absolutely uncoordinated in sports. We would all line up. Two team leaders would choose who they wanted on their team. I was the last one standing and the leader would grudgingly invite me onto their team.

Not so with the Lord! He chose us before He set the foundation for the earth. Not only were we chosen, but we were adopted as His children and fully accepted. What a joy! What three great truths to stand in. I want to add a few more verses.

Chosen: John 15:16 says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”

1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” You are chosen because you are special in the eyes of the Lord.

Adopted: Ephesians 1:5 says, “Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”

Romans 8:15 says, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.” When children are adopted, they are chosen out of a group. Our adoption is a demonstration of how pleased the Lord is with us.

Accepted: Ephesians 1:6 says, “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”

John 1:8-9 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

We were chosen, adopted, and accepted because of Jesus’ shed blood. Titus 3:5 is a reminder that it had nothing to do with us. We were alienated from the life of God, yet He drew us with His cords of love and bound us to Him forever. Hallelujah!

Malachi is the last book of the minor prophets. In this book the Lord asked questions and answered them through His prophet. Malachi 1:6 is an example for us. It says, “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence?…”

To fear the Lord is to honor, worship, hold Him in high esteem, and to exalt Him above all. One of my favorite verses about the fear of the Lord is Proverbs 9:10. It says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Of course satan has a roadblock and strategic ways to pull us off course through the fear of man. My working definition for the fear of man is: anything that eclipses the Lord.

The Lord uses our trials, hardships, and adversities to refine and purify our faith. He exposes the dross of the fear of man that undermines and weakens our faith. Malachi 3:3 says, “He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering of righteousness.”

Malachi 3:16 is an amazing verse. There is no other verse like it in the Bible. It reveals a unique fruit of the fear of the Lord. It says, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.” When our conversations are filled with awe and reverence of the Lord, He is listening! They are written in a book!

Verse 17 says, “They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

Here is another. Malachi 4:2 says, “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings…” The Amplified finishes the verse, “…and you shall go forth and gambol like calves (released) from the stall and leap for joy.” Gambol means to run and jump about playfully. Walking in the fear of the Lord will bear much fruit for His glory.

Zechariah’s prophecy came two months after Haggai’s. According to the note in my Bible, he used ‘the Lord of hosts’ 53 times.

His first words were to return to the Lord. Why? Zechariah 1:2 says that the Lord was angry at their fathers. Verse 3-4 says, “…Return to Me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you…Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached…Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not hear nor heed Me…”

Since all actions are first thoughts, it is good to remember Matthew 15:19. It says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts…” Thoughts of rebellion lead to disobedience. Entertaining thoughts against another will lead to a hard heart of unforgiveness. We ‘return’ by confessing our sinful thoughts and actions.

Zechariah had multiple visions. In each one he was asked what he saw. When he didn’t know, the answer was given to him. Zechariah 7:11 revealed the profile of the disobedient. Let us take warning. It says, “But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.”

Heed means to listen with an inclined ear. It displays an eagerness. Isaiah 43:19 is a verse I visit often. In the Amplified it says, “Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give HEED to it?…”

Think right now about what just happened in our nation. Zechariah 8:17 says, “Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; and no not love a FALSE oath. For all these are things I hate, says the Lord.”

Zechariah 12:10 says, “…they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” The Lord is doing a new thing. Let us heed it and unite our prayers for revival in our nation and in the world. Let us call out, ‘Return to the Lord and He will return to you.’

Does disobedience have a motive? Yes. We put SELF above God. We act with arrogance and pride. We believe we know what is best and act it out.

Let’s go back to Jonah. He ran from the presence of the Lord. Why? He didn’t want to do what God had sent him to do. The Assyrians were enemies. His actions made his motive visual. He disobeyed God’s word by going his own way.

The folks in Haggai’s day had disobeyed the Lord. He had commissioned them to rebuild the temple. Their actions revealed a motive of SELF above God. They served themselves by fixing up their own houses.

We sin when we push for our own way. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 says, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” What has He called us to? 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

That brings up another verse in my mind. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

How could we be so arrogant to think that we would know how to navigate through works that were prepared for us? Those works are part of God’s orchestrated purpose for our lives.

The Lord uses our trials, adversities, and hardships to conform our motives so that they direct our thoughts and actions into His perfect plan for our lives. Hebrews 4:12 Amplified spoke of His word as, “…penetrating…exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.”

All thoughts originate from our motives. No wonder David asked the Lord to search his heart. Psalm 26:2 says, “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart.” Let us make David’s prayer our own. Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Pure motives will direct our actions into ways that glorify the Lord.

The Lord spoke through Haggai to bring His people out of complacency and into His fullness. First, He had to reveal to the leaders what they were not hearing. The people were saying that it was not time, but God was saying it was time.

Four times the Lord told them to consider. Consider means to ponder, or think about something, and to mull it over in your mind. Haggai 1:5 says, “Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways!” He highlighted their lack: they sowed much but brought in little, they ate but did not have enough, they drank but were not filled, they clothed themselves but were not warm, and they earned wages, but they put it in a bag with holes.

Verse 9-11 revealed the consequences of their complacency. Verse 9 says, “…Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.” It was the Lord who withheld from them. The Lord used Haggai’s word to stir up the people. Verse 12 says that they obeyed the voice of the Lord and feared His presence. It was the Lord who stirred them up to do the work. The Hebrew word for stirred means: to arouse, awaken, excite, raise up, to incite, to open one’s eyes. I believe the Lord is using our present national circumstances to STIR up His people.

Haggai 2:5-6 says, “…so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear! For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and the dry land.” Why did He do that? Verse 7 says, “And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory, says the Lord of hosts.”

Verse 17 says that He was the One who struck them with lack because they did not turn to Him. Verse 19 is a very probing question which says, “Is the seed still in the barn?…” This is the time for world evangelism, that a mighty harvest will be brought into His Kingdom. Do not be complacent. We must cry out together; united in prayer for worldwide revival.

14 times Haggai used the words, ‘the Lord of hosts’ to express who was speaking to them. Hosts have several meanings. One is the armies of Israel. It reminded me of Joshua 5:13-14. Joshua asked the Man, “…Are You for us or for our adversaries? So He said, No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord…” We have One Commander. We are in a holy season. Let us walk in humility so we have the grace we need to fight on our knees!