truth

Harvest Seed

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We are to plant with the harvest seed in mind. Though this was written about finances, think of your words as seeds. 2 Corinthians 9:10 in the Amplified says, “And (God) Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your (resources for) sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness…” 

Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Are your words producing life-giving seeds, or life-destroying weed seeds? Do folks shrink from the tone of your voiced words, or do they expectantly lean into taking the succulent fruit?

Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace…” Ecclesiastes 10:12 says, “The words of the wise man’s mouth are gracious…”

God’s Ways Are Unsearchable ~ Part One

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Isaiah 40 is a great chapter. I visit it when I need perspective. The words are so picturesque. Verse 12 says, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountain in scales and the hills in a balance?”

Verse 25 says, “To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal? says the Holy One.” Verse 28 says, “…The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.”

Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” 

Here is one I love. Job 26:14 says, “Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him!…”

God’s Purpose ~ Part One

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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.”

As I was memorizing this verse, I stopped to savor this point. God’s own purpose and grace. I encourage you to say this: I am saved according to God’s own purpose and grace. Roll it around in your mind, savor every word, and let it permeate your heart. 

Then take your thoughts to the truth that this was all set in place before time began. Genesis 1:4-5 says, “…God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”

We live by time. God orchestrates our lives through His purpose for each of us that will never be thwarted. Job 42:2.

Truth Never Changes~Part One

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God’s truth is eternal. Nothing can alter it, nor change it in any way. Our circumstances change constantly. When we bring truth into our circumstances it will change us. Jesus told His disciples that when His truth became their experience it would set them free.

What do you need to be set free from? John 8:32 says, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The Greek word know means: to perceive, understand, recognize, gain knowledge, realize, come to know..

It is the truth that becomes our personal experience. One of the truths that literally changed my life was when I found out that not every thought I had was of my origin. The enemy of our soul plants lies through fiery darts. Ephesians 6:16.

When we bring God’s word of truth into our hearts it will act as a sentinel. It rises up from within to deflect lies that come into our minds through fiery darts.

Created To Praise ~ Part One

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I memorized Psalm 96. Next I started memorizing Psalm 98. It starts out like Psalm 96 did. Verse 1 says, “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things…” He is the subject of our new songs. I love to wake up singing little songs that bubble up when I focus on Him.

Here is something that I noted in both psalms. Creation gets involved. Psalm 96:11-12 incorporates the heavens, earth, sea, field, and all the trees of the woods. In Psalm 98 it is the sea, the world and all who dwell in it. I love verse 8. Just picture it as you read the words. “Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together.”

What is creation’s focus? Psalm 96:13 says, “For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and  the peoples with His truth.”

Spiritual Warfare 101 ~ Part Two

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1 Peter 5:8-9 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith…” Ephesians 6:13 says to withstand. Strong’s definition: vigorously opposing, bravely resisting, standing face-to-face against an adversary, standing your ground.

Salvation is eternal. Philippians 1:28 says, “And not in anyway terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.”

Spiritual warfare is part of our progressive sanctification. It is God’s effective tool to strengthen our faith. It takes warfare to reveal the hidden chinks in our armor. Unresolved issues are chinks that the enemy targets. 

Within every believer is the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead. We stand against a defeated foe. His power is deceptive temptations that entice us. We must bring truth into our hearts to stand and keep on standing.

Praying In The Spirit ~ Part Two

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Habakkuk is a great example for us to journal. I’ve been journaling since December 1976. I use a blank journal. I love to circle, underline, or square parts of verses and insights the Holy Spirit gives me. I write the key word or topic in the side margin. It is like a workbook. All my writings come from those insights.

Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me, and I will answer, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Revelational insight is His strategic tool for effective spiritual warfare. Insight that is inaccessible except through the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:10 Amplified says that the Holy Spirit, “…searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God (the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny).”

The Holy Spirit will often put words in my mouth as I am praying for someone ~ words of wisdom, phrases of Scripture, or encouragement to share.