Mark 11:23
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
NKJV
Prov 18:20-21
20 A man's stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
NKJV
Deut 28:8
8 "The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
NKJV
My Comments:
In Prov 18:21, the writer states that both 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue'. In Hebrew, the word 'power' is the exact same word as the word 'hand' that is found in Deut 28:8. A literal translation of Prov 18:21 would be "Death and life is in the hand of the tongue"
In Deut 28:8, Moses spoke to the children of Israel and told them that God would bless them in everything they set their hand to. This meant that whatever it was that they chose to do, He would bless it!
Our words contain either life, or death, based on Prov 18:21. Relating this to Deut 28:8, we could say that what we choose to say would result in either life or death being released! In a sense, we could rephrase Prov 18:21 as: "Death and life is
in what we choose to say, and we will reap the fruits of what we chose!
Whatever the situation we may be facing, we have to examine the words that we speak, as by virtue of Jesus' lesson on faith in Mark 11:23, we will have what we say! Let us be watchful over what we speak as we enter 2013, that we may speak words of life and not death both to ourselves and to those around us!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
You Have What You Say!
Mark 11:23
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
NKJV
My Comments:
Continuing from the previous post on Jesus and His lesson on faith, there is another area in the same passage that we should examine; where Jesus said "he will have whatever he says."
In Mark 11:23, note that Jesus was very specific on the identity of the person talking to the mountain, and that he also concluded with saying that that same person will have whatever he said.
Therefore, the conclusion to draw is that we have what we say! People can say what they want, we don't have what they say, we have what we say! You may have had negative words spoken against you by your parents, your siblings, your friends, your teachers, anybody! You don't have what they say, you have what you say!
And if what you say is the same as what God says about you, you can be assured that it is good, and you will have what you say!
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
NKJV
My Comments:
Continuing from the previous post on Jesus and His lesson on faith, there is another area in the same passage that we should examine; where Jesus said "he will have whatever he says."
In Mark 11:23, note that Jesus was very specific on the identity of the person talking to the mountain, and that he also concluded with saying that that same person will have whatever he said.
Therefore, the conclusion to draw is that we have what we say! People can say what they want, we don't have what they say, we have what we say! You may have had negative words spoken against you by your parents, your siblings, your friends, your teachers, anybody! You don't have what they say, you have what you say!
And if what you say is the same as what God says about you, you can be assured that it is good, and you will have what you say!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Jesus' Lesson On Faith
Mark 11:22-24
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
NKJV
My Comments:
2012 is drawing to an end, and I felt that there's no better way to close it out than to do a series of posts on our faith in God, what it is and isn't, and how we walk by faith.
Mark 11:22-24 gives the fundamental lesson on faith, as taught by the Lord Himself. In the context of the passage above, this happened after the disciples saw a fig tree that was cursed to its roots previously by Jesus before they entered Jerusalem. When leaving Jerusalem, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
Jesus immediately used this as an example to teach them, and us, that we could do the same thing that He did! There are three things in His lesson to consider:
1. "Have faith in God"
Notice that Jesus said to have faith in God. In the Greek, the word 'faith' is translated as the word 'pistis' and that it comes with the idea of having a definite trust in God and His ability.
It appears almost 239 times in the New Testament and almost always comes with the implication of having faith in God. It is not faith in ourselves, or faith in our words, but faith in God that He is more than able and willing to act on our behalf!
2. "whoever says, those things he says, whatever he says"
Faith is not mental assent! Note that after telling the disciples to have faith in God, Jesus immediately went into teaching them on talking! This implies that faith is exercised through the words spoken. Faith is not silent! It has a voice!
We act on our faith through our words that are spoken. When we put our faith in God, it would naturally come out in the way we talk. Our speech would line up with what we believe.
For example, if we had a particular sickness and we believed that God was able and willing to heal us, we would not be talking about how God gave us that sickness, that He's not willing to heal us. Rather, we should be talking about God and that we're believing Him for healing, that He's more than able to heal, etc.
3. "does not doubt in his heart"
The Greek word for doubt is the word 'diakrino' which in its context would mean to oppose, to hesitate, to stagger or waver. It's made out of two words, 'dia', where one of its meanings is 'to avoid' and 'krino', which has a possible meaning of 'conclude'.
If we put the two words together and take its literal meaning, we could revise the phrase 'does not doubt in his heart' to 'does not avoid making a conclusion in his heart'. We have to make a decision, a conclusion as to the truthfulness of God's Word in our lives and stick to that decision rather than avoid making a conclusion and sit on the fence on whether God's Word is true. Either it is true or it is not true. There is no in-between!
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
NKJV
My Comments:
2012 is drawing to an end, and I felt that there's no better way to close it out than to do a series of posts on our faith in God, what it is and isn't, and how we walk by faith.
Mark 11:22-24 gives the fundamental lesson on faith, as taught by the Lord Himself. In the context of the passage above, this happened after the disciples saw a fig tree that was cursed to its roots previously by Jesus before they entered Jerusalem. When leaving Jerusalem, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
Jesus immediately used this as an example to teach them, and us, that we could do the same thing that He did! There are three things in His lesson to consider:
1. "Have faith in God"
Notice that Jesus said to have faith in God. In the Greek, the word 'faith' is translated as the word 'pistis' and that it comes with the idea of having a definite trust in God and His ability.
It appears almost 239 times in the New Testament and almost always comes with the implication of having faith in God. It is not faith in ourselves, or faith in our words, but faith in God that He is more than able and willing to act on our behalf!
2. "whoever says, those things he says, whatever he says"
Faith is not mental assent! Note that after telling the disciples to have faith in God, Jesus immediately went into teaching them on talking! This implies that faith is exercised through the words spoken. Faith is not silent! It has a voice!
We act on our faith through our words that are spoken. When we put our faith in God, it would naturally come out in the way we talk. Our speech would line up with what we believe.
For example, if we had a particular sickness and we believed that God was able and willing to heal us, we would not be talking about how God gave us that sickness, that He's not willing to heal us. Rather, we should be talking about God and that we're believing Him for healing, that He's more than able to heal, etc.
3. "does not doubt in his heart"
The Greek word for doubt is the word 'diakrino' which in its context would mean to oppose, to hesitate, to stagger or waver. It's made out of two words, 'dia', where one of its meanings is 'to avoid' and 'krino', which has a possible meaning of 'conclude'.
If we put the two words together and take its literal meaning, we could revise the phrase 'does not doubt in his heart' to 'does not avoid making a conclusion in his heart'. We have to make a decision, a conclusion as to the truthfulness of God's Word in our lives and stick to that decision rather than avoid making a conclusion and sit on the fence on whether God's Word is true. Either it is true or it is not true. There is no in-between!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
A Continuous Refilling
Acts 2:1-4
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
NKJV
Eph 5:18
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled [pleerousthe] with the Spirit,
NKJV
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit.
AMP
My Comments:
As much as we have been filled with the Holy Spirit, it's not enough to just stay satisfied at having been filled once!
Several Greek scholars agree that in his letter to the Church at Ephesus, Paul wrote Eph 5:18 as a command to the believers. It was not a suggestion, or a plea! Not only that, they also agree that it was written in present continuous tense, which means that it was not just a one-off case. It was a command to always stay continuously filled with the Spirit!
Likewise as members of the Body, how much more we should endeavor to stay continuously filled with the Spirit and not leak!
Confession:
I'm not satisfied with being filled with God once! I choose to stay filled with Him continuously! I will be filled with Him till I'm overflowing and I will not leak!
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
NKJV
Eph 5:18
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled [pleerousthe] with the Spirit,
NKJV
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit.
AMP
My Comments:
As much as we have been filled with the Holy Spirit, it's not enough to just stay satisfied at having been filled once!
Several Greek scholars agree that in his letter to the Church at Ephesus, Paul wrote Eph 5:18 as a command to the believers. It was not a suggestion, or a plea! Not only that, they also agree that it was written in present continuous tense, which means that it was not just a one-off case. It was a command to always stay continuously filled with the Spirit!
Likewise as members of the Body, how much more we should endeavor to stay continuously filled with the Spirit and not leak!
Confession:
I'm not satisfied with being filled with God once! I choose to stay filled with Him continuously! I will be filled with Him till I'm overflowing and I will not leak!
Monday, December 24, 2012
A Demonstration of Love!
John 3:16-17
16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ( unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
17 For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
AMP
John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
NKJV
1 Cor 13:4-7
4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
AMP
Rom 5:5
5 Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.
AMP
My Comments:
We see a demonstration of God's Love for us when He gave us His only Son to be our Substitute for sin. Jesus came not only to save us, but to demonstrate the Father's love for us! All through His ministry we see how he demonstrated that love to sinners, the sick, anybody and everybody!
However, before He went to Calvary, He gave us a new commandment, to love one another, as He has loved us! We see the characteristics of the God-Kind of love how God defines it in 1 Cor 13:4-7 (AMP). Brother Kenneth E. Hagin called it the 'Love Thermometer' and gave an exhortation to walk in that Love like God did.
I can hear people saying "But I'm only human!" "I'm not Jesus!" "That's for God, not for me!" We may think that it's an impossible task to walk in that kind of love, but we have a hope! God knew that our love is so frail and weak, so He gave us His love! When we received the Holy Spirit, we received the God-Kind of Love with Him! For He is Love! So we can demonstrate His Love to people!
Confession:
I have the God-Kind of Love! He IS Love! I choose to walk in His love and I will demonstrate it! I love just as He loves me!
16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ( unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
17 For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
AMP
John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
NKJV
1 Cor 13:4-7
4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
AMP
Rom 5:5
5 Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.
AMP
My Comments:
We see a demonstration of God's Love for us when He gave us His only Son to be our Substitute for sin. Jesus came not only to save us, but to demonstrate the Father's love for us! All through His ministry we see how he demonstrated that love to sinners, the sick, anybody and everybody!
However, before He went to Calvary, He gave us a new commandment, to love one another, as He has loved us! We see the characteristics of the God-Kind of love how God defines it in 1 Cor 13:4-7 (AMP). Brother Kenneth E. Hagin called it the 'Love Thermometer' and gave an exhortation to walk in that Love like God did.
I can hear people saying "But I'm only human!" "I'm not Jesus!" "That's for God, not for me!" We may think that it's an impossible task to walk in that kind of love, but we have a hope! God knew that our love is so frail and weak, so He gave us His love! When we received the Holy Spirit, we received the God-Kind of Love with Him! For He is Love! So we can demonstrate His Love to people!
Confession:
I have the God-Kind of Love! He IS Love! I choose to walk in His love and I will demonstrate it! I love just as He loves me!
Friday, December 21, 2012
He Is With Us Always!
Ezek 48:35
35 All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE [Jehovah Shammah]."
NKJV
Matt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
NKJV
John 14:16-18
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
NKJV
2 Cor 6:16
16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
NKJV
Heb 13:5
5 ... For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
NKJV
My Comments:
In the Old Testament, though at times Israel sinned and provoked God to judgement, He always had them on His mind. He revealed Himself to them as Jehovah Shammah, or "God is Present" or "God is There". He revealed Himself as always being with them and not leaving them to their own destruction.
Likewise in the New Testament, we have a far better covenant established upon much better promises! We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us! And Jesus Himself has promised that He's with us always! Even in the darkest moments of our life when we feel all alone and abandoned by everyone, He's there to comfort us! Even when we succumb to temptation and we think that God isn't there for us, He still is! We know that when we call on His Name, He Is There for us!
35 All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE [Jehovah Shammah]."
NKJV
Matt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
NKJV
John 14:16-18
16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
NKJV
2 Cor 6:16
16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
NKJV
Heb 13:5
5 ... For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
NKJV
My Comments:
In the Old Testament, though at times Israel sinned and provoked God to judgement, He always had them on His mind. He revealed Himself to them as Jehovah Shammah, or "God is Present" or "God is There". He revealed Himself as always being with them and not leaving them to their own destruction.
Likewise in the New Testament, we have a far better covenant established upon much better promises! We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us! And Jesus Himself has promised that He's with us always! Even in the darkest moments of our life when we feel all alone and abandoned by everyone, He's there to comfort us! Even when we succumb to temptation and we think that God isn't there for us, He still is! We know that when we call on His Name, He Is There for us!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
His Name is Our Right Standing!
Jer 23:6
6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. [Jehovah Tsidkenu]
NKJV
Job 33:24-26
24 Then He is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom';
25 His flesh shall be young like a child's, he shall return to the days of his youth.
26 He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, he shall see His face with joy, for He restores to man His righteousness.
NKJV
2 Cor 5:21
21 For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].
AMP
My Comments:
A lot of people get confused over the word righteousness, and stumble over how they can attain to righteousness. In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself as Jehovah Tsidkenu, who could be translated as "The Lord who is Right", or "The Lord who is My Right Standing"
In Job, we see how God says that He's found a Ransom, and that He will restore His righteousness to man.
We see this in the New Testament, where Jesus died as the Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world. He was our Substitute in taking the Judgement of God upon Himself. As a result, we now have right standing with God based on what He has done! It's not what we've done, but what Jesus has already done!
When we call upon the Name, we remind God that He Himself is our Right Standing with Him!
6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. [Jehovah Tsidkenu]
NKJV
Job 33:24-26
24 Then He is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom';
25 His flesh shall be young like a child's, he shall return to the days of his youth.
26 He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, he shall see His face with joy, for He restores to man His righteousness.
NKJV
2 Cor 5:21
21 For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness].
AMP
My Comments:
A lot of people get confused over the word righteousness, and stumble over how they can attain to righteousness. In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself as Jehovah Tsidkenu, who could be translated as "The Lord who is Right", or "The Lord who is My Right Standing"
In Job, we see how God says that He's found a Ransom, and that He will restore His righteousness to man.
We see this in the New Testament, where Jesus died as the Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world. He was our Substitute in taking the Judgement of God upon Himself. As a result, we now have right standing with God based on what He has done! It's not what we've done, but what Jesus has already done!
When we call upon the Name, we remind God that He Himself is our Right Standing with Him!
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