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Thursday Tweets that Teach

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THE MEEK

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Matthew 5:4

Meekness is not to be confused with weakness. In scripture, meekness means “power under control.” In this context, the contrite, praying person is blessed with the indwelling control of the Holy Spirit and the inheritance promised to the believer even in conflict.

History shows that it is the people who have learned this, people with their passions, instincts and impulses under disciplined control, who have been great. (see Numbers 12:3 and Proverbs 16:32) Thus:

Blessed are those whose every instinct, every impulse, and every passion is under the control of God’s Spirit! They will be right with God, self and others and enter the life which God alone can give.

Pray for this meekness when entering into dialogue with those of opposing positions. There will be times when patience and self-control will be sorely tested. There may also be times when the Spirit will suggest a change of direction in the dialogue or a strategic retreat that looks suspiciously like defeat. To be meek is to be able to willingly accept temporary defeat in order that there may later be victory in the Spirit.

A co-worker in China was struggling with the attitudes of a house church group who forbade hand-clapping during the singing of hymns. One leader complained bitterly. Every evening in the brothers’ sleeping quarters, he would complain further. The group would then debate endlessly on whether or not clapping hands during singing was permissible. It was like the black smoke pouring out from the weeds.

This continued until the afternoon of the last day, when God used His Word, and the Holy Spirit did an amazing work. This brother stood up and admitted his wrongdoing. He asked God to forgive his ignorance, stubbornness and defensiveness. With his confession, Christ’s love tore down an invisible wall. It was as if the Lord “broke down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.” The response of the workers as they prayed together was, “The glorious King has come.” Thank and praise the Lord. He was completely victorious.

RESPONSE: Today I will quit calling the shots and surrender complete control to God.

PRAYER: Lord, today I completely surrender to the control of Your Spirit in my life. Help me to be meek.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

How I Learned Faith – Full Flame Film Series by Reinhard Bonnke

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As wondrous as seeing God’s hand at work, is the power that answers our faith in “things not seen.” When we move beyond a Sunday-kind of faith to faith as a lifestyle, we open a connection to God that makes wonderful things possible. For soul-winners, faith is the essential element that helps us face problems with confidence, challenge fear, and go on. Fired by faith, we become true “conductors” of God’s power, allowing His love to flow through us.

Lost at Sea (Full Flame Film Series) by Reinhard Bonnke
The Matchless Message – Full Flame Film Series by Reinhard Bonnke
Who Jesus Calls and Equips – Full Flame Film Series by Reinhard Bonnke

God Controls Promotion and Success

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A few week ago, my wife got a promotion at her work. She still had to apply and be interviewed for it, but I remember how exciting it was for all of us when she shared the news. We texted each other, shouted and celebrated later that evening with a cold bottle of Sparkling Cider. She had worked hard and truly deserved it.

A few days after I reflected on this, I concluded that even though we ought to work hard and do our best at work, our promotion doesn’t necessarily come just by our personal and professional growth. There is another element we often overlook. Let me share with you an excerpt from Howard Dayton’s “Your Money Map” to better illustrate. He writes,

As much as it may surprise you, your boss is not the one who controls whether you will be promoted. The bible says, “For promotion and power come from nowhere, but only from God.” The bible also reveals the reason for Joseph’s success: The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered… The Lord gave him success in everything he did.” What was true for Joseph is true for us. Most people leave God completely out of their work. They believe they alone control their success and promotions and are solely responsible for their job skills. However, those with a biblical understanding approach work knowing God is personally involved in it. One of the major reasons people experience frustration in their jobs is that they don’t understand God’s role.

Question:

How will knowing the part God plays in your work impact your job?

Howard Dayton, Your  Money Map: A Proven 7-Step Guide to True Financial Freedom (Moody Publishers, 2006) Page 95

Whose Report Will You Believe?

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God stills you

Satan rushes you

God leads you

Satan pushes you

God reassures you

Satan frightens you

God enlightens you

Satan confuses you

God encourages you

Satan discourages you

God comforts you

Satan worries you

God calms you

Satan obsesses you

God convicts you

Satan condemns you

Who Am I?

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You’ve heard countless times that you’re a new creation in Christ, but what does that look like in your everyday life? This creative minute-and-a-half video does an excellent job of showing you.

Monday Night Meditation

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So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1-2‬ MSG)

Photo Credit: LightStock

 

The Power of Honor

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God has called us to become vessels of honor. The Bible calls us to honor God in everything we do. The Bible says, if we honor God he will honor us. But if we dishonor Him, he will lightly esteem us. I have seen too many Christians buy into the culture of dishonor as displayed on Fox News, MSNBC and other news outlets and blogs toward elected officials. We find this same culture of dishonor in relationships – be it between husband and wife or parents and children. Spiritual authorities are not exempt either from this problem. When it comes to spiritual authorities, I have observed two extremes in the ways church folks relate to them.
1. Church leaders are either put on pedestals – or
2. They are very lightly esteemed
As a result, we receive incredibly more value from those we highly esteem,  but no value at all from those we lightly esteem. We receive lots of blessings from those we honor but receive very fewer blessings from those we dishonor.
Is it possible for God to use your church leaders to speak to you and minister in supernatural ways to you and your family? Is it possible to see signs and wonders happening in your church every time you gather? Is it possible to become too familiar with the Divine and treat it lightly? Is it possible to undervalue the ones closest to you? I think so!
Too many church folks look down on their spiritual leaders. This is one of the reasons for church hopping. Too many church folks are in the habit of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to go see big name evangelist, but lightly esteem the men and women God has set before them.
Too many relationships are dying, marriages are broken because of dishonor. How will your marriage or relationship look like if you honor your spouse, and did not exasperate your children to anger?
We ask for God’s Spirit to rest upon us, but when He does, we grieve him by our actions, indifference, and carelessness. We seek his presence, but when he shows up, we treat him casually.
There is a very well-known story in the bible that illustrates this beautifully. It’s a story about Jesus and his home town folks. Look at Mark 6:1-5:
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.
This short passage speaks volumes about the attitude of the people in Jesus’ home town. They esteemed him lightly and took offense at him. For those reasons, Jesus could not do any miracles, signs or wonders. Because the attitude of these folks actually determined their ability to receive any blessing or miracle from Jesus.
This is a sad picture of many Churches today. People come and go without actually touching God or hearing from Him in deep and satisfying ways because they do not hold in high regard that place of worship.
Too many relationships remain barren and bankrupt of Hope, Joy, and fulfillment because those in the relationship fail to place value, worth and honor on each other.
What is your attitude toward your leaders? What is your attitude toward the divine? How confident are you in their leadership? What kind of value do you place on the life and ministry of those whom The Lord has placed in charge over you? How do you treat the gifts and talents? Have you set your heart to honoring God in everything you do?
The measure of value you place on them is the same measure of value you will receive from them.

May these Hallelujahs be Multiplied

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My Worship
Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name

My Prayer
God of mercy sweet love of mine
I have surrendered to Your design
May this offering stretch across the skies
And these hallelujahs be multiplied

Charity Begins at Home

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A Paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13 
Author Unknown and altered by J. Yardy

Though in the glamour of the public eye I sway the emotions of many by my oratory, or my silver singing, or by my skillful playing, or by my winning personality, and then go home and gripe because things don’t go m way, I am become a sounding brass or a tingling cymbal. And though I am able to impress others with my vast knowledge of the deep things of the Word of God in Bible Studies and prayer groups, and though I am able to accomplish mighty things through faith so that I become famous in the church as a remover of mountains, and have not love that reads the deep longings of the hearts around the family circle, and removes the barriers that grow up in shy and tender hearts, I am nothing at all. And though in glamour of public praise I bestow my goods to feed the poor, and though I win the name and fame of the saint, yet close up like a clam at home or behave like a snapping turtle, not giving of myself in self-denying service to those nearest and dearest it profiteth me nothing. Love is not impatient, but love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not brag about itself and makes not parade. Love is not proud and love is never rude. Love does not seek its own way nor fights for its own rights. Love is not resentful and is not easily provoked. Love does not brood over being wronged. Love does not joy over the mistakes of others but is truly gladdened by goodness. Love suffers long and is trustful, cheerful, and patient. Home is the acid test of the truly yielded life, for in all other phases of Christian service there is a certain amount of glamour; but in the home, one is confronted with the bare facts of life, stripped of all glamour. The home is given to help every Christian not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. And it is in the home that the christian life is “faith that worketh by love.”

 

I am officially back!

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40 days ago, I decided to take a break from blogging to kind of reevaluate my priorities. Well, with the Lord’s help, I think I finally have everything in its proper place. Thankfully, blogging is back on the list, but not in the same place it was. I am thankful for your prayers and the many wonderful thoughts I received from many of you by email.  Today, I would like to announce that I am officially back! I look forward to connecting again with all of you for mutual encouragement in the Lord.

My first post will center on some of the things the Lord has dealt with me during these 40 days. For example:

Family, humility, charity, priority, service, and love.  I’ve learned that “the home is the acid test of the truly yielded life, for in all other phases of Christian service there is a certain amount of glamour; but in the home, one is confronted with the bare facts of life, stripped of all glamour.” I am sure you will enjoy reading my next post it will inspire you.

See each o you on your blog!