Category: Video-Devotions

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Slow vs. Late Dominion – Part 2

“It’s not over!” the ministry leader said to me.

This was one of the most prolific prophetic Words I had ever received. It was spoken to me many years ago by someone I greatly respect in a church sanctuary.

Since then, from time to time, when I feel like I’m working to catch up on projects, Holy Spirit will bring this declaration to my remembrance so hopelessness doesn’t set in.

I love how God is so good to help us and that we are never alone.

In Part 1 of this series, we addressed hopelessness—that it’s a lie from the enemy. We touched on God being in our continuance of time and that slow can mean patient; and late can mean from here forward

We determined that God is longsuffering and remains to have a plan for His redeemed ones to partner with Him, even when we mess up. And we determined that repentance is key for coming closer to God and moving toward the fulfillment of His promises.

We saw that God helped Joshua’s army enter deeper into His righteousness as they purged evil from among them to obey Him forward at Ai.

Righteousness, which is God’s way, is God’s standard.

God tests our obedience as we walk with Him on the narrow path. We can stay the course with our eyes on Him, or we can stray and do it our way.

God’s promises fulfilled involve a process we grow through. Staying on the narrow path involves a kind of suffering. Getting off of it does, too. But, with God’s grace-power, remaining on it and returning to it, after we have steered off course, can produce timely fruit.

For example, when we fast forward to Joshua in the ninth chapter, we find that he made a peace treaty with an envoy of deceivers—the Gibeonites (Jo 9:15). Three days later, when the truth came out, he realized his error. Even so, he still made good on his promise to keep peace, as he dealt with their deception swiftly. Joshua turned the people toward good by having them serve God’s house. So, any time lost in the Israelites’ mission to deal with this sin was made up by their increased labor force.

Just like with Joshua, when God is with us in battle, we cannot lose. We can grow wiser and stronger in the journey, as God reveals His strategies to us and we obey Him in the small things that will reinforce His ways in us for bigger things forward—and not just for ourselves.

So, we don’t have to beat ourselves up if we’ve messed up. And we don’t have to sell ourselves short by caving into deception. God always has a solution for a better, higher outcome.

A couple of encouraging scriptures in this regard are:

First, James 1:4 TPT, which says, “And then as your endurance grows even stronger, it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.”

Secondly, Hebrews 10:36 TPT, which says, “You need the strength of endurance to reveal the poetry of God’s will and then you receive the promise in full.”

So, along our journey to fulfillment, we can be encouraged by God’s truth in Ephesians 2:10 TPT, which says, “We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!”

With all this assurance, we don’t have to worry about being late in the worst sense of the word. We can arrive by fixing our eyes on God and actively agreeing with His righteous truths—His promises of hope that will come to fruition (He 11:1).

God will not resist us when we humble ourselves and call on His Name for help. He will be faithful to His great nature and lift us from every false burden, so we can begin again, be made stronger by Him and bring honor to Him.

Romans 12:1 TPT specifically reveals God’s strategy of reciprocal honor by saying, “Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship.

Pray with me if you will…

Dear Lord,

Thank You for making me courageously faithful. I repent of believing the devil’s lies that I’ve missed it or will miss it. I declare today that, with Your help, Lord, I will not miss your appointed times for me. And I choose to fully trust You to get me where You desire I be on Your timetable. I declare that Your promises are yes and amen. “You keep every promise You’ve ever made to me! Since your love for me is constant and endless, I ask you, Lord, to finish every good thing that you’ve begun in me” (Ps 138:8 TPT)! I choose this day to walk with You in Your truth on Your righteous path of Your faithful fulfillment for me.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Slow vs. Late Dominion – Part 1

This devotion is purposed to encourage those who feel like they aren’t yet where they would like to be in this new season.

First of all, this new season is just beginning. Therefore, every manifestation God has for us won’t happen all at once at the forefront.

Secondly, God’s timeline will not short-cut our development in Him. Because, to Him, our transformation is more important than our tasks.

Thirdly, revival begins with repentance. Therefore, it’s important to ask Holy Spirit to search our hearts and reveal sins that are unknown to us so that we can come into greater authenticity by confessing them to Him.

An important key to remember here, according to 2 Peter 3:9 NIV, is that “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

The Word “slow” in this scripture (Strong’s #1019, bradunó) means that God is never late with His appointed times. He is not slack and does not loiter. He is patient with us, which means He is long-suffering and forbearing. This means that God refuses to “retaliate with anger, because of human reasoning” (HELPS Word-studies).

In other words, even if we have gotten off-track due to our own rationale (self-righteousness) above God’s instructions, God gives us opportunity to turn back to Him and holds us in His salvation of hope, like a stray lamb.

Holy Spirit will work in us to lead us to repent of anything and everything that we have participated in that has slowed us down, so that we align with Him for promises to manifest. In other words, He makes a way for us, no matter where we are on His timetable.

He is committed to remain with us and not leave us. So, if we haven’t already, we need to settle this in our minds and hearts.

On the contrary, the enemy can try to convince us that it’s hopelessly too late for us, that we’ve missed it already or that we will miss it. He can try to convince us that God has given up on us, because we didn’t get it right the first time or enough times. The devil can try to provoke us with fear to get us out of faith.

But it can help to know that there are other definitions of the Word “late.” In Holy Scripture, “late” can mean the present, henceforth and hereafter (Strong’s #3568, nun). “Late” can mean “now, in light of what has gone before” (HELPS Word-studies). So, in this, we can see hope for a new beginning! We can realize that we’re not too far gone at all! And, in fact, we’re right on time to partner with God and His plan forward from right where we are.

And there’s even more…

Another meaning of “late” is “at the beginning” and “even, in the end” (Strong’s #3796, opse). So, this brings to mind God as our Alpha and Omega, our Beginning and End. Our Finisher, who fulfills His promises to us! Our Completer, who helps us catch up to join Him along His extension of time. Our Redeemer, who invites us to walk out His saving-grace, where we are reminded that God (as Love) never gives up on us (1 Co 13:7).

If you look up the word “late” on Dictionary.com, you will see that every definition contains an element of the continuance of time. In other words, an invitation or event doesn’t just stop due to lateness in the worst sense of the word. It continues on to become the most recent invitation or event.

So, when the devil whispers, “It’s too late,” we need to remember that he is a lying fool, who doesn’t want us to live in God’s grace-power. It’s important that we capture those lies as mental seeds and cast them out. Then declare God’s truth about who God is, who we are in Christ and that God will help us finish well and righteously on time.

God has already factored in our weakness to our timeline. Joshua’s army at Ai is a great example. The story begins in Joshua chapter 7.

There, you will see that, no sooner did they make it into the Promised Land to fight their very first battle at Ai, when the worst of humanity revealed itself through a fighter, whose name, Achan, literally means trouble (Strong’s #5912, Akan). The big mess he created took time and a process to clean up. But God was with Joshua to help him sort through it all.

The point here is that God didn’t cancel His plans for the Israelites because they had to take time out of fighting for their promise to deal with this sin. No, actually, this was part of their fight for holiness! God knew this sidebar event would happen before they even entered into battle.

And yet, God didn’t abandon Joshua in the mission to which they were called and assigned. God didn’t delay them. No, He carried them through the situation all the way to victory. And with a new strategy to go and re-do the mission righteously.

God grew them to become stronger in Him in this journey.

So, the army returned to Ai. They did it God’s way and they experienced manifest victory.

Friends, there’s more to this story. So, join me next week for Part 2 of Slow vs. Late Dominion.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Solid Ground

Has anyone else seen the recently-released Elvis movie? My husband and I saw it and I was glad I did.

The movie revealed a hardscrabble side of Elvis’ story that many, including myself, didn’t know in detail. At times, it was painful to watch, wondering how anyone could endure such extremes.

Viewing it from a Biblical perspective enabled me to see how the enemy tried relentlessly to work poverty and lack throughout this man’s life to gain ground…to steal, kill and destroy” (Jn 10:10).

God alone is our Holy Ground, our Solid Rock, our Solid Gold, our Dominion. He owns it all and is above it all. With Him everything He is and wills for us is possible. With Him, we don’t have to do it our way or the world’s way. We don’t have to depend on fools.

God’s truth in Psalm 23:1 TPT tells us that “Yahweh is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough.”

God instructs us in 2 Timothy 2:22 TPT to “Run as fast as you can from all the ambitions and lusts of youth; and chase after all that is pure. Whatever builds up your faith and deepens your love must become your holy pursuit. And live in peace with all those who worship our Lord Jesus with pure hearts.”

So, obedience to His instructions is how we can “stand on level ground” as we praise Him in the “great congregation” (Ps 26:12 NIV).

It’s only when we distance ourselves, lose sight of Him as our captivation and go our own way to put other things above Him (instead of in submission to Him) that we set ourselves on a trajectory that misses God’s best. Disobedience, even sins of our youth, can cause us to get caught up in enemy snares and miss longevity’s blessings (De 30:19).

If we don’t return to God through heartfelt repentance, we can miss God’s best life for us to the point of sin overtaking us, which always leads to some sort of death, possibly even physical.

This truth can be found in Romans 8:13 TPT, which says that “For when you live controlled by the flesh, you are about to die. But if the life of the Spirit puts to death the corrupt ways of the flesh, we then taste his abundant life.”

On earth, the kind of end God desires for us to come to is the end of ourselves—our selfishness, lusts of the flesh, all else that doesn’t please God.

Because God is with us, we can hit the wall of our wrongdoings and be awakened to new life as He reveals to us the error of our ways. In our moments of true confession, He can meet us with revelation, where we can come to recognize the only good thing in us at all, is Him and His virtue of goodness—nothing of our own.

This is the beginning of our deeper awareness of our greater freedom in Christ. This gracious revelation makes our dependence upon Him clearer and motivates us to be more obedient with a grateful heart.

God’s truth is that He exalts the humble, which are those who live in submission to Him. So, sometimes, our best prayer is, “Lord, fix me. Get me where You desire I be.”

Colossians 3:2 NIV warns us to “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Chapter 3 goes on to advise us to “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming” (Co 3:5-6 NIV)

The NIV study note for verse 6 clarifies that the wrath of God comes “on those who are disobedient.”

Still, God will offer us turning points before it’s too late. He may gently work through others before we hit the wall.

Psalm 40:2 TPT reminds us that “He stooped down to lift me out of danger from the desolate pit I was in, out of the muddy mess I had fallen into. Now he’s lifted me up into a firm, secure place and steadied me while I walk along his ascending path.”

To be sure, God has a higher life for each of us.

Do you remember the story of the woman caught in adultery (Jn 8:3)? When Jesus bent over and wrote in the dust on the ground with His finger in John 8:8? The Word “ground” in this scripture means “standing-place” (Strong’s #1093). It is the place where we lay it all at His feet and stand with Him on solid ground. It’s the place where we live out destiny in preparation for eternity.

As Jesus wrote for the woman caught in adultery, He changed her story by giving her a new beginning and a new directive, a true life to be lived—reflective of His mercy and grace—to go and “sin no more” (Jn 8:11).

She could continue with her new life on God’s ascended way for her, because He gave her directives along with His grace-power to fulfill them. He lifted her out of her low-life stupor without condemnation (1 Co 15:34).

I believe that as this woman was set free by Christ, she came to know Psalm 55:22 TPT, which says, “So here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Leave all your cares and anxieties at the feet of the Lord, and measureless grace will strengthen you.”

I believe she knew that Jesus was where Heaven meets earth and that He loved her more than anyone else could (Jn 3:16-17, 1 Jn 2:15).

I wonder whether Elvis ever knew these truths beyond where his talent took him.

When God restores our lives, He restores our dignity, integrity and beauty. Heaviness falls away as we enter His weighty glory. Unchained, we find true answers and walk to a new melody. This is His promise of His grace, without which we would never make it in the land.

Truth always comes as we trust God, and it’s best if it comes sooner than later. Let’s not make deals with the devil (1 Jn 2:16). Let’s take it all to The Lord and follow His lead, so we can keep truly ascending and not get caught in a trap with no way out.

Pray with me if you will…

Dear Lord,

Thank You for releasing me into Your best plan for me. “See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on, and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting way—the path that brings me back to you” (Ps 139:24 TPT). Help me put my trust in You. Whatever has gotten out of control in my life, help me bring it into submission to You. And “Let my passion for life be restored, tasting joy in every breakthrough you bring to me. Hold me close to you with a willing spirit that obeys whatever you say” (Ps 51:12 TPT).

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Healing Dreams

Sometimes, when we have suffered a long time, like Joseph, a dream can make all the difference. A dream can minister the comfort of hope. Acting on it can unlock our destinies and bring fullness of joy.

Remember the dream Joseph had early in his life? Where God revealed to him the good outcome of his hardship?

Well, fast forward to when God put Joseph in front of Pharaoh to interpreted Pharaoh’s dream. What we see here is a Divine set-up for Joseph to interpret someone else’s dream before his own dream came true. And of all people, God chose Pharaoh, the earthly governing authority who kept Joseph and his dream locked away. But the deeper truth here is that both of them held each other’s keys to unlock their destinies.

Pharaoh needed a favor and so did Joseph. But if Joseph’s heart hadn’t been right in the eyes of God, he would not have interpreted Pharaoh’s dream. And if Pharaoh hadn’t humbled himself to receive the interpretation through his prisoner, Joseph, he would have had a very different story.

So, we see here that, when Joseph brought life to Pharaoh’s dream by interpreting it, this unlocked his own dream. The dream interpretation turned the key of destiny that set Joseph free from where he had been. It opened up his own new beginning for a new path (Ps 119:32).

What’s important to see here is that God’s heart extends beyond us to others we feel may not be so deserving. In this case, God expressed His grace through both Joseph and Pharaoh, as God’s heart was to feed not only His blessed Israelites but also His beloved Egyptians.

Just like with Joseph, God will often position an unlikely person in our lives who holds the key to unlock our dreams and destinies. When we grow to have a right heart toward them, beyond judgment into triumphant mercy, to the extent that we become willing to first help them unlock their dream, God breaks open our own dream-come-true. 

This is the virtue and law of reciprocity that is part of maturing, strengthening and transforming us as Christ-like. It is for our benefit, even though it doesn’t initially feel fair to our selfish nature.

It’s a way God humbles us to position us for promotion.

It’s a way we experience the fullness of our healing as joy floods us.

As our breakthroughs come, even through unexpected key holders, we experience the freedom to get unstuck as God extends His grace to the humble.

We can imagine the challenge of Joseph having to overcome feelings of being controlled by this authority figure before he could walk in greater authority. And we can understand this higher walk with God as we honor both Him and the one He chose to hold and turn our keys.

Clearly, prideful dishonor must go as we submit to God’s ways.

I have experienced this in my life on a couple of occasions. One of them being in the area of book publishing:

There was a woman, with whom I worked, who desired to publish a book and sought an editor. She asked me if I would do the job.

I knew this woman had no experience in writing or book publishing and that she was not a strong believer. She believed in Jesus but also believed in other practices that were not of Him.

Even so, I realized that, in His rich mercy, our Lord will bless whomever He chooses. So, I prayed about editing her manuscript.

At that time in my life, I didn’t understand that this situation was a set-up from God. I felt frustrated because it seemed I wasn’t being blessed in this area.

Still, I felt like God desired I do the job. So, I soldiered up and did a thorough edit. In the process, I discovered that, as I helped this woman break through into her dream-come-true, God grew me in humility.

Just a few years later, our Lord extended His grace further to see to it that my first book was published. This proved to be the beginning of my formal ministry structure.

So, friends, God doesn’t stop short and He never forgets. Our blessings begin when we align with Him and are extended when we work with Him to bless others.

What God did for Joseph, He will do for us.

Wherever you are in your journey, remember you are always victorious in Christ. You are continually growing higher as you align with Him. And you will accomplish your destiny with God if you honor Him and don’t give up.

So, Lord, please have mercy upon us and bring Your healing by helping us realize our dreams-come-true. For Your glory.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.

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Shame To Glory

God is constantly working on our behalves to reposition us into the manifestation of the work He did in us during the last season.

So, as He has swept away our ashes, He will lift us into His higher beauty. As He has taken our mourning, He will lift us into dancing. As He has removed our shame, He will lift us into His greater glory.

God will give us opportunities to apply His wisdom as we stand on His Word above all else.

He will make our days brighter as we continue to reach out to those in need with compassion (Is 58:8).

And in all of this, He will help us know, even more, the treasure He made us to be as we continue to grow in Him and behold Him as our greatest Treasure.

Just as Ruth encountered God’s serendipity as she entered into her new domain, so too can we expect surprises along the way.

Ruth experienced a string of suddenlies: A trail that led her, built her and prevailed for her. A path that produced more than enough for her. So much so that God was able to overflow new life to her beloved, grieving Naomi.

Imagine rewards like this!

Ruth came to understand Psalm 116:11 ESV, which says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Ruth came to understand that, for her worst, most painful ending, God had a new, bright beginning just for her.

As she sought God forward in her desperation and followed His best wisdom, Ruth stepped into her greatest blessings yet—the restoration of a Godly family and all the inheritance that it comes with.

Isaiah 61:7 NLT is a key scripture here. It says, “Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.”

The Word shame (Strong’s #1322) here means “confusion” and is linked with idolatry. It refers to shame as a feeling, a condition and its cause.

We know that confusion leads to instability and that we do not serve a God of confusion but a God of truth, certain hope and a firm foundation.

So, for every false cloak of shame the enemy tried to force on us previously, God will give us double-portion honor as we have laid down idols and chosen His path instead (Ps 109:29). He will give us rejoice for confusion (Is 61:7 KJV). He will restore double blessings for whatever blessings we forfeited previously (Is 61:7 AMP).

Another part of God’s restoration plan is to deal with all who oppressed us.

Zephaniah 3:19 NLT says, “And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones; I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed.

So, as we continue to focus on our Lord and walk out His restoration plan for us, He will take care of business behind us.

We won’t have to look back.

We can leave it all to God.

I like how Job’s friend, Zophar, says it so poetically in Job 11:13-20 NIV:

Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp.

So, pray with me if you will…

Dear Lord,

Thank You that, as we walk with You, Your abundance, honor and glory are our rear guard, according to Isaiah 58:8. Thank You that there is no shame as we continue to turn to You and Your ways. Thank You that, as you resurrect us and redeem our lives daily by Your grace, we are made stronger in You to share Your great compassion with others without shame. Thank You for a harvest of joy for those who sowed tears (Ps 126:5).

Help us to receive Your wisdom and not be wise in our own eyes, since You allow disappointment, disgrace and disempowerment for the foolishly self-reliant (Ro 10:11 AMPC). Help us to trust in You and know that You and Your ways are enough.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

This devo was graciously re-posted by the Salem Web Network, which includes iBelieve.com.