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.

New Life – Part 2

Colossians 1:6 TPT says, “…Every believer of this good news bears the fruit of eternal life as they experience the reality of God’s grace.”

“For it is not from man that we draw our life but from God as we are being joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. And now he is our God-given wisdom, our virtue, our holiness, and our redemption” (1 Co 1:30 TPT).

So, as we remain close to our Lord in Word and Spirit, as we focus on the eternal and extend our faith for new life, God’s Spirit-life in us will be imparted into our souls. By His Spirit, He will nourish us toward the outward fulfillment of His abundant new life for us (2 Co 4:18, Jn 10:10).

We are bound to God’s righteousness and, therefore, His abundance as we choose to obey Him.

Romans 11:18 TPT reminds us that we owe our lives to the root that supports us. He alone is our life source.

Our key scriptures for this series are Proverbs 4:20-22 TPT, which instructs us to “Listen carefully, my dear child, to everything that I teach you, and pay attention to all that I have to say. Fill your thoughts with my words until they penetrate deep into your spirit. Then, as you unwrap my words, they will impart true life and radiant health into the very core of your being.”

In this verse, to “unwrap” means to discover, to find.

So, just like Naomi and Ruth discovered new life as they came into agreement with God’s leading, so can we. 

As they went forth together in faith, hope and love, Ruth discovered new life with Boaz. And Naomi discovered new life through the gift of a son. Through their journey of faith, God built and established their new lives. He even made that which was old to Naomi—meaning her homeland—new again to her.

But even before this manifest renewal, Ruth followed God’s wisdom through Naomi. And Naomi stepped forth, encouraged by Ruth, out of the death of bitterness into God’s greater goodness.

Ruth, who reflected new life to Naomi, didn’t give up on her in her bitterness, just like God doesn’t give up on us when we feel like we’re in a dead place.

Ruth wisely obeyed God’s wisdom and received the new life God had for her as her faith manifested in the form of marrying Boaz. Then she gave it back to Naomi generously in the form of a new son.

Proverbs 11:25 reminds us that “Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favor.”

God gave life generously to Ruth and Naomi through each other in different ways.

These two wise women abided with their life-giving God and lived fruitfully again as a family restored in Naomi’s homeland.

So, we see here that, no matter what we’ve been through, God doesn’t leave us at dead! He is Creator of our life cycle, Master at making all things new. We need only to trust Him and put righteous action to our faith.

We need to depend on God’s new life in us in order to continue onward and work optimally.

Jeremiah 17:7 AMP says, “Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the LORD And whose hope and confident expectation is the LORD.”

Colossians 3:16 TPT says, “Let the word of Christ live in you richly, flooding you with all wisdom…”

Therefore, we must continue to feed on God’s Word, which imparts continual life and keeps us aligned with Him in every way, enabling us to experience a renewed mind and abundant life—all free from sin’s power (1 Co 2:16, 2 Co 5:17, Ro 6).

I believe “…it’s time to be made new by every revelation that’s been given to” us (Ep 4:23 TPT).

I believe it’s time to shed old wine skins and align with God by faith and action, to be more fully alive and step out into the new that God has for us with greater clarity.

I believe God may give us flashes of understanding about former people and situations, so we can more easily release them to Him (2 Co 10:4).

I believe God is freeing us from fixations on wrong things and offering us grace to move forward more fully with Him to become more established in His new life for us as master overcomers, who rule from the root, to the foundation to the ascended life with Christ.

I believe God is inviting us up higher by giving us opportunities with new people in new arenas to practice what He instilled in our souls in the last season for righteous decision-making, having been trained by patience, having expressed gratitude and having been led by peace.

I also believe it’s important to keep pace with our Lord as He has assigned us, so we can better receive His fulfillment coming into place just ahead (Ac 20:24 TPT).

Our focus and faith must be on and in Him.

Let’s remember Ruth, who reflected new life and was an example of 2 Timothy 2:22 TPT, which says, “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.”

As we run for a crown of life (1 Co 9:25) into our new glory with our Lord, let’s also remember God’s Word in Song of Songs 2:13 TPT, in which He asks and instructs us, “Can you not discern this new day of destiny breaking forth around you? The early signs of my purposes and plans are bursting forth. The budding vines of new life are now blooming everywhere. The fragrance of their flowers whispers, ‘There is change in the air.’ Arise, my love, my beautiful companion, and run with me to the higher place. For now is the time to arise and come away with me.”

Join me next week for Part 3 of New Life.

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