Tag: #GodIsFaithful

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Solid Foundation – Part 2

Ten days ago, The Lord highlighted the restoration of ruined cities to me (Is 61:4).

Three times. 

He then led me to Psalm 118:14-15 AMPC, which says, “The Lord is my Strength and Song; and He has become my Salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents and private dwellings of the [uncompromisingly] righteous: the right hand of the Lord does valiantly and achieves strength!”

Psalm 118:15 TPT says, “…My loud shouts of victory will echo throughout the land. For Yahweh’s right hand conquers valiantly!”

Holy Spirit also reminded me of Isaiah 9:6-7 TPT, which says…

The responsibility of complete dominion will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be: The Wonderful One! The Extraordinary Strategist! The Mighty God…Great and vast is his dominion. He will bring immeasurable peace and prosperity. He will rule on David’s throne and over David’s kingdom to establish and uphold it by promoting justice and righteousness from this time forward and forevermore.

Friends, God is a finisher.

Even when circumstances look scattered, chaotic and impossible, God is sovereign and is still working to give ravaged places and even personal projects new life and bring them to a good, highly-purposed completion. 

He is never without a victory-strategy to bring greater restoration, making things better than before.

Even if we need an overhaul, it just means that our God is patient and will draw us nearer to make us more solid in Him. 

More solid like Him, the Foundation who laid His life down for us to live as “immoveable,” which means “will not budge.” And “stable,” which means unchangeable. And “steadfast,” which means “standing fast without buckling or giving way” (HELPS Word-studies).

“Mighty God” in Isaiah 9:7 means “the God of battle” and “Champion God” (TPT Bible study notes).

He will fight for us and never lose!

When God is in something, we can always trust Him to ultimately prove it to be victorious as we obey Him.

We must keep our faith in Him always, as He is seated in what He establishes and has a commitment to see us through.

What exactly is God igniting in you in this hour?

What is He leading you into?

How are you seeing Him touch your efforts?

What wonderful thing is The Wonderful One birthing through you for His Kingdom?

Verse 7 continues on, saying that God rules on the throne and over the kingdom “to establish and uphold it by promoting justice and righteousness.”

To “establish” here means to be set up, fixed, fitted, firm, made secure and enduring as we determine, with God, to be faithful.

As we rule and reign with Him, He sustains us, comforts us, refreshes us, strengthens us and stays our hearts with determination, truthfulness, right discretion and vindication that doesn’t quit. 

This is the God we serve. 

Never give up on His appointed times for justice.

They are solid ground that we can trust. 

God will not forget. 

Psalm 89:14 TPT assures us by saying, “Your glorious throne rests on a foundation of righteousness and just verdicts. Grace and truth are the attendants who go before you.”

Have you ever had an encounter with The Lord, where He reveals an important event up ahead for you that you know would be impossible without His intervention? Then He, not only confirms the event through two or three witnesses, but He consistently encourages you over time by revealing more and more bits until the event occurs?

By leading us in this “treasure hunt” style, God not only refreshes our hope, He awakens us more and more until the fullness of time for the event, where we fully mature to receive. 

We come to realize that The Lord had to go before us to set it up well in advance, because so many elements have to come into place over time in, not only our lives, but others.

All along, He leads us along a solid foundation of righteous character and conduct, further into vindication, as He sees it—justifiable.

This is a journey where we can trust Him implicitly as He leads us into His plan for righting wrongs.

Exponentially.

The Lord gave me a Word of wisdom in this regard, which is…

When we get honest and grow to a place of knowing better and fully forgiving, we receive better than what would have been.

This is a divine re-set as in Isaiah 22:20-23 by His grace and truth.

This is what is meant as surpassing victory, and it begins by believing the victorious work of the cross, our secure place.

Romans 8:37 AMPC tells us, “Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.”

Surpassing means “a large amount or high degree; exceeding, excelling, or extraordinary” (Dictionary.com). 

“Surpassing victory” means to “prevail mightily (Strong’s #5245) and to be “beyond conquer,” to the extent that we are “completely and overwhelmingly victorious” (HELPS Word-Studies).

I believe God, in His rich mercy and amazing grace, will do for the people and cities that turn to Him and prove to be uncompromising.

Revelation 3:21 AMPC assures us that “He who overcomes (is victorious), I will grant him to sit beside Me on My throne, as I Myself overcame (was victorious) and sat down beside My Father on His throne.”

“…Thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere,  For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God…” (2 Co 2:14-15 AMPC).

To Him be the glory. 

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

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Revelation – Salvation: His Glory & Grace – Part 1

After a couple of days of studying for this video-devotion, my phone rang. 

It was a God thing… 

A divine appointment.

A dear friend had phoned to invite me to pray with her about her young-adult daughter. 

I listened to my friend’s story, and then we began to pray. 

Straight away, The Lord revealed that her daughter was heading away from Him. 

God showed me a vision of her walking far out into the otherwise barren night, toward a tiny guardhouse, that was set on the edge of a geographic border.

When the daughter arrived at the guardhouse, a guard walked out. He reviewed her I.D. and handed it back to her. He refused to allow her to cross the border. Then he walked back into the guardhouse. 

The daughter stood there alone. She didn’t push back. She didn’t even look upset. She simply stared down at her I.D., perplexed, facing her own void in a remote place, not knowing what to do next. 

This young-adult daughter had come to the end of the line God had set for her.

After a moment, she quietly turned back from where she came. She was oblivious to the night all around her, as though it were her normal.

Still looking down at her I.D., she stepped forward slowly, almost mindlessly.

As she did, light began to increase around her. Gradually.

The light grew brighter with each step.

At one point, she looked up, taking her eyes off herself. She became aware that her surroundings had changed.

They were lighter.

She felt lighter.

Realizing this, the daughter sped up her walk until, finally, the bright light of revelation came on in her conscience: Suddenly, she knew beyond a shadow of doubt that she was headed toward Jesus.

When she received this revelation, she took off running a very short distance, right into His arms.

Luke 11:34 TPT tells us, “The eyes of your spirit allow revelation-light to enter into your being. When your heart is open the light floods in. When your heart is hard and closed, the light cannot penetrate and darkness takes its place.”

This daughter ultimately returned (repented) to her loving Jesus, full of glorious light, love and victory.

Friend’s, this is where we are all called to live—close to Him.

Through this vision, The Lord reminded me that He can post His angelic guards at boundaries that prevent us from going too far from Him. God can post angels to help us and our loved ones return to Him. 

The one thing up ahead in our dark night, can prove to be the beginning of a mighty turning point toward God’s glory. 

I believe that daughter’s angel awaited her arrival, as Jesus’ eye was upon her the whole time. 

My friend and I now declare salvation over her, as we all await her return. 

Salvation means to defend, deliver, help, preserve, rescue, be safe and avenge. And, we know God’s Word will not return without accomplishing His will. 

The day after this vision came forth, Holy Spirit added to the message…

He further revealed that, while He would enlighten the conscience of my friend’s daughter, He would simultaneously boost my friend’s confidence to trust Him implicitly with her. While my friend awaits her daughter’s return, He will grow her trust in Him to do that which only He can do. Both mother and daughter will come to know Him in a new way.

God often works in parallels, and this was His plan! 

Holy Spirit highlighted Psalm 97:11 AMPC to me in regards to my friend’s daughter, which says, “Light is sown for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart [the irrepressible joy which comes from consciousness of His favor and protection].”

In regards to her mother, Holy Spirit highlighted Luke 1:17:

Luke 1:17 AMPC says, “And he will [himself] go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn back the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient and incredulous and unpersuadable to the wisdom of the upright [which is the knowledge and holy love of the will of God]–in order to make ready for the Lord a people [perfectly] prepared [in spirit, adjusted and disposed and placed in the right moral state]. [Isa. 40:3; Mal. 4:5, 6.]”

When I saw the Word “unpersuadable” in this verse, I realized God was about to give my dear friend a revelation of faith. He was about to reveal Himself as trustworthy and prove Himself as faithful. He was about to awaken her and her daughter and persuade them both.

Both will be made stronger in Him.

When the daughter returns, God will be at the center of their relationship, and they will see more of Jesus in each other’s hearts. They will be grateful, because they will know that He alone delivered them and set things right.

The Lord used this vision to highlight a particular precept to me for this hour:

We are beginning to see what His Word describes in Habakkuk 2:14 AMPC, which says, “But [the time is coming when] the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. [Isa. 11:9.]”

God is unfurling His plans in our lives to establish us more deeply in Him with awesome wonder. 

Isaiah 11:9 TPT says, “On all my holy mountain of Zion, nothing evil or harmful will be found. For the earth will be filled with the intimate knowledge of the Lord Yahweh just as water swells the sea!”

This is a new beginning for all of us, as we continue to yield to God’s plan, and come increasingly into His marvelous light. 

Hebrews 8:11-12 TPT assure us by saying, “And the result of this will be that everyone will know me as Lord! There will be no need at all to teach their fellow-citizens or brothers by saying, ‘You should know the Lord Jehovah,’ since everyone will know me inwardly, from the most unlikely to the most distinguished. For I will demonstrate my mercy to them and will forgive their evil deeds, and never remember again their sins.”

Join me next week for part 2 of Revelation – Salvation: His Glory & Grace.

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

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Confidence In God: Your Bold Assurance

Hebrews 11:1 TPT says, “Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.”

Friends, faith pleases God.

Faith is a persuasive power that works on our behalf.

God is faith-full. He is full of faith. God actually deposits His faith in His redeemed people as part of the fruit of His Spirit, living on the inside of us. In this way, God’s “substance of things hoped for” is made available to be received in our soul, as we trust Him.

God uses faith’s persuasive power to convince us of His will.

One Bible commentary (HELPS Word-Studies) says, “The Lord persuades the yielded believer to be confident in His preferred-will (Gal 5:10; 2 Tim 1:12).” It involves our “obedience, but it is properly the result of God’s persuasion.”

Philippians 2:13 AMP affirms this by saying, “For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.”

Friends, as we grow in faith, we walk in God’s higher ways. He gives us everything we need to be successful.

Paul says in Philippians 1:6 TPT “I pray with great faith for you, because I’m fully convinced that the One who began this glorious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you and will put his finishing touches to it until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

So, friends, because of God’s unwavering faithfulness, we can choose to be fully confident in His will, His ways, and His Word.

The question is, “Do we choose obedience to His faithfulness?”

Do we even believe this?

Do we trust God?

Do we hearken to His instructions?

Do we believe He is good and that He desires His best for us?

Or do we shrink back in distrust and fear, and turn to other things for help?

Do we want our way above God’s way?

Confidence in God requires that we first be persuaded by faith that He is trustworthy.

Isaiah 30 illustrates the conflict in value between trusting and distrusting God:

Isaiah 30:7 reveals that the help the Israelites sought from Egypt, which represents wicked bondage in the Bible, is worthless. Consider this compared to the help from The Lord, who is worthy.

The outcome of choosing God’s way is guaranteed victory, whereas by-passing God for sinful bondage will lead to an outcome of disaster that shames and disgraces us, causing us to feel worthless and wanting to give up (Is 3, 5).

Friends, we are worth more than that (1 Jn 4:4).

God calls us His treasure and give us the advantage of holding our head up.

We can be confident and courageous in our decision to follow The Lord. But any action that is not founded on faith is sin and will lead to loss.

This includes fear-based decisions, where we lean toward what’s familiar to us—our own understanding—above God’s instructions.

It all resorts back to what we put our faith in.

When we put our faith in faithful God—the giver and Source of faith—above ourselves, we can rest in knowing that we can trust Him and that He will protect us as we obey Him.

We can have full confidence in our limitless, eternal God to keep us safe all the way to manifest victory.

Hebrews 3:6 TPT assures us by saying, “But Christ is more than a Servant, he was faithful as the Son in charge of God’s house. And now we are part of his house if we continue courageously to hold firmly to our bold confidence and our victorious hope.”

According to Strong’s concordance, Bold confidence, in this verse, makes reference to fearless confidence, cheerful courage, and freedom of speech. Victorious hope in this verse refers to expectation and trust.

To anticipate or welcome what is sure, what is certain (HELPS Word-studies).

Friends, this assurance of victory is our confident hope in Christ.

So, what are you trusting God for?

Is your confidence in Him above your circumstances?

It will be if your faith is in Him.

Pray with me, if you will…

Dear Heavenly Father,

You are my Treasure. Thank You for valuing me as treasure, so much so that You desire Your best for me in life. Lord, I repent of trusting my ways above Yours. I repent of leaning on my understanding, of self-reliance and self-justification. I trade in my self-reliance for Your bold assurance. I repent of all other forms of sinful bondage, and I renounce all agreement with falsehood that has come against my faith and confidence in You. Bring me deeper into Your truth, Lord. I invite You to flood my heart with Your confidence and strength (Pr 14:26). “For you are the confidence of all the earth” (Ps 65:5). Please help me to remain in You so that I “may have a joyful confidence and not be ashamed” (1 Jn 2:28). Thank You, Lord, for Your “confidence in times of crisis” and for keeping my “heart at rest in every situation” (Pr 3:26). Thank You that as I continue to believe, trust, and rely on You, and put my “hope and confident expectation” in You, I will be “blessed with spiritual security” (Jer 17:7).

In Jesus’ Mighty Name.

Amen.

Friends, I pray that God will persuade you that He is faithful and trustworthy in everything He calls you to. I pray “…that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith” (2 Th 1:11). I pray that as you continue to run to God, you will experience His “wrap-around presence every moment” and that your “confidence will never be shaken” (Ps 16:8). I pray that others will observe your confidence in The Lord and will be amazed (Acts 4:13). I pray for recompense for every time the enemy of your soul attacked your faith, confidence, trust, and courage in The Lord. I pray that your confident expectations will always be full of truth, faith in our Lord, and manifest victory.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name.

To God be the glory!

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

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Radiance Of God: Indwelling & Outpouring

Isaiah 60:1 TPT – “Rise up in splendor and be radiant, for your light has dawned, and Yahweh’s glory now streams from you!”

You’ve probably heard of the adage “tickled pink.” Well, did you know that the color of radiance, according to Webster’s, is a deep pink?

And just like a beautiful deep sunrise, we can experience a divine spiritual daybreak.

We have a lot to look forward to in 2020.

And we don’t have to look back, because you came to deeply understand Romans 13:12 TPT, which says, “Night’s darkness is dissolving away as a new day of destiny dawns. So we must once and for all strip away what is done in the shadows of darkness, removing it like filthy clothes. And once and for all we clothe ourselves with the radiance of light as our weapon.”

Beloved bride, what does God have in store for you?

For what mission has He readied you?

What promises will He manifest?

You learned, during times of testing, that God’s radiant light is both internal and external.

And now you’re ready for more external.

His glorious Presence that you reached for in your time of tribulation brought you protection from that which tried to ensnare you. Holy Spirit gave you revelation when you didn’t understand, and revival of your soul when you felt like so much in you was dying.

God was your lifeline.

He went after the gold in you to forge you higher.

In character and purpose.

To become light.

As glory.

As fire.

To be the light of Christ in a dying world.

Compassion.

Abundance.

Honor.

Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Glory, and the Spirit of Christ, who lives inside of His redeemed.

He is light as He is love.

He is omnipresent.

He is seated on His throne in Heaven, while He dwells in His redeemed through Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 1:3 TPT assures us that “The Son is the dazzling radiance of God’s splendor, the exact expression of God’s true nature—his mirror image! He holds the universe together and expands it by the mighty power of his spoken word.”

Just like He expands our soul to know Him more.

To receive Him more.

His Glorious Presence.

To drive out darkness.

In us and beyond us.

1 John 1:5 TPT reveals God’s nature and character of light, saying, “…God is pure light. You will never find even a trace of darkness in him.”

Daniel 2:22 AMP reveals His enlightenment to us, His omniscience, and His glorious indwelling Presence, saying, “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.”

God sustains us to do what He has called and assigned us to do.

So we don’t have to fear, but trust and follow the glory light of God (Love) to bring us into the new places He has for us, knowing that two of the qualities of His glorious light is protection and provision.

God is faithful.

Acts 17:28 TPT reminds us that “It is through him that we live and function and have our identity; just as your own poets have said, ‘Our lineage comes from him.'”

Our Father is for us.

By His Spirit, as we abide in Him, in His radiant light and love, He will continue to lead us forward into greater abundance–spirit, soul, and body.

We are to wrap ourselves in light (Rom. 13:12), just as God wraps Himself in light (Ps. 104:2).

We are to release wrongdoings, forgive others and fan the flame forward.

As the New Year’s folksong goes, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot,” 1 John 2:9-10 reminds us to hold only love and light in our hearts toward others. It says:

Anyone who says, ‘I am in the light,’ while holding hatred in his heart toward a fellow believer is still in the darkness. But the one who truly loves a fellow believer lives in the light, and there is nothing in him that will cause someone else to stumble.

Now, just past the midnight hour, for the Glory of God and for His great Name’s sake (Ps. 109:21), let’s remain in the light of Christ. Let’s remember John 12:46 TPT and Isaiah 61:10 TPT, which say, “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world so that all who trust in me will no longer wander in darkness. I will sing and greatly rejoice in Yahweh! My whole being vibrates with shouts of joy in my God! For he has dressed me with salvation and wrapped me in the robe of his righteousness! I appear like a bridegroom on his wedding day, decked out with a beautiful sash, or like a radiant bride adorned with sparkling jewels.”

Friends, I pray that God will continue to reveal his mysteries that have been “difficult to grasp and understand” (Job 12:22) and that He will expand your sanctuary like a tent through this year. I pray God will continue to light up your path as you walk with Him into your promises, so much so that kings will be blinded by your radiance (Is. 62:2). In Jesus’ Mighty Name, God bless you. Amen.

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