Tag: #Hebrews12:2

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Justice: Legend & Legacy – Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, God highlighted that living justly is to live wise-heartedly, intelligently, skillfully and artfully and that doing so releases fresh beauty (chakam – Strong’s #2450).

Part 2 focuses on the faith factor.

Our key scripture is Hebrews 10:38 NKJV, which says that “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

The Word “just” (dikaios – Strong’s #1342) in this scripture means those who are approved and acceptable by faith, according to God. It means believers, whose faith is in God’s entirety—His identity, character and actions.

God’s standard is justice, to which we are transformed by faith and grace (Ro 12:2). In so doing, we build wholeness in our souls that will be expressed outwardly.

We will know this by God’s revealed wisdom.

Romans 1:17 TPT tells us that “This gospel unveils a continual revelation of God’s righteousness—a perfect righteousness given to us when we believe. And it moves us from receiving life through faith, to the power of living by faith…”

So, faith in God empowers us to live a just life, which is a wise—intelligent, skillful and beautiful life—in agreement with Him.

This faith in us is God’s faith in us, not something we conjure up. It is the substance of things hoped for, the title deed of what will surely come to pass as our inheritance. A guarantee.

Proverbs 1:23 TPT expresses this by asking us, “…Don’t you know that I’m ready to pour out my spirit of wisdom upon you and bring to you the revelation of my words that will make your heart wise?”

God has wisdom to release to us to help us live out our high purposes. So, it’s important to invest dedicated time with Him. God has tangible forms of justice, such as rewards, recompenses and restoration to give to us. So, it’s important to process all the way through what is necessary with God and not waste our growing pains.

Even though the process can feel long and difficult to our flesh, every time we move forward, we build justice into our souls and plant seeds of justice for generations.

Every time we move forward, we come up higher. We are lifted as we grow in grace and wisdom and faith as God reveals both a legend and a legacy of powerful blessing that honors Him, honors us and honors others. We are being strengthened in our Lord, which pleases Him and makes us more useful for greater exploits.

God calls us to go live in His light and sing His praises, not be confined under a bush. We are to blaze a trail with Him, touching others as He leads to set captives free so they, too, can live a captivating life and pass it on. This is freedom. This is true justice expressed as divine inheritance for those whose faith is in God.

So, pray with me if you will…

Dear Lord,

Thank You for Your gift of Justice, who is Your Son Himself and for life that comes by active faith in You (Ga 3:11).

Have mercy on us, Lord (Ps 86:3).

We desire to live a life of shalom wholeness, full of love, power and soundness of mind (2 Ti 1:7).

Your Word says that if we keep trusting in You, do what is right in Your eyes and fix our hearts on Your promises, we will dwell in the land and feast on Your faithfulness” (Ps 37:3 TPT).

So, help us discern truth from falsehood (1 Jn 4:6).

Help us to listen to Your Word of Truth and respond to it, so that it will always become like poetry written and fulfilled by our lives (Ja 1:22, Ro 2:13).

Open our eyes even more to see the benefits of Your ways (Ps 103:2, Mt 5:8).

Help us to live a just life by faith, where we experience Your blessings of justice in every area of our lives (He 10:38).

Help us to trust You as our Source, the One who brings it to pass (Ps 37:5).

Help us remember that Your burden is light and to remain in the light, leaving the heavy lifting to You (Mt 11:30, Ps 55:22).

Help us to not stray from Your will but remain in our lanes with our eyes fixed on You, the Perfecter of our faith (He 12:2).

Help us to remain confident that we will experience Your goodness in the land of the living (Ps 27:13, 116:9).

Help us to please You above all else by choosing Your righteousness and justice always (He 11:6).

Thank You, Lord, that You are the Rewarder of those who diligently seek You (He 11:6).

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

“Now may God, the fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with his super-abundance until you radiate with hope” (Ro 15:13 TPT)!

To God be the glory.

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

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Master-Peace

Every time I gaze at a sunset, I am reminded of my future. We all have one, you know. We’re all going somewhere. 

Jesus endured the agony of the cross for the joy that was set before him (He 12:2). He knew His future was joyous and involved mercy and honor on the other side of our painful judgment that He took upon Himself. He knew He was returning home and being established in a higher place of eternal life with exponential reach.

He was kind in leaving us with His peace of reconciliation to strengthen us for our journeys on earth (Jn 14:27, Ps 29:11, Ep 2:14 TPT). We know we are to follow Him as our Prince of Peace and allow His peace to rule in our hearts, since we were called to His peace (Co 3:15).

So, what is He leading you through and to?

What does mercy look like now and on the other side of your challenge?

It should look like Jesus in the midst and Jesus exalted when our eyes and thoughts are fixed on Him (He 12:2, 3:1).

He is where we find our resolve and rejoice of shalom (peace), which is “wholeness, health, security, well-being and salvation” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary).

He is about masterfully restoring and transforming us as we run to Him and come to know our glorious Jesus more. He is about having us receive and extend His love, truth and grace as He works out our salvation on earth. And about walking with us in His victory of purpose and vision for our lives, no matter what.

Shalom (peace) inherently points to our blood covenant with God. As a reflection of this, and as an expression of peace as fruit of His Spirit, it also points to our covenant relationships (with His people), including marriages.

In this light, a little more than two weeks ago, Holy Spirit revealed to me that He is supernaturally reconciling people to one another on a level that none of us could ever do in our own strength. He showed me that He is working to restore relationships that we thought were way beyond impossible and that we are going to see a fountain of life come through these to bless many.

Holy Spirit gave me a glimpse of how patiently and intricately He has worked to reconcile people on a generational level, while working out their salvation over years at the root. He has been masterfully working this wholeness to shift people’s legacies for dramatically better, fortified, lasting, more Godly futures. Legacies that can endure.

Holy Spirit revealed specific people to me, as a close-up example in my own life, and how He has strategically and miraculously linked them. How He is working to revive them and restore their bloodlines now and forward for higher blessing and much greater outward fruit for His Kingdom.

Soon, these manifestations of reconciliation will come into their fullness of purpose. Soon, as we continue to grow in God’s grace, we will see a greater shift toward these life-changing divine connections to be blessed through them and alongside them as we work together in newfound ways (1 Co 16:9). 

We will discover joy that overflows exponentially as God brings our brokenness into more of His Shalom (peace) of wholeness that delights our hearts.

We will experience our role in kingship in a new and more above-ground way. We will see how our David, Joseph and Job preparations paid off, where, like them, we ran to and with The Prince of Peace and were protected and restored to come into the authentic places to which we were called, anointed and appointed. 

We will experience the establishment of Psalm 85:10 TPT, which says, “Your mercy and your truth have married each other. Your righteousness and peace have kissed.” And Psalm 72:7 TPT, which says, “In the days of his reign the righteous will spring forth with the abundance of peace and prosperity forevermore.”

We will know, even more, Holy Spirit as our Person of Peace as we continue to experience His strategy of peace as our path to provide us with a more fruitful lifestyle of protection and projection in the earth that rules victoriously.

So, there are more walks of faith and sprints of new order before us as God continues to bring shifts in our marathon for the betterment of our lives and others. From darkness to light, where one day ends and another begins, He is with us working His plan. We must keep this at the forefront of our minds as we progress, lest we become self-sufficient and limit God’s best in our lives.

We can invite His super into our natural to help us by His grace-power. It’s the only way to receive and give maximum benefit. We cannot fail with Him.

So, pray with me if you will…

Dear Lord, 

Thank You for blessing us with peace and for giving us an “[unyielding and impenetrable] strength” (Ps 29:11 AMPC). Thank You for giving us “abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control” (2 Ti 1:7 AMPC, Ro 8:6). Let peace rule in our hearts and let our passions for life be restored, tasting joy in every breakthrough you bring to us (Co 3:15, Ps 51:12 TPT). Hold us close to You with a willing spirit that obeys whatever You say. Help us to put into practice the example of all that we have heard from You and seen in our lives so that You, as our God of peace, will be with us in all things, including in our relationships (Ph 4:9 TPT, Ps 34:14). 

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen

“Now, may the Lord himself, the Lord of peace, pour into you his peace in every circumstance and in every possible way. The Lord’s tangible presence be with you all” (2 Th 3:16 TPT). May His peace cascade over you and rest upon you (Ju 1:2, 2 Th 1:2 TPT).

To God be the glory.

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

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Godly Courage: Our Breath for The Race – Part 1

To be courageous.

It’s what God commanded of Joshua (Jo 1:1-9) and what David commanded of Solomon (2 Ch 28:20). It’s also what God commands of all His disciples (Mt 10:26). 

Therefore, it’s our duty to lay hold of Godly courage and prevail over the battle before us in bravery as we co-labor with God, to build His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven. (Ez 10:4).

Psalm 31:24 AMPC instructs us to “Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you, who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!”

Psalm 31:24, in the TPT version, encourages us to “…cheer up! Take courage all you who love him. Wait for him to break through for you, all who trust in him!”

This God-breathed grace of courage empowers a trusted heart to stand firm in faith and demonstrate bravery in great exploits. It fuels us to “wo-man up” and get the job done by responsibly receiving and executing, God’s initiatives by faith (1 Cor 16:13) (Strong’s, HELPS Word-studies). 

Godly courage takes heart and shows “positive passion as it proceeds from a sound disposition” or attitude during difficulties. It keeps up “high morale” in the face of uncertainty and persecution. It is steadfast, because it’s sourced from our Lord, who never changes and is forever faithful to deliver. (Ac 27:22, Ja 5:13, Pr 8:14) (HELPS Word-studies).

This God-infused courage was demonstrated in what Jesus did for us in Hebrews 12:2, when He bravely and calmly endured the cross to overthrow darkness and set us free. 

Webster’s defines courage as “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty…strength to resist opposition…or hardship.” 

Webster’s defines courageous to mean “characterized by courage: brave,” like a courageous “soldier” or to make a courageous “decision.”

Many of us understand that courage is might and valor on battlefields (Pr 8:14).  

But it’s also essential for winning in every mighty deed. 

It’s even necessary to receive promotion (1 Ch 12:21).

Proverbs 8:14 TPT tells us, “You will find true success when you find me, for I have insight into wise plans, that are designed just for you. I hold in my hands living-understanding, courage, and strength.”

Along with faith and obedience, Godly courage enables us to lay hold of God’s promises.

God instructed Joshua in 1 Chronicles 22:13 AMPC that “…you will prosper if you are careful to keep and fulfill the statutes and ordinances with which the Lord charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage. Dread not and fear not; be not dismayed.”

In its many facets, Godly courage looks like victorious demonstrations of faith because faith sparks courage (He 11:34); and courage is a sign, as evidence, that the enemy is going down, and that God’s way will prevail (Ph 1:28, Ps 20:8).

So, God empowers us by with His gracious breath of courage and His in-working of faith—both of which are purposed to help us reign victorious with Him.

Therefore, as we receive Godly initiatives and grow in faith, we simultaneously mature in His courage to carry them out. 

In this journey of empowerment, we are made able to “behave courageously” as a witness, as we co-labor with God to build His Kingdom (1 Ch 19:13, 2 Ch 32:5, Pr 24:3).

Godly courage is required to possess territory—to overcome inner hindrances, to overthrow outer obstacles, and to overtake (or establish) our promised land as God’s heirs for Kingdom purposes.

Just as God breathes courage into us (Ps 138:3), depression, which is a false feeling of defeat, from the enemy of our soul, attempts to dis-courage us in order to crush our God-given courage (Pr 18:14).

But, we know that we are above the enemy, and that he is beneath us, as we obey God (De 28:13).

The grace of courage to live above and not beneath—unafraid and in peace, abiding with God as He dwells in us—enables us to experience an enthroned life (Ps 4:8).

God will even go so far as to unseat kings (by withdrawing His strength of courage from them) and emboldening his faithful followers with His courage to enthrone them in their place (Da 11:25).

To be sure, the same breath (wind) of sovereign God that makes His warriors mighty is the same breath (wind) of God that, when withdrawn, makes His enemies weak (Jo 2:11).

In so doing, Godly courage demonstrates God’s power through His faithful followers, as His witnesses, who co-labor with Him to complete divine exploits.

All along our journey, Godly courage is available to bolster us with an emboldened comfort, as in good cheer and warm-heartedness, that radiates a Spirit-produced confidence and demonstrates a good witness. This is an expression of glorious shinning from the inside out. This “social boldness” reveals a fearless trust and rest in The Lord as our countenance professes His character and truth (Jn 16:33). Showing this “unflinching,” fearless “courage means living out the inner confidence (or inner bolstering)” that is purposed for others to see in a way that glorifies and magnifies God (Ac 23:11, Jn 16:33, Mk 6:49-50) (HELPS Word-studies).  

In all of its facets, Godly courage is a type of en-couragement of God, who is Love, to honor and extend His gospel (Ac 28:15).

Join me next week for part 2 of Godly Courage: Our Breath for The Race.

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