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Sweet Dominion

Sweet dominion. It sounds like home, sweet home, doesn’t it?

It reminds me of a moment in time when the Israelites’ victory felt like they could settle into their new space without intrusion. Where battles were won and expansion finally felt like establishment. Where the fruit was big and sweet. It was theirs. And the long journey was worth every step, even for future generations.

I believe God is expanding the establishment of His bride in this hour and that we will see it unfold more and more in the days ahead. Also, that the next few years will be pivotal for many in this regard as our Lord brings us into His promises to live them out for His glory, changing lives and even history for families and others they will touch.

Like the Israelites, your greatest heart’s desire has likely been your greatest battle. You may have even wrestled with God over it. At times, you may have wondered if it would ever come true for you. But God saw that your heart remained steadfast for Him in what felt like longsuffering. And He has not forgotten you.

Your reward will be better than you expect.

This brings to mind Caleb’s daughter, Achsah, who asked for more than her initial portion of land and received it immediately. Joshua 15:18 AMP says Achsah “[rode up to Caleb and] dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?”

Achsah answered, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me the [dry] land of the Negev (South country), give me springs of water, too.” So, he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs” (Jo 15:19 AMP).

When we take a closer look at this conversation, here’s what we find:

The Amplified Classic version of Joshua 15:18 says, “When Achsah came to Othniel, she got his consent to ask her father for a field. Then she returned to Caleb and when she lighted off her donkey, Caleb said, What do you wish?”

Obviously, this was a pivotal moment for Achsah. What’s especially interesting in this verse is the Word “lighted.” In Hebrew, “lighted” means “went through” and “descend.” It means “fasten” and “light from off” (Strong’s #6795).

This same Word “lighted” is used in Judges 4:21 in reference to a tent peg that went through a man’s (Sisera’s) temple and was fastened to the ground.

This helps us see Achsah’s story unfolding metaphorically, which is that her mind had to be established in the light and fastened to peace in order for her to release her beast of a burden that she went through to position herself for the outward establishment of righteous increase. In other words, she had to come away from where she had been—the former hardship, the battle (that helped get her to this pivotal moment) and fasten herself to the outward double blessing, for which she asked. Achsah had to come increasingly into the light of what God was highlighting to her to receive what He offered through His beloved Caleb.

Achsah became a beacon of light.

Achsah asked and received.

Her reward was a tangible living-water testimony of Isaiah 43:19 BSB, which says, “Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.”

Achsah, received her land increase as the evidence of her hope, her belief, her faith to be established in God’s provision of restoration—the land of milk and honey.

Achsah would not be shortchanged.

She worked out her salvation and we can, too (Is 12:3)!

The Apostle Paul encourages us in Philippians 2:12 AMP by saying, “So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ].”

God requires our surrender to His gracious and righteous ways so we can experience an increase of His goodness in the land. We can be transformed to serve the God, who “turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs” (Ps 107:35).

We can pursue Him and obey Him. We can choose to not look back but look forward and step up to receive our promised inheritance as God helps us. Like Achsah, He is taking us full spectrum as we actively believe in Him (Jn 7:37-39).

So, “…Lord, do it again (Ps 126:4)! Turn our captivity, as the streams in the Negev. To You be all the glory, honor and praise.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name.

Amen.

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

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Dominion Rising

So, you’ve learned to love God above all else, and chose to walk in honor above lesser things. You’ve discerned and forgiven and risen along the way. You’ve receive God’s revelations as His wisdom. You’ve grown and matured. You’ve guarded your heart against evil and set healthy boundaries. You are the repentant and the redeemed. The learned and the obedient. You are the ones who stood their ground for God. You know whose you are. You hearken to your Shepherd’s voice.

Through it all, you’ve learned that God did you a favor. Now you’re rising like beauty from ashes. And because you didn’t settle in bitterness and despair, you are being seated in an outward expression of restoration—a whole new place: The manifestation of your heart’s desire.

It has felt like a long time coming. Pretty much your whole life. But you hung in there. You waited upon The Lord and believed He wouldn’t disappoint you. You took hold of His perfect rope of hope and kept moving toward the vision He gave you—the one you’ve held in your heart.

And now it’s right before you—His promise of fulfillment by our Hope of Glory, God Himself. The only One who can bring it to pass. The only One who can get you there.

Friends, as we move more into this season of harvest, we will find that whatever we have allowed to predominate our hearts will manifest. In other words, we will reap what we have sown. And, hopefully, that’s God’s best.

God is repositioning His glory carriers to new places in new roles to reveal Himself mightily. These are His people who live submitted lives unto Him, not the hateful unresolved ones—the self-centered strife-stirrers. No, not the immature self-justified imposers, who live their way in God’s way.

After all, how can God use condemnation to share His love, honor and glory to nations?

These wiser, blessed ones are those who willingly receive God’s perspective and attitude. They are the ones who receive God’s vision and plan for their assignments. The ones who sync with God—spirit, soul and body. They are the ones who walk in His powerful anointing and boldness unafraid, knowing God is with them.

And they see miracles.

The enemy is under their feet. They are his biggest threat as they walk on Holy ground with Jesus. Jesus has given them the land, because they have made Him their greatest dominion of heart in all things.

Is this you?

If so, God has prepared you for some major shifts ahead. He is bringing you into your greatest heart’s desires. He has been all along, only now you will see them manifest.

Holy Spirit will help you live out what He has put in you every step of the way. You will be delightfully set free from old ties, as former things that God once used to develop you fall away. As you live in a greater measure of restoration, some important relationships will be renewed full circle. New wine will flow to you, through you and all around you.

God will add new people who will come alongside you. He will reveal them to you, just as He revealed the ones who couldn’t remain with you. Your burden is light and bright as you experience God’s fullness of joy through His promises fulfilled. He will reveal more specifics to you as you enter in and build with Him.

Holy Spirit is for you and will never leave you. You can trust Him throughout. He will amaze you as you continue to abide with Him and receive His best life. Fruit will abound and joy will resound. Awesome wonder will fill your days, growing your delight in Him.

You will be refreshed as you go to refresh others. Longtime burdens will be things of the past, as you pour out love forward, bringing new life to the downtrodden: Those who have been bound in consequences from living in lies and limitations. You’ll begin to see them physically healed as their soul rises in His truth and light.

Surprises are ahead that will make you leap for joy. You will experience a youthful exuberance and know that your Creator has answered your Psalm 103:5 prayer, which is that He will satisfy “your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.”

Because of God’s grace to agree with and walked out His way, you will have a testimony of Isaiah 40:31 TPT, which says that “those who wait for Yahweh’s grace will experience divine strength. They will rise up on soaring wings and fly like eagles, run their race without growing weary, and walk through life without giving up.”

And for this, you are being rewarded.

So, pray with me if you will…

Dear Lord,

Thank You for blessing me to be a blessing. Please help me to continue to fearlessly walk with You in Your grace, love and wisdom to fulfill my calling and assignments Your way. I choose to trust You.

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 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.