Tag: #2Corinthians5:17

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Order Renewed

A little over two weeks ago, I had a dream in which I saw flashes of various mechanical and electronic system panels that were spinning out of control. First, God showed me these systems individually. Then He showed me that they were not (dys)functioning independently of one another but were connected. As I felt the system’s overwhelming disorder, suddenly, He made me aware of a simple control switch. He gave me the understanding that all the chaos would stop if I would just flip the switch. And so, I did. That’s when I woke up. 

This is what I believe to be the interpretation of this dream…

The control switch represents God’s light of truth, which in this case, is that He has given us all power and authority over that which battles for power over us. As we trust God in new territory, our faith is built and our minds are renewed in Christ. As we abide in Him, we are renewed in His strength to overcome that which tries to overcome us. When we choose to walk out God’s truth in faith believing, we come into His new order, where He works out our salvation for our good and His glory (Re 21:5, 2 Co 5:17). 

An important strategy here is to hold onto His directives and be determined to operate with Him and His ways. If we have inched away from Him and found that life feels out of control, it’s not too late to realign.

Sometimes, coming up higher means going back and picking up where we left off in a particular divine assignment to unstop the wells, so God’s stream can flow through us again in the way and at the level He intended.

Since all of our divine assignments flow together like streams into a river, when we shift our attention from the eternal to the temporal, we will sense a decline in momentum and value as our efforts prove life-draining. This is a time when the enemy of our lives likes to take advantage of our weakness, especially by provoking us to discount our actions to believe it’s just a little thing.  

God’s truth is that, when we remain in His specific directives for our specific divine assignments, we will find them to be life-giving, because God is our life-source and He is with us in them. He isn’t in draining distractions that lead to a bad attitude. But rather where He first instructed us to be, which is working alongside Him to build His Kingdom.

This is very similar to remaining in the place of God’s glory during tribulation, where attacks can feel fierce, and pain is a distraction that battles to provoke us to retaliate against others and God’s deep restoration of us. 

In the Bible, we don’t have to look any further than Ecclesiastes 1, where King Solomon’s pessimistic tone and analogies of life reveal his perceived loss of purpose. His tormented heart and attitude were greatly influenced by the distraction of his 700 ungodly wives (1 Ki 11:3). 1 Kings 11:4 AMPC reveals that, “For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect (complete and whole) with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.” 

King Solomon proved out that broken-heartedness can happen even during “good” times, when God is building all around us and that placing our attention on distractions leads to a bad attitude and destruction of life.

Like King Solomon, we are called to actively build with God in specific ways. And when our eyes depart from the heart of God in this, the enemy will take our time and energy as we hand it over. These little fox distractions can cause harm in the form of delay, which can result in us feeling stuck and disappointed. Ultimately, this kind of false surrender can cause us to feel exhausted with no redemptive victory to show for our flesh-driven efforts, only vanity. And unless we repent, we can miss God’s rewards.

Therefore, we must be careful to set our focus on The One True God and keep our hearts attuned to His, lest we fall to foolishness.

If you have gotten off-track, even a little bit, pray with me if you will…

Dear Lord, 

Thank You that Your mercy is new every morning. I repent of believing the lie that distractions, that cause me to turn from You, are like work breaks. I renounce this lie and humbly ask You to restore a good attitude in me. I declare Your truth that keeping my eyes on You and continuing to work alongside You will bring the breakthrough that You and I desire to be fulfilled. Help me to seek You, Your will, purpose and plan for my life instead of searching for new things outside of Your schedule. Help my heart to perceive the value of what You have already given to me. Help me to run in sync with You and not run from You. You alone are my best escape, not any vain imagination. So, help me to live out Your true vision for my life in it fullness. Thank You for this breakthrough of truth and understanding and for restoring Your order in my life.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen. 

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

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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.

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Keepsake Revival

When I think of a keepsake, I think of a cherished memento that brings a remembrance of what we hold dear, like people close to our hearts or special events, such as a wedding or birthing.

Dictionary.com defines keepsake as “anything kept, or given to be kept, as a token of friendship or affection; remembrance.” Some synonyms of keepsake are: favor, reminder, memorial, symbol and token (Thesaurus.com).

When searched in an online Bible, “keepsake” is associated with the word “token.”

Token in Hebrew, can mean a promise or a solemn pledge, such as words spoken from God’s heart or in the form of a sign of covenant, such a rainbow or a circumcision (Strong’s #226-oth).

Token in Greek means to have, hold or possess (Strong’s #2192-echó).

This brings to mind wedding vows and rings—symbols of covenant, where the bride is given to have and to hold, to possess God’s promises.

In seeking The Lord about “keepsake revival,” the message He revealed to me was this:

As we come more deeply in relationship with God, He will bring revival to family members we hold dear in our hearts and revival of our relationship with them. God’s desire is to re-set and re-establish family legacy for everyone’s benefit, including building next generations. God’s desire is to revive family members from false beliefs and dead ways as they reconcile more deeply with Him, then each other. The Lord will bring new life with a new perspective to old hearts and young attitudes. 

During visits with these family members, He will break open communication with one another to give us deeper understanding, lighter hearts and new memories we’ve longed for—a clearer connection, a refreshing. In doing so, God is giving us a “token of grace” (a keepsake) and a “second experience of grace” (2 Co 5:17) to hold in our hearts as treasure of His goodness. 

We will experience a renewed love and joy toward one another as we experience a distinctive before and after difference that will strengthen individual relationships and the family overall. It can happen to the extent that painful pasts will be washed away as if they never occurred. 

For those family members who are not so close, God is bringing reform that will foster deep reconciliation with Him and repair with us that will impress us with awesome wonder, knowing God alone brought the restoration.

I believe David experienced this when his family members met him in the cave of Adullam, where he was strengthened (fortified and multiplied) before moving closer to his promise of coronation (1 Sa 22:1-5). 

Let’s remember that God offers redemption and fruitfulness to even the hardest cases, like some of us. 

Think Jacob.

Psalm 44:4 NIV says, “You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob.”

No one is too difficult for God to reach.

Hosea 12:3-6, 13 NLT reflect on Jacob’s journey. They say, “Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him—the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the LORD is his name! So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him…the LORD brought Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt and…they were protected.”

God did the impossible with Jacob. The Lord enabled Jacob to come to the end of himself, then reconcile with The Lord, then reconcile with his brother, Esau (Ge 32:24).

This is God’s order of reconciliation.

And now, it’s our time to do the same.

We can extend the heart of gracious Esau and Christ, simply out of His overwhelming joy and a desire to not cause more pain.

We can experience the rich mercy of forgiveness as family prodigals reconcile with God and us. 

We can experience “better” in the form of a keepsake revival forward that God promises to extend beyond us (Ge 33:4-5).

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NIV assure us that “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” 

May we be compelled by Christ’s love (2 Co 5:14) to minister reconciliation from a Spirit of Grace, being available to meet with family members as led by Holy Spirit. 

May we minister according to Isaiah 43:18, which reminds us to “Forget the former things;” and “not dwell on the past.” 

May we see that God is “doing a new thing.” And as it “springs up,” let us “perceive it” (Is 43:18).

Like Esau and King David, let us not stop short in the challenges, because victory is assured, just as it was for Jacob.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name.

Amen.

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

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Youthful Resurrection – Part 2

The Word I believe The Lord gave me regarding the dream in Part 1 of this series is precisely this: 

Now is the beginning of the manifestation of a fresh, new expanse for God’s sons and daughters. The ones who endured long-suffering, processed through it God’s way, and continue to receive the resurrected life of Christ are coming into true (original) longstanding.

God has strengthened His sons and daughters in Him through a process of long-suffering to be able to stand long in their new expanse outwardly. 

In regards to this dream, the Word of Knowledge, “youthful resurrection,” essentially means to newly stand in the new place.

Youthful, by definition, means “new” and refers to a lot more than chronological age in scripture.

Our “new” covenant in Christ is both new in respect to time (Strong’s #3501 – or the Greek word neos; He 12:24) and in respect to character (Strong’s #2537 – or the Greek word kainos; He 9:15).

In this recent prophetic dream, in which two young men were shifted from their enclosed dwelling place into an expanse of destiny (see Part 1), they were sons of God, which meant that they had already been born again and were led by Holy Spirit.

So, they had overcome their old (original) nature and character with which they were born into the world. 

“New” as character, or a kainos kind of new, has to do with quality and form (or innovation) and freshness in development or opportunity. It’s an uncommon, unheard of, superior kind of new (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon).

It is what scripture refers to in Revelation 21:5 TPT, where God says, “I am making everything to be new and fresh.”

It’s about God bringing us up higher in terms of quality and quantity.

There are two key scriptures that particularly reference this kainos kind of “new” (Vine’s):

One is 2 Corinthians 5:17 TPT, which pertains to a new-man character. It says, “Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.” 

The second scripture is Galatians 6:15 AMPC, in which Paul references being made a new creation in Christ, saying it is “the result of a new birth and new nature in Christ.” 

There is a finality that goes along with what Paul said. He implies that what God has cut away or pruned (flesh) has passed away and will not be resurrected. (In the Old Testament, this relates metaphorically to circumcision and Passover in Joshua 5:2-12, just before they ate the fruit of the land and the produce of Canaan that same year.)

Paul goes on to say that “The only thing that really matters is living by the transforming power of this wonderful new creation life” (Ga 6:15 TPT). 

We know this as “resurrection life,” which happens inside of us and also in Heaven.

So, in the dream God gave me, those two young men had to be made new in character before they could stand long in the expanse of a new place.  

This is God’s order of sequence in the miraculous process of resurrection, which, in this case, means to rise and stand. 

Greater assignments require that we die to flesh and come into agreement with Christ.  

So, compromise has to go for our next-level divine destiny to manifest (1 Co 5:7).

In the dream, once the two young men were taken past their limited ways, by the power of God’s mercy, they discovered their deeper purpose and were instantly catapulted from an inward sitting (receiving) position to one of outwardly and standing (action) in their new expanse. 

The God of Amen (which means “so let it be”), who is The God of Faithfulness and The God of Truth, launched these two sons into the new place of divine destiny when He knew they were ready and could continue to live holy in an expanded blessing.

In this regard, Colossians 3:10 TPT says, “For you have acquired new creation life which is continually being renewed into the likeness of the One who created you; giving you the full revelation of God.”

These sons of God in the dream understood that God desires that we walk with Him in new (neos) discoveries and join Him in new (neos) places as in Isaiah 40:31 NLT, which says, “those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

They understood God was doing a new thing and had matured them to the point where they could live disciplined lives with self-restraint and prudence (Ti 2:6). They were ready for a new beginning, a neos kind of youthful resurrection. 

It was time (neos) for them to cross into the dream of their hearts that God manifested for them.

So, friends, are you ready and willing to be launched into your manifest dreams God’s way?

If your answer is “yes,” then it’s time to cross over. 

This is my prayer for you…

“I pray that you will continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power made available to you through faith. Then your lives will be an advertisement of this immense power as it works through you! This is the mighty power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead and exalted him to the place of highest honor and supreme authority in the heavenly realm” (Ep 1:19-20 TPT)!

To God be the Glory.

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