Tag: #John6:11

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Beautiful Life – Part 3

I am seeing God turn ashes to beauty in my life in every facet big and small as He brings us out of the Coronavirus cocoon. And it’s happening swiftly!

Oppressive weights have lifted. New doors have opened. New beginnings are manifesting. All as beauty.

Even some old things are made new…with more to come!

Are you experiencing this, too?

Recently, God showed me the Word “Distribute” in a Word-vision. He revealed to me that we have entered into a stage of “distribution.” 

About a week later, I was reading 1 Corinthians 12 in the TPT version as part of a homework assignment from my new church. And there, I saw the Word “distribute” four times. So, I dug deeper.

According to Helps Word Study, “distribute” in 1 Corinthians 12 means to “apportion (assign), by the choice of a superior; to divide” spiritual gifts for the purpose of confirming the Word of God, expanding His Kingdom and establishing His righteousness—on earth (1 Co 12:7 TPT study note).

1 Corinthians 12 verses 6 and 11 TPT say, “The same God distributes different kinds of miracles that accomplish different results through each believer’s gift and ministry as he energizes and activates them. Remember, it is the same Holy Spirit who distributes, activates, and operates these different gifts as he chooses for each believer.”

So, we see here that to “distribute” is the first step in Holy Spirit’s empowerment process to accomplish His three-fold purpose of making beautiful Him known in the world in a variety of ways.

This brings us to another definition of the Word “distribute” in regards to the miracle Jesus did (after thanksgiving) in John 6:11, when He distributed the loaves and fishes to those who were seated. 

In this verse, according to Strong’s (# 1239), the Word “distribute” means to divide, to offer, to give throughout a crowd, to hand over, to deliver over as to a successor.

Doesn’t this remind you of Jesus offering Himself up to be our greatest gift, as well as delivering His Word and Spirit to us to become His living, empowered successors?

Psalms 111:3 TPT says, “Everything he does is full of splendor and beauty! Each miracle demonstrates his eternal perfection.”

Titus 2:14 TPT says, “He sacrificed himself for us that he might purchase our freedom from every lawless deed and to purify for himself a people who are his very own, passionate to do what is beautiful in his eyes.”

So, the message is clear: our Lord is inviting us to be empowered as conduits of His miraculous provision to then go and do what He did and even greater exploits as we trust and obey Him.  

1 Corinthians 12:31 TPT says, “…now I will show you a superior way to live that is beyond comparison!”

The Amplified Classic version expands this by commanding us to “…earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces). And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far and the highest of them all–love].”

Ironically, our Lord led me to this very scripture the morning before He led me to church, where I received my homework assignment. 

God has an intentional plan to work against division as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:25 by setting us up to “look after…others with mutual concern.”

So, as we go to serve others, according to His leading, He will continue to take care of what concerns us and also reward us.

Holy Spirit is bringing us out of hibernation more empowered and setting is us on a new trajectory that leads to an explosive convergence—the manifestations of His big promises to us—the fruit of dreams come true (Pr 21:21 TPT). 

Big ones. 

Ones for which He has prepared us over time.

Not only will this happen for us but also for those He reaches through us by His Spirit.

Are you ready for His manifest miracles?

Ephesians 5:27 TPT reminds us “All that he does in us is designed to make us a mature church for his pleasure, until we become a source of praise to him—glorious and radiant, beautiful and holy, without fault or flaw.”

So, no matter what’s going on in our lives, we can choose to move toward His beauty—His justice, honor and praise—and express it outwardly. Remaining in intimacy with Him is key.

We can experience His Glory-Presence and offer, activate and operate in miracles for Kingdom purposes as He leads—all by His Spirit and for His Glory.

Psalms 149:4 TPT says, “For he enjoys his faithful lovers. He adorns the humble with his beauty, and he loves to give them victory.”

Jesus lives a victorious life that He extends to us and through us. So, His greatest beauty is found in the true life of victory-salvation He has offered to us. When we walk in it, we will experience a more beautiful reality. There is no greater adventure. 

Colossians 4:12 TPT encourages us to “…grow and mature, standing complete and perfect in the beauty of God’s plan for your lives…”

1 Corinthians 13:13 TPT reminds us that ” above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.”

Pray with me if you will…

Dear Lord, 

Thank You for making us complete in Christ (Co 2:10). Thank You that we can lift up our “heads [in joy], because [suffering ends as]” our “redemption is drawing near” (Lk 21:28). Thank You for being our Spirit of Justice, who works on our behalf to bring beauty out of ashes (Is 28). I invite you to equip and empower me in any way that delights You. Thank You for activating Your gifts in me and for operating them through me. Thank You for teaching us Your Word and ways (Ps 119:68, Ep 4:29, 2 Th 2:17, Pr 10:29). Fill our hearts with your “beautiful intentions” (1 Jn 3:22). Here I am, Lord. Send me for Your glory. I trust in You.

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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Redeeming Your Time – Part 2

The best way to reconcile issues of the soul, unfinished business or any other outstanding matter is by the living, redeeming work of the cross. 

Colossians 1:17 TPT says that “He existed before anything was made, and now everything finds completion in him.”

The AMPC version reveals that God is our supreme binder, saying, “…He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together). [Prov. 8:22-31.]”

So, we must do as Hebrews 4:16 AMPC says, which is to “find grace…to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].”

We can hold on to the Spirit of Grace and release matters to Him to bring complete wholeness, which honors Him (Ps 55:22 TPT, Phil 1:6). By God’s authority, we can also bind the enemy that tries to keep us spinning in un-resolve so that life doesn’t continue on without us (Lk 10:19).

The revelation God gave me on this is that His grace not only works outwardly as explosive power but also works inwardly as an implosion, where internal fragments are made whole or redeemed. 

Just as in the military command to “fall in,” this means that we must break away from a former or present place and meet with God to come into a new alignment under His authority for transformation. In this way, He will bind our matters into a glorious new whole to demonstrate His goodness (Ps 18:25).

So, as we trust our Kinsman-Redeemer, we can give Him all of our fragments, and ask Him to resolve them to His liking, and then grow them exponentially (multiplicity) for His glory (Jn 6:11, Lk 6:38, Is 43:1). We can ask Him to awaken our minds and hearts to see and know Him more in this way—as our God who redeems our lives on earth as it is in Heaven. 

Because redemption doesn’t stop at the altar of salvation (Ps 50:23 TPT).

Redemption continues to work on our behalf as we walk out our salvation, submitting our limitations to God and trusting Him with transformation and multiplicity.

Sometimes, it may look and feel worse before we see better. But God, in His faithfulness, will get us to the place of fewer hindrances and more shalom peace and abundant true (zoe, Strong’s #2222) life than we’ve ever known.

God is in the redemptive work with us, so we can “fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace” (He 4:16). Know there will come a time, when we will begin to see the outward work of His redemption. 

We will see the promised fruit. 

Just as God is the perfect binder, He is also the perfect sower, who multiplies good fruit in our lives forward. Luke 8:15 NIV says, “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

Multiplicity is a part of God’s redemptive work as explosive growth. Multiplicity is a time-saver. 

Job’s life is a noble example of abiding-ascension and multiplicity, where God restored him double for his losses. 

And God will do the same for us. 

We see God do double miracles of brokenness to abundance for the multitudes in John 6:11 NLT, which says, “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.”

When I read this scripture, during this writing, Holy Spirit highlighted the Word “distributed” to me.

I believe He revealed it’s time for those of us who have followed Him in the deep implosive work of our souls to now explode on the scene into the distribution phase. In other words, it’s time to get the message out, to share the blessing or the feast of manifest miracles God has done in us with the world around us in whatever form He as ordained.

As we obey, God will use the life-work He did in us to extend life to others as He expands our reach outwardly by His explosive grace-power.

As Redeemer, He will do the impossible on our behalf.

As we go about this new phase of distribution with our Lord, as redeemed vessels with a message of redemption for others, a critical element to practice is the acknowledgment of Him “as our Provider of all we need each day,” as is written in Matthew 6:11 TPT. Abiding in Him is everything, as it was for Job. 

So, our righteous prayer today is…

Dear Lord,

Thank You for Your victory-redemption. Where I have felt defeated in the past, help me live in Your miraculous abundance as I abide in You and obey You. “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). Thank You, Lord, for making my path increasingly bright as I continue to come into greater life-union with Your righteousness (Pr 4:18, Ps 23:3).

In Jesus’ Mighty Name. 

And now, I declare over you that “…God himself, the heavenly Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, release grace over you and impart total well-being into your lives” daily (Ep 1:2 TPT).

Amen.

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