Tag: #Matthew11:30

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Beginning Anew

Recently, as I awakened one morning and looked out the window, I saw a clear sky over treetops in a way I never had before. This continued over the next few days. 

From the very first sunrise, our Lord began to speak to my heart. He revealed that these sunrises of new days are for those with child-like faith and wonder—those who have awakened to Holy Spirit’s revelations over the years. 

These beloved ones are beginning to come into the manifestations of their hearts desires, even greater than they imagined as a child. God has made their futures bright and is leading them now to continue to show them the way. They will see that the wilderness they once found themselves in has become the stepping stone to their expansive freedom.

God has come in with a consuming fire to burn up obstacles that once came against them—the same obstacles He didn’t cause but purposed and used to bring them higher in Him. “They have served their purpose,” says The Lord of Hosts. What used to plague them no longer will. They are free from what was sent to hold them back. They have been made strong in Him for such a time as this, beyond what they could see back then.

God’s fire will also help these beloved ones not look back. He has set them on a clear path at a new altitude and range with eagle clarity and focus, heading straight into His promises. Nothing below them concerns them, as God has broken them through into a beautiful new life that will honor Him in a new way. These beloved ones will experience His beauty of a new day and in a new area to them. 

Our Lord reminded me of a key scripture that He highlighted to me and that I clung to ten years ago, which is Song of Songs 2:13. It asks 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” (TPT version).

In this passage, the “signs” of His purpose and plans are described as “early.” The “vines of new life” are described as “budding.” But now, the day of destiny is right in front us. It’s in clear sight from a higher perspective. 

In this passage, the early signs have given way to the latter signs of right now, just before big-shift promises are made complete. Do you see these latter signs? Do you also realize that you still need to continue to come away with Him as you navigate the soar? For only in Him do we live and move and have our being.

In addition to this key scripture, Holy Spirit also highlighted Matthew 11:30 to me four times, confirming that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He’s revealing that much has been lifted off of His beloved ones to live and move again as He intended in Acts 17:28, which is to function forward, knowing our identity in Him. 

“It will be as though it never was,” says The Lord of Hosts regarding the pain of the past, “as you continue to step into My glorious future for you.”

The Lord then took me to Isaiah 35 to remind me of His glorious promises for His redeemed. As I re-read this chapter, He reminded me of specific promises that are about to come on the scene as He brings about big shifts. 

In verse 1, He speaks of the desert blossoming “like a rose” and rejoicing (Is 35:1)! He says in verse 2 that “Every dry and barren place will burst forth with abundant blossoms, dancing and spinning with delight!” He speaks of “magnificent beauty” and “awesome glory.” He cites “the beautiful grandeur” of Himself.

He goes to say in verse 4 that “He is breaking through to give you victory! He comes to avenge your enemies. With divine retribution, He comes to save you!” He says in verse 10 that “Ecstatic joy will overwhelm them; weariness and grief will disappear!”

All of this is for those who walk with God and have allowed Him to do deep work in them. I encourage you to read Isaiah 35 and jot down what Holy Spirit reveals to you, specifically, about His purposes and strategies forward. 

Pray with me if you will . . . 

Dear Lord, 

Thank You for deliver us up out of former places into our futures. Please help us to continue to abide in You to produce as much fruit that pleases You. I trust You to navigate us all the way into Your completed promises. 

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 Order

Recently, I watched an interview with Candace Cameron Bure, in which she said our Lord gave her a Word for 2023. The Word was “Joy.” 

This brought to mind someone close to me, who also does the same—asks our Lord for a single Word for the new year. 

And so, I decided to do it, too, one morning. Immediately, Holy Spirit showed me the Word “Order” in a Word-vision. 

I wasn’t surprised, because it’s what He has me doing right now. Also, I’ve been realizing that the work of bringing order is going to take some time. 

Right now, order for me looks like reorganizing and repairing my home space in preparation for big shifts ahead. With this new order, God is making my load light, as in Matthew 11:30. 

He is our God of order.

Order pleases God. It is His desire and nature. It is His wisdom. It is harmonious and facilitates the proper function and sequence of purpose, change and time.

Order is the state or condition of a thing (Webster’s). Right order is often the result of obedience, submission and walking with Him. 

Order is what Jesus trained His disciples in and what He left for us to awaken to and practice in our unique circumstances as we seek more of Him in our midst. 

According to Holy Scripture, order reflects discipline and commitment of our faith in God (Co 2:5). It reveals our position of dignity, rank and character (Strong’s #5010). It can be an arrangement in time that expresses a position of fashion, quality and style that generally depends on one’s God-given talents, experiences and resources (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon).  

Order is a verb.

I think of order mostly as a verb, since it’s a dynamic, ever changing framework, into which blessings fit as we grow. Order doesn’t prevent us from coloring outside of the lines in expressions of creativity. But rather creates boundaries that facilitate our enjoyment of God’s goodness as He continually expands it in our lives.

So, for me, order is pretty exciting. And those who have a gift of administration may enjoy the organization element of it, too. But for others, order may not feel so extraordinary. 

Here’s how it can benefit you . . . 

Since order is linked with authority in governing, to bring order is to be aligned with authority over that which God places in our stewardship. Therefore, order is an invitation to synchronicity and increased efficiency with God. 

Order is a kind of expression of being the head and not the tail. To reign with God victoriously, void of the downward pull of confusion. 

New order comes with a purposed grace to actually help facilitate space for God’s newness in our lives. 

Re-order comes with mercy, relative to how God has grown us and where He’s calling us. It’s an invitation to come up higher and reign in peace, knowing He has purposed our endeavors. 

We can have purpose without peace, but when we do, this should awaken us to the need for more order. God will show us the way as we walk with Him in faith.

As our capacity of blessings changes, order must correspond to facilitate peace. Therefore, building order facilitates the flow of life, freeing us to be available. 

Beautiful Order

1 Corinthians 14:40 TPT instructs us to do “all things in a beautiful and orderly way.” Here, the Word “beautiful” means respectful and “with the right design” (TPT study note). 

Over the years, God has restored many back to His “right design.” And He fiercely safeguards this righteous order from those who would try to tear it down through disrespect and discouragement (1 Co 5:11). He invites His restored ones to participate in greater expressions of His right order outwardly.

Lift & Shift

Several years ago, Holy Spirit said to me very clearly, “Get your house in order.” Thankfully, He gave me the understanding of what He meant. He was bringing about a big shift, and He desired that heavy burdens of the extraneous be lifted from me. 

So, with His directive, my husband and I began at the foundation level (garage and basement) of our home and made our way to the attic to clean out items that needed to go. We went through plastic tubs, drawers, cabinets and closets. It took us a year-and-a-half. 

When we finished, God moved us out of state into new roles of blessing, where we remained for eight years.

Now, here we are again: cleaning out, storing and re-storing—bringing new order to the level that pleases God for another big shift forward.

Pray with me if you will . . . 

Dear Lord, 

Thank You for bringing a better order into our lives. Since order is a beautiful facilitation of new life for us, bring it on. Thank You for helping us make room for all things new that are of You for us right now and forward. 

In Jesus’ Mighty Name. 

Amen. 

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

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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.