What a wonderful chapter this is, chock full of promises and blessings. These blessings were promised for our obedience. How wonderful to get another glimpse into God's own heart and see that our Father desires to bless us with good things. If you have children, then you know how it feels to still want the best for your children even when they miss the mark. Even when they remove themselves out from under your protection and provision for them, you still desire above all else to see them walking in the fullness of God's best for them.
How thankful we need to be that all of the curses listed in Deut. 28 for disobedience no longer apply to us! We've been covered by the blood of Christ and now have right-standing with God! We now have a better covenant with better promises. Galatians 3:13 tells us that "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"--in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." The sad part about it is that many people in the Body of Christ are living as if the curse is still valid in their lives. They think that God is out to get them every time they miss it. They think that God must bring hardship into their lives to teach them a lesson of some sort.
That, friends, is simply not true! If we hurt our children to teach them something or purposely put them in harm's way under the same thought, we would be put in jail! God is love personified. He cannot do anything but love us. Jesus said in Matt.7:9-11 "Or what man is there among you, when his son asks him for a loaf would give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father Who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" God only has good things to give us!
If you've been taught something different than that truth, you simply need to spend some time renewing your mind in order to get free in that area. Renewing our minds is not difficult, but it is very necessary to our spiritual growth. Renewing the mind simply means replacing the wrong thoughts that you've either been taught or that your senses are telling you, with God's definitions about Who He is, who you are in Christ and all that Jesus purchased for you and then saying those things! When people think incorrect things about God, they simply don't know Him. The more we get to know Him through the Word's definitions of Him and not what others say, the easier it is to trust Him and truly believe He only has good things for us. It takes a little practice to start saying things differently than you've been saying them for years. But the results in your life will be worth far more than any effort on your part!
If you're needing healing for your body, Deut. 28 is a great passage to camp in for a bit. Because every single sickness described under the curse of the law we have been redeemed from, Praise God! If you see something that applies to your body, then praise Him that Gal. 3:13 says you've been redeemed from it. The greatest verse of this chapter is 61 where is plainly says "Also every sickness and every plague which is not written in the book of this law..." we have also been redeemed of! Praise God! That covers everything you could ever wonder about! It's covered! That's good news!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Saturday, February 8, 2014
February 8, 2014 ~Numbers 11~
Numbers chapter 11 speaks of when the Israelites grumbled against God because they were so tired of eating manna. That grumbling displeased the Lord greatly and caused his anger to be kindled. Even though we are living under a better covenant today, with greater promises of God's goodness, a grumbling spirit does not bring any glory to God. No matter what we are going through in life, when we choose to exalt God for all He has done and recall all of the times He has been faithful to us, it causes our faith to be stirred up that He will do it again. No, God does not have a huge ego that needs to be stroked, but He knows when we magnify Him and His ability to move on our behalf, it will keep our faith active and gives Him permission to work.
This passage also speaks of how Moses was the only one among the entire nation of Israel which had the Holy Spirit upon him. Imagine how difficult it would be for a pastor today to try to lead a congregation of 600,000 (only counting the men) who were all constantly walking by their flesh. So God put His Spirit on seventy elders to help Moses in the care of the people. How blessed are we, today, that we can have the Holy Spirit in each of us to lead, guide and strengthen us?!
With the Holy Spirit comes POWER! He is the demonstrator of the spoken Word! God has spoken the Word, when we believe it by faith, show the action of our faith by speaking what God spoke, then the Holy Spirit is the One Who performs that Word in our lives. When Jesus was on the earth HE was the power. If people needed healing or help in their lives, they had to travel to wherever Jesus was. Therefore the Holy Spirit, upon Jesus, was confined to one location. This is why Jesus told the disciples that it was better for Him to go to heaven so He could send the Holy Spirit to them.
The Holy Spirit and that power now resides in the earth in us! On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit left His residence in heaven and came to earth. The disciples were instructed to wait for Him. They needed to be waiting in faith, expecting Him because He needed an entrance into the earth. Once He made His entrance, then from there He could spread to the outer ends of the earth. That is why there is power available everywhere to be saved! Once we are born-again, that power is no longer in us just for our benefit. He dwells in us not only to lead and guide us, but so that we now have that power available to change others' lives. His power is just waiting for us to place a demand on it in faith. If we live conscious of it everyday, He will show us when and where we can be co-laborers with Him to demonstrate His power and bless the world around us! He's waiting on us! Let's go out and be a blessing today!
This passage also speaks of how Moses was the only one among the entire nation of Israel which had the Holy Spirit upon him. Imagine how difficult it would be for a pastor today to try to lead a congregation of 600,000 (only counting the men) who were all constantly walking by their flesh. So God put His Spirit on seventy elders to help Moses in the care of the people. How blessed are we, today, that we can have the Holy Spirit in each of us to lead, guide and strengthen us?!
With the Holy Spirit comes POWER! He is the demonstrator of the spoken Word! God has spoken the Word, when we believe it by faith, show the action of our faith by speaking what God spoke, then the Holy Spirit is the One Who performs that Word in our lives. When Jesus was on the earth HE was the power. If people needed healing or help in their lives, they had to travel to wherever Jesus was. Therefore the Holy Spirit, upon Jesus, was confined to one location. This is why Jesus told the disciples that it was better for Him to go to heaven so He could send the Holy Spirit to them.
The Holy Spirit and that power now resides in the earth in us! On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit left His residence in heaven and came to earth. The disciples were instructed to wait for Him. They needed to be waiting in faith, expecting Him because He needed an entrance into the earth. Once He made His entrance, then from there He could spread to the outer ends of the earth. That is why there is power available everywhere to be saved! Once we are born-again, that power is no longer in us just for our benefit. He dwells in us not only to lead and guide us, but so that we now have that power available to change others' lives. His power is just waiting for us to place a demand on it in faith. If we live conscious of it everyday, He will show us when and where we can be co-laborers with Him to demonstrate His power and bless the world around us! He's waiting on us! Let's go out and be a blessing today!
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