How can we apply God’s promises to our daily lives? Are God’s promises conditional? What does it mean to be a child of God? What are some key promises found in the bible? Are God’s promises for me? How can we be sure God will keep His promises? What‘s more important than getting a life-changing handle on what God has promised you specifically? Expect this podcast to help you know who you are...REALLY & to help you live fully believing God‘s promises to you...REALLY.
Episodes
Monday Mar 09, 2020
Monday Mar 09, 2020
In 1 Samuel chapter 17, we read the inspiring and very well-known true life story of David defeating the Philistine giant Goliath in the Valley of Elah.
It's a story for the ages of epic proportions that gives us hope for those impossible situations that loom larger than life in our own modern day moments...right here on the plains of Kansas rather than the ancient Valley of Elah.
But the point the Lord made to me was as much about chapter 21 of 1 Samuel as it was the 17th chapter.
It was as much about my own fears as it was about fearless David-type of living.
Maybe you've dealt with fear recently?
Maybe you have, at some point in your life, defeated your personal Goliath & now find yourself unsure about why you're so fearful right now when you've already seen the Lord do the miraculous on your behalf?
In chapter 21, David is on the run from King Saul. While he was once the hero in the battle for Israel (against Goliath and his people, the violent and oppressive Philistines) he is no longer the darling of the kingdom, at least not in the eyes of the jealous & rage-filled king.
After being the go-to guy on the battlefield when every other solider was quaking in their sandals, David was now on the outs. Ain't that just the way sometimes? The phrase "No good deed goes unpunished" comes to mind!
So David, in his haste to escape Saul's death threats (which were far more than just threats...he fully intended to act on them!) fled with no weapons or food. He ended up fleeing to the city of Nob, and there he met with the priest Ahimelech. Now, this priest was no fool and he was very afraid that David's presence there in Nob could lead to trouble if he were there of his own accord, especially if he were, say, running for his life.
But David told a lie and said he was there on the king's business...and Ahimelech had compassion on David, giving him food (not just any food, either...) And then David asked the priest if there was, by chance, a sword or a spear he could use. And there certainly way! The very same sword that had belonged to the now deceased giant Goliath...in fact, the very same sword David had used to cut off Goliath's head after he had sunk a rock deep into his forehead.
So, here's where the Lord spoke straight into my heart from this passage.
In verse 9 of chapter 21 of the book of 1 Samuel, when the priest Ahimelech tells David that he has access to Goliath's sword, here is David's response: "There is none like it; give it to me."
Those words floored me. All in the blink of an eye, I understood that I had done what David had done...and it wasn't good, what I had done.
When Goliath bore this exact weapon back in the Valley of Elah, he would have wanted the very sight of it to strike fear in David's heart, to render him petrified with fear. But, of course, it did no such thing. David loaded his sling, aimed true to his mark, and used that fear-weapon to remove the giant's head from his shoulders. Boom.
And now, just four chapters later, David is picking up the very weapon that his enemy had intended to use against him...
In the podcast I share the story of 2 events in my life that were similar yet different...and how I took the weapon my enemy tried to use against me during the first event (that weapon being FEAR) and tried to use it in some weird manner to move God's needle to answer my panicky, fearful prayers during the later event involving my health...I was not in the least bothered by the enemy brandishing "FEAR FEAR FEAR" in stage one...and in stage two, I picked up that same weapon of "FEAR FEAR FEAR" and found my prayers being driven by fear and not by faith.
Fear based praying robs God of worship He deserves.
Fear based praying leaves us empty and self-focused.
Fear based praying is the equivalent of using Satan's weapon to try and influence God's response to us.
It is gross.
And it had to be expelled from my life.
I traded it out and now pray from a place of rest - and the peace Jesus gives me is amazing and refreshing. And it's available to you, too.
If you have an area of your life where you have taken up the weapon your enemy used against you in the past and now find yourself fighting with that same weapon today, can I encourage you to lay it down and just opt to rest in Jesus?
Trust Him enough to refuse fear a place in your prayer life.
Lord bless!
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Friday Feb 28, 2020
Friday Feb 28, 2020
Philippians 2:13 (NIV) - "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."
Philippians 2"13 (Amplified) - "For it is (not your strength, but it is) God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work (that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose) for His good pleasure."
The firs thing I want you to grab hold of from this verse is: God works
And notice it does not say "Jan works".
This ain't on me and it ain't on you.
When we read this verse, it's as if a huge amount of grace is being poured out over our lives. For it is God who works...and BOOM!, just like that, the pressure is off.
God works.
How good is that?
God does not need your strength in order to accomplish His will. So whenever you feel just "done", worn out, wiped out, stretched way too thin, then let this promise become your promise. This is your life verse for those times in life. God works not in your strength, but in His. And as the Amplified version states, God is effectively at work in you.
The definition of "effectively" is - "in such a manner as to achieve a desired result."
It is not your strength, but it is God who is working in such a manner as to achieve His desired result.
Let's reason this out...
A) It's God's strength...is His strength limited or restricted or able to be exhaustedItapped out or used up? NO
B) If God is the One working to achieve His own desired result in my life, then do I have any cause or reason to doubt that He will get done what He wants to get done? NO
C) If God's purpose is a good purpose, do I have a lot of reason to be fearful or ill and ease about it? NO
There is absolutely nothing about the words "according to His good pleasure" that should be unnerving to me. Seriously!! I want you to get this! What umbrage could I possibly have with God's good pleasure?
What are we so afraid of? This is good stuff & there absolutely is nothing to fear here!
Glance at the Amplified again...
The Lord is so good at getting His will done, that's already been settled. There isn't any room for doubting that. God is perfect at getting His will done. And we have no reason to fear when He promises that His will is good.
Adding to this amazing truth, we see that the author of this book (the apostle Paul) says the Lord is effective in giving us the strength, the energy, the longing and the ability to do what He desires for us to do.
God has purposes for our lives - not just one, but a whole lot of them! And we don't want to bury our talents and do little to nothing for God's Kingdom.
Yet when we live in this perpetual state of "semi-fear" and leave room for nagging doubts combined with the exhaustion so many of us are facing, we often wear ourselves out doing we we ought NOT to be doing with the time God has entrusted to us.
Remember, time belongs to God (He created time, so of course it is His!) and we need to stop behaving as if we have any kind of ownership over what belongs to Him.
Let's try living like this instead:
God has given us this iron-clad promise in this verse that when we are doing what He wills for us to do, when we are about our Father's business, He will provide us with the strength, the energy, the longing & the ability to get it done. To get it all the way across the finish line. And when the next assignment or calling from the Lord comes along, He'll do the same thing yet again.
Ask God what His will is for us and then trust Him to do His will through us even while we lay down our own to-do lists and pick up His.
It is a tremendously beautiful thing to trust completely in God to will and to act according to His good purposes.
Freedom comes at a cost.
But the cost for your freedom was paid in full by Jesus at Calvary.
The words "it is finished" really do mean that your freedom was both procured and secured right there at that exact moment in time by the Lord Jesus. Why try and do God's will in your own energy? Why not do His will, His way, by His might?
HOMEWORK / CHALLENGE
Talk to the Lord about one area of your life this week. Just pick one thing and seek the Holy Spirit's guidance and clarity about that one thing. Talk to Him about it in great detail. And then take the time to really listen for what He has to say to you about that topic.
Be like Jesus' mother, Mary, at the wedding in Cana. She said to the servants, "Do whatever He tells you to do."
Those are wise words!
It is pretty hard to get it wrong when that's your prayer & your heartfelt desire and your pre-determined decision...that you are simply going to do whatever He tells you to do, no more & no less.
Enjoy your freedom as a disciple of Jesus today. Don't abuse it, but boy, please don't miss out on it either!
Lord bless!
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Wednesday Feb 19, 2020
Wednesday Feb 19, 2020
Matthew 6:31-33 (New Living Translation) - "So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need."
This passage contains a promise that can encompass every single part of our lives - no matter our age, our job, our health, wealth or social status. These words of Jesus can take on anything your life has to offer.
This is life-altering, life-giving stuff.
Jesus knows just how much energy we expend focusing on "me, me, me". And He lovingly offers us hope for the disease of self. It's right here in Matthew chapter 6.
When Jesus says thoughts about "What if? Uh-oh! When? How? Who?" dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, this is intended to shock us back to reality and convict us that we are living as if we don't really believe Him.
People are looking at your life - like it or not, that's just the way it is. Do you want them to look at you in shock, unable to find evidence that you believe in Jesus as Lord? To equate you more with worry and fear and anxiousness than with the God of the universe?
When worry-worry-worry is the most conspicuous thing about us, then worrying has become dangerous.
Do worrisome thoughts have a commanding influence over your daily life? If so, then guess what buddy...these verses are your promise from God!
Take a look at these verses from the Christian Standard Bible -
"So don't worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be provided for you."
And verse 34 of the sixth chapter of Matthew says, "Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
(The header for this section in the Christian Standard Bible is "The Cure for Anxiety")
Can you think of something much more valuable in our modern society as a whole than the cure for anxiety? The world needs this, and it is a tremendous need. We as Christians have the opportunity to offer this cure for the anxious state that nearly everyone around us lives in. Verse 33 says seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness is the cure for our anxiousness.
The Amplified Bible says it this way -
"Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, 'What are we going to eat?' or 'What are we going to drink?' or 'What are we going to wear?' For the (pagan) Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, (but do not worry), for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right - the attitude and character of God), and all these things will be given to you also."
The reason we don't have to worry about the actual physical needs, the literal stuff of life, is right here in this passage. God tells us not to worry...because He knows what we need. Take comfort in those two words, "He knows." What does God do with what He knows? Does He ignore what He knows? Is He neglectful? No. Rather, what He knows is a need is a need He will meet.
Think on this for a moment:
Do I want to live my way into an early grave by worrying and fretting and being fearful and anxious? Or do I want to live all the way into the grave, truly living my life right up until I draw my last breath?
The choice is mine, and mine alone. The same is true for you.
The Lord invites us to live Kingdom-minded lives, to partner in His work, to be a blessing to others and to bring Him much glory. He offers us the promise that by living the good life, as described according to these verses, is living in a way that allows you to be totally content in every area of your life, receiving the fullness of His promise to make provision for every single need that we have.
Let's live starting today as if we believe this is true for us. Because we are not unbelievers, so we are not going to be dominated by things that run rampant over those who do not believe.
You are a marked man, a marked woman - marked by the Lord for His Kingdom purposes and you can live that way starting right now.
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Saturday Feb 08, 2020
Saturday Feb 08, 2020
Luke 3: 1-3 (Amplified) - Now in the fifteenth year of [Emperor]Tiberius Caesar’s reign—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod [Antipas] was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene— 2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas [his son-in-law], the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.
~~~ While God was doing a work of preparation in John the Baptist's life prior to the start of his ministry, He was also doing a work of preparation to the times & seasons, leaders & authorities in which John's ministry work would take place. God was setting the stage with perfection in the way that only He can.
~~~ The "leaning in" that we need to do during times of preparation is so terribly important. If you find yourself in this place in your life right now, don't become weary or annoyed; instead, choose to lean in and be a good student in whatever it is the Lord is teaching you.
~~~ God is good at time. Never forget this truth! God is perfect when it comes to navigating the times and seasons of our lives.
~~~ We do not need to try and strong-arm God in order to obtain His specific promises and His specific words to us. (See verse 3 above - the Word of God came to John...if it came, then it had been sent. Trust God to send you what you most need, when you most need it.)
~~~ The way to have a truly powerful ministry is to allow God to prepare you, trust Him to set the stage, receive the word that He sends you, and then act in obedience to that word He sent you. Make up your mind in advance that you will do whatever God says to do. What will you do when you get something from the Lord? I truly hope that you will choose to share it with others.
~~~ Three Questions from verses 10-14 (verses are listed below)
#1 - What do I have that I can share today? (see verse 11)
#2 - Am I doing my work or handling resources wrongly or rightly? (see verses 12 & 13)
#3 - Am I content & would I be able to describe myself as "satisfied" with my lot in life? (see verse 14)
10 The crowds asked him, “Then what are we to do?” 11 And John replied, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do the same.” 12 Even some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked, “Teacher, what are we to do?” 13 And he told them, “Collect no more than the fixed amount you have been ordered to [collect].” 14 Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us, what are we to do?” And he replied to them, “Do not extort money from anyone or harass or blackmail anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”
Lord bless you as you continue to live believing God's promises are true for you - because they really, truly are!
Jan L. Burt
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Friday Jan 24, 2020
Friday Jan 24, 2020
Deuteronomy 5:15 (NLT) - Do nor forget that He led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock.
Sometimes, when you have been in a place of slavery for an extended amount of time, a vast and open place of new freedom is totally scary and overwhelming, even when that vast place is a dry desert.
There ought to be a part of us that misses (yes, misses!) the desert trek...here's why - When we are in places that are too big for us (verse 15 calls this a great wilderness...that's a "too big for me" kind of place) those are the places that keep us right at our Father's side, sticking to Him like glue, refusing to let go of His hand.
Looking back, when I do a side-by-side comparision of a big, scary desert place to a season of prosperity and ease, in one of those I was not willing to step away from my ABBA Father's side...and in the other, well, I was more prone to step away.
I have found that any situation that draws me closer to Jesus - that's my favorite. Even if it's so very hard it's still my favorite.
I need to pay careful attention in my seasons of plenty so that I do not forget the Lord.
Lastly, one final point ---
Whenever we find ourselves standing on the banks of a Jordan River, looking right at our next place of promise & favor & blessing, that season of prosperity & peace that has been so longed for and prayed about --- when we find ourselves standing there looking forward, may we not forget to take a glance back over our shoulders and remember the vase and wild "too big place" we're coming out of.
Let us be careful not to forget our God in our promises land...and may we ask the Lord to bless us each with a heart that cannot forget Him.
Friday Jan 24, 2020
Friday Jan 24, 2020
Proverbs 3:5 & 6 (AMP) - Trust in and rely confidently on the LORD with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight (removing obstacles that block your way).
Proverbs 3:5 & 6 (ESV) - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. I all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5 & 6 (NIV) - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
The command to acknowlege Him means to observe Him and get to know Him in the process of living.
Trusting Him is actually depending on Him.
Take an honest look at your life, find a couple of areas in which you'd like to think you are really trusting God...Now, do this: Say, "I am trusting the Lord with..." (fill in whatever it is you are trusting Him for). Can you take out "trusting" and insert "depending on" with total ease? Can you say, "I am depending on the Lord regarding..." as easily as you could say you are trusting Him?
Trusting God means leaning solely on Him without a plan B.
To acknowledge Him means to observe Him - to get to know Him right in the midst of this daily life we're all living.
How good are you at observing God?
Do you watch how He does what He does? Or do you primarily want to see the positive end result of what He does?
If a key part of having our paths made straight and our way smoothed out ahead of us is a result of observing the Lord, getting to know Him better & better, as in knowing Him so well that we can see His ways occurring around me even when we cannot seem to find Him in a situation, then we need to be about observing Him!
God puts a high premium on us knowing Him well. That is truly amazing!
He promises that He will make your paths straight and smooth - God will literally and figuratively move obstacles out of the way in the physical realm and the spiritual realm. Will really does mean will...when He says He will do something, don't doubt Him!
Your role is to trust and rely on Him - to observe Him - really get to know Him - and stop relying on your own insight and understanding.
Tuesday Jan 14, 2020
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Episode 12 isn't based so much on one specific verse - but it sure is a real-world, true-life example that God gets done what He wants done & our mistakes and foibles can't undo His good plans!
As youth group leaders for over a decade, my husband and I have shared a lot of personal stories with a lot of students. But this true story from our teen years is hands-down their favorite one.
Why?
Because it reminds them at this stage of life as teenagers that they cannot mess things up so badly that they will totally wreck on and ruin God's intended plans for them.
It always seems to be a timely message & I hope it blesses you right now, whatever you might be facing!
Lord bless!
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Monday Jan 06, 2020
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Show Notes ~~~ Please be sure to listen at minute 21:54...I share some honest stuff that I don't want anyone to miss (also at the very end of the show notes below)
Psalm 33:16&18 (NIV) - No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. - But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His unfailing love.
What's true for the prince is true for the pauper when it comes to Biblical truth.
God is not a respecter or persons. The Word of God offers this proof:
Romans 2:11 (NIV) - For God does not show favoritism.
Acts 10:34 (KJV) - Then Peter opened his mouth and said, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons."
God doesn't show partiality. He will not respect one person over another person - He just won't do that! So regarding our verses from Psalm 33, let me say once again that what is true for the prince is true for the pauper in God's kingdom.
Isaiah 54:17 tells us that no weapon formed against us will prosper...it doesn't say the weapons won't form against us, but it does promise those weapons will not prosper against us. Those are two very different things, for which I am so thankful! (The Amplified Bible phrases it like this - "no weapon formed against you will succeed.")
Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV) - "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me," says the LORD.
TRUTH BOMB: Do you fear the Lord?
What does "fear of the Lord" really mean?
God tells us over and over again in His Word not to be afraid...and yet He also tells us we are to fear Him. How do these two fit together? (see Deuteronomy 31:8 & Romans 8:28 & Isaiah 43:1 & 1 John 4:18)
Fear of the Lord involves a sense of awe, magnifying God for who He truly is, revering Him, respecting Him, obeying Him and trusting Him, acknowledging that He is Sovereign.
Proverbs 9:10 (AMP) - The (reverent) fear of the LORD (that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome) is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom (its starting point and its essence). And the knowledge of the Holy ONe is understanding and spiritual insight.
When we look at fear of the Lord as a way to honor, revere, esteem, glorify Him it turns our typical definition of fear on its head.
Here's a question for you: Does that definition of fear of the Lord sound like a good description of your walk with Jesus? (not your Wed. night Bible study or Sun. morning worship walk, but your every day walk)
There is a promised blessing in this verse that comes when we fear the Lord. Our fear of the Lord is our baseline for the promise to be true in our lives.
And that promise is..... The Lord's EYES are on YOU!
Don't blow past this too quickly! Allow yourself a moment to grab hold of this promise. The Lord's eyes are on you!
Imagine being at Buckingham Palace & the Queen of England having her eyes fixed solely on you. You're the focal point of her gaze. She is looking upon you with the highest favor & she does not take her eyes off of you. Every movement is noted and noticed. No way, no how someone could make a move against you because where her eyes lie are also where her Royal Guard is watching...one signal from her and they will handle a situation before it can become a situation.
Now that is a small idea of what it means to have the Lord's eyes on you. This promise is a really big deal! And this promise is yours!
I know sometimes it is really hard to keep hoping. Sometimes we have to make the decision to just believe again, to hope against hope. I pray you can do that today. Don't live a hopeless life. Believe again - hope again. ANd gain the tremendous blessing this verse grants to you today.
NOW FOR SOMETHING PERSONAL...
I am part of a conference for the new year, and I have 3 sessions in this online conference (there are over 80 total sessions by 50 speakers & it's all online).
But I almost didn't complete the session called "Redeeming an Orphan Spirit". I have never in my life been under the kind of spiritual attack that took place as I worked on this topic. I almost didn't finish it - things have been very, very intense to say the least. I did end up completing the work and that conference session goes live on Friday, January 10th. This probably sounds "slimy & salesy" but I am saying this anyway (look, the couple of bucks I make on an affiliate ticket is not worth the spiritual attack I've dealt with so that's not why I am sharing about this session).
If the enemy was working that hard to keep me from finishing this thing, then it is possibly because he has a fair number of God's children living more like orphans than like children of the Most High God...and I don't think he wants that to change. He cannot steal your salvation - you cannot be snatched from Jesus' hand, those are His words & they are 100% true - but he can work hard to keep you living far beneath the Lord's will for your life. So if that sounds like your life, please consider grabbing a ticket to the conference.
It is call the "New Year, New Beginnings 2020 Conference for Moms" so many of the sessions are aimed at women...but if you are a dude, hey for the price of maybe one lunch out this week & a couple of Starbucks, you can grab a ticket and honestly, if you might be dealing with this sense of being an orphan, then that's worth the $25. But you can only get tickets through January 10th (that's Friday) and then you don't have access to this ever again. Here is the link - I sure hope you check it out because I am telling you what, based on what I have experienced as of late, satan does not want you to know about the orphan spirit. Let's not let him have the upper hand!
Redeeming An Orphan Spirit conference session goes live Friday January 10th
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Monday Jan 06, 2020
Monday Jan 06, 2020
1 Corinthians 2:12 - (Berean Study Bible) - We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
1 Corinthians 2:12 (NLT) - And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit) so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
1 Corinthians 2:12 (AMP) - Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the (Holy) Spirit who is from God, so that we may know and understand the (wonderful) things freely given to us.
Whenever you hear someone teaching or speaking about the Word of God, always check what they're teaching with what the Bible actually says. It's just too important to take for granted and God wants you to know His Word for yourself - because, after all, it is a love letter from Him to you!
This portion of the Word of God shows us that Paul was relying not on his own wisdom or abilities, but on the Holy Spirit. The same wisdom Paul had access to is also available to every single Christ follower via the same Holy Spirit that provided Paul all that he needed for his ministry & calling. Wisdom is available to all believers and it is not anything at all like the world's wisdom.
James 1:5 (NIV) - If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
One thing that stands out to me here is that if we feel oppressed, if we feel like we are living under spirit that governs the world, we need to know beyond any semblance of a doubt that it is not God's will for us.
But, what does that phrase "spirit that governs the world" mean?
The Bible talks about the prince of the power of the air in the New Testament (see Ephesians 2:2) and in the Old Testament book of Daniel we have examples of demonic forces (which are evil spirits) working against the Lord's angels to try and prevent His work and His will from being done in the lives of the people on earth (see Daniel chapter 10). Satan & his evil minions work consistently in this world to influence people, to establish strongholds, to bring chaos and disorder where God would bring peace and order...we have an active enemy scheming against us.
But sometimes we fail to live well because we fail to identify the evil source that is coming against us.
Since we have not received the spirit of the world but we have rather received the Holy Spirit, and He has "ownership rights", so to speak, it benefits us to remember that the devil and the Holy Spirit can't dwell in the same place...and that gives us a promise of tremendous value. We are safe and secure because we are sealed by the Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 1:13).
It is so incredibly important to take our feelings - to literally grab hold of the way you are feeling (grab those feelings by the throat!) and put those feeling directly under the authority of the Word of God.
Do not allow the enemy to trick you into thinking that you have to "feel" such-and-such a way...as if you have no choice in the matter. That's simply not true!
You have received the Spirit of God and He does not share you with the enemy. Period.
And bear in mind that over the course of your entire life the Holy Spirit will help you to understand better & better & better, in ever increasing measure, what God has given to us.
There is so much to this promise...it really does take a lifetime to learn.
When our pastor officiates a wedding, he often says that it takes 20 years to really get to know someone & he encourages the couple to continue to study one another. How much more time might it take to really get to know God in all His infinite-ness & vastness? No need to rush the process or feel as if it is taking too long...just enjoy the process of getting to know more and more what God has given to you!
So often Christians live as though they have had things taken away from them but right here in this verse we are promised that God's Spirit will help us understand all that we have been GIVEN!
Fully given!
Not partially or scarcely or minimally - God is not a minimalist! He has given us so much & He wants us to see that more and more on a daily basis.
Never forget that our God is a generous giver.
You've got promises & 1 Corinthians 2:12 is one of them.
Grab hold of this and hang on tight as this year moves forward!
(I believe that is a word for someone right now - if it is for you, please don't blow this off...hold on to God's promise for you today!)
And also, as a bit of a side note, one great way to kick off your Bible reading in the new year would be to read all of the book of Daniel (maybe split it up over 2 days of reading) and then read Psalm 1 and pray Psalm 1 over your life for the next 5 days. I challenge you to give this a try and share about it!
ONE FINAL MENTION ON A VERY PERSONAL TOPIC...
I am part of a conference for the new year, and I have 3 sessions in this online conference (there are over 80 total sessions by 50 speakers & it's all online).
But I almost didn't complete the session called "Redeeming an Orphan Spirit". I have never in my life been under the kind of spiritual attack that took place as I worked on this topic. I almost didn't finish it - things have been very, very intense to say the least. I did end up completing the work and that conference session goes live on Friday, January 10th. This probably sounds "slimy & salesy" but I am saying this anyway (look, the couple of bucks I make on an affiliate ticket is not worth the spiritual attack I've dealt with so that's not why I am sharing about this session).
If the enemy was working that hard to keep me from finishing this thing, then it is possibly because he has a fair number of God's children living more like orphans than like children of the Most High God...and I don't think he wants that to change. He cannot steal your salvation - you cannot be snatched from Jesus' hand, those are His words & they are 100% true - but he can work hard to keep you living far beneath the Lord's will for your life. So if that sounds like your life, please consider grabbing a ticket to the conference.
It is call the "New Year, New Beginnings 2020 Conference for Moms" so many of the sessions are aimed at women...but if you are a dude, hey for the price of maybe one lunch out this week & a couple of Starbucks, you can grab a ticket and honestly, if you might be dealing with this sense of being an orphan, then that's worth the $25. But you can only get tickets through January 10th (that's Friday) and then you don't have access to this ever again. Here is the link - I sure hope you check it out because I am telling you what, based on what I have experienced as of late, satan does not want you to know about the orphan spirit. Let's not let him have the upper hand!
Redeeming An Orphan Spirit conference session goes live Friday January 10th
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