I believe the Lord is saying, ‘You know some things, BUT you must pray!’ Prayer is awareness! The spirit of prayer will be the corrective lenses thru which God’s view of the word is opened up to you. Prayer changes our posture from haughty to humble, from sinner to saint! Prayer unlocks the Mystery of Christ to you, within you and through you! Prayer will be the defining mark of what you have come to know and what you truly believe. Recently, I heard the question asked this way, ‘How is it that you believe in a supernatural God, but don’t believe in the supernatural?’ Prayer is the key to the mystery that changes your thinking to recognize Jesus is at the spiritual place of God’s right hand of power pleading for you! Don’t tell Him He’s changed and no longer moving in supernatural power. He is there interceding for you to grasp the concept of an open heaven so you might boldly come asking to receive His grace and power (Heb 4:16). I tell you truth, it is easier to listen to other preachers, read enlightening books, listen to spiritual music, and even read the Bible, but harder still to pray. Don’t misinterpret what I am saying, those things are good and necessary, but without the spirit of prayer, your life will be rather one dimensional missing the dynamic that can transform what you know in your head to what gets ahold of your heart! Psalm 40 is a psalm of powerful awareness in which David’s ears are opened in corrective fashion to realize the resources afforded him by the King of heaven. What do you have need of today? You must in faith believe “God IS, AND HE IS A REWARDER OF THOSE WHO SEEK HIM”. What is it that you seek? You will accomplish it in the place of prayer.
Tag: comfort
Garments of Glory
This is a word to disciples; disciples are wise servants of the kingdom who have been cleared for glory. They are those who have an understanding of their kingdom position making wise use of what has been given to them to produce garments of praise. Be careful in your journey or you could be missing the way to into the kingdom. In Luke 17:11, there is an important message about faith. You will remember the story of the 10 lepers Jesus cleansed. When they ask Jesus for help from their torment, He responded by telling them to show themselves to the priest for a testimony. The word indicates they believed Jesus in faith by doing as He said. It was in the going they realized they had been cleansed of their condition. However, only one realized his healing was more than an outward cleansing by turning back to give glory to God. The literal rendering of the greek words here indicate two distinct events, one which left a mere outward cleansing fit to satisfy the ceremony the law required; the other, a deeper healing that could make a man whole. All the lepers who were cleansed believed Jesus in faith, but only one found the deeper healing on his face with a loud voice of praise. Jesus would note this man’s faith made him whole, saved him and rescued his life. When Jesus asked where were the other nine, they were getting their life back by showing themselves to the priest who could then certify they were clean to return to society. The Spirit of Christ would say to you if you want to be His disciples in these days, you must find yourself in pursuit of His glory and accept your place there on the fringe of His garments. They are garments worthy of glory and most deserving of your praise. These garments are meant to make you distinct as His disciple, so much so that you begin to fill out your proper role as His agent managing well all the resources spiritual and otherwise that He has endowed you with. He says, ‘display a faith that comes to my glory and settles for nothing less, so that you will be careful not to squander the things I give you by touching lives now for eternity.’ ‘Comfort others with the comfort that you have been comforted with–that is not mere cleansing, but in a healing that goes deeper than skin to touch the heart and change the condition of men’s souls.’ He says, ‘My return is immanent; don’t squander my glory on yourself, come to me and I will produce a splendor that will surely touch souls for my kingdom.’
Here’s the take away for you today: Is your faith cleansing you e.g.g., making you ceremonially fit, religiously clean, just so you can get your life back, or is your faith making you whole by giving you a garment that affects your worship bringing you to find your life of glory facedown at His feet?
‘Let Down Your Nets’
Where is Jesus? You look in scripture and still find it hard to hear His voice. You ask, but don’t seem to find His answers to your questions. But make no mistake, His voice always comes to His disciples from the shoreline on their sea of trouble to test their faith and give them hope and a greater harvest. John 21 tells us Jesus told His disciples to ‘let down their nets’. It was in the middle of trying times where their faith was being tested. There was great fear, discouragement, and a great wondering about ‘tommorrow’ because Jesus had left them, but then comes His voice skipping off the water, saying, ‘trust me, do as I say and reap the harvest of my blessing and abundance’. I believe He would say that to you, if know Him, ‘Child, let down your net’. You have sought comfort in things of this world and found nothing that lasts. You have, to quote John’s gospel, “no fish”, and there is nothing to show from the labor of your own strength; so why not try His? Come, ‘let down your nets’. I believe He would say, ‘come to the place of surrender; it’s a place marked by My suffering because of the cross.’ It is instant provision in exchange for your strength. Today, He sits at the right hand of God’s redeeming power to display abundant life to those who will hear Him speaking from the shoreline of their weariness to say, ‘let down those nets and take up your cross and I will lead you, and my voice will surely speak saying, come follow me and know the love I have for you.’
GraceLife 