AWAKENING TO – THE ANSWERS THAT COME WITH PRAYER

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I recently began to pray a few words and said to myself “I am not going to pray those words yet”.

And it wasn’t because I shouldn’t, but because I have, in the past.

Some prayers come with really steep answers.

Some prayers take you deeper into the heart of God.

Some prayers reveal the ugly truth about you.

Some prayers cause repentance and some make room for new wine.

Some prayers are not answered,

but are displayed and responded to, through your obedience to the Father’s will.

Just look at the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; the most influential and impactful ministry to ever exist.

He went the distance with God the Father.

We don’t say this often but, there were the greatest highs and low, lows even in His story. And He is the one and only, son of God.

Some prayers take maturity. Some prayers take more than a yes. Some prayers, if I can be completely honest, in some seasons I am not willing to pray.

And it isn’t because I don’t see the answer or believe that it will be answered, but because I know the journey I’d have to go on to the answer.

It takes faith to ask God to make you more like Him.

It takes faith to ask prayers along the lines of what you can do for His Kingdom, or how you can better benefit His Kingdom.

It takes faith to walk in total obedience after uttering some extreme words of prayer.

It takes faith to already know the answer to the prayer, know what it will require of you and to pray it anyway – even still.

It takes faith to go the distance with God.

You get to a place with God where you understand that your yes to God takes footwork.

And not necessarily baby steps footwork.

What this means is that, in saying yes to God today, a year later can come by and one can still not do what He’s asked.

There is a place in our walk where that kind of action may fly or be excused, but there is also a place past that.

A place where it practically becomes blatant disobedience not to say yes with ones footwork.

Those are the places that make you tremble at the thought of obedience but there is no way you can turn back.

Those are the places where you say I’m choosing this day who I will serve – if God is God, serve God.

Those are the places where you say comes what may happens what may my eyes are on You – my life is yours, God.

Those are the places where you are willing to sacrifice for the sake of…

Those are the places where you second guess your own prayer before you utter it because you know what it will require, and you will not turn back.

Those are the places where you dig your heels into the ground and go hard after Jesus because He is your only help in the journey to the answer.

Those are the places where He shows you what you are made of and that He wasn’t even close to being through with you yet.

Those are the places where you are drafted. The civilian cape is removed, because the army of the Lord means business and so do you.

Those are the places where you realize that you were called for such a time as this and your preparation shows it.

Those are the places where God gets the most honor because it is either all or nothing, you become a front-liner and are willing to go the distance…

just journeying with you and Your God.

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AWAKENING TO – BELIEVING THE PROMISE

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bait

ˈbāt 

baited; baiting; baits

:tease

:entice, lure

: something used in luring especially to a hook or trap

How many times have you heard the phrase “Don’t take the bait!”?

Is it safe to say that this phrase probably wouldn’t exist if the bait didn’t look appealing in one way or another? Or no?

Is it safe to say that “bait” can be:

-attractive?

-a hidden or open desire?

-captivating to the senses?

-a want, a need or a longing?

Can I remind you that the bait will always sound right, may even look right and may also appear right?

Can I remind you to be discerning, and not to take bait, no matter who it may be coming from? Bait is classified as bait for a reason.

Don’t settle for less than God has called you to be. Can I ask you, how many people can answer the receiving end of a phone call at one time? It would have to be ONE, wouldn’t it?

This is how specific God’s call is to you. It’s only meant for you to be at the receiving end of it, and it is designed to recognize the specifics of your answer.

Getting back on the topic of bait:

Can I remind you to?

•Confirm prophecy with the Lord

•That some were sent to prophecy lies to Nehemiah to deter him from his assignment.

Nehemiah 6:9

They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination.

Nehemiah 6:12

I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Nehemiah 6:14

Remember, O my God, all the evil things that Tobiah and Sanballat have done. And remember Noadiah the prophet and all the prophets like her who have tried to intimidate me.

•Prophecy won’t always remain (1 Corinthians 13:13)

•God can change His decision to follow through on what was|had been prophesied.

Isaiah 38:4-8

Then this message came to Isaiah from the LORD: …

•To go to God regarding what He has promised you (Isaiah 38:2)

•To prophecy your promise (there are thousands of them written throughout scripture)

Nothing outweighs personal intimacy, relationship and reverence of God. Nothing outweighs constant communing with the Holy Spirit. He honors those that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6), those wanting a closer relationship with Him. He honors those that pray for what (2 Chronicles 1:10) is of Him rather than just what can be gotten from Him. He honors those that know the importance of a relationship with Him. He honors those that are bodacious enough to seek Him, and not only seek Him, but find Him (Jeremiah 29:13)

There is no limit to the things He’ll do in and with a heart that is set after Him.

(1 Corinthians 2:9)

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AWAKENING TO – THE WONDER OF YOU

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Proverbs 9:10

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.

Isaiah 66:2

My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.

Psalm 119:161

…but my heart trembles only at your word.

Exodus 15:11

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD: “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.

The wonder of you…

Scripture teaches us to revere God, it reminds us to keep our awe of Him. There are entire books of the Bible that speak on His splendor, His majesty, how great and how grand He is. The Bible in its entirety, shows off the wonder of our God, and to believe that all He and all He’ll ever be could never fit in the description of Him written in those 66 books, is astonishing. They are God’s word to us, His love letter, they are Him; but it isn’t Him in His entirety. Words could never contain all of Him. In Him there is no beginning or end.

He is God and nothing He does will ever not be. So, why then do you not look at your own self in wonder? Be reminded that, when He made you, He saw you as good. He took time with you and knit you together in your mothers womb. Before there was a moment in time, whether AC. or BC., you in your entirety were the plan of God.

Wonder at you, wonder at the grace of God over you. That He would look at what, we would call imperfect and flawed and call you good. God says, “all the things” (Isaiah 66:2) His hand has made and this is how you came to be. He made you, with full intent, never to be one who didn’t wonder and marvel at that glorious truth.

When you look at the sky…

The landscape of it all. The way it is painted and placed there to be. Aren’t you in awe of it all? Isn’t it captivating?

Psalm 8:3

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place—

Psalm 19:1

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

When you stand before a great body of water and wiggle your toes in the sand…

What do you sense? What are some things you imagine?

Proverbs 8:29

I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth’s foundations,

Knowing this scripture. Reading it and understanding this truth. How much more intentional has God been about your makeup.

Gods Spirit was present when He set the limits of the seas, and so was the presence of His very thought of you. Your whole being was thought of centuries before your parents, parents, parents were even thought of by man. You are by design, just as much as the seas know where to stop. You are by design, just as much as the earths foundation has been appointed.

Ever been to one of the world seven wonders? What was your experience? What were your thoughts?

Romans 1:20

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Just as there is no excuse for us not to know God, there is no excuse for us not to believe in the wonder of us, one in whom He created.

won· der

ˈwən-dər 

: a cause of astonishment or admiration

:miracle

: rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one’s experience

Psalm 139:13

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

You may not know you intricately. You may not know yourself completely, but He does.

So, don’t ever think for a moment that you weren’t made to be wondered at or about. The miracle of you is marvelous. There is wonder in your very being, there is wonder in your breath. Believe God when He says that all of you is good.

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AWAKENING TO – GODS CALLING YOU

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Proverbs 1:20 NIV

Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square;

2 Chronicles 16:9

The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…

1 Kings 19:13

When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Matthew 4:19

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will…”

Matthew 4:19 ESV

“and I will make you…”

Scripture whispers, scripture calls, scripture shouts, scripture makes itself known:

God wants so desperately to be known by you. It isn’t even for His own sake, but for yours.

He is calling us. He calls out to us like He did with Elijah, getting us back on track when we need it.

He sent Jesus, to bid us to come and follow Him.

He knows the way we should go and is constantly beckoning us to go in that direction.

Are you attentive to His call?

Are you listening out for His next cue of guidance and direction?

Do you care that He knows the path He planned for you long ago?

The path is to prosper you and not to harm you. To give you a hope and a future.

Like Elijah we can forget this sometimes. Forget God’s intent as we go on with living out our day to day. As we go on living for Him each day.

We can forget that His plan and call were always geared towards our testimony.

We can forget that there was ever even a call.

Here is your reminder that you HAVE been called, and you HAVE been appointed.

call

ˈkȯl 

: to speak to or attempt to reach someone by means of a call

: to command or request to come or be present

: to summon to a particular activity, employment, or office

ap· point· ed

ə-ˈpȯin-təd 

: chosen for a particular job

: officially fixed or set

: provided with complete and usually appropriate or elegant furnishings and equipment

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AWAKENING TO – JESUS CAME TO REDEEM YOUR GREATEST STORY

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Jesus came to redeem your greatest story!

Jesus

He did!

Can you believe it?

Jesus thought so much of your life, of my life, of the life of the little child, of the life of the unborn that He would come to earth and see fit to redeem them all.

He saw your future and mine and decided that it was worth it. That our futures were worth it. Worth His coming and worth His willing obedience.

Belief of this truth is core, to our diligence and the ultimate value that we place on (a) life.

The value you place on your own life is the value you have the potential to place on another life. What you think about your own life, is what you have the potential to think about another life.

If you do not know the One who came to redeem your very own life story, it’s value as well as what you think of your own life may, in fact be limited. Which means that the value you place on and what you think of another’s life may also be limited.

What if you knew? :

• That someone else’s blood came to redeem your own.

• That to redeem means to get or to win back, to free from what distresses or harms, to free from; by payment of, and to free from the consequences, and to remove the obligation of by payment.

• That this definition means a lot of offsetting the bad effects of, and not only offsetting but exchanging them for good.

• That the most important life, The spotless and perfect Lamb of God, thought that you were worth the most gruesome of deaths.

• That on the cross, on that day, at that specific moment, every single one of your sins, whether you’d consider them ginormous or very very small, He was wounded for each and every single one of them.

• That God’s BEST, like His actual (not pretend, but His real) best, was sent to take your place on a cross that He did not deserve.

• That you have been bought at a high price and His buying offer is always on the table for you to receive.

• That this very offer is what saves one daily, delivers one daily, restores one daily, validates another daily, breathes purpose into all daily, and is speaking on behalf of the received daily as well.

• That this very same offer holds all the power that one will ever need on this side of life.

When you know the price paid for you to live out your greatest life story you do not take it lightly. When you know that you would never be willing to do what He did for another, you value your life and the life of others more.

When you understand that nothing could hold Him back from completely walking away from the task at hand, and yet He still chose it for you and I; you have no choice but to operate with intended greatness as your focus.

The price on everything concerning you or wanting access of you goes up, because of the price He has paid for you. He redeemed way too much for you to live a life that is not His greatest story.

If you have received the eternal offer of His life in exchange for yours on that cross, here is the reminder you might of needed to live like it!

1 Timothy 1:17

All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.

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AWAKENING TO – ASKING GOD

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There really is nothing you can not ask God. No question that He won’t answer and no concern that He won’t hear.

Now, when He’ll answer and how He’ll answer is always the tricky part, but that, He’ll answer is never a question.

I can personally attest to not wanting the answer I knew God was going to give me a time or two so I’ve taken it upon myself in the past, not to ask.

“There really is nothing you can not ask God.”

Notice, I didn’t say “for”. I didn’t say that there is nothing you cannot ask God for. Although this is true, there is also so much that we can ask God about. There are so many questions that we can ask of God, so many things that we can say to Him that we’d get a response to, that wasn’t even worded as a question (Isaiah 65:24).

God knows what we need, when we need it and how we need it. He knows the delivery options to our every need and has no problem in supplying them.

He also knows secret and hidden things, things that if we’d sought Him for, He disclose them to us. He has answers to thoughts we don’t know how to or haven’t even put in the form of words yet. He is The All Knowing, All Powerful and Omnipotent God.

I think about all that He does know and I am in awe. And He doesn’t really ever say, “Now, no, mind your business”. He is intrigued by, and invites our questions and wonder. He wants us to want to know. He commends the prudent, and speaks well of those who seek and delight in wisdom:

Daniel 2:21 NIV

He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

Proverbs 4:5

Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them.

God delights in our delight in Him

Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

He is sure in His remarks regarding your call. He provokes us to call on Him!

He goes:

Jeremiah 33:3

Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.

Psalm 50:15

Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”

Psalm 91:15

When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.

Jeremiah 29:12

In those days when you pray, I will listen.

He delights in us knowing, knowing what hasn’t happened yet, or what He is about to do. We get to boast on the great God that we know:

Exodus 3:14

God replied to Moses, “ I Am Who I Am . Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.”

He can not be described in or by words, they are inadequate in fully encompassing a description of who He truly is. We cannot fathom all that He knows or has for us to ask Him about and for.

God is a loving Father, a Dad and He wants you to ask. You are His prize (Deuteronomy 26:18, James 1:8), He is glad to converse with you. He wants to be found in the whisper, and longs to reveal Himself to you through His word.

I honestly don’t believe that God is as silent as some may portray Him to be. He is always speaking and never at a lost for words. Can you believe that 66 books of the Bible could still be speaking over 2,000 years after its completion. Can you believe that there are almost or a little over (depending on the version), 800,000 words in the Bible and God still has more to say through it? God still has hidden, and secret things not yet revealed. How beautiful is that to grasp? How much more don’t we know? He is good, and there is absolutely nothing common about God. This truth reminds me to rejoice over my question, to rejoice over my wonders and to rejoice in His plan.

All vocabulary belongs to God, all languages, all interpretations, all wisdom and all knowledge is His. He runs out of nothing, and His communication with you is no different. It doesn’t have to run out. Cultivate it! Be intrigued by the limitlessness of our great God!

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AWAKENING TO – ALL SUFFICIENCY

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Everything around you|us wreaks of self sufficiency.

Everything around us says that we are powerful beyond our wildest belief,

stronger than we can ever imagine,

and more capable than we think.

The world will encourage you that it is all in you; the ability, the strength as well as the capability.

But, where did it come from?

And as much as this may be true

you in and of yourself, can do nothing a part from God willing it. You in yourself can do nothing apart from God able-ling you to do it.

It is always God’s ability through you,

never just you.

You are (a) dependent, of|on the Almighty God. Don’t let what you claim on you taxes fool you, we have always been and will always be God the Father’s, dependents.

No matter how old you get or how young you are, if your marital status changes or not. If your pay and positioning in life changes or if your lifestyle gets an upgrade; you will always have One who absolutely and most definitely claims you.

Ephesians 1:14

The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

He has claimed your life, has marked it as His own and you belong to Him. This is such a freeing and beautiful thought. The reason this thought affirms me as much as it does, is that we can put a lot of value on earthly relationships, and rightfully so. But, what I have learned about earthly relationships is that even in them you can at times feel:

•unwanted,

•like nobody gets you,

•completely alone,

•misunderstood,

•unclaimed,

•and misrepresented

In earthly relationships, there is so much room to get it wrong, but in the heavenly relationship that we have obtained with God, the Father we understand that He NEVER misses a beat. You are NEVER misrepresented by Him, left feeling unclaimed or unwanted and the like. You never have to wonder if you’ve done enough for His love or have been enough for His backing.

You never have to wonder if your capability might turn up missing, because He’s always got you!

In the Kingdom you understand that all sufficiency can only come from the All Sufficient One, so there is no question on where to run or who to credit when it shows up.

Here is your reminder that it is never just you, it is always God’s ability through you. Here is your reminder to take that deep breath, because it really doesn’t all depend on you.

2 Corinthians 3:5

It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.

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AWAKENING TO – GOD’S DESIRES

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Imagine being applauded by everyone, everywhere you went. Imagine walking into a room and being applauded for no reason at all. Imagine doing nothing special, nothing original, and nothing unique but somehow, someway, still be applauded.

Wouldn’t you start to believe that you were right? That everything you did was right? That the way you operated and the way you thought and the way you lived was completely right? Why would you think that? Because of the applause. We applaud something when it is good, we applaud it when it is pleasing and when it is appropriate and commendable in our own eyes. So if you were applauded by everyone, everywhere you went why wouldn’t you think that you were good? Why wouldn’t you think that you are pleasing to others? Why wouldn’t you thing that you were living a life worth commending?

What are your thoughts on the praise of others? Do you highly value them, or not at all? Do you value them in certain seasons and scenarios? What is your thoughts on the applause of others? Will it matter a ton to you when the end of life here on earth is near?

Do you know that although there are several illusions in this world, there is only one Master? His name is Jesus.

The God over all the earth will judge each of us individually. None of our deeds, words or thoughts will be presented to anyone else when the end of life here on earth presents itself. It will only be Him. He’s Who we’ll stand before, and He’s Who we’ll answer to. He’s going to judge our works and our hearts, in the most holy and purest of ways; because He is the Most Holy and Most Pure of all.

“Living for an audience of One.” Those words are so beautiful to me. Living like our Lord and our God is the only audience we will ever have and the only audience that will ever matter.

Jesus is Him!

The Sovereign God is He!

The Holy Spirit on the inside of you nudging you along life’s path, it’s Him, our audience of One.

Don’t despise the audience that matters most…

Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Romans 14:10-12

…Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the LORD, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’” Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.

It’s personal.

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AWAKENING TO – FUTURE REST

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Genesis 2:2

On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.

The more I get to thinking about rest, the more I understand that it’s a soul thing. The rest that we experience, and the rest that we enjoy all has to do with the condition of our souls.

Proverbs 4:16

For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day. They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.

Proverbs 18:1

But these people set an ambush for themselves; …

Ephesians 4:14

Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

When you are at rest within, you don’t look for trouble, you don’t entertain it either. Confusion and the like will not excite you. Peace and order are your constant rhythms and you try your best to maintain them.

To think that Jesus could rest while here on earth, knowing what He looked forward to throughout His ministry years is admirable. The fact that God the Creator could rest after all that He created in 6 days, exampled such trust. He trusted that His creation would be ok, He trusted the ability that He had given them. He trusted the good and the very good about them.

In a world where some would like nothing more than for you to exchange your rest for worry, God is asking of you the complete opposite. He urges you to come to Him.

Matthew 11:28

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Don’t deprive yourself of the future rest that God has allowed you today:

Hebrews 4:6

So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God.

Hebrews 4:7

So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.”

Hebrews 4:8

Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come.

Hebrews 4:9

So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.

Hebrews 4:10

For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.

Psalm 57:7

for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!

When you rest you remind God that you trust Him. You remind Him that you trust the guidance of His instruction. You remind yourself that it isn’t all on You, you have One far greater looking out and in control of your greatest good.

Hebrews 4:13

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

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AWAKENING TO – ALL OF GOD’S WORD

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Hebrews 12:11

No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

Trained in the way of God’s Word. The Word of God proves to be the way, over and over again. I can attest to it in my own life. Whenever I am in the place of opposing words, thoughts, ideas and the like; just mentioning the following words puts things back in perspective for me:

“What does the word of God say about it?”

This simple question brings so much clarity to me, as the words that I have drowned myself in for some years now start to resurface. We can get so fogged by the world and it’s way but as soon as we shift our gaze to acknowledge God, He is right there ready to provide His wisdom.

It doesn’t take much to draw from the well of God. His word is clear, it means what it says and says what it means, whether it be literal, figuratively, metaphorically etc., the word of God has spoken. It brings such clarity and peace whenever it is received without reservation.

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

All of scripture can bless, encourage, instruct and direct our lives. There is not one Word in it that should be discarded. It’s the Source to life. It’s something that I desperately want to bounce around on the inside of me. The Word of God is so powerful, even in writing this blog I am convinced that I am not describing it with adequate words, or even as I should. The Word of God is as powerful as God Himself, because it is God. Literally. The Spirit of God is spewing out of God’s Word and the more we receive it correctly the more we are changed and molded into image bearers.

The discipline we receive by God’s Word is definite concerning our good. We are coheirs with Jesus Christ and should desire to share in everything He has. The Word produces right standing with God and right living. God wants to share everything with us and He does this as we draw near to Him

Hebrews 12:10 AMPC

For [our earthly fathers]

disciplined us for only a short period of time and chastised us as seemed

proper and good to them; but He disciplines us for our certain good, that we may become sharers in His own holiness.

Hebrews 12:13 AMPC

And cut through and make firm and plain and smooth, straight paths for your feet [yes, make them safe and upright and happy paths that go in the right direction], so that the lame and halting [limbs] may not be put out of joint, but rather may be cured.

We have more power than we believe we do concerning the direction our lives go. Hebrews 12:13 is instructing us to mold the path our feet will go. We can decide to walk on safe and upright paths, paths that heal and cure our lives and bodies from the inside out. We can choose the path that leads us to and in the right direction.

Hebrews 12:14 AMPC

Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will [ever] see the

Lord.

There is a healthy type of striving. There is a holiness that isn’t considered religious, but is needed, in order to see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:15 AMPC

Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look lafter one

another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God’s

grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing), in order that no root of resentment (rancor,

bitterness, or hatred) shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter

torment, and the many become contaminated and defiled by it-

I love the elaborate use of words in this version of scripture. It says to “Exercise foresight…”.

foresight:

fore· sight

: an act or the power of foreseeing : PRESCIENCE

: an act of looking forward

also : a view forward

foreseeing:

: to see (something, such as a development) beforehand

Foresight can be anticipated, it can be learned, it can be tapped into so that we might live our best lives before the Lord.

Hebrews 12:25 AMPC

So see to it that you do not reject Him or refuse to listen to and heed Him Who is speaking [to you now]. For if they [the Israelites] did not escape when they refused to listen and heed Him Who warned and divinely instructed them [here] on earth [revealing with heavenly warnings His will], how much less shall we escape if we reject and turn our backs on Him Who cautions and admonishes [us] from heaven?

The kingdom of God is the only thing that cannot be shaken. The Word of God remains true whether we choose to believe it or not. It can not be proved a lie and because of this it will never be moved.

Hebrews 12:28 AMPC

Let us therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken, offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty and pious care and godly fear and awe;

Hebrews 12:29 AMPC

For our God lis indeed] a consuming fire. [Deut. 4:24.]

consuming –

con· sum· ing

: deeply felt : ARDENT

a consuming interest

also : ENGROSSIN

The Word of God uses descriptive language, like “…a consuming fire.” Think about all that those words symbolize. The strength in them, what it takes to put it out and the impact of them and the impression they leave in the natural. Imagine those same words being applied the Almighty God? What do you think of when they are applied to the magnitude of His unlimited power?

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