Life in The Kingdom

lifewordslifewordslifewords life in the kingdom I prayed for you by name today with much thanksgiving and praise. I'm praying for you according to our King's instructions...that His Kingdom would be established in your life and His will be done in your life on this Earth as it is in heaven. I'm agreeing with you for His will in your life in all areas. Prayer is awesome!  And the Word of God is powerful and alive.   Here are some great true reminders! We are in His Kingdom. Col. 1:13  says "Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love."And the cool thing is, His Kingdom is also in us! Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is within you,  inside of you! Wow! I'm so thankful we are not in darkness today, but in the Love Kingdom of our Jesus! He is love....He is light.....and He is life.....everything about Him and His Kingdom demonstrate the essence of these three. And our very lives should permeate with these characteristics because we are in Him and He is in us.    No matter what happens today, we must not allow fear to grip us, we can't even answer the door to fear. We must decide, on purpose, to fix our mind on the truth of God's Word and rejoice! Psalm 27:1 says  The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" Then let's not forget Psalm 46:1  "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." He is with Us! He is our Light! He is our refuge and strength! We must  rejoice today! He IS a very present help in time of trouble. And He is YOUR very present Help. So today, on purpose, let's  abide in Him, worship Him continually,pray without ceasing, give thanks always, keep His Word our priority and be desperate for His presence and His will. And remember that you are His beloved, and He loves you with an everlasting love.

Thirsty People Will Be Filled

 

lifewordslifewordslifewords october 27 thirsty people will be filled

Praying for you, knowing that our God is faithful and His Word true.   So, the question this week is are we thirsty? Thirsty for His presence.  Thirsty for His Word.  Thirsty for a move of God in the Body of Christ and across our land.  Are we thirsty for Him. Are we satisfied or are we desperate?  The measure of our thirst will determine the measure of our seeking after God.  The measure of our seeking after Him will be the measure of His presence in our lives. Yesterday we were meditating on Psalm 42! and Psalm 63! and Psalm 84! and as we meditate on these Psalms I believe we will become more thirsty for His true presence.  Isaiah 43:3 gives insight on the conditions necessary for the Lord to saturate us.  "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground."  He does not necessarily saturate those who are content.    Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:6? "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.  Our thirst precedes our being filled by Him.  I love His promise in Isaiah 41:17-18 concerning the poor and needy who are thirsty. Apart from Him we are indeed poor and needy. In Him is all. But here is the promise for the thirsty! This is so exciting!  In verse 17, it says "I the God of Israel will not forsake them.  I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the vallleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water." God responds to the cry of thirsty people and  brings water to the desolate places, floods to the parched places. Wherever you have any lack, any desolation, any dry areas of your life,  begin to thirst after God like never before and He will cause floods, and rivers, and springs! And if you have no thirst, ask Him and He will begin to create a thirst in you. He is wanting to make desolate places fruitful. He is the living water.

 

My Soul Thirsts for the Living God

 

lifewordslifewordslifewords October 26, 2010  my soul thirsts for the living God Just finished praying for YOU, knowing that our God is a God who hears and answers prayer.  Prayer is amazing. The Name of Jesus is powerful.   Remember in Matthew, Jesus instructs us to pray for His will to be done on earth AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. We can  literally bring the will of God into our lives through prayer.The forces of darkness arrayed against us are pushed back through prayer. Wow. Thinking about Psalm 63, thirsting for God and seeking after Him.  My dear husband shared with me yesterday something cool about three "thirst" psalms.  Psalm 42, 63 and 84.  He noted that these are easy for him to always remember because the last numbers are 2,3, and 4. And I added that the first numbers are easy to remember because they are 4, 6, and 8. Anyway..... Psalm 42,63 and 84 can be remembered like a THIRST football play! 42! 63! 84!  I was just calling out the numbers now and I know I will never forget them.  God's Word is so amazing.  Each of these psalms is 21 chapters apart. Anyway, you will be greatly encouraged as you read these three psalms together today! The degree of our thirst will determine the degree of our seeking after God.  The degree of our seeking after Hill will be the degree of His presence in our lives. Oh Lord, that we would be thirsty for YOU, for YOUR WORD and FOR YOUR PRESENCE! Could we cry out with the Psalmist today? Psalm 42: "As the dear pants for the water brooks, so my soul thirsts for God, for the living God."  Psalm 63: "Oh God You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is not water, So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory." Psalm 84: "How lovely is Your dwelling place Oh Lord of hosts!  My soul longs, yes even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."  You will be greatly encouraged as you read these three psalms all the way through and meditate on them today. Each day we must ask ourselves this question.  Am I thirsty? God will respond to the thirsty person.  A thirsty person is desperate for water. Oh that our thirst for the living God would intensify our pursuit of Him. He will meet us in His Word, in prayer, in worship, in our abiding in Him. I want to become thirstier for Him and for the reality of His presence in my life, in His Church, and in our land. He is the Living Water.

 

Thirst

 

lifewordslifewordslifewords october 25, 2010 I'm praying for you now and I'm so thankful for prayer!!!!!!  Powerful. Don't be anxious about anything, but pray about everything.  I'm praying for God's joy and refreshing and grace to overtake you  on this beautiful Monday. So desperate for His presence. Today I pray that Psalm 63 will consume all of us. "O God, You are my God. I will seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have beheld You in the sanctuary To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindess is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name; My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches;  For You have been my Help,  and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.  My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me."   Oh that our Lord would find us thirsty today,  seeking him, hands lifted to Him in worship,  meditating on Him, praise on our lips,  singing for joy, clinging to Him.

 

Thank You Lord!

lifewordslifewordslifewords October 23, 2010  thank you Lord! Be encouraged in our God today!  All is well because He is Lord of all. All of this week's lifewords were about fixing our eyes on Him and the Word, calling upon Him, and waiting upon Him. He is near, He is faithful, He is renewing our strength, He is our Salvation, He is our Refuge, He is our All in All. I've been praying for you each day, prayer is so powerful and must be the priority of every believer especially in this hour. Today, however, I'm just spending time in thanksgiving and praise.....no intercession, no petitions, no asking......................just thanking Him for who He is and for the victory in all!  Thanksgiving. Gratitude. Acknowledging His faithfulness. Oh that He would hear our heart of thanksgiving and praise continually. Today I'm rehearsing all the blessings I am so thankful to Him for.........and as I remember, my faith in Him is fortified.  My joy abounds!   Isaiah 25:1 says, "I will give thanks to Your Name,  for You have worked wonders with perfect faithfulness."    I love this.  Remember His goodness and faithfulness in your life today..........your faith will soar, your joy will abound, strength will come to you. Thank Him for His love,  recalling all the times He has demonstrated His love and faithfulness to you. Thank Him for His amazing creation.   I so appreciate the wonder of the heavens and the amazing human cell. What about the care He took in creating flowers...the animal kingdom...oceans, forests, mountains....the human body and its intricate systems all working perfectly together......I love thanking Him out loud for the work of His hands the show His magnificent love for us. Thank Him for redemption, Thank Him for His kindess, Thank Him for His faithfulness, Thank Him for His Word, Thank Him for the privileges we enjoy, Thank Him for another breath to breathe today!   I'm thanking Him for my precious amazing husband and children and family.  I'm thanking Him for dear friends.  Im thanking Him for His Church and the beautiful Body of Christ here and in the nations, I'm thanking Him for America and His providential hand upon this land, I'm thanking Him that He is Lord, Provider, Healer, Victory, Love, Light, Life, Life, Life..........and in Him there is no death. I'm thanking Him that He has forgiven  all of us, snatched us out of darkness and death and placed us in His family to be forever with Him. I am thanking Him for the privilege of being involved in His Great Commission to bring His presence and love and power to this world.  I'm thanking Him for His Wisdom, His peace, His joy, His very presence that He desires us to abide in continually.  I'm so thankful for His love for us.  Begin to recount today all you have to be thankful for, its all because of Him and through Him and in Him.  Remember the wonders which He has done, meditate on Who He is and know that He is the same yesterday, today and forever.Oh that our voice of thanksgiving would be heard often by our King.  He is worthy of all our praise today. Thank you Thank you Thank you Lord for all. We are overwhelmed by your goodness, faithfulness and lovingkindess!  Today let's bless the Lord as David says in Psalm 103 , and FORGET NOT all His benefits!  "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy Name.   Bless the Lord , O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit;  who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle."

Calling......and Waiting on the Lord

 

lifewordslifewordslifewords October 22, 2010  calling......and waiting on the Lord   This morning I'm still thinking about the great promise in Psalm 145:18  which says, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.  He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them."    It reminds me of another Psalm of David written from a perspective of weariness in the battle.  Psalm 61 says,   "Hear my cry, O God; Give head to my prayer, From the ends of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher han I.  For You have been a Refuge for me, a Tower of strength against the enemy."      What are we to do when we begin to feel faint along the journey, wearied in the battle? Call upon Him, Cry out to the One who is our Refuge and Strength.   So we understand that the Lord responds to our call, our cry of faith.  We must also understand that with the cry, there comes a quiet confidence in knowing that the Lord has heard our cry.  There is a time for us to wait in silence, assured of His faithfulness.  In Psalm 62, David shows this other side of our walk of faith in God.   "My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation.  He only is my rock and my salvation.  My stronghold; I shall not be greatly moved." There is the time for calling upon Him, there is a time to rest in Him, knowing He has heard the cry, meditating on His promises to answer and trusting in His salvation. Oh the strength that comes in being quiet before the Lord, remembering His faithfulness, meditating on His Word, receiving His peace and joy, fixing our eyes upon Him!  Have you ever been in a relationship where the other person did all the talking, and most of it was about what they needed? It can get wearisome and annoying! Our relationship with the Lord  in prayer must be a two way exchange.  Our relationship with Him will be stunted if we are always the one doing the talking and mainly just about what we need. He desires so much more! We must spend just as much time listening, meditating and being still, receiving from Him, as we do speaking.  It is when we get quiet that we will know His voice and His leading and be anchored in His salvation. Remember Isaiah 40:31 "They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength (will gain new strength), they will mount up with wings like eagles,  they will run and will not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."  Let's master the art of waiting on God and being quiet before Him. He delights in it.

Call

 

lifewordslifewordslifewords October 21, 2010  CALL God's Word  is so rich.  It is  His living Word, able to transform us, strengthen us, direct us, uphold us, equip us, chastise us, encourage us.  Today the Holy Spirit ignited a verse to me that was such a blessing, concerning our  calling upon the Lord. Psalm 145:18 says, "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.  He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them."  The promise is,  He is near when we call.  When we call in truth.  He not only hears, but will save us, help us, lead us.  But we must call.  Oh that He would often and continually hear our call throughout the day! He is near.   That reminds me of another great scripture about crying for help in Psalm 119:147, "I rise before the dawn and cry for help. I wait for you words. My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I might meditate on Your Word. "  Rising before the dawn to call upon the Name of our Lord is wise......then He speaks back to us as we meditate on His Word!  Then remember Psalm 138:3? "On the day that I called You answered me.  You did make me bold with strength within my soul."  Our King responds to our call.  He responds to our cry.  What if in the mornings we would begin to call to God with a new resolve, cry out to Him for His presence, for His grace upon our life and our families.  What if we began to every day relentlessly cry to Him to breathe on our churches, to call upon Him for our city and our nation and the lost and hurting people of our region.  What if throughout the days we continued to cry out for His direction and help and leading for our lives, for our children, for our pastors and leaders, for our world.  What if we began to gather together to call upon Him in prayer like never before. We could gather our family to call upon His name. We could gather with other believers.  I tell you He will hear, He will respond.  I am determined to continue to call, and join with others who will cry out to Him. He is near. He is our Help. The Holy Spirit is beckoning us to increase  the intensity and frequency of our calling. Today's awesome reading Proverbs 21    Psalms 145, 146        Mark 3,4

Seeing Right

 

lifewordslifewordslifewords october 20, 2010 seeing right You are so loved by our Lord today. Remember this......you are in Him, and He is in you.  This is the mystery that once was hidden but is now revealed.....Christ in us the Hope of glory!  Wow. Don't think or live or talk like you are an ordinary human today but remember whose you are and who you are in Him and that He lives in you and wants to reveal His love to the world through you.  This morning I'm still thinking about how important it is that we are seeing right. The direction of our gaze determines the direction of our life.  In Proverbs 4:25, right after the exhortation to keep our heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life,  is an admonition to make sure we are speaking right.  Immediately after that is this verse in 6:25. "Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you.  Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established."  I have to continually check up on what I am fixing my gaze upon. How am I seeing things.  Am I looking at my circumstances, focusing on the natural conditions of my life, or am I fixing my eyes straight ahead on the reality of the Word of God and on Him, the Author and the Finisher of my faith.  Remember in Hebrews chapter 12, about running with endurance the race set before us? Verse 2 instructs us how we must finish this race well......"LOOKING UNTO JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH."  Remember dear Peter when Jesus asked him to do the impossible......to get out of the boat and walk on the raging sea to come to Him?  As long as Peter looked at, fixed his eyes upon Jesus, he could do the impossible.  When he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the waves and the fact that humans can't walk on water, he began to sink.  Such a great illustration for us today! See Him.  Get in the Word much. Displace your natural thinking with God's Word. See Jesus this week in the pages of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Don't get overwhelmed by the natural circumstances around you, but FIX YOUR EYES ON HIM, LOOK UNTO HIM, SEE HIM, TRUST HIM, and keep on going because He is your ALL in ALL and will never leave you or forsake you!

 

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

lifewordslifewordslifewords october 19, 1010  fixing our eyes on Jesus This morning Psalm 121 is so encouraging. "I will lift up my eyes to the Lord, from Whom comes my help.  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber." Here is the truth.  The direction of our gaze, determines the direction of our life. We  can choose to look at our temporary circumstances, our fears, our concerns......... or we can choose to fix our eyes on our God and His Word. He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith.  He is the Lord of All.  He is our Help today. He is the Maker of Heaven and Earth and nothing is too difficult for Him!  All things are possible in Him.   This morning I'm making a decision on purpose to fix my gaze upon my King. My Lord. My Provider.  My Healer.  My Redeemer.  My Rock.  My Help. My All in All.  The only way to do that is to spend time in His Word.  Time in prayer continually. This is the life He is calling us to.  We must understand we are in a daily spiritual war.    One tactic of our enemy, the deceiver, according to the book of Daniel, is to wear out the saints of the most high God.  He is exposed.  He is powerless. He is defeated.  Let's not be weary today, but find refreshing and strength in our God.  Let's be strong in Him and the power of His might.  Where is your gaze. What are your eyes looking at? Our Help comes from the living God, Let's look to HIM and rejoice!!! Let's  cultivate a lifestyle of fixing our eyes on Him, making His Word our delight, practicing abiding in Him and fellowshipping with Him in prayer.   Dear ones, let's remember what God told Joshua in Joshua 1:7,8  to be strong and  courageous and to meditate on God's Word day and night and not let it depart from our mouth, for then we will make our way prosperous and have good success.  Let's meditate on the Word, speak the Word, obey the Word, fixing our gaze upon Jesus who is the Word made flesh.

 

Jesus is our Light

 

lifewordslifewordslifewords October 6, 2010 Jesus is our Light I'm praying for you and  remembering Psalm 27 that says "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life, whom shall I dread?" He is our light!  We can welcome this day with hope and confidence.    Jesus Himself declared, "I am the Light of the world, He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life." I am so thankful we are not  lost in darkness.  What does it mean to walk in darkness? It is living a life of fear, uncertainty, not knowing which way to go, confusion, desperation. But as His children we can walk in His light today. This is so awesome! In His light we see light. "His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. " (Ps. 119:105) In Ephesians Paul exhorts us to live in the light! He says in verse 5:8 that "we are to walk as children of light."  We can rejoice today because Jesus is our Light. We must arise and shine today, for our Light has come! (Isaiah 60:1) In 1 John 1:5  we can see that "God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. "  Oh let's  live in His presence today, in the light of the Word of God! If we will spend much time with Him, time in the Word, time in prayer, time worshipping, and in continual fellowship with Him throughout the day, His light will illuminate our path, bring understanding to our minds and reveal His purposes. Walking in His light is living in a place of joy and security, free from fear.   His Word is our light and  now we are carriers of His light to this dark world. Abide in Him and  allow His Light to invade darkness everywhere you go today. He is the Light of the World , He is YOUR light and you are a carrier of His marvelous light. The Lord is our Light and our Salvation.....We are not afraid!!!!!

Watching over our Hearts with Diligence

 

lifewordslifewordslifewords October 5  watching over our hearts with diligence   Praying for you this morning, in the Name of our matchless Lord. You are His beloved one. He lives in you and desires your continual abiding in Him today.   Since yesterday, I've been meditating on Proverbs 4:23. "Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life."  With all diligence.  That means daily, continually, carefully, on purpose, we are to watch over our heart, for everything about our life and the life of God in us flows out of our heart. We are to watch over our heart. Protect our heart. Guard our heart. We are to stay alert to carefully keep out the things that would defile our heart. With all diligence. We are to actively cultivate those things that will cause our hearts to stay pure before Him.  Remember Jesus' words, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."  A continual diet of God's Word combined with a willingness to receive and obey it keeps our heart right. With all diligence.  A habit of prayer is such a key in watching over our hearts. As we go along the journey, we must not allow hard heartedness to creep in, or lukewarmness, or coldness of heart.  Jesus quoted from the book of Isaiah about the heart of man.  "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.  In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men" (from Isaiah 29:13.)  We can know all the right words, all the right songs................ but what matters is that our heart is close to God.  That we know Him and abide in Him and cultivate a relationship  with the Holy Spirit who is our Teacher and Helper. During our days there are many things that can pull our hearts away from our Lord.  He never leaves us or forsakes us, but our hearts can depart from Him.  The great news is that as we draw near to Him He draws near to us.  If everything about our life is influenced by the condition of our heart, the diligent care of it must occupy our mind and we must be deliberate about caring for it.  Great missionary  to Burma, Adonirum Judson, had such a precious heart for God. He was a man of prayer and consecration. He arranged his days to devote the first 2 hours to prayer.  Then seven times a day he withdrew from business and company and  spent ten minutes communing with God.  This habit would keep our hearts connected to Him!  He rose a little after midnight every morning to devote some time in the darkness and stillness of night to pray.  Then at 6, 9 12, 3, 6 and 9, he stopped everything to spend time with God. He made every sacrifice to maintain this pattern. With all diligence. How will the pattern of your days look, concerning watching over your heart with all diligence.   Your pure heart, your knowing Him, your abiding in Him and everything that flows from your life will depend on it.  Let's guard and  watch over our heart well!