God will rejoice over His people with joyful songs

Today’s Bible reading is from Deuteronomy 29-30. What is the relevance for today’s Christians? I asked the Lord. Here are some of what I received based on what Jesus had done.

EYE WITNESS: Here is an account of a multitude of eye witnesses of God’s mighty awesome deeds: signs and wonders. A whole nation of Israel. No one disputed the facts. Jesus (and later, His disciples) too, did lots and lots of miracles, signs and wonders in front of many eye witnesses -the multitudes. In fact, the whole nation of Israel knew and many saw. Some foreigners heard and came to Jesus to see for themselves and seek help too. (John 20:30-31; Acts 4:30-33)

MIRACLES that display GOD’S POWER superseding all natural elements and physical laws: Aside from the spectacular signs and wonders God did in Egypt, God continued to display his POWER superseding the natural elements for two million people in the harsh conditions of the wilderness for forty years, not just one day or several occasions. Forty years of daily miracles: food from heaven, water from rock, clothes and sandals lasted forty years. Jesus had displayed the same POWER: He multiplied a few fishes and loaves of bread into colossal amount of food and fed five thousands and four thousand men plus women and children respectively in two separate records. Jesus walked on water, commanded raging waves and wind to cease, cast out countless demons, healed the sick and made whole the body of many handicapped people, even resurrected the dead. (All the Gospels and Acts)

The WORDS of God can be kept by a whole nation and followed in action. Otherwise Moses would have been telling lies and deceptions. God promised that when they did as God had spoken through Moses, they would prosper and live long. Jesus also said that He came to bring abundant life. He gave His words and the Holy Spirit to His believers. And the authority to use His name. He required the same allegiance to love God only and obey His commandments. (John 10:10; the whole chapter of John 14, 15, 16)

The WORDS of God are binding, good for His people, and just as effective for the future generations. The worlds were framed by the word of God, Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will not pass away. (John 1:1-4; Luke 21:33; 2 Timothy 1:13, 3:16; Hebrews 1:1-3, 4:12, 11:3; Revelation 19:11-16)

There are serious CONSEQUENCES for breaking this covenant. Both the persons/nation and their land will be left desolate. They will be uprooted from their homeland and cast into a foreign land. Jesus has warned of the desolation. (Luke 21; Matthew 23, 24)

When they REMEMBER and TURN BACK to the Lord and His words, they will be accepted back into the covenant, delivered from bondage and return to their promised homeland, to multiply and prosper. God sent Jesus to establish a new covenant in His blood. Under the new covenant, God has given us the Holy Spirit, blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, and the privileged status as sons of God. In Christ we have obtained an inheritance. (Acts 2:38-39; Ephesians 1; Romans 8:15-17; 1 John 1:9)

The Lord will TRANSFORM His people’s HEART TO LOVE GOD only. Jesus said we are to love God with our total being. The mighty power of God works in us who believe in Jesus. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. He will enable us to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. We are not to copy the custom and behavior of the world but let God transform us by changing the way we think. (Ephesians 1-3; Romans 8:1,14, 37; 12:2; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16)

LOVING GOD IS THE WILL OF GOD and ONLY WAY to ensure their continuous survival. There is no option as those who do not love the Lord Jesus Christ is accursed. Christians are specifically urged not to love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of God is not in him. He who does the will of God abides forever. (Mark 12:30; 1 Corinthians 16:22; 1 John 2:15-17)

ENEMIES will continue to hate and persecute God’s people. But they will suffer the terrible consequences for their evil for hating the children of God (followers of Jesus), thereby hating Jesus and hating God. (Luke 21:12-19; John 15:18-23; 16:33; 17:14; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8)

GOD WILL REJOICE OVER HIS PEOPLE. He likes to prosper them. (Zeph. 3:17)

BIBLE VERSES: Deuteronomy 29-30 (quoted in parts)

29:1 These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel… “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land— 3 the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders…5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet. 6 You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God…9 Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do…14 “I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, 15 but with him who stands here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today…18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood; 20 “The Lord would not spare him…23 ‘The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, 28 the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’

30:1 “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, 2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you… 5 Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

7 “Also the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you will again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, 10 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

“For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

John 14:23 (NKJV)

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Discourse with Jesus :purpose and power

God has revealed His purpose and power for us in this New Year’s journey to see God. Three questions are posted here today with answers from Jesus Himself. I have grouped some questions together for the same theme. Please read the passage or chapter for the context of each of the questions. I have taken them from the Gospel recorded by Luke (in NIV unless specifically denoted separately).

Question 6: What did you go out into the wilderness to see? To what, then, shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? (Luke 7:24, 31-32) (Read from Luke 7:24-35)

Jesus focuses on the key word ‘seeing’ again. You can only see what you want to see. Seeing takes growing up and maturity. In the Kingdom of God seeing requires a heart for God. Seeing what God sees. What does God see in this context of John the Baptist? Jesus has shown us what God sees: A true prophet, a messenger from God, accomplishing God’s plan faithfully. “’This is the one about whom it is written: “’I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’…
There are three types for seeing: (1) seeing the physical nature as it is, such as, the reed blown and swayed by the wind; (2) seeing man’s impressive worldly accomplishment, such as, display of wealth, social status, and political power (What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. Luke 16:15); or (3) seeing what God sees in the spiritual realm: His will being carried out just as planned for the salvation of mankind. How do we see what God see? We have two most reliable spiritual guides: the Bible, the Holy Spirit.
Seeing God through the preaching, hearing and reading of His words requires positive response and faith in action on our part. The positive response to God comes after a genuine conversion: “All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.” (Luke 7:29; Matthew 3:5-6)
But another group responded negatively, the Pharisees and the experts of the law. They “rejected God’s purpose for themselves because they were not baptized by John.”(Luke 7:30) Jesus described them like children in the marketplace, mimicking their adults’ mocking, scorning, with contempt for matters they did not understand. Many Pharisees and Sadducees went to where John was baptizing but he saw through their real motive, rebuked them and exposed their unrepentant hearts which disqualified them from being

Question 7: Do you see this woman? Where is your faith? Who touched Me? Who do you say I am? However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? (Luke 7:44; 8:25; 8:45; 9:20; 18:8)

Jesus focuses on the key word ‘FAITH’ when He asks the above questions. Do you see faith? Do you have faith? Where is your faith? What does faith look like? One thing that stands out is faith must manifest. It can be seen. God can see. The spiritual beings can see. Human can see.
Faith in Jesus brings salvation and healing. An ostracized woman had faith that Jesus came from God, had the power and authority to forgive sins, and was willing to forgive her many sins. So she took an action of faith to approach Him, showered Him her appreciation and reverential love, even at great cost, perhaps the greatest cost of her lifetime. She was forgiven. (Luke 7:44, 47, 50) Another similarly ostracized woman of faith approached Jesus with the same faith, boldness in action, risking being discovered and punished harshly according to their law. She was healed. (Luke 8:45, 48)
In the final analysis, everyone is confronted with the same question: “Who do you think I am?” Salvation and healing do not come cheap. No amount of lip service can bring a person this twin-benefit. Jesus questioned His disciples. “Where is your faith? Who do you think I am?” These are what He is looking for in everyone who wants to follow Him. Without faith in Jesus being the Son of God, the only way to God, no one can go to God. Without faith no one can please God. (Hebrews 11:6)
When Jesus returns he wants to find one thing on earth: Faith. (Luke 18:8) Why? Because before He comes again His believers are required to always pray and not give up (Luke 18:1, 8). During the interval between the time Jesus left earth and His imminent return, His followers will go through storms and squall, boat being swamped, great danger that need faith. That is why Jesus questioned, “Where is your faith?”(Luke 8:22-25) Faith makes things manifest from the unseen realm to the seen realm. (Hebrews 11:3)
Faith is the end time survival key. Faith extinguishes all the flaming arrows from the evil one. (Ephesians 6:16). We need to have the shield of faith as part of the full armor of God on the day of evil. (Ephesians 6:13). Jesus has taught His disciples to put on daily and be prepared for we do not know when it comes. The gospel of Jesus requires faith to receive. The same salvation message was proclaimed but the message some heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who listened to God and obeyed. (Hebrews 4:2)

Question 8: What is written in the Law? How do you read it? You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? (Luke 10:26, 40, 56)

Law is a highly esteemed and favorite study of the Jewish people because it governs every aspect of their lives. In the time of Jesus, There were scholarly experts and specialists in the Law of Moses. They knew all the fine prints and liked to question and challenge Jesus intellectually. But Jesus was more than well prepared for them than they thought. Jesus knew everything they knew. In addition He knew what they did not know because they had no direct link to God in the spirit. Jesus pointed out the flaw in their reasoning.
The Law of Moses had two parts: the written part and the part they read and understood and receive the power of God. The written part is external. People could read, memorize and recite them. The difficulty is in the reading and understanding internally. Jesus questions: "How do you read it?"

There is no real understanding without allowing the words to become life and spirit inside us. (John 6:67)

Jesus pointed out the error of those who tried to interpret God’s truth using the same principle and method they use to interpret physical appearance–natural sciences and philosophy. (Luke 12:56) Reading the Bible is not difficult. But its interpretation requires the Holy Spirit. Jesus said this to the Sadducees who came to challenge Him on the truth of resurrection,

There is no real impact on lives if not accompanied by the power of God. God’s words require interpretation.“Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” (Mark 12:24)

Summary: Through God's Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit

1. Seeing that God's purpose is to save through Jesus and it is a serious matter of either having eternal life with God or eternal damnation with the devil.

2. Believing and receiving the power of God as real in our lives.

3. Taking the bold step of faith in action: believe in Jesus and receive salvation and healing!

Journey to see God: be Strengthened with all might

Today the 5am Bible reading brethren in Christ read Colossians 1 and John 14, referring to Ephesians 1& 3, and 1 John (on praying God’s will).
Here are diagrams that help us to understand and memorize God’s words.

Colossians 1:2-12 Be filled with the knowledge of God’s will

Colossians 1:13-20 The beloved Son of God -Jesus

Colossians 1:9

King James Version (KJV)

⁹ For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

Colossians 1:11

King James Version (KJV)

¹¹ Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

positive thinking vs Christian faith

positive thinking for wellness and success

There are differences between positive thinking and the Christian faith.

Today I need to explain the difference between positive belief vs Christian faith. There is a crucial difference.

In secular teachings, everyone can believe that God is good and kind and loving and will make whatever man says posi come true.

In Christian faith we believe the same goodness of God based on the words of God and based on His Son Jesus' life on earth. So what is the difference?

The key difference is about life and death.

Based on God's words as recorded in the Bible, and based on what Jesus had accomplished on the cross 2000 years ago, Christians believe that God is righteous too.

In the Old Covenant God had demonstrated this requirement by saving only those people with the sacrificial blood on their door posts. The blood made the difference. No amount of positive thinking and positive belief and positive saying managed to save anyone who did not have the sacrificial blood on their door posts.

In the New Covenant, which encompasses all the good promises and blessings of the Old, only one sacrificial blood was made once on the cross and this was shed by Jesus - the Son of God. Christian faith requires the belief of having this blood on our lives' door-posts. The righteous effect of this blood lasts the whole eternity.

Christians speak positive sayings and believe positive goodness about God and believe that He will give us all that he has promised in both the Old and New Covenant because we believe that Jesus has secured the delivery of these blessings for us who believe in Him.

We have become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and can now receive all the blessings God had reserved for the righteous person. We have also become the children of God and the heirs of Abraham and can now enjoy all the blessings that God has promised to Abraham and his descendents.

This is not wishful thinking or positive belief that our words have power to make God carry out our wishes. We merely believe in what Jesus has done for us and receive with thankfulness by faith in His accomplished work on the cross. Our positive thinking is based on His assurance.

The key here is Christians believe in the positive outcome by faith in the reality of a spiritual realm, the goodness of an eternal loving and righteous God and all these are based on the promises in His Word (the Bible). 

A MATTER OF HAVING THE SUPERNATURAL POWER TO TRANSFORM FROM WITHIN US AND MANIFEST IN ALL ASPECTS OF OUR PHYSICAL LIFE

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

In Context | Full Chapter

Romans 15:19

by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

In Context | Full Chapter

1 Thessalonians 1:5

because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.

In Context | Full Chapter

Here is an article on Christian Philosophy

Every person views their life through a filter. For example, optimists see opportunity in every situation they face, while pessimists can only see defeat and failure. Both could be facing the same circumstances, but their filter determines how they respond. That filter could also be called their philosophy.

A philosophy is simply a way of thinking. And whether you know it or not, the direction that your life is going has been influenced and controlled by your personal philosophy or your dominant way of thinking. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” If that is true—and it is—then it makes sense to be sure that you are viewing your life through the right filter.

Colossians 2:8 says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

In this scripture, Paul was giving the believers in Colosse a warning. The word “beware” is being used in the sense of a sentry on guard duty. It’s a military term talking about being on guard, being on the lookout. And the word “spoil” is not talking about food; it’s talking about the spoils of war that go to the victor—the gold and silver and land.

Paul was saying to be on guard lest you be overcome by an Enemy that will strip you of your treasure, which is the truth that God has placed in your heart. That Enemy, the devil, wants to steal what God has given to you, using the world’s philosophies and the religious traditions of man.

Jesus referred to this in Matthew 15:8-9, which say, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

The people believed the commandments of men more than the Word of God. They maintained a form of godliness but denied the power of the Gospel of Jesus (2 Tim. 3:5). Jewish leaders were saying that Jesus was not enough, that the people still needed to observe rituals and ceremony, and those requirements were making the Word of God of no effect in their lives: “Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition” (Matt. 15:6).

They were operating according to a philosophy, but the wrong one. Many Christians are doing the same thing today. They have bits and pieces of the Word of God filed away in their brains, but they have not meditated on them enough to change their core beliefs. When the pressures of life come, they are able to quote dozens of scriptures claiming God’s promises, but they act according to their heart values.

A good example of this can be seen in the life of one of our recent Bible college students. She’s in her sixties and a really great woman of God. She had listened to my teachings on prosperity and could quote all the related verses. Intellectually, she understood everything I taught.

But at the heart level, she still had a poverty mentality, or you could say a poverty philosophy. She had been raised by parents who went through the Depression and had successfully indoctrinated her with the fear of lack. She was so fearful that she stored and hoarded everything, even keeping her money at home, not trusting banks.

Although she had accumulated some money with her philosophy, she still saw herself as poor, and it affected all of her decision making. Her philosophy, or way of thinking, was actually holding her captive and limiting what God could do through her life.

If at your core, you have a philosophy—a way of thinking—that is negative, it will manifest in your life. If you see yourself as broke, sick, or a failure, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. On the other hand, if at your core you see yourself as prosperous, healthy, and successful, that will be what manifests in your life. So, it’s important that your philosophy is based on the truth of God’s Word.

It’s through the subtle deception of human philosophy that Satan tries to deceive us. The first example of that can be found in Genesis 3:1-5.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Now think about this: It says that the serpent was more subtle. The word subtle means crafty, sly, cunning, and deceptive. He wasn’t using a frontal attack to overpower Adam and Eve; he was attempting to change their way of thinking, their philosophy.

Adam and Eve began with a pure philosophy. They were completely dependent upon God and never questioned His wisdom and goodness. Satan first caused them to question God’s word, and then he caused them to question God’s goodness. He beguiled them, which is what Paul was writing about in 2 Corinthians 11:3 – “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Satan has never changed his tactics. He is at work through our society and culture trying to create a philosophy that is contrary to God’s Word. He is always trying to devalue the finished work of Jesus and His Word. Sad to say, it’s working. Even most Christians today do not have their belief systems firmly in place. They are influenced more by culture, motion pictures, their upbringing, or the opinions of others than by the Word of God.

Many of you reading this letter know what the Scripture says. You have read that God wants you to prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers. You have read that by His stripes, you were healed and that Jesus came to give you life and life more abundantly. Yet when you look in the mirror, you see a failure, a loser, or a sick and defeated person. Why is that?

It’s because of your core philosophy. Maybe your parents told you that you would never amount to anything, or a previous mate convinced you that you were worthless. Or perhaps a religious leader told you that you were cursed because of your behavior, and you believed him or her. Whatever the root cause for your belief (philosophy), you are being spoiled, and your treasure is being stolen.

If that is you, then begin changing the way you think. Study and meditate in the Word of God, and change your basic core beliefs. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).

In my own life, as I began to change the way I thought, it opened the door to the blessings that God had for me all along. I was actually limiting God by my small thinking; i.e., my philosophy. You may be doing the same thing. If you are, don’t waste any more time—change your mind.

Every believer needs to have a clear biblical philosophy, and it must be based solely on the Word of God. Without it, you will be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine.

(By Andrew Wommack)

Please visit their web site for more positive words!

http://www.awmi.net/reading/teaching-articles/christian_philosophy/

http://www.awmi.net/audio/audio-teachings/#/awm_1079a_way.mp3

http://www.awmi.net/reading/teaching-articles/first_aid/

http://www.awmi.net/audio/audio-teachings/#/awm_1070a_first-aidI.mp3