Monday's Devo - By Faith...

Read Romans 5: 1-11
Verse one is what the world is looking for: peace with God. To think that a holy God can actually justify our sin and make us able to approach Him takes a lot of faith. It doesn't make sense to the natural mind. We do not deserve to come into God's presence, be cleansed of our sins, or have peace with a holy God, but that is what Jesus died to do. It is all "by faith".
Even our tribulations bring us glory. I had to read that one again. I would think it should read that our tribulations bring Him glory but it says that WE glory in tribulations. It is because we know that they work patience. The word "work" in the Greek means "accomplish". They do accomplish patience because there is no way to speed up a trial. God has put our times in his hands and he is in control of them. Waiting on God causes us to press into Him. It causes us to experience him in a new way. David had to wait on God for years before he saw God's promise to him fulfilled. During this time of waiting he received strength, courage, rest, humility, spiritual insight and it all lead to hope. David was annointed and promised the kingdom but it came with much battle and opposition. The devil does not want you to inherit your promise. He will fight you for it. Let it produce hope in you because hope does not disappoint. God IS hope and he does not disappoint.
All through the Old Testament they were waiting for a Saviour. That was their hope. When it looked like there was no hope, Jesus appeared. He came when the earth was the darkest and brought the light. There are very few people we would think worthy of laying our lives down for....maybe our family. But God loved us in our unworthiness and laid his son's life down for us. If God saved us from death when we were sinners and his enemy, how much more will he give us life now that we have come to him and received his atonement.
Lord, what a plan! We cannot comprehend such love that you have for us. Thank you for your overwhelming love.

Sunday's Devo - Some Times Use Words

I am thinking about how we witness. We feel that the only witness is when we say something about Jesus. I gave some money the other day to a homeless guy and didn't say anything but "here" and smile at him. The devil came to me immediately and said, "that didn't do any good because you didn't even mention God or Jesus."
I worked out at my last gym for months before I ever said anything about God. I just let them get to know me and eventually I had an open invitation to talk about Jesus. I saw people change right before my eyes by just being around me.
I felt guilty for no reason because as I study the life of Jesus I realize that he healed people and they didn't even know who did it. John 5:2-15 tells about a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years. Jesus just walked up to him and healed him then slipped away. When the Jewish leaders asked him who healed him he said he had no idea. Jesus found him later and just told him to stop sinning or something worse would happen to him. Again, he didn't even tell him who he was.
We forget that we are spiritual people who minister spirit to spirit. Last night I got downloads from God all night long. I would wake up in the middle of a teaching I was receiving from God and all I could remember would be one line and then I would go back to sleep. I only wrote down one which was, "the only way we can communicate to people we don't have access to is by prayer". I know that is common sense but when God tells you this and puts it in your spirit it is life. It is no longer just a "good idea". Prayer is a POWERFUL tool that we take for granted or don't have much faith in. That is all I remember but God downloaded a whole lot more stuff that will just manifest day by day. If we really realized the power available to us as children of the God of this Universe, we would pray more and reach out to more people. We are God's light in a very dark world. So go out and be a disciple of Jesus......and some times use words.

Saturday's Devo- Passing it On

This past week my mom was visiting us and it went better than I could have imagined. Last year God gave me the great idea of taping my mom and Dave's parents telling about their lives. I knew that our grandkids would love hearing about their ancestors one day. This week my mom asked to hear what she taped so I set it up and we watched it. There were times we laughed and cried. It reminded her of things she still wanted to say so I set her up and she taped some more. She told about her walk with God and I realize that she can not talk about all the things she gave me because she doesn't comprehend it, but I can. I watched her go after God at the sake of friendships and popularity. I saw her zest to tell others about Christ. When I opened her suitcase I saw her witnessing tools that she brought with her. She had shared them with people on the plane. She is never without a tract or something to give people who she talks with.
This morning I was reading Psalms 17 which is a prayer of Davids. He is praying for justice against his enemies and in verse 14 and 15 it says:
"By the power of your hand, O Lord, destroy those who look to this world for their reward.
But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants."
My parents taught me not to get my satisfaction from worldly things but to hunger for the true riches. So my prayer is that our children will hunger for God and find fulfillment in him alone so that they can leave this inheritance to their descendants.

Fridays Devo - You are Trustworthy

Because of what Christ did for us on the cross we have a future in glory to look forward. to. This knowledge makes living not only livable, but the harder life gets, the more peace and grace we receive from God. Tribulations work patience in us because there is no way to speed up the process. A trial has a set time of endurance and no amount of fussing trying harder, or pushing will change that. Jesus had to endure God's timing on the cross. Jesus was to die on Passover at sunset and was bruised and beaten till then. There was no way Jesus could make that time speed up. Even Jesus felt abandoned by God. But God sent his angels to minister to Jesus. When he died they received him, washed him and cared for his wounds. God raised him justified and cleansed that we might be just and cleansed with that same blood that he shed.
Patience works experience. In other words when we have to wait for something it causes our trust level to rise. My mother was coming to visit me and everything came against her to prevent her from coming. Instead of giving up, she became more determined to come. Her patience and perseverance payed off and she was able to come. Once you have experienced God's breakthroughs you will have hope in the future. God said he would never leave us or forsake us. It is easier to believe that once you've experienced it to be true. This hope, expectation, confidence will help you call out to God early the next time.
Lord, thank you that you have custom-ordered our trials for us. They have caused us to lean totally on you and you have proven to be trustworthy.

Friday's Devo - Glory in Our Tribulations

Read Romans 5:1-5
Because of what Christ did for us on the cross we have a future in glory to look forward to. This knowledge makes living not only livable but the harder it gets, the more we have peace in God. Tribulations work patience in us usually because there is no way to speed up the process. A trial has a set time of endurance and no amount of fussing, trying harder, or pushing will change that. Jesus had to endure God's timing on the cross. Jesus was to die on Passover at sunset and man had till then to persecute Jesus and there was no way Jesus could hurry it up. He even felt abandoned. But God came through and took him from this life and washed and cared for all Jesus' wounds. Then he raised him justified and clean that we might also be justified and clean through that same blood that he shed.
Patience works experience. In other words when we have to wait for something it causes our trust level to go up. My mother was coming to visit me and it seemed like everything was going wrong for her to come. But instead of giving up, it made her fight harder to come. Her patience and perseverance payed and she was able to come.
Once you have experienced waiting for something and then receiving it you have hope the next time you are waiting on God for something. You have experienced God's hand and now you have hope for the future. God said he would never forsake us or leave us. It is easier to believe what you have experienced to be true. This hope, expectation, confidence will help you next time not to be ashamed of calling out to God. You know he will come through.
Lord, thank you for all the trials that you have custom-ordered for me. They have caused me to lean solely on you and you have never disappointed me. I praise you.

Thurs.'s Devo - He is Able

Read Romans 4
It has always been about faith. Abraham discovered that he couldn't be saved by his works because he blew it numerous times. David sang about the forgiveness of God because he needed and received God's forgiveness. These two men saw into the heart of God by faith. Abraham and David were Jews, so what about these uncircumcised Gentiles? Since Abraham was counted as righteous before he was circumcised because of his faith this was the picture of grace and related to the Gentiles. Abraham was also the spiritual father to the circumcised Jew only if he had the faith that Abraham had before he was circumcised. If you believe that God is who he said he is then you will WANT to follow his laws. They will protect you.
God took Abraham out on a starry night and told him that he would have as many descendants as the stars. At that point Abraham had no descendants but it says he believed what God said would happen. His belief was counted to him for righteousness. (Gen 15:5)
The law points out your sin. If there was no law to tell you to drive 55mph you would only have your common sense to tell you how fast to drive, but it would not be a sin to drive 65. Because we have laws telling us to drive 55, we are breaking the law to drive faster.
It bears out in scripture that the bigger the promise God has given you the greater the obstacle against it happening. Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 99 which was way past childbearing age. They have one son of promise and yet through this one child God's promises were fulfilled. Faith may not look right in our eyes but it is always right in God's. He loves to do what is impossible to man.
Lord, help us to not stagger at your promises when there seems no way but be like Abraham who was strong in faith, gave glory to God, and was fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

Wed.'s Devo - The Law Fulfilled

Read Romans 3
Paul asks them 2 important questions: what is the advantage of being a Jew? and what is the point of circumcision? Up till then God was the god of the Hebrews but that was never God's plan. The Jews were to be a picture to the world of how God lives and coexists with his people. Instead of God being able to bless them and show the world his goodness, he spent most of his time disciplining his wayward children and trying to woe them back. But his plan from the beginning was to save the whole world....."for God so loved the WORLD".
The advantage of being a Jew is the same advantage of being a saved Gentile. The Word was first given to the Jew, but it has always been for mankind. Even in the Old Testament God touched people who were not Jews. Jesus reminded the people of two of them in Luke 4:25-27: the widow from Sarepta and the leper from Syria. Jesus was making the point that he was not welcome in his home town which was a picture of him not being accepted by the Jews as the Messiah. But the Gentiles would welcome and recognize who he was. This made the people so irate they ran Jesus out of the city and were going to throw him over a hill but the Holy Spirit empowered him so that he walked right out of the middle of them. Their unbelief did not negate God's law. The core of the Bible is the law. The Good News is the fulfillment of the law.
So what is the point of circumcision? Just think about it; nowhere on the human body can you cut off that much flesh and it not make a huge disfiguration or mar. God made that unseen part on a man just for that reason. The cutting of the flesh was to be a picture of the Word (the knife) cutting the fleshly part of our heart and exposing the sin so you can be cleansed. Why did God come up with something just for the man and not the woman. I asked God and I feel like he showed me that the man stands for Jesus and the woman stands for the Bride. Jesus went through the pain of the cross and we watched as he took the pain for us. Our pain is seeing what he did for us just like the mother's pain of watching her son being circumcised. So the law of circumcision established the law. They did it by law and we do it by faith.
Lord, thank you for your great plan that includes us all.

Tues's Devo - Righteous Judgment

Read Ro. 2
This chapter is written to the self-righteous and religious person. It starts with judging your neighbor which is what the Sadducees and Pharisees loved to do because it made them feel better about themselves. Truth is we are all guilty of doing this. Every time I get really upset at a person's actions I hear God saying, (you do the same thing). Then I have to pause and let him show me how I do the same thing. I may not do that thing exactly but maybe I've sone something similar or contemplated doing it which according to Jesus is the same thing as doing it. He used the example of adultery but it applies across the board. God is the only one who can righteously judge.
Verse 4 says that they despise the riches of his goodness. That means that we get upset when we see God doing something good to someone we know doesn't deserve it. (Ps. 73) The truth is none of us deserve anything, but it is God's kindness that will bring that person to repentence and that is God's goal. He loves mercy over judgment. Those who judge God because of the kindness he gives to others will have that treasure waiting for them in heaven. Not a good treasure to have. We will all stand before God and give an account for our lives even if we are saved. We might make heaven, but our rewards are according to our works of righteousness down here. There are books that are opened. One is the Book of Life which determines if we are saved or not and another book is the Book of remembrance (Mal. 3:16) which tell the good things we do for God on earth. If we are saved, then the things we have repented of will not be written in the book, only the good things we have done. But for the sinner, all their unlawful deeds will be read for all to hear.
If we live by the law we will be judged by it.... means that what we know, we are accountable for. Everyone has a conscience so even though people have never read the Bible, they are accountable for what their conscience tells them. But if you know the Word and teach the Word you are accountable for everything you teach. God gave the people of the Old Testament the act of circumcision to show them what God wanted to do with their hearts. In the New Testament he gave us baptism and told us to spiritually circumcise our hearts.
Lord, circumcise our hearts and our mouths which seem to be always getting us into trouble. Thank you for the power of your Word.

Monday's Devo - Let all that is in us Praise the Lord!

Read Ro. 1: 16-32
This is such a rich book I only have time to pick out the verses that stand out to me. So, in verse 17 says that God's righteousness, his holiness is reveled from faith to faith. When I got saved I did it by faith. Now that I am saved everything I believe and do is by faith. That is how we live from faith to faith. God's wrath is against sin and those who distort the truth. The next few verses (19-20) completely dispels atheism. It says that the knowledge of God is shining in every person because God has shown them himself through nature so they will not have any excuse when they stand before him one day. The invisible things like love, faith, salvation, kindness, etc. are clearly seen through the things he made...even the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So how do they see love through the things he made? Every time they see a mother holding her infant and kissing it; every time they see a dog wagging its tail at its master. Faith is seen when a father teaches his son to swim and lets go of him. Salvation is seen the grass that dies each year but comes back to life again each year. The human body is a great picture of God. Ps 18 says the heavens declare God's glory, in fact, everything that he made gives him glory. I think that is why the Indians were so wise, because they studied nature.
So how is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit showed to us. Our earthly father is suppose to be the picture of the Father, but what about the Sun that rules the day and is bigger and brighter than anything we will ever be able to make. The Son is a picture of an earthly son, but can also be a dog - man's best friend. The Holy Spirit is like the wind, felt but only seen in the way it effects things it blows on. There are endless pictures of them everywhere you look.
The problem was that they saw God but they chose not to give him the glory for all this around us. Because they were so unthankful and vain their hearts were deceived into thinking they had something to do with it and they made images of God to be humans or animals and they worshiped them. When God saw the evil of their hearts he gave them over to sin which is perversion to God so all their ways became perverted. We have a list of all the things that sin is and the sad thing is that they knew God would judge them and still had pleasure in doing these things. Sin is fun for a season but reaps death.
Looking at the list of characteristics of unrighteousness let's turn them around and see what the righteous should look like: faithful in marriage, perform acts of love, givers, good, full of good will, life-givers, peace makers, truthful, of good reputation, coverers of sin, kind, lovers of God, gracious, humble, encouragers, inventors of good things, obedient to parents, understanding, unifiers , pure in heart, promise-keepers, merciful.
Lord, we choose that list instead. Grow us up into look like that.

Sunday's Devo - Honoring Mom

My mother is coming to visit today. I am so excited because it has been 3 years since she has been here. She is flying in tonight from Shreveport, La. and will stay till Thursday. She is 83 so we'll have to take things slowly. I often think of that scripture "honor your mother and your father that your days may be long upon the land..." I'm going to think about it when my mother has to have 3 pillows with her every time she sits. And when she takes 15 minutes to go to the bathroom. And when she talks excessively. I dearly love my mother but it is sometimes difficult for me to be patient. I really want our visit to go well and I realize this might be the last time she comes here.
But, let me tell you about my mom. She was raised in North Carolina in a Lutheran Church. Her mom died when she was 13 of cancer and her dad was a piano tuner. When the depression hit there was little need for a piano tuner so her dad sent her to live with her rich aunt and uncle and favorite cousin in Haggerstown. They just about owned the town so she loved living with them for the rest of her teens. She went to college and studies clothes and textiles and was a very accomplished clothes designer. Her proffesor was very impressed with her creative ability and told her she could be famous designing dresses. She moved to New York and became a buyer for Riches Dept. Store. She realized that New York was not a good place for a good girl so she moved back home. She met my dad, got married and moved to Shreveport to start a family. She had my older brother, me and my younger brother.
They joined the Baptist Church because it was most like what they were both used to and she met Jesus personally for the first time. We went to that church till I was in high school. Then my parents found out about the Charasmatic Renewal and became radical believers. My mom was one of the biggest soul-winners I have ever known personally. She lived for the purpose of seeing people come to know Jesus. My dad was one a servant who lived what he believed. I owe so much of who I am to my parents and am very grateful for the heritage I came from. So I'm going to remember that when things go a little slower than I like them to go. I am going to honor my mother with joy and gratitude.
Lord, thank you for all the people that have poured into our lives. May they be blessed for what they have done and may they eat the fruit of their labors.

Saturday's Devo - Don't be Timid 8-22-09
Read Ro. 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
This verse used to intimidate me because I was not bold like I wanted to be or felt like I should be. The older I've gotten the less I care about what people think and the more I care about sharing Jesus. But I still can be intimidated. Last night we went to hear John Bevere speak and he spoke on the spirit of timidity. When I woke up this morning the first verse I read was "Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Dont be timid." Is. 58:1a
One night while I was away on my Middle Eastern trip, my husband went to the Golden Corral to eat. There was a young teen-aged girl there with her family. She was wearing a Christian t-shirt and the Holy Spirit spoke to Dave to bless her. So Dave walked up to her parents and asked if it would be OK for him to bless her and they said it would. So he told her this verse from Romans and said that since she was not ashamed of Him he was pleased with her and gave her a 20-dollar bill. He was so tickled to do that and that will be something that will encourage her throughout her walk.
Sometimes I forget what life was before Christ because I was so young when I asked Jesus into my heart. It is hard for me to imagine life without him but it must be pretty empty since that is my existence now. We are truly empty vessels without him and when He comes in it fills us with substance and makes us whole. It is important to be filled to overflowing so that what we have will spill out on others. That is the value of daily reading His Word and daily spending time with him.
Lord, may we never be ashamed of You, but may we be filled to overflowing with your Spirit and your Word. May our lives be contagious so that others will want what we have.

Fri.'s Devo - Cause Us to Remember

Read Ro. 1:8-15
Paul is writing this prayer probably from Greece to the Church in Rome. He is hoping to visit Rome on his way to Spain. What a testimony of these believer's faith that they had been spoken about throughout the whole world. During this time the Christians in Rome had grown to such great numbers that the emperor Claudius had them expelled from Rome which means the church had to go underground. The Church always does its greatest growing under persecution.
I think it is noteworthy that Paul said he serves Jesus with his spirit. That is the only way to serve God and not get burned out. When you serve him with your spirit it takes the "work" out of it and puts the "joy" in it. Paul is wanting to come to impart some spiritual gift. I wonder what that gift. Hopefully we'll figure it out later in the chapter. All it tells us is that it will establish them or set their resolve firm on Christ. He seems to feel that being with them will help both of them in their faith. That is what hearing someone's testimony does. It strengthens the one who tells it and it strengthens the hearer. The other night I had a few of my Jr. High girls to give me their testimony. I couldn't get over how it changed the whole mood of the room. Just remembering that time caused them to be strengthened. I guess that is why God was always telling his people to put stones in piles to remember what God had done.
Paul lived to see people come to the knowledge of Jesus and accept him as Savior. He feels indebted to see this happen for the Greeks and the Barbarians. The Greeks were the non Jews that were educated and the Barbarians were anyone who wasn't Jewish or Greek. Since the Barbarian lived away from Rome which was the center of education, the further you got from Rome the more Barbarian you were considered. So Spain had to be full of Barbarians. Paul himself was very well educated but felt an obligation to minister to all types of people. But right now he is ready to preach in Rome.
Lord, bring us back to our first love when we first believed in you. May our testimony never get old or taken for granted. Cause us to remember all you have done for us.

Thurs.'s Devo - Grace and Peace to Us

I decided to do Romans since that is what I will be teaching in rcg's which if you don't know what rcg's is, join the crowd. In my world it has been code for "very cute guy", but somehow I don't think that's what our youth director had in mind. Anyway, I'm going to kill 2 birds with one stone and do Romans next.
Read Ro. 1:1-7
Paul was commissioned to be a link from the prophets to Jesus. He was to explain how Jesus was the one the prophets were talking about. (vs. 2) The problem was the prophets told about Jesus first coming and his second and they didn't understand the distinction. The prophecies about his second coming were what they were waiting for - someone to rescue them and destroy their enemies. Jesus came and showed them how to destroy the enemy of their soul - their sinful nature and the enemy of their spirit - Satan. They just had a hard time understanding it all.
Paul was an apostle which means he is a preacher, teacher, prophet, etc. He has been through the process of it all and now has the job of leading leaders and starting churches and performing signs and wonders. He understands that to lead you have to be the servant so he addresses himself right off as a slave to Jesus Christ that is separated unto the gospel of God. (vs. 1)
Being raised in the best Jewish schools he knows that the Messiah must be from the line of David and Jesus was. (vs. 3) God loudly proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God by raising him from the grave. (vs. 4)
Verse 5 is where we stumble because it says WE have received grace and apostleship. We get the grace thing but not the apostleship. We have the same commission that Paul had - everyone of us- to preach, teach, lay hands on the sick and they will recover, speak with new tongues, cast out devils, take up serpents, and if we drink anything deadly, it will not harm us. (Mark 16:18) Paul did all this and we can too. Preaching may not be your natural "bend" but we are all suppose to do it whether one-on-one or in front of large crowds. If we are parents we do this on a daily basis and don't even realize it.
Paul is addressing the Christians in Rome but he is really addressing all of us who are called to be holy. He gives us a greeting from God so let this be your greeting from God today: "Grace to you and peace from your Father, God and your Lord, Jesus Christ."

Wed.'s Devo - Still Counting (11-19)

God is so orderly, planned, and way cool. The numbers 11-19 are the opposite of their counterparts. Ex.: One means "beginning" so eleven means "end". Delilah was offered 11 hundred pieces of silver to put an end to Samson. In the end, there were 11 disciples.
12 - "join; unite" - The twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve sons of Ishmael were joined by blood. The twelve disciples were joined by the blood of Jesus.
13 - "rebel" - Gen 14:4 - Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
14 - "reproduce; recreate" - Jacob served Laban 14 years for his two daughters. (He was "double"-crossed). Mat. 1:17 - "So all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are 14 generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are 14 generations. God's plan keeps reproducing.
15 - "death" - which is freedom for the Christian and bondage for the sinner. Twice I found the word death and fifteen in the same verse. (2 Kings 14:17 and 2Chron. 25:25)
16 - "spirit" - Azariah was 16 years old when he began to reign over Judah. He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord and the only way to please God is by his spirit. Jothan reigned 16 years in Jerusalem and also did what was right. But, there is always the other spirit: Ahab reigned 16 years in Jerusalem and did evil.
17 - "incomplete; immature" - Joseph was 17 when he brought his father a bad report about his brothers. Seventeen is not mentioned in the New Testament because God completed his work through Jesus.
18 - " Put on" - I failed to mention that 8 also means to put off like putting off the old man. So 18 means you put on the new man. In Gen. 14:14 when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive he and his 300 and 18 men put on their armor. In the Old Testament it always splits up the numbers like that because each number means something. In this case 300 means men that had matured (100) and conformed (3) into men worthy to fight. The 18 means they put on God's armor. In Luke 13:11 there was a woman who had put on her a spirit of infirmity 13 years. It was so heavy that it made her bow under its weight. Jesus prayed and freed her from her infirmity and immediately he was made straight.
19 - "Barren; ashamed: lack" - 2 Sam. 2:30 "and Joab returned from following Abner and when he ahd gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants 19 men and Asahel. Nineteen is not mentioned in the New Testament because there is no lack in the Blood.
OK, I'm going to get off numbers for a while. Hope I didn't bore you to death but now if you have a number in your dream this might help you know what it means. What should we study next??????
Lord, may the eyes of our understanding be enlightened by digging into your Word.

Tues.'s Devo - Why Keep Counting?

Let's take a reprieve from our count and answer a very good question. Why are numbers important for us to understand? God has a reason for everything he does and everything he created. When we start understanding the meaning of all this things He becomes bigger and we start hearing and understanding his signs.
When you know that number 1 means "beginning" and you match that with the verse in 2 Pet 3:8 "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day," and you realized "beginning" describes the first thousand years. In that time it was the beginning of everything. In the plagues of Egypt the first curse was against the waters - he turned the water to blood. This also describes our beginning with the Lord. Remember on the first day God moved upon the waters which is exactly what happened the day we met Christ: he moved upon our spirit.
The second day God stretched out his hand over the waters and divided them. During the second millennium God sent his law to divide right from wrong. He gave them their choice: the blessings or the curses. In the second plague Moses stretched out his rod over the waters, and frogs came from the waters. When we get saved we have the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin and we have to make a decision about what to do about it.
The third day God made seed which produces fruit. In the 3rd millennium Abraham started his seed which bred the Israelites - God's people. Moses smote the dust and knats came out of the dust and killed the seed planted in the ground. We came from dust and we have the power to give life or kill. In our walk with Christ we start conforming to the seed planted in us.
On the 4th day God sent lights to rule the darkness and the day. In the 4th plague God sent darkness over the land but he made a distinction between Egypt and Gothan. Gothan had light. In the 4th millennium God sent The Light, Jesus, to illumine the way to God. He also sent the prophets with eyes to see and point out the path for us. In our walk we start seeing through the light of his Word as we grow in it. We become a light that shines Jesus.
This is an example of how important numbers are. God repeats numbers over and over to help us see what He is doing. Lord, let this be understandable so we might see how you work and your extraordinary order.

Monday's Devo - 8-17-09 - Numbers 8-10
"Eight little, Nine little, Ten little Indians...."
Eight - "new beginning; change". These numbers and their meanings can be good or bad. In 2 Chron. 34:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign in Jerusalem. Josiah was a type of Jesus who was used to cleanse the land of idols and rebuilt the Temple. In comparison 2 Chron. 36:9 tells us about another king who came to reign when he was eight years also, only he was evil and only reigned 3 months and 10 days in Jerusalem. He and all the vessels from the Temple were carried to Babylon. In Acts 9:33 there was a man who had been bedridden for eight years. When Peter prayed for him he was instantly healed. This man got a new beginning.
Nine - "harvest" - Harvest requires a judgment about which fruit to keep and which to throw away. Neh. 11:1 "and the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem; the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of the ten to dwell in Jerusalem and the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities." Only one city out of ten made the cut to live in Jerusalem. In the New Testament we get to see God's heart about the harvest: Mat. 18:12 - "What are you thinking? If a man has 100 sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the 90 and 9, and go into the mountains, and seek that which is gone astray?" God cares about all the fruit.
Ten - "measure for the purpose of accepting or rejecting what is being measured; a trial, test, or temptation" When the Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac he took 10 camels for the test. He told God that the woman who offered water for his camels would be the one. When Rebecca passed the test he gave her 10 shekels of gold bracelets for another test. She passed that one too. She abandoned all to follow God. In Matt. 25:1 there were 10 virgins who took the test 5 passed and 5 failed.
Lord may we be willing to change and start over when we need to and be ripe fruit when the Savior passes by. May our tests and temptations be what drives us closer and closer to completion and may all we do bring you glory.

Sunday's Devo -Time for a Tune-up?

Ro. 12:2 - "And be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
I listened to a man teach this week about how we are all performance-based and how God is not performance-based. Our society is performance-based. We are graded in school on our academic achievements, we compete for trophies and scholarships athletically, our job is being assessed continually, we compare ourselves to everyone and always come up wanting. So how do we change this and accept God's love unconditionally? It takes a whole renewing of our minds. The spirit always struggles with the mind which is why Paul told us to "work out our salvation". God rules an upside down kingdom: to get you have to give, to gain you have to lose, to live you have to die. The only way this is possible is by renewing your mind in the Word of God. Only the Word tells us that God's love is everlasting, eternal and never failing. He will never leave us or forsake us. In our weakness God is made strong. We are wonderfully and fearfully made. No good thing will God withhold from those who love Him. While we were sinners, Christ died for us. His peace is ours. He has given us everything we need. The list goes on and on. Just to meditate on one of these truths is life-giving. None of them require anything from us. Our children come into this world offering nothing but trouble and we instantly love them. How can we so easily do that and have such a hard time accepting God's love. He is love incarnate; there is nothing we can do to run from it or change it. One of my favorites is: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath befor ordained that we should walk in them." Eph. 2:10 God has already seen the end of our lives and we make it! So, lets relax and drink in God's love. It is a refreshing elixir. It would so bless him is we really could accept his love unconditionally.

Saturday's Devo - Be Strong and Do Exploits

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and the that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." Pro. 18:21
This week our son, Daniel called to tell us he was sick. He had gone to the clinic and they said he had mono. That is not good for a football player fixing to start his season. They said he would have to not practice but he would be able to play in the first game. How do you get ready for a game if you can't practice? He was going to go to another doctor for a second opinion so Dave told him we would pray that the clinic misdiagnosed his illness and that he didn't have mono. He was sceptical but that didn't keep us from praying. He called back the next day and said the doctor told him the clinic misdiagnosed his illness and he only had a bad sinus infection. His spleen wasn't enlarged at all and he had no symptoms for mono. GO GOD!!!
I know that my son knows God can heal but when he heals you it brings the knowlegde to the heart. I wonder how many times just by stepping out and believing God we could see a miracle. I bet a lot. I pray for Holy Spirit boldness for the children of God. God wants us to be strong and do exploits.

Friday's Devo - Numbers 5-7

I don't know if I've ever said this but Genesis is my favorite chapter in the Bible. It has the whole story of the world from beginning to end. Let's get back to the numbers:
Five - Gen 1: 20-23 - "life" I know you've heard it means "grace" and you do have to have grace to be alive in the spirit. This was the day that God made living creatures that move on their own. Everything else was planted or stationed. On the 5th day he set creatures free to move. Life produced life. Everything God created reveals to us something about himself. On this day he made the birds that fly in the heavens which represents spirits that fly (good and bad) and he made fish that move around under the earth. This is to give us a look into what is happening in the "underworld". (If this is hard to understand just put it on the shelf.) The number 5 was used all throughout the tabernacle to show that it was surrounded by life. The boy in Matt. 14:17 had 5 loaves, and 2 fishes. Those 5 loaves represented the bread of life.
Six - Gen 1: 24-31 "living creature; man" The anti-christ's number will be 666 because he will be a man, a snake, and a beast. He will be the culmination of what God created on the 6th day only in an evil sense. Noah was 600 years old when God destroyed all men and creatures except for a remnant. He will do it again after 6,000 years. In John 2:6 Jesus was at the wedding in Cana. They ran out of wine and there were 6 waterpots of stone that the Jews used in a purification act of washing their hands. Jesus told them to fill them with water and when they poured it out it was wine. These 6 waterpots were a picture of man's way of cleansing himself. They were nothing more than stone pots like their stone hearts. But when Jesus added spirit to the pots they brought forth joy.
Seven - Gen 2: 1-3 - "complete; rest" On the 7th day God had completed all his work and could rest. God actually blessed and sanctified that day. This 7th day stands for millennial reign that God will bless and sanctify in the year 7,000. God planned everything around this week of 7 days. In Matt. 18: 21 Peter asked Jesus how often he should forgive his brother who sins against him - 7 times? And Jesus replied, Not 7 times, but 70 times 7. He was not telling him to count them and once he got to 490 he would know that was enough. He was telling him HOW to forgive....completely until you have rest in your heart.
In Psa. 147:4- 5 it says that you number the stars and call them all by their names, how much more do you number us and call us all by our names. " Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite."

Thurs.'s Devo - Numbers 1-4

Read Gen. 1
Numbers are very important to God. He has a whole book of Numbers and the numbers are significant so let's look at what they mean. We can look in Gen. 1 for many of them.
One - Gen. 1: 1-5 - "beginning" - In the BEGINNING God created the heaven and the earth. John says that in the beginning was God. So one also means "God". Gen 2:21 "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh." Adam's one rib was the beginning of woman. Rom. 5:17 "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ." One man, Adam, brought the beginning of sin and one man, Jesus, brought the beginning of forgiveness and live.
Two - Gen. 1: 6- 8 - "divide". One the second day God DIVIDED the waters under the firmament from the waters above the firmament. God was dividing spirits. Good spirits (angels) went up and bad spirits (demons) went down. God is always dividing right from wrong, black from white, sin from righteousness. In Gen. 4:19 Lamech took 2 wives. One wife's name meant "ornament" and the other wife's name meant "shadow". So one you put out for all to see and the other you hide in the shadows. Luke 17:36 "Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left." In the end God is going to divide the sheep from the goats.
Three - Gen 1: 9-13 - "conform" On the third day he brought grass, seed, and fruit according to the seed that was planted. The plant CONFORMED to the seed. So if you want financial blessing you have to plant financially. If you want kindness you have to plant kindness. The result will look like the seed. This is very important in getting what you are asking for. If the seed of Christ is in us we should conform to the seed and look like Christ. God is a tri-une God which all conform to one another. Moses was 3 months old when his mother hid him in a basket and he was found by his new mother. He conformed to the plan of God. In Matt. 13:33 Jesus told the parable about the woman who hid the leaven in 3 measures of meal and the meal conformed to the yeast and the whole meal was leavened.
Four - Gen 1: 14-19 - "rule". On the fourth day God created the sun to RULE the day and the moon to rule the night. The sun stands for God who rules the whole day. But he made the moon to rule the night. The church is the moon (a reflection of the sun, but no light of its own) and we have been given the authority and power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19). In Mat. 16:19 Jesus said, "and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." So God has given the Church the power over the darkness. In the Bible there were 4 beasts, 4 rivers, 4 heads: all powers that ruled.
That's enough math for today. God teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Wed.'s Devo- Turn Your Rocks to Bread

One day I was meditating on God's Word and I got this revelation. When God gave them the law it was written on tablets of stone. So I know by this that stones are words. Jesus and the Word are the same according to I John 1. In Co. 10:4 it says the children of Israel all drank spiritual drink from that spiritual Rock that followed them in the wilderness and that Rock was Christ. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness the first temptation the devil brought to Jesus was to turn the stones into bread. Jesus IS the stone turned to bread. He was the law that the people couldn't stomach in the Old Testament, turned to bread that we can eat and live in the New. Every temptation the devil gave Jesus had already been promised him by God. The temptation was to get it now from the devil and by-pass the cross.
The law had to be written twice. Moses got mad and broke the first one because the people were already living in sin. God told him to write it again. The first time stood for the Old Testament law that they couldn't keep. The second law stood for the New Testament law that would stand forever. (Ex. 34:1) In the New Testament it tells us that the Word is written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. Before the law was burdensome and mainly fell on hard hearts. Now the law of God is life and our hearts are soft to receive its life, not its death.
In the Old Testament they were punished by being stoned. Now we are punished by the Word of God. It is the stones. We either die to ourselves by the Word or we harden our hearts and just feel the 'hit'.
They also had to take the stone off the mouth of the well to water the sheep just like we have to open the Word to get the deep things of God to teach the body. When Jesus was walking into Jerusalem on a donkey and all the people were praising him with their words, the disciples wanted to rebuke them. Jesus told them that if they didn't praise him the stones would cry out. In truth rocks hold memory so these rocks had been there from the foundation of the earth and they knew who Jesus was.
So how does this relate to dreams? If we dream of throwing stones at someone then our words are hurting someone. If stones are being thrown at us then someone's words are hurting us. If we trip over a stone, maybe we are stumbling over the truth and need to reevaluate what we are missing. It was a stone that brought Goliath down and by our words we can bring the devil down. So choose your rocks carefully.
Lord, we commit our mouths to you. May we speak life and not death.

Tuesday's Devo - People and Places

Many times the setting of our dream is a house. The Bible tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Temple had many storehouses guarded by gatekeepers and these rooms held treasures. We dream of different rooms that represent the many facets of ourselves. The kitchen would represent our heart and our Bible study since everyone is drawn to the kitchen as a place of communion and eating. I would rather entertain someone at my kitchen table than in my living room. It is more intimate to me. If you dream of your living room you are dreaming of "where you live in public". It is where you entertain the crowd, sit with your family and visit or watch TV so it is the everyday living. Your bedroom can represent rest, intimacy, or privacy. It is not your public life but what you know that most others don't. Your bathroom is a place of repentence. In the bathroom you are either getting rid of waste from your body or cleaning yourself. This is your prayer place where you are honest with God. Halls are transition places. The front yard is your future and the back yard is your past.
Sometimes we dream of people in our past that we haven't seen for years and wonder why in the world we dreamed about them. Seldom is it really them. Ususally it is a part of you that is represented by that person. So you have to think of what word describes that person to you. For example, if that person reminds you of a control-freak then God is addressing that in you by putting them in your mirror. Many times if you dream about your dad he represents God and your husband can represent God or Jesus. Symbols can also represent the opposite. You dad could represent the devil. That is where you have to ask God for discernment. A cat usually represents a demon but if it is your family pet that you adore then it could represent Jesus, the one who loves you unconditionally.
Sometimes symbols are not universal but are personal and only you would know what it means. In Judges 7 the Midianite knew that the cake of barley bread stood for Gideon (maybe because it was barley season and that is what Gideon would be harvesting). I don't know, but God knew this Midianite would get it. He gave him the ability to interpret the dream right.
Hope this helps some. Happy dreaming. Lord, give us dreams and teach us to interpret them. Tomorrow we'll talk about bread.

Monday's Devo - The Hidden Mysteries

Isa. 45:3 "And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, which call you by my name, am the God of Israel."
Isa. 48:6b "I have shown you new things from this time, even hidden things, and you did not know them."
I Co. 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."
Rev. 2:17 "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; to him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows except him that receives it."
Why does God hide things? That is one of my favorite questions to ask people. In Jesus' prayer in Luke 10:21 he says that God has hidden these truths from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes. I think God hides his plans and ways in symbols and shadows and hidden places so that only the seekers who are truly hungry will seek them out. That is another reason dreams are in symbols. The Bible is full of hidden meaning and teaching. Looking for these hidden meanings is like searching for buried treasure; when you find the treasure it is so exciting. It is like playing with God. He hides the diamonds and we find them. So how do you find the hidden meaning to your dream?... the same way you find the hidden mysteries of the Word. You ask! Ask and you will receive. Everything God does is to have a relationship with us. He loves to tell us his secrets but he wants us to ask and involve him. He longs to communicate with us and teach us to hear his voice so he uses everything around us to do that. Jesus didn't speak to the people plainly, he spoke through parables. (Matt. 13:34) But his disciples asked him what the parables meant and he gave them the interpretation. (Matt. 13: 36) So why did he do that? He doesn't throw his pearls before swine. The people were given the code without the key but the disciples were given the key because they asked. The people could have had the keys but they didn't ask. If you want to know the mysteries of God and the ability to interpret dreams all you have to do is ask and then open your spiritual eyes. You can learn how to do it by learning the symbols and types and shadows in the Bible. The Bible gives the meaning of so many symbols. We'll look into some of these symbols this week.
Lord, we want to know the secrets of your heart and the mysteries of your Word so that we can know you deeper and appreciate your greatness.

Saturday's Devo - Open Our Eyes That We Might See.

Read Luke 18:31-43
This was in my daily reading today which caused me to stop and ponder. I have noticed that many times Jesus will teach a truth and the next story will illustrate the teaching. Here Jesus is telling his disciples that all the prophesies about his death and resurrection were fixing to happen. They didn't understand anything about what he told them. It says that his words were hidden from them and they couldn't see it.
The next thing that happens is they meet a blind beggar. He hears the noise of the crowd and asks what's going on. They tell him that Jesus is coming and being blind he "sees" that his hope is coming down the road. He cried out for mercy over and over and louder and louder till he finally got Jesus' attention. When Jesus asked what he wanted he said, "I want to see." Jesus replied, "All right, receive your sight. Your faith has healed you." Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.
What a picture of what is going on right now in our world. Prophecy is being fulfilled right and left. The world is getting darker, sin is abounding, the hearts of many are growing cold, times are shaky and even the elect are being tried by fire. Even though we have read about the last days many of us are shocked and disillusioned that we are being affected by it. The disciples were affected by Jesus death. They all dispersed and were like sheep without a sheperd. But it was all a part of God's great plan to bring salvation to the world. What seemed like the worse thing on earth - Jesus dying - became the best thing. We have to have 'eyes to see'.
The blind beggar stands for those that are needy in this world. They have nothing to lose by trusting Jesus. They have lost their job, their family, their way but hear that Jesus can heal. Even though they are blind they will be given the ability to see and have faith.
The disciples were guilty of not seeing the times they were living in. Let's not be blind to our time. We are in the last days and things in this world are only going to get worse, but we can't live in fear. Things in the spirit are going to be alive and we can be like the disciples who don't see it or like the blind beggar whose eyes are opened. I pray for mercy that we might see.

Friday's Devo. Spiritual Dreams

Read Dan. 2
Thursday, August 6, 2009
One of the greatest dreamers in the Bible is Daniel. In Dan. 1:17 it says that "God gave him knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams." In those times people knew that dreams were important and had meaning. The king dreamed a dream and even though he couldn't remember his dream, his spirit troubled him to remember it. So he goes to his wise men who he pays to know everything. He wants them to tell him his dream. They think this is a ridiculous request and let him know. This totally ticks the king off and he threatens to kill all the wise men unless they can come up with his dream. When they go to get Daniel and his friends to be executed Daniel asked why. When he found out the story he asks for time to ask God for the dream. Daniel gets his 3 friends to pray with him and that night Daniel gets the dream in a dream. Verse 22 gives us another reason for dreams: they reveal deep and secret things because God knows what is in the darkness and He can turn the light in those hidden places and cause us to see secret things.
In the first dream God gave me about China I was in an ancient room with an older woman who was my spiritual mentor in the dream. The room looked like an antique shop. All the furniture was very old and crowded and it was dimly lit. She handed me an old map made of fabric and there were 2 other ancient maps on the floor. There was an old man there who put a teaching tape on this old player. I knew that it was information that was specifically for me but I couldn't understand what it was saying. It just played in the background. I tried to hear the words but they weren't making sense to me so I just prayed that they would go into my spirit and by-pass my intellect. Then the lady led me out of the room onto a patio that was filled with nice furniture. She walked up to this black ornate oriental china cabinet and opened the glass door and put this black and white object on the shelf. It looked like a carved statue. She said someting to the huard about not letting the people back there. That was the end of the dream.
When I woke up I immediately knew this was an important dream. I asked God about it and this is what I feel like it meant. The older woman and man were angels in charge of information in the world. They were passing on this information to me through the maps and the message on the tape. The three maps stood for three ancient places (At the time of this dream I had just gotten back from trips to Israel and Egypt) I believe those were the maps on the floor. The one she handed me was even older and I believe that was Yemen. The object she put in the China cabinet was something God wanted to deposit in China and I would have to do that by prayer. When I told my friend this dream the next day she said that a lady had come to their church that night and shared with them that the Lord had shown her that the devil was trying to deposit something really evil in China because the Olympics were going to be there that year. This was God's counterattack. So now I knew to pray that God's spirit would be there to fight whatever the devil was trying to plant there. I'm sure there is so much more about that dream that I don't understand in my head but God is a spiritual being and he speaks to the spirit.
Lord awaken our spirits to hear what you are trying to tell us. Give us the right response.

Thurs.'s Devo - Dreams of Bread and Wine

Read Gen. 40
This is the account of the butler and the baker. Both of them were in prison for poisoning the king; one through his food and the other through his drink. But only one was guilty. Dreams are in symbols which have to be interpreted. Everyone has their own dream language though there are some symbols that are universal. The first thing to look at in a dream is the setting. The butler is in a vineyard which had to do with his job since his job was making wine for the king. He saw 3 branches that budded, blossomed and produced grapes right before his eyes. This was a process of time so Joseph knew that these 3 branches stood for time. How he knew it was days and not years I don't know. That is where knowing God's voice comes in handy. He took these grapes and pressed them into Pharoah's hands which meant he would once again present the king his wine.
The baker's dream did not have the same happy meaning. He dreamed he had 3 bread baskets on his head. There's the setting: his job. I'm sure he carried his bread on his head every day. The top basket was full of things he had baked for the king and the birds came and ate them out of the basket on his head. Birds are a picture of spirits. They can be good like the dove that ascended from heaven when Jesus was being baptized or bad like the raven. In Jerimiah birds are compared to deceivers but mostly they referred to as devourers. In the bakers dream they were the devouer coming to steal his life. Interesting that he would be hung. The baskets were on his head and his head was the way he died.
These events would have happened without the dreams but the significance of these dreams were that one day this event would be Joseph's "get out of jail" card. God set it all up. I have seen people's lives totally transformed after hearing the interpretation of their dream. God said that he gives his beloved even in their sleep.
Lord, give us restful sleep and help us to remember our dreams so that we might learn more about you.

Wed.'s Devo - Dreams: Instruction and Prophecy

Read Gen 37
People ask me if all dreams come from God...everything comes from God. I have never had a satanic dream though I have dreamed of demons. Dreams can show you what is happening in the world so you can pray. I had a series of dreams about China the year the Olympics were going to be in China. My dreams led me in how to pray. They can also tell you what and how to pray for an individual. I had a dream that I got a visit from Kathy who was telling me that Jill was not living right. (I changed the names to protect the people.) I have no idea what Jill was doing but I knew to pray for her. God shares secrets with those he can trust not to tell but will pray. In Gen. 20:3 God warned Abimelech not to take Sarah as his wife or he would kill him. In Gen. 31:24 God warned Laban how to speak to Jacob. In both of these stories we don't get the dream just the interpretation. But in Joseph's dreams we get the dream and the interpretation. Joseph dreams that he and his brothers were binding sheaves in the field, and Joseph's sheaf rose up and stood and the brother's sheaves bowed down to his sheaf.
Dreams are word pictures. Joseph dreamed about binding sheaves because that is what he did; it was something he would understand. Since binding sheaves is what they did for the family the dream had to do with the family. They understood the picture. One day Joseph would be exalted and they would bow down to him. He would literally save the family from famine and starvation. We know that the dream came true but at the time the brothers could not conceive of bowing down to their younger brother who they hated. In his next dream he dreamed the sun and moon bowed down. His father immediately knew that the sun was him and the moon was his wife. In a broad sense the sun stands for God the Father and the moon stands for the church. The moon only shines when it reflects the light of the sun. It is always there but when it is dark the moon is visible to the eye and shines. That is a picture of the church in adversity. When the world is the darkest the church shines the brightest. To be continued....
Note: I have been praying about starting a Bible Study in my house and think this is the time. It will be on Monday mornings at 10am. If you are interested let me know. They won't start till September.

Tues.'s Devo - Soulish Dreams

Read Job 33
We finished 1 Chron. so I thought we would diverge and learn about dreams. What are dreams and what are their purpose in our lives?
One of the definitions of dream is "recover". Job 33:15-17 says that in dreams "God opens the ears of men and seals their instruction, that He may withdraw man from his purpose and hide pride from man. He dreams to keep back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword." So what does all that mean?
We live very busy lives and all day long we are inundated with information both in the natural and the spiritual. So at night our body rests while our mind needs to recover and organize so it puts all the information into files in our brain. If we don't sleep we are not organized and if we keep losing sleep it will lead to mental unhealth. Also, when we sleep is sometimes the only time God can get us still enough to speak to us. There are soulish dreams and spiritual dreams but today I want to deal with soulish dreams. Soulish dreams that have to do with our lives. Job also says that out of much business we dream which just means that we dream about what is concerning us; what is going on in our lives. Our dreams can help us see ourselves in a way we are blinded to while awake. Dreams can warn you of a trial coming and what it will look like. Here is an example: One time I had a dream that I was riding in a car on a very foggy, rainy, dark night. My dad was driving the car. I was aware that I was in a dream though it was very real. We could hardly see out the window so I kept wiping the windshield so we could see. I wasn't afraid because I knew that my dad stood for God and that he was driving my car (running my life). Your car is your personal life or ministry. Suddenly we went through a tunnel that was very narrow and twisty. There were sharp ice shards on the wall of the tunnel. We were going very fast. I knew if a car came toward us we would be goners but I knew that God was driving so that was my confidence. Very quickly we were out of the tunnel and the sky was bright and shining with light and the landscape was flat. I woke up and knew that I was headed for a trial but I was not to be afraid because God was going to drive me through it and even though it would get dark and scary, it was going to end up great. Well, at the time everything was going great in my life and I could not even fathom where a trial might emerge but 2 weeks later I faced the biggest trial of my whole life. That dream literally carried me through it and it was just like the dream showed: hard, dark, but comforting to know the driver and safe in his car. The sharp ice shards were the criticism and judgment of people. We did come out on the other end and it was bright and the sun was shining. I am so thankful that God had taught me about dreams so he could use that to comfort me and give me strength.

Monday's Devo - King Jesus

Read 1 Chron. 29
David is passing the torch to Solomon in view of his people so they will know that Solomon is his pick for the throne. His first task will be to build the temple for God. This temple was the culmination of David's reign. He fought and secured the kingdom so Solomon could build this beautiful temple God had put in his heart to build. David is providing gold and silver from his own storehouse abundantly. The people also offered willingly with perfect heart. Solomon is proclaimed king for the second time and David blesses Solomon with a perfect heart to keep the commandments of the Lord and to build the temple. Then the people praised the Lord, sacrificed to him, and had a huge feast of joy. Solomon sat on the throne and prospered and all Israel obeyed him and all the other kings submitted themselves unto Solomon.
David and Solomon both are types of Jesus. David is the type of Jesus now reigning over the earth. He is still a warrior prince who is fighting our battles for us and winning. Solomon is the type of Jesus after he comes back. He will be proclaimed king again like Solomon was. Jesus is king in the spirit realm right now (David), but one day he will be crowned king for all to see and every knee will bow (Solomon). Everyone through the ages will come to that coronation and we will present him with the gifts our lives have produced. Our sacrifices will be the crowns we have received for what we did here on earth. It will be a great time of feasting and celebration. The Jews celebrate this every Roshashana; they just don't understand the fullness of it.
Notice that David reigned 7 years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem. God's reign over this earth is 7 years. (A year is as a thousand to God.) The time David spent ruling Jerusalem was the exact time Jesus came to earth to save the lost sheep of Israel. God has this earth timed to a heavenly clock and it will all happen according to his plan at the precise time that he planned it. How comforting to know that God has also planned your life to the minute. You cannot hurry things but you can slow them down by disobedience. lord, may we be obedient to what you have called us and when we stumble, may we get back on our feet and keep walking down your path.

Sunday's Devo - The Power of the Laugh

The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is out strength. A man once prophesied over me that I was a person who was suppose to laugh a lot. At the time I was depressed and overwhelmed with my circumstances and thought that would never happen. Then I thought, 'what a strange word to speak over someone'. Now that that has played out over the years I realize the power in that word. I have been in the grocery line laughing with the bagger when a teenage boy came running to us saying, "I want to laugh too.'' Amazing how many people don't ever laugh. Life has robbed them of their joy. When I was on my trip I went into rooms of people that were not believers and would end up laughing out loud and watch as they stared at me in wonder. Of course they had no idea what we were talking about because of the language barrier. But it did something to their heart. They wanted to be near us. Laughter is contageous. It is like a rare ointment being poured out and everyone is affected by its fragrance.
In Egypt I went shopping with Adam and Liz for material for their curtains. I had taken a roll of fabric and set it on top of a roll of fabric pretty high on the shelf. I tried to balance it on top so I could stand back and see it better but instead it rolled behind the display onto the ground behind the shelf. It was too comical and we all started laughing. I was afraid to look at the salesman's face because I knew it could go either way. But, to my delight he was laughing also. He seemed entertained by us and we got to share our joy with him. Laughter knows no language barrier. Proverbs says that a merry heart is like a medicine...it causes it to heal. So let's spread a little joy around. Didn't Jesus say that if we believe in him, out of our belly would flow rivers of living water.
Lord, thank you for giving a reason to have joy. Help us to spread this joy to others who need their heart healed.

Sat.'s Devo - Let Your "Yes" be "YES!!!"

Being back in America is wonderful. I love my country and am once again reminded why. I take for granted being able to flush my toilet paper down the toilet and having electricity 24/7 and being able to openly confess my faith. I realized that I can't tell too much about my visit on the internet because it may jepordize the safety of those I went to see, so I want to talk about ministry right here in America. In my travel I realized that I get to see ministry happen right here just like they do in the field because we are all in the field.
Before I left I had a dream that I was in a yoga class and a woman I know crawled over to my mat and told me she needed 100. I knew exactly what she meant and immediately said, "OK". I went back to doing my stretches and she came back over and asked me if I understood what she meant and I said, "You need $100." She said, "right." I noticed she was going around with a note book asking other people and recording their response. I woke up.
I knew that I was to give someone $100. Was it the lady in the dream? She definitely had needs but usually in dreams people don't stand for themselves. So I asked God who she might represent. I thought of a lady in my yoga class that had the same life story as the lady in the dream. Maybe it was her. She had needs also. I finally decided to ask God for a sign. I told him that I would give the $100 to the one I saw first. I saw the one in my yoga class first but forgot to give it to her then. I left for my trip and today I saw her. I don't know her well but I gave it to her and told her God had showed me in a dream to give it to her. She was overwhelmed and told me I just didn't know how bad she needed that. I told her I figured so and gave her a big hug.
I recently heard a man say that God sends 2 angels every time an offering is taken up. One records the amount of the gift and the other records the attitude of the giver. So we have the opportunity to bless God double - with our gift and our attitude. And he gets to bless us back double.
I felt like the lady in my dream was recording everyone's response to the request. Sometimes we are asked to give and we don't need to know why; God is just looking for our "yes"... better known as 'obedience'. The Bible says that obedience is better than sacrifice.
Lord may we be quick to say yes and quick to respond to your voice.