From a biblical perspective, the Lord is overseer of our promotion here on earth and the ambitions of men are weighed by Him as to whether they reflect His foundational design expressed in Abraham’s calling: In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed; and, in thee shall all nations be blessed.

If we look personally for a measure by which to evaluate the year that is ending and the year ahead, the way the Lord established Abraham and the descendants of Isaac and Jacob is the measure we should choose. Such is the calling for each of us; such is the distinction that promotes or sidelines us in Kingdom matters.

Personally and then outwardly, our worldview will therefore line up with this measure. As ambassadors of His love for others we take up the position He ordained for us before the foundation of the worlds. There we fill up to the maximum and impact to the utmost every aspect of that placement, to the full  extent of His intention: Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven!

Amen.

Genesis 12:3, Galatians 3:8
Psalm 75:6, Proverbs 3:35
Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20
Luke 19:13
Matthew 6:10, Luke 11:22

God appoints particular people to do particular things. Each one is gifted by the Lord to accomplish these God-given assignments. God is both the giver of the gifts and also governor over every assignment to which each believer has been appointed.

“Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice…. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

His paths are (all) peace and His blessing of peace connects us to paths where His government over life-assignments is established—our part is to agree with that government. When we do, His government displaces the world’s confusion with His order, and the driving force of the world’s way of doing things with His peace.

Best of all, His government over the appointed things in our lives and the fruit of peace produced is increasing! He is the Lord of Hosts – the Captain! He is zealous to provide and will command His government for your life if asked!

Amen.

Isaiah 9:7
Acts 17:24-31

The night of His betrayed Jesus warned the disciples that one of the twelve would betray Him. Judas, pretending defiance at the exposure, proceeded to betray the Man he conspired to murder.

Peter, another of the twelve, contended with Jesus concerning the warning, insulating himself from the charge by claiming innocence of potential wrong-doing, adamant he would never do such a thing.

Neither Judas nor John actually heard. As was the case that fateful night, the greatest miracle for us today pivots on our willingness to hear as the Lord exposes error. To continue the way things are may cost at great deal. The enemy plans to trap, and ultimately kill your vision, hopes and dreams—and to drain every ounce of joy from your life.

Confronted by Jesus, Judas remained loyal to a brutal plan; confronted by Jesus, Peter was unmoved. In the same way, deception works in every human heart and we cannot deliver ourselves—we are blinded to it, disbelieving what we are capable of.

Watchers are needed—those who watch for you – hold onto you and encourage your strength but also to confront where you have become twisted; not just once or sporadically, but until the Lord by His Spirit places His finger on the root of what is not right. Freedom is the reward – true freedom. You cannot imagine how wonderful that can be. That’s the plan!

Amen.

Matthew 26

The Book of Proverbs teaches wisdom and practical guidance, holy principles and a godly fear of the Lord. Proverbs is a wisdom book—from God’s perspective the way life should be. One verse in particular provides a great visual: the way something begins is the way it will grow and the way it grows predicts what it can become:

– Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:5-7, Amplified)

– An old, non-biblical proverb expresses it this way: “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.”

Parents, as a new year begins, go before the Lord to receive a word for each of your children. When it comes to bending the twig, the Word of the Lord is your powerhouse!

Everyone, the Lord has fresh strategy for each person who will ask: He has prophecy for you – declaration of his will. He has words of knowledge and words of wisdom for you – information you may not have otherwise. Pray in tongues and ask Him for the interpretation—He has promised to tell/warn His people of things to come.

Amen.

Isaiah 45:11-12
John 16:13
Romans 8:38

We are praying for the strong hand of the Lord to bring perfect justice into your situation; meaning, the release of judgment upon the oppressor.

Together, let’s speak with authority to the spirit of terrorism involved, to the spirit of theft in families and dark forces that alter businesses to steal monetarily from God’s people: “The Hand of the Lord is against you! The Hand of the Lord is justice and is upon you as judgment!”

Now, envision your possessions: the things you own, all your stuff; your bank account and your savings accounts and your financial statement – now envision that. If there is not wealth there at the very center producing more wealth, I want you to do this: I want you to see the hand of the Lord come on it. If you have sown righteousness and if you have faithfully given, release the hand of the Lord, right now verbally do that. Right into the center of that we release the hand of the Lord into the camp of the enemy. Now we take back and we plunder what has been taken last year and the year before and the year before and the year before and the year before; years of being plundered by the enemy and stolen from, years of anguish and heartache, years of loss. Right now, we release the hand of the Lord on the loss, on the years of loss, on the years of poverty. The hand of the Lord is against you, poverty, the hand of the Lord be upon you, poverty. The hand of the Lord be upon you agents of poverty and impoverishment. Hallelujah! Now if you’ve still got your eyes closed and you’re still watching that vision, you’re seeing the curls of smoke come up off of it. It’s on fire. It’s on fire. Don’t reach in and try to save anything. Lord, burn up and consume the system that made it that way. Burn up and consume our participation in slavery, our own and others. Hallelujah! Now I release every man and woman declaring this out of the bondage of Egypt and of Babylon. I release you in your brain. Brain chemistry, line up! Line up with God’s word and His heart. Emotions – be healed! Right there – brain chemistry and emotions – if that’s your prayer, you’re going to leave that decay behind today. You’re changed! Go free. Go free. Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Lord! Now pull your children around you, your sons and your daughters, your grandchildren, pull them around you. Get them up close where you can see their eyes. Make sure they’re all there. Make sure everybody is there, gathered around you. Look them in the eye. Look them in the eye. Now with your right hand, I want you to touch each one of them in a symbolically. Right now, I want you to touch them and say, “I release the hand of the Lord against the enemy in your life. I release the Hand of the Lord against the enemy in your life. Do every one of them, take your time. Name them, name them, call them by name. I release the hand of the Lord against the enemy in your life. If you’ve run out of children, get your neighbor’s. Call out their name. Those in your city that are marked for greatness and there’s nobody releasing the hand of the Lord against the enemy in their lives. Hallelujah!

(This prayer is a part of an article called “The Strong Hand of the Lord.” If you wish to read the full article click here.)

The Strong Hand of the Lord
This powerful recording by Shirley Weaver reminds us that when the Lord stretches forth His hand, things happen. This recorded teaching contains a prayer and a prophecy concerning the hand of the Lord. Click to purchase.

Consider the present-day company that compares to those at Cana the day Jesus’ miracle ministry was first witnessed. In the consideration, we realize there are modern counterparts for the key players in John chapter two.

Mary, for example, was a catalyst; her involvement set the stage when she spoke first to Jesus, then to the servants. Ultimately you could say Jesus followed Mary’s leading as did the servants themselves, who Mary instructed simply “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Apparently Mary spoke with considerable authority; otherwise, servants would not obey instruction given by a woman. We do know the culture of that time did not allow authority for a woman.

The servants also had a part; had they refused Mary’s instruction, could the miracle have taken place? The lesson for us is obvious: Authority is discernable, producing visible fruit; authority speaks and someone responds accordingly. Rules, doctrines and cultures do not dictate Godly authority, not ultimately. God alone establishes authority, through whom He chooses.

The Lord manifests His love through those available for the mission. He stirs the heart for divine purpose (Philippians 2:13) and speaks clearly – He does not complicate or mystify His leading. Our obedience then is critical if we simply discern His Spirit and honestly bear witness to His Truth. Bottom line, YOU are the company the Lord sees as descendants of those at Cana that day. Whatever He says to you, do it!

Amen.

Jesus turned water into wine – John 2

A highlight in our Christmas Day comes when the youngest children begin to grasp waking up on Christmas morning to lots of excitement and what it means for them. Their central thought, I am sure, must be Wow! who thought this up?

And so the teaching moment has arrived for parents and family members to mark little hearts and minds with the answer to the wonder of it all – God did!

It’s Christmas, our Christ-Celebration! To the One who thought it up and gave the very first gift of the season, I marvel: “Lord God, YOU made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and still You are mindful of me, giving the gift of Your Son as Savior and Friend.”

The whole thing is overwhelming. We may grow beyond the childlike thrill of waking up on Christmas morning to traditions of gift-giving and family celebration but never beyond the most basic realization – for me?

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.” (Matthew 1:18-25, New King James Version )

Amen.

Thank you for reading along with us this year.  Our prayer is that we capture as much of what the Lord is saying for the moment as possible. I love working on them and, judging from your feedback, you are benefited as you read. Remember that if for a number of reasons a devotion is not posted on any day to take advantage of the archived devotions.

It’s Christmas Eve. To our subscribers and readers in over seventy nations, the Board and partners of A Clear Trumpet, Inc and Shirley Weaver Ministries send our love and blessing for this, the greatest of all seasons. We love being connected to you and your families and pray that every word written builds your faith and prophetically encourages your day.

God bless you. God bless your home and family. God bless your nation, and God bless the United States of America.

Merry Christmas!

Compassion for the sick motivates us to care deeply. Their concerns are ours also, and we are touched with the feeling of their infirmities as was our Lord. We commit to care but understand the sick are the ones who possess the greater spiritual portion to initiate healing. In James, chapter five, the sick are instructed to ASK for prayer, an expression of faith toward God. Elders as leaders of God’s people are instructed to respond to the request of the sick man—in faith, with faith-filled prayer, evidencing faith in God’s Word that the prayer of faith will restore the sick to health. Without faith we cannot bless God in the greatest way and also our position to receive healing is affected. Without a confident knowledge of God’s Word on the subject of healing, true healing faith is small.

Amen.

Believing-prayer – James 5:15, The Message
The prayer of faith – James 5:13-17
NLT
NKJV