The attitude of the righteous rich is described in Psalm 112:1-5:

• The righteous rich are blessed. A righteous person who is rich fears the Lord and delights greatly in His Word.
• Descendants of the righteous rich are mighty in their generation—they are blessed.
• Wealth and riches are in the house of the righteous rich. Their righteousness endures.
• Light arises in the darkness for the righteous rich; this person is gracious, full of compassion, and righteous.
• The righteous rich deals graciously and lends. They guide their affairs with discretion.

Make this your confession:
I am the righteous rich. I am blessed and I fear the Lord; I delight greatly in His Word.
I am the righteous rich. My descendants are mighty in their generation and are blessed.
I am the righteous rich. Wealth and riches are in my house and my righteousness endures.
I am the righteous rich. Light arises in the darkness for me; I am gracious, full of compassion, and righteous.
I am the righteous rich. I deal graciously and lend and guide my affairs with discretion.
I am the righteous rich.

Amen.

Psalm 112:1-5

Nothing changes until someone with God-given authority steps up.

We realize that instead of leading our generation for the purposes of God, the temptation to yield to the next strongest influence or most demanding voice often replaces the role we should have played, making possible the installment of wrong authority. Once other authority steps in, its opposing standard becomes obvious in what it creates. By the time that standard is openly discernible, the influencer that came to take over, has!

When wrong authority is in place and the standard is down, everyone must resort to basically man-handling challenges as they come—attempting to put in order things out of order, but doing so at the expense of personal strength rather than in the God-given authority we forfeited. Very stressful!

Those in covenant with the Lord are authorized to enforce His love in every setting and align related circumstances for a manifestation of His redemptive love. Christians who know Truth are the real influencers; they are not moved by hard situations but rather move the situation by the influence of God’s Word.

And, since God-given authority speaks in and by faith, personal faith increases with every word spoken in faith, and the subsequent release of power, embedded in every Word of God, brings personal renewal as God’s leading is obeyed. Faith actually interrupts cycles of stress, putting the emphasis on God’s ability rather than man’s.

Step into the authority God has called you to. Don’t put it off. No excuses. Stop yielding to contrary voices. Stand tall. Speak clearly. Your harvest from all those faith-filled words means renewed personal strength and freshly energized faith, plus momentum to produce more of the same! Selah!

Amen.

Matthew 17:14-21 | Matthew 21:18-22 | Mark 11:20-26

The Lord sanctified one day in every week to be “set apart”, holy unto Him—a Sabbath. The seventh day is ordained for rest; rest protects the human body from disease, heals the heart of heaviness and relieves the brain of tensions and driving routine. This set-apart-ness signals to my entire being – to my spirit, soul and body – a sense of recovery and hope rekindled.

That’s not all. “Sabbath” is a gathering of family—a protection of family affections, refocusing them. The Lord is the center on this day; we think about and experience His love for us and ours for Him.

In Israel and Jewish communities around the world, the approach of sundown each Friday brings the spirit of Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath. Flower vendors are stocked, aromas of fresh bread fill the air and a brisk pace of preparation is everywhere. By mid-afternoon the pace slows; shops close, customers in market areas gradually disappear, and as the sun goes down the streets become unusually quiet. The setting sun marks an end of one day and the beginning of another—a new Shabbat and the experience of God’s spirit in a special way.

As a Christian I am not a Jew; but as a Christian I see God’s provision in instituting a day apart, a day for concentrating on the Lord, a Sabbath Day. Some Christians don’t agree and honestly feel the whole idea is legalistic carry over from a pre-Christian time. But the word Sabbath appears in the Bible more than one hundred times, half of which are in the New Testament.

Jesus’ teaching clearly refutes judging any man according to keeping of Sabbath in a legalistic or ritualistic way but supports the reality and spirit of the matter as an issue of the heart: Six days men pursue a way that seems right to them but on the Sabbath Day hearts recalibrate and are made sensitive to the One whose way proves perfect. And that changes everything!

Amen.

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. (2 Corinthians 12:2)

Spiritual life develops as a procession.  God leads and those who follow realize a seat “in heavenly places” has been provided for them. They are presently seated with Him there—in heavenly places. Paul referred to this realm as the third heaven, a present-tense reality and inheritance, lived daily, by faith. So for a spiritual man, faith according to heaven’s arrangement is the way life is to be lived here . . .  on earth as it is in Heaven!

Writing to the Ephesians Paul continues his revelation of Heaven’s arrangement: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (Ephesians 1:3). . .which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20). . .and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6) . . .to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:10). . .For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12]

On the other hand, natural life—anything other than life in the spirit—is another matter. Life in the natural can be done, even done well, without a shred of Bible faith. Paul made the distinction—men forfeit a higher, spiritual inheritance in choosing the proverbial bowl of stew for momentary relief or satisfaction.

The natural life and religious niceties are fine but not where you can turn in a crisis when a natural, manageable-with-the intellect setting shifts unexpectedly to intense spirit activity, and where natural senses do not work as well. . . a realm where death often wins, ungodly authority rules, prevailing anti-Christ spirits blind those involved.

When you need spiritual help remember that disciples of Jesus Christ are not soft from living naturally according to the demands of that realm; rather, as followers of the Lord, disciples are trained according to heavenly realms—far above principalities and powers and rulers of darkness. Disciples choose training before the crisis arrives – they know what to do and how to pray. For them, Calvary turned the heavenly battle in our favor and is the supernatural turning point for every crisis. Hallelujah!

Amen.

2Corinthians 12:2 | Genesis 25:29-34 | Philippians 3:19 | Romans 16:18

“Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers.”  Matthew 23:34

Jesus confronts heart issues directly. Addressing the religious order of His day, Jesus confronted misdeeds and wrong thinking among the elite of the elite, the crème de la crème whose religion was wrong because their hearts were wrong. And so, if He speaks to me today the question is not whether He has spoken clearly but rather how much truth am I willing to hear?

The Lord’s often speaks to us through others, including prophets, wise men and teachers. To overlook the prophet and wise man is to bask in being continuously taught. There are, in fact, prophets and wise men today as surely as there are teachers. Study with the teacher, align with counsel of wise men, and heed prophetic insight from the prophet God sends before an over-the-cliff plunge.

Amen.

The idea of covenant originated with God. Ancient cultures implemented covenant-making for preservation of wealth within the family line and for strength of protection against outside threats. Apart from God, covenant agreements among men often produce something other than God’s plan for family and covenant. According to F. Douglas Pennoyer,* writing on the subject of collective activity among families and people groups, ungodly covenants form the underpinning for families and communities whose goal in covenant is restrictive, in a negative sense.

In such cases, by working together as a family unit, influence is exerted to keep everyone inside family boundaries and limits to maintain family traditions and exert ties to family. Working together, families promote strength with unspoken, behaviorally-enforced agreement, perceiving the outsider with suspicion and contempt, even a threat to the group’s security. Working together as family, competition for dominance and the upper hand is passed to the children, teaching them compliance with family spirits (an inheritance of ungodly thoughts and ways) unique to the family’s beliefs.

God’s idea of covenant isn’t like that. On the basis of His covenant plan God called Abram away from family and homeland to a land and purpose of the Lord’s choosing. Abram obeyed and trusted God, a decision of his choosing. He ultimately became patriarch of the Hebrew people and was given a new name by God—Abraham, father of nations. The promise to Abraham was to Him and the generations after Him: “In Your seed (children) all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” You and I were in the heart of God when He created Covenant. He gave the Kingdom to us and every imaginable blessing so that we could be family. He loved, gave, and saved; we believe Him and receive . . . Kingdom, connection, life!

Amen!

Genesis 12:1; 15:1; 17:5; 22:17-18 | John 3:16 | John 17:3

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* Pennoyer, F. Douglas, Wrestling with Dark Angels (Chapter 9, In Dark Dungeons on Collective Captivity, p.249) Ventura, California: Regal Books, Copyright 1990 by Dr. C. Peter Wagner

Today we concentrate on God’s plan for our lives’ everything else is secondary. Because we focus this way, our steps are ordered, our lives freed to reflect excellence of purpose today and trust in the Lord’s plan for tomorrow.  

If we run ahead of Him, the physical body and psyche may not be able to keep up. From a perspective of peace of heart and mind, reaching too far ahead can trouble the mind, undermine peace, and steal joy that comforts the heart and fuels much-needed strength!

So instead of shifting from plan to plan we choose instead to focus on the priorities God places in our hearts . . . our orders for today!  Jesus lived this way. He ministered this way. For us too, God’s presence in our midst is all we need to maintain peace today while projecting hope for tomorrow. His Presence means our lives are so ordered that we rest, wisely using those portions received today and expecting increase by faith for tomorrow.

Stay focused.

Amen.

Matthew 6:24-33

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing . . . And who is sufficient for these things? . . . we speak in the sight of God in Christ. (2Corinthians 1:14-17)

In the early church a leader’s conduct was critical to the foundation being laid; for the sake of a strong future, Church leaders were responsible to set the example for new and maturing converts to follow. In that context, Paul encouraged the believers to follow him as he followed the Lord—possibly the greatest simultaneous expression of strength and humility we could ask for and a solid example for us to follow.

Applying the principle, we observe godly qualities in those who lead and are not only blessed by their example but also motivated to achieve the standard they live since, humanly speaking, we learn more by example than almost any other way. It’s why when those we esteem fall short of the mark it produces a particular burden for everyone involved as we realize afresh that without the Lord none of us have sufficiency for the complex day in which we live.

On the positive side, new resolve often results from a mistake or misstep—resolve for greater integrity, commitment to right order personally, and determination to imitate the Lord so others see His example through us. Central to the idea of leading by example is our responsibility to forgive the person whose example did not hold true. Because we forgive the best day is ahead, not behind, and unexpected strength will be gained in spite of despite something so wrong.

The words of the hymn say it well—lifting our expectations to believe again, to trust and hope again: “Lead on O King Eternal! We follow . . .”

Amen!

2Corinthians 1:14-17 | 1 Corinthians 11:1 | Romans 3:23

Rules and culture do not determine who will possess Godly authority. God alone establishes His authority through whomever He chooses; He manifests His love through those available for the mission, stirring their hearts for divine purpose and speaking clear direction to them.

Think for instance of those at the wedding in Cana the day Jesus’ miracle ministry began. Mary was a catalyst in setting the stage, exhorting Jesus to intervene when a shortage occurred in provisions for guests of the feast and instructing the servants to assist him . . . “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Mary obviously had sufficient authority in her demeanor or tone of voice; otherwise workers of that day and culture would ignore instruction from a woman. The servants’ role was important too, their actions necessary to the miracle of the water pots. Had they ignored Mary’s lead, would water have been turned into wine that day?

Authority speaks – when we hear it we recognize it.
Authority speaks – whatever He says to you, do it! 

Amen.

Philippians 2:13 | John 2

The sound of the Lord’s procession is passing through the land!

That God’s power is resident in the lives and condition of mankind has been questioned but the matter is settled among those hungering for spiritual reality . . . those who know the Almighty God, Immanuel—God with us! Their stories unfold, and the moving of God’s Spirit transforms to realize the manifest presence of God.

Controversy over the possibility of His presence is a distinctive, an entitlement of sorts to areas that were off-limits before we learned about His Spirit, when much of what we knew was resistant to the present-with-us God.

But now, the sound of passionate prayer and symphonies of worship have ushered His presence right past the religion-police and into the heart of the city; the spirit of the dance brings deliverance for families of the entire city—freedom from the bondage of generations.

As He comes the sound turns the controversy and He declares a controversy of his own. The noise is heard across the whole earth, for God has a controversy with the nations and has begun to plead with all flesh, calling them out of the valley of decision!

Amen.

2Corinthians 2:14 | Psalm 68:24 | Isaiah 45:22-23 | Romans 14:11 | Philippians 2:9-11 | Jeremiah 25:30-31 | Joel 3:16