The man who has experienced God has invested more than just time to gain the connection; such a man is never at the mercy of the man who argues against the experience. Beyond contradictions by those who only pass by, and beyond the arguments of the staunchly religious who know nothing of the Spirit, lies man’s genuine connection with God—alone with Him, we gain understanding and receive answers: “And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.”

Those who remain outside of what God has for them do so through ignorance—they do not know how to understand or experience Him. Jesus taught God’s Word in parables to those who were able to hear, those who stopped to listen; but even those who stopped to listen, those willing to hear, needed the help of simple stories to grasp truths so wondrous and possibilities so loving as those taught by Jesus: “But without a parable He did not speak to them.”

For the one who truly knows God, the method and level of connection is vital: Jesus explained “all things” to “disciples”, apart from crowds who did stop to listen only to return to routine and familiar “things”.

Amen.

Mark 4

The man who has experienced God has invested more than just time to gain the connection; such a man is never at the mercy of the man who argues against the experience. Beyond contradictions by those who only pass by, and beyond the arguments of the staunchly religious who know nothing of the Spirit, lies man’s genuine connection with God—alone with Him, we gain understanding and receive answers: “And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.”

Those who remain outside of what God has for them do so through ignorance—they do not know how to understand or experience Him. Jesus taught God’s Word in parables to those who were able to hear, those who stopped to listen; but even those who stopped to listen, those willing to hear, needed the help of simple stories to grasp truths so wondrous and possibilities so loving as those taught by Jesus: “But without a parable He did not speak to them.”

For the one who truly knows God, the method and level of connection is vital: Jesus explained “all things” to “disciples”, apart from crowds who stopped to listen, but then returned to routine and familiar “things”.

Amen.

Mark 4

Each day the declaration you make before the Lord is important for the weight it carries into the heavens,
words spoken in faith with a specific objective in mind. Specifically, the Lord speaks to our understanding and as we receive His words, we too speak; we speak in declaration of His will, according to that which we have heard Him say.

“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:19-21, NKJV)

Peter tells us that having seen and heard what took place at the Transfiguration, He was an eyewitness to that event; and that the prophetic word was therefore more sure, KJV) – the prophetic word spoken beforehand was confirmed (NKJV) – to him. And which, Peter writes, “. . . you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place.”

Words spoken to our spirits – from the spirit of God into our human spirits – carry weight because they are God’s words. He determined before you were born to bless and benefit you and He speaks to you today along that same line in order for you to cooperate with what He is doing at any given time. When God speaks, it’s prophetic; and when you hear Him speak, you have received prophetic words from Him. So take heed to what you have heard!

The prophetic word concerning what would take place concerning the Son of God did take place. Jesus was born; He was crucified, died and was buried. He was raised again to life on the third day. That happened. We see now the prophets were clear, and they were correct in the words they spoke and wrote. They took heed to words spoken to them by the Lord. Taking heed, they believed the words; believing the words, they spoke the words… and the words came to pass. That is the pattern.

Amen.

Note: Write out your declaration today. Do not wait. The Lord will do what He has said He will do. Your words speaking the same thing He speaks concerning the most important matters of your family, business, and nation make all the difference. Also, as you discipline your words to same thing He is saying, your thoughts will line-up and your expectations will, too.

We understand a great deal now from what we see before us. Important details of what our lives will look like a year from now are unfolding. Perhaps the most important detail is our refusal to be moved into a stream that does not reflect the Lord in a pure way but contains instead the sullied waters of compromise.

And be glad those in that stream are not choosing for you. Their choices fall below what is acceptable. It is good they are not making your decisions, or are they?

It happens all the time. Your lifestyle is committed, sincere, and disciplined according to God’s Word; you have paid the price to live a godly lifestyle and have remained single-minded with each step and each new territory gained. Then you become involved with someone not in that same class; and for them, it is NOT that you are needed or even wanted, on a personal level, but it is your presence with them that validates what they are doing, on a spiritual level. They are victims of imaginations that the Lord cannot prosper. Do not align with them.

The grace of the Lord is pure, and His wisdom is “first of all” pure; but those who are faking it do not know that. They have impure motives and no intention of settling the issue of His Lordship, of choosing His grace and wisdom.

The methods that you have been suspecting are not just, are not! Those who choose such methods have, at their core, a plan to benefit and even prosper themselves at the expense of you and others. They are not pure – neither they, nor their methods. The grace they claim is not pure but mixed with contempt for that which is pure, as if purity did not give them fair opportunity to choose purity. Do not go with them.

Amen.

James 3:17
Ephesians 1:11

We understand a great deal now from what we see before us. Important details of what our lives will look like a year from now are unfolding. Perhaps the most important detail is our refusal to be moved into a stream that does not reflect the Lord in a pure way but contains instead the sullied waters of compromise.

And be glad those in that stream are not choosing for you. Their choices fall below what is acceptable. It is good they are not making your decisions, or are they?

It happens all the time. Your lifestyle is committed, sincere, and disciplined according to God’s Word; you have paid the price to live a godly lifestyle and have remained single-minded with each step and each new territory gained. Then you become involved with someone not in that same class; and for them, it is NOT that you are needed or even wanted, on a personal level, but it is your presence with them that validates what they are doing, on a spiritual level. They are victims of imaginations that the Lord cannot prosper. Do not align with them.

The grace of the Lord is pure, and His wisdom is “first of all” pure; but those who are faking it do not know that. They have impure motives and no intention of settling the issue of His Lordship, of choosing His grace and wisdom.

The methods that you have been suspecting are not just, are not! Those who choose such methods have, at their core, a plan to benefit and even prosper themselves at the expense of you and others. They are not pure – neither they, nor their methods. The grace they claim is not pure but mixed with contempt for that which is pure, as if purity did not give them fair opportunity to choose purity. Do not go with them.

Amen.

James 3:17
Ephesians 1:11

It is difficult to say just how critical our connections with other people are. Our paths cross with those from many backgrounds and we are naturally drawn to some more than others. Since the field of acquaintances over a lifetime is vast, it is a good idea to have a basic rule for governing those to whom we will join ourselves.

Read Second Chronicles, chapter twenty-one. When King Jehoshaphat died he left silver and gold to his children but, to his firstborn, he gave the Kingdom—his eldest child became king. Jehoshaphat was a righteous though not perfect king. His legacy should have meant more righteous leadership for the throne of Judah. Instead, his firstborn son “strengthened himself” by murdering his brothers and sisters as well as others connected to Judah’s leadership. In verse six the new king is compared in wickedness to kings of the Northern Kingdom, specifically Ahab—“for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.” To have Ahab’s daughter as wife is to have the influence of Jezebel near—not a good connection. The next verse explains something of how it is that those who insist upon blatant rebellion against the Lord, even to the extreme as in the case of Jehoshaphat’s son, are not destroyed on the spot: “Yet the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever (v7).” The covenant—because of the covenant; protection from the Lord belongs to His people and that protection is so often extended that we may not even realize. The people you choose to associate with are important—your selection is important; one day, those associations may prosper or impoverish you, may cause success or great heartache, even loss.

Here’s the point. Take each association, relationship and covenant before the Lord. Ask Him—then wait and listen. He often impresses His people to cut bonds; if so, cut them, don’t delay. In your heart, make the decision; and then, because the process will take time, ask wise men and women to oversee your walk away from those connections. Righteousness exalts.

Amen.

2 Chronicles 21, New King James Version
2 Chronicles 21, New Living Translation
Proverbs 14:34