Blessed or Cursed?

Have you read Deuteronomy 28 lately?

Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God.

After this Moses lists the tremendous blessings that will overtake us if we obey the Lord as he teaches us. Did you get that? The blessings will overtake us. We don’t seek the blessings. We seek to obey the Lord. The blessings will overtake us -- come upon us. Then he continues in verse 9:

...if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. [and in verse 13]...if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

The above verses outline my part in this process of walking in blessed relationship with the Lord. Read for yourself in Deuteronomy 28 the amazing things God does when we obey Him. Then read in verses 16 through 68 all of the curses that come upon us when we don’t obey Him in everything. Wow. 12 verses of incredible blessing, encompassing every area of life; 53 verses of cursing if we are disobedient to the Lord.

So here’s how to apply it. It starts in my morning prayer time with the Lord. It is established in my life during this time. By praying over it, God gives me the motivation and empowers me to obey. In the first two verses, Moses tells us what we need to do: Diligently obey the Lord, being careful to do all His commandments which you are commanded today.

First, I must review the two greatest commandments, which are the eternal foundation of God’s law: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all our soul, and all your strength. Then, love your neighbor as yourself. So first I ask the Lord to look over my relationship to Him, my relationship to myself, and my relationships to others, and I ask Him to reveal to me anything that needs to be mended. I let His Spirit hover and work in me to show me anything I need to do here. On any given day, if I am keeping very short accounts, this will take only a few seconds, and He will give me overwhelming assurance that I am walking in His Spirit and my relationships are healthy and Spirit-led. If there is something wrong, I will need to repent, ask forgiveness, and/or make restitution for something. The Lord will show me. It may take some time, and I must give Him that time.

If I follow the two greatest commandments, I won’t be worshiping anything other than God or taking Him too lightly, I won’t be lying, stealing, committing adultery, hurting other people. I will honor my parents and those in authority over me and I will be setting aside one day in seven exclusively for worshiping the Lord and fellowshipping with other believers, not involved in secular pursuits on that day. And I will not be going after anything in this world, for this world has nothing for me.

After I know this is all taken care of, then I can ask the Lord what specific commands He has for me today, just like Moses said. I can ask the Lord, “What word do you have for me to live by today? Is there any specific instruction you have for me? What issues and what people should I especially give my attention to today?” He may give instruction that I can write down at that moment, or He may not. He will order my steps according to His Word as I go through the day. By practicing this regularly, I will know when He has something to speak into my heart and I will know when it is time to get up and go. He will lead me in the rest of my prayer time and study of His Word, to intercede on behalf of all the saints everywhere and to receive instruction for daily living and for ministering to those I come in contact with in person or in prayer. He will guide me by the umpire of His peace that will rule in my heart.


By practicing these things in prayer, God will eliminate, day by day, every manifestation of residual curses that have been present in my life because of past disobedience. Read Deuteronomy 28. Identify some of the curses that may be hanging on in your life. Determine to diligently obey God in everything, and allow Him to replace every curse with His blessing. Your life will never be the same – every day!

Tags: Spirituality, Christianity, Bible, Blessing

A Word from the Lord

By His Spirit the Lord says:

It’s my greatest pleasure to work in my children. They hardly ever let me do this. I am so powerful that you cannot even imagine how great the things are that I can do in you. It’s completely a matter of trust. Are you willing to trust me? I mean really trust me? No questions asked, just complete surrender. Not many of my people will do this. It’s the highest calling, to completely humble yourself and let go of everything – every thought, every idea, every dream, every desire, and let me in. You have to make room for me by releasing your grip on everything else. This takes constant vigilance, because it’s the nature of humanity to grip onto things. You must grip onto Me, and Me alone.

I want to bless you. I am a giving God. My nature is to give. My people don’t completely understand how to receive from me, but all I want to do is give Myself to them. If you receive Me, you will know Me, and you will become like Me. This is my desire for you. This is what Paul understood and strove for. The possibilities are endless. What you can do and what you can become when you are receiving from Me and abiding in Me is more than you have ever imagined. My Word is true. As you receive more and more of my Spirit, infusing through your entire being, you will understand more and more the depth and the fullness of the Truth of My Word. It is to transform you into my likeness. My Spirit and my Word, together, will do this in you.

Faith and obedience are the keys. It’s all about saying YES to me and everything I want to be in you, to do in you. Faith is how you receive from Me. Obedience is how you release what I have imparted to you into the world around you. Stay very, very close to me, and learn to let it flow. It’s a flowing: Me into you and Me out through you. This is how you become one with Me, by My Spirit and My Word.

Tags: Spirituality, Christianity, Worship, Faith

Is It Worth My Effort?

Here’s more from A.W. Tozer:

A fairly accurate description of the human race might be furnished to one unacquainted with it by taking the Beatitudes, turning them wrong side out and saying, “Here is your human race.” For the exact opposite of the virtues in the Beatitudes are the very qualities which distinguish human life and conduct.

In the world of men we find nothing approaching the virtues of which Jesus spoke in the opening words of the famous Sermon on the Mount. Instead of poverty of spirit we find the rankest kind of pride; instead of mourners we find pleasure seekers; instead of meekness, arrogance; instead of hunger after righteousness we hear men saying, “I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing”; instead of mercy we find cruelty; instead of purity of heart, corrupt imaginings; instead of peacemakers we find men quarrelsome and resentful; instead of rejoicing in mistreatment we find them fighting back with every weapon at their command.

Of this kind of moral stuff civilized society is composed. The atmosphere is charged with it . . . And this is the more to be wondered at seeing that these are the evils which make life the bitter struggle it is for all of us. All our heartaches and a great many of our physical ills spring directly out of our sins. Pride, arrogance, resentfulness, evil imaginings, malice, greed are the sources of more human pain than all the diseases that ever afflicted mortal flesh.

-- The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer, Chapter entitled, "Meekness and Rest."

And then he sums it up in one statement: “The esteem of the world is not worth the effort.”

Our true worth comes not from the approval of people, but of God. Without Him we are nothing. With Him, we can be everything He has created us to be.

Do you know what you are supposed to be? Do you know what purposes you were created for? The world is a cruel taskmaster, and its approval, though we chase after it all of our days, eludes us forever. But Jesus said, “Come to me.” Only when we turn our efforts to pleasing God alone will we ever find ourselves, our purpose, our worth. What does He require of us?

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God? – Micah 6:8

Have you found out from Him what this means for you today?

Tags: Jesus
Spirituality, Christianity, Beatitudes, Humility

God's Word is Medicine

My son, give attention to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your sight;
keep them in the midst of your heart.
For they are life to those who find them
and health to all their body.
Watch over your heart with all diligence,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth
And put devious speech far from you (Proverbs 4:20-24).

Is there something in your life – your body, your emotions, your relationships, your understanding of God – that needs some healing work? Give attention to God’s Word. What does this mean? Spend time in prayer asking God exactly what it means for you. Cry out to Him and pray it through until you receive His word for your situation:

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them out of their distresses.
He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions (Psalm 107:19-20).

I will stand on my guard post
and station myself on the rampart;
And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply when I am reproved.
Then the Lord answered me and said,
"Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets,
That the one who reads it may run.
For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:1-3).

Keep on listening to God, searching His Word, and receiving from His Spirit what he would speak to your situation. Is there something you need to forgive? Is there something you need to be forgiven for? Is there something you need to stop doing? Is there something you need to start doing? Do you need to get busy? Do you need to be still? Do you need more love, more joy, more peace, more energy, more patience, more self-control? Do you need physical healing? God knows.

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth
into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands (Isaiah 55:10-12).

Spend some time with the Lord. If you give Him enough time and enough room to work with you, He will speak the healing Word. Receive it, completely obey whatever He tells you to do, and allow Him to accomplish His work in you.

Tags: Spirituality, Christianity, Healing, Faith

Where is God?

HE IS ABOVE THE EARTH, UNDER THE EARTH,
AND IN THE REMOTEST PLACE
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me (Psalm 139:7-10).

HE IS OVER ALL, THROUGH ALL, AND IN ALL
There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all (Eph. 4:4-6).

HE FILLS ALL
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Eph. 1:22-23).

HE IS BEHIND YOU
But you will not go out in haste, nor will you go as fugitives;
For the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard (Isaiah 52:12).

HE IS IN FRONT OF YOU
I have set the Lord continually before me (Psalm 16:8).

Know therefore today that it is the Lord your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the Lord has spoken to you (Deut. 9:3).

HE IS AT YOUR SIDE
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken (Psalm 16:8).

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand (Psalm 121:5).

HE IS ABOVE YOU
He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark (Psalm 91:4).

HE IS IN THE MIDST OF YOU
Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you (Deut. 23:14).

HE IS IN YOU
That is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:26, 27).

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

HE IS HOLDING YOU UP
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).

HE SURROUNDS YOU
For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield (Psalm 5:12).

You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance (Psalm 32:7).

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people From this time forth and forever (Psalm 125:2).

HE IS CARRYING YOU
You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself (Exodus 19:4).

Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you (Isaiah 46:4).

Tags: God Spirituality, Christianity, Worship

Count It All Joy

"Great faith is the product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great triumphs can only come out of great trials. Every stumbling block must become a stepping stone, and every opposition must become an opportunity.

"It does not matter where you are if God is with you. He who is for you is a million times more than all that can be against you. Oh, if we could, by the grace of God, see that the beatitudes of God’s divine power come to us with such divine sweetness, whispering to us, 'Be still, my child. All is well. Only be still and see the salvation of the Lord.'

"Oh, what would happen if we learned the secret to ask only once and believe? What an advantage it would be if we could just come to a place where we know that everything is within reach of us. God wants us to see that every obstacle can be moved away.

"God brings us into a place where the difficulties are, where the pressure is, where the hard corner is, where everything is so difficult that you know there are no possibilities on the human side–God must do it. All of these places are of God’s ordering. God allows trials, difficulties, temptations, and perplexities to come right along our path, but there is not a temptation or trial that can come to man for which God does not have a way out. You do not have the way out, but it is God who can bring you through."

– The words of Smith Wigglesworth, from The Wigglesworth Standard, by Peter J. Madden, Whitaker House, 1993.

Tags: Spirituality, Christianity, Wigglesworth, Faith, Tribulation, Joy

Stay Out of the Ditch!

I first learned from reading some books by a teacher named Rick Joyner this idea about ditches in the Christian walk. He explains, like the Scriptures tells us, that the way of Truth is narrow, and that on either side of the pathway of truth there is a ditch of error.

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:13-14).

This can be seen in the example of faith vs. law: Too much emphasis on the law of God without dependence on His grace leads to legalism; too much emphasis on grace without obedience to His law leads to taking license with His mercy and excusing sin and the flesh.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law (Galatians 5:16-18).

Staying on the narrow path of truth means walking by the Spirit. In so doing, through faith, we fulfill God’s law by His grace and the power of His Spirit who mightily works within us.

Another place we see a narrow pathway with a ditch on either side can be found in John 4:24 –

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.

There’s a quote that goes something like this: “Too much of the word and you dry up; too much of the Spirit and you blow up; the right amount of both and you grow up.” I’ve heard this from a couple of different teachers. It’s all about balance.

So how do I stay balanced? STAY CLOSE TO JESUS. He’s on the straight and narrow – in fact, He IS the straight and narrow.

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me (John 14:6).
But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

Our pastor once said that if you're wondering about the balance in something, you can pray from the heart, “More light, Lord, more light!” And He will give it.

Oswald Chambers wrote,

“Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on a wrong level all day; but swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret, and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God.”
My Utmost for His Highest, August 23rd, page 173

How do we keep out of the ditch? Stay very, very close to Jesus, with your hand tightly clasped in His!
Tags: Spirituality, Christianity, Worship