What's in a Name?

“I Am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) As Jesus said “I Am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! Once more he asked them, “Who are you looking for?”
And again they replied, “Jesus the Nazarene.”“I told you that I Am he,” Jesus said. “And since I am the one you want, let these others go.” 9 He did this to fulfill his own statement: “I did not lose a single one of those you have given me.” John 18:5-8
For some reason, this really stood out to me this morning. It was one of those chilly mornings where I sat with my hot coffee and a lap blanket over my legs and began to read God’s Word. There it was, staring at me in bold letters, “I Am”. At first, I wondered why the letter “A” was capitalized and then it drew my attention to the many times when Jesus said who he was. Then it hit me, like a ton of bricks, that Jesus was stating that He was from the Father and that he was “I Am”. Whoa, that was one of those light bulb over my head moments. So I thought about Exodus when Moses went up to Mount Sinai and encountered the burning bush. When Moses asked, who are you, he heard, “I Am” (Exodus 3:4)
God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
Well, there is the verse about the name that God gave himself, “I AM”. Now here it is, when Jesus is taken before the various judges, he states the same that he is “I Am he”. What caught my eye was the first time Jesus told the soldiers that he was “I Am he”, they “all drew back and fell on the ground”. That was powerful for me because just the words, “I Am” so astonished the soldiers that they fell! That is the power of the name and when it came from Jesus’ mouth, they were knocked off their feet.
Ah, I thought this morning, what power was in the name of Jesus. I think of the verse:

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

What power is in His name that EVERY knee should bow and where? Heaven, on earth AND under the earth. That means that the name of Jesus is a powerful tool to fight in spiritual warfare! On the earth and under the earth which is Satan’s dominion and just the name of Jesus, makes the demons tremble! The name "Jesus" can make demons leave, can heal the sick and can do many miracles. I am overwhelmed this morning and realize that Jesus was making the statement that He was of God and God was in him. Too bad, many heard the truth but did not believe. Not only do we use the name of Jesus in spiritual warfare, but we are to use the precious name of Jesus with honor, respect and with the greatest of praise. His name is above all names! May the name of Jesus be given all the honor, glory and praise that it deserves!

Question: Have you ever thought about the power of a name? Has this changed your perception of the name of Jesus?

A Turtle Decision

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place” Ephesians 6:14

After I did a Google search this morning for an image for Ephesians 6:14, I got an astonishing result. It was a photo of turtles on a log! When that photo came up, I said, “Huh?”. Then I meditated on what the scripture said about standing firm and I thought, "yes, the turtles are standing firm on the log”....then I realized that the “breastplate of righteousness” was the turtle shell! "Oh, I get it now!" As the light dawned in my brain, I realized that the breastplate of righteousness that we wear is like a turtle shell and it is in the spot where we need it most. It covers all our critical and necessary internal organs of survival, like the heart, kidneys, spleen, lungs and liver. The "righteousness" that we wear is the ethical conduct in which we live out our lives. It is when we are faced with a moral decision and we know God’s Word (truth) and we use that to base our decisions. " What is the right thing to do?", verses "What do I think I want to do?". Sometimes those are tough decisions. Knowing God’s truth helps us to “stand firm” and to do the right thing in difficult circumstances.

Think about this ethical example.. a politician that has an expense account for his business meals that the funds come from the Democratic party. He chooses to take his wife out to dinner, his parents out to dinner and thinking it is okay since the funds were set aside for "meals". This money was set aside for business meals and he uses it for his personal use. He compromised his integrity and it was not right. Bottom line here is that, we will all be faced with decisions in life and it is up to us to stand firm and to know God’s truth to be able to make those decisions wisely as God would want us to do. After today, I will remember the turtle picture – standing firm with the breastplate of righteousness...to do the right thing when facing difficult decisions. I want to always make “turtle decisions” in life.

Question: Are you faced with an ethical decision today? Would you like to make a turtle decision based on God's truth?

Weather the Storm with God

" And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” (Numbers 14:8-9)

In scripture, the Israelites fled from Egypt to the desert with the promise of a better life. They left the bondage of the Egyptians to the freedom that God was giving them. They began their journey in hope and faith that God was bringing them into a better life. Then as soon as they started facing hardships, their faith began to fade. They started to entertain thoughts of going back to Egypt where life was easier – and their hearts were hardened and they became rebellious. When things began to get rough they didn’t stand on God’s promises and hold onto the faith that the Lord was in control. They let the giants in the land fill their hearts with fear and that created rebellion against God. The Lord promises us that when we are obedient to Him, He will take care of us, He will protect us, He will take us to a place of milk and honey. Does it mean that we will no longer have any challenges in our lives? No, but it means that when those tough times do come, we are to stand in faith on the promises He gives us in His Word and know that God is with us and that he will never leave nor forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:8) Today, as I face challenges that I cannot control, I surrender it all to God, and know that He will sustain me and cover me with His blessings – for there is always an end to the rough times and I am just to weather the storm with God.

Question: Are you in the midst of a storm in your life? Are you willing to stand on God's promises for a good future by holding onto your faith?

Peace Within

In everything he (David) did he had great success,because the LORD was with him. 1 Samuel 18:14

The Lord was with David in everything that he did. What a difference it was between two men, Saul and David. The Lord had found favor in both of them but then something changed. It began to change when one emotion came up and it was “jealousy”. Go back a few verses and it explains that as David came back from battle and he and Saul were coming into the city, the people were shouting and singing about the victory from the battle. The people sang that Saul killed thousands but David killed tens of thousands. At that point, Saul became “jealous” and the favor of the Lord left him. He entertained the thoughts and the Spirit of Jealousy entered him. After the Spirit of Jealousy entered Saul, then the Spirit of Fear entered him also. But what did David do? He kept doing what God told him to do, he kept serving the King and being obedient to him and did not react to these unfair and unjust reactions to him. Look at the picture of the kitten above and see the calm and peace in the face. I believe that David had the Lord in his heart and that in the midst of Saul throwing at spear at him in a jealous rage, that David was steadfast and felt peace and calmness in the midst of the storm. We too can be like David, and to not react to circumstances and just have the peace within, knowing that God is with us and He is the one that sustains us.The sunshine that is on the kitten is like the favor, love and grace that God shines on us daily! I want to be like the kitten in the picture, that I can do what God wants me to do in this life and have the "kitten-like peace" come upon me that sustains me in all situations.

Question: Do you need peace in your life today? Are you willing to be more like David and allow the peace of God to invade your life?

Preserved by God's Care

"You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love.My life was preserved by your care." Job 10:12

You are probably wondering about this picture that I had decided to post. I thought about the phrase, “preserved by your care” and the vision of us taking care of our cars came to my mind. I think about what we do to clean, wax and polish our cars to make sure that it lasts longer and is in good care. Not only do we take care of the outside of our cars but we make sure the inside is vacuumed and well maintained. It does not stop there, we also make sure that we care for our engine by having the oil changed and take the car in for regular maintenance. But don’t stop there, for we also have to take care of the tires and rotate them but also replace them when they are worn. There is so much care that has to be done on cars – and I didn’t even get into the financial care of the monthly payments and the insurance. Wow! There is lots of time, effort and care that is put into our vehicles and wait....isn’t that what God’s unfailing love is like? He makes sure that we are cared for in ALL the area of our lives whether it be emotional, physical or spiritual. He works on us from the inside out and gives us the best care possible!
I am grateful that God keeps me well maintained through His unfailing love and his daily care for me. He watches out for me and provides for my every need. I am so blessed!

Question: Name one thing that God had done to care for you recently? How has God maintained you daily?

My Portion

You are my portion, O LORD;
I have promised to obey your words. I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise." Psalm 119:57-58

This scripture was a perfect illustration that God knows everything about us and that HE is our portion. Think of the word “portion”. Think of when you go out to eat at a restaurant and sometimes the portions on your plate are very small and other times they are so big that you have to take the left-overs home with you. God is perfect and He fills us up perfectly – not too little nor too much – but He fills us to fullness, right up to the edges of plates and to just the capacity of what we can hold. He fills us, He completes us, He is our everything! Today my focus is on how complete God makes me and how perfect is His portion! He is my everything and without Him, my plate is empty!

Question: Is your life filled with God? What can you do to have God fill you completely?

Impossible to Possible

“Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

”That is impossible!” is a phrase that needs to be removed from my vocabulary. It is a perception from my human eyes and from my own thinking. I may see a situation and process it as not being able to be resolved and it is only from my own experiences that I see no options. I may go through my experiences and see that Plan A, Plan B and Plan C have worked for me in the past but none of these human solutions would work for this problem. When I get to this point of trying to figure it out on my own, I need to STOP and realize that the solutions are endless for God. God not only has a Plan D but His solutions are endless! I am trying to come up with the answers with my limited human capabilities. I need to realize that NOTHING is impossible with God. I have a greater awareness of this verse also. Notice that it does not say, “nothing is impossible FOR God” but it says, “nothing is impossible WITH God”. You see, it is a partnership and that partnership has to do with God and me. Our part is to go to God in prayer to seek His wisdom, His answers and to give the impossible situation to Him, to deal with. When we do that in partnership with Him, He will transform the impossible to possible! All things are possible WITH God! I am humbled this morning at the realization that what I thought as impossible, is possible WITH God but, I also have to be part of this equation.... ME + GOD = Possibilities. Any other equation is not effective nor will it provide results.
Question: Are you facing some impossible circumstances in your life? Are you willing to partner with God through prayer and see God make the impossible to be possible in your life?

War on the Floor

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

As I get up this morning, I look outside at a cloudy day and I feel the chill that is still in the air. There is a cold wind blowing outside and I am bundled up in a warm jacket and a cozy blanket around my legs. I am doing what I need to do to stay warm and to shield myself from the cold from outside. I don’t think that it is any different in our spiritual journeys, that we are always preparing for the battles that come into our lives. We can stay protected and shielded through God’s Word and Prayer. I believe that every Christian needs to be prepared with those spiritual weapons that can fight against the war of living in this world. We live in a world that is full of daily challenges. How can we be prepared to go into battle and be well equipped to have a victory through Christ? Take this picture as an example, that we battle the war on the floor, through praying in earnest. We are not to fight our battles with weapons of the world such as arguing, justifying, condemning, judging, fighting, controlling and other demonic elements that the enemy uses to have us hold onto us as strongholds in our lives. When we use these weapons against those who we may perceive as “our enemies”, the fruit that come out of those battles are only bitterness, resentment and anger. If we look at verse 5 in this passage, it says to take your thoughts captive. There it is, the battlefield of your mind!! Joyce Meyer has written a book about this subject but the best way to reinforce this concept is to know that the enemy is prowling like a lion, and wants to get to us to entertain those thoughts that are not fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control) If things that we are thinking do not line up with the Fruits of the Spirit, then we know exactly where they are coming from. This is when we get on our knees to fight this battle in our mind and take those thoughts captive and begin to speak God’s Words (God's Word is our sword of truth). Taking those negative thoughts captive is to have control over your mind, to not play those old tapes of bitterness, resentment nor of offense. We need to let it go and put our thoughts on those things of God! It is a war – a real battle to fight in our minds, but through prayer and knowing God’s Word, we have victory in our lives!!

Question: What do you need to "war on the floor" about? Are there any thoughts you need to take captive today?

The Battle of Life

"So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4:6 (NIV)

When we get up in the morning, begin our day in prayer , asking for protection with the full armor of God against things of this world and then get into His Word (the sword)... we are still NOT prepared to go into our daily battle of life. There is just one more element that we need to do after being equipped with our armor and God’s Word. It is to kneel before God, to humble ourselves and ask to be emptied of all sin and everything that is considered “self”. We ask the Holy Spirit to fill our empty vessels and to fill us with the Holy Spirit. We are not to ask the Holy Spirit just to fill to the brim, but we need to ask the Spirit to fill us to “overflowing” so that the Spirit can spill out of us and begin to touch others. Once we are filled to overflowing, we are now ready for the daily battles that come our way – and we fight it not with our power or might but with the Spirit. It is only through us dying to ourselves and asking the Holy Spirit to fill us, that we will we be ready to face the day and whatever battles may come our way.
Question: Have you armored yourself today with God armor, God's Word and the filling to overflow of the Spirit? Do you need to release anything that you have been trying to do in your own power or might?

Pass It On

" We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done." Psalm 78:4

As I wake up this morning and look outside, I see clouds and rain, but I know that there is joy and sunshine that is in my heart today. It is brought about by digging deeper in God’s Word in my morning devotions. Deep within me, there is a sound like a resounding bell that is going off, for I know the truth that I hear in today’s scripture. It is all about not keeping what I have learned in this lifetime, but it is to pass it on to the next generation. There is a new generation of leaders being raised up today, that are being mentored so that they will be ready for the passing on of the baton of leadership. This new generation is full of passionate, spirit-filled men and women, to lead the nations – to lead a nation to be God Centered. It is my responsibility, as in Titus, to teach those in the next generation, so it may be passed on. This scripture this morning is confirmation that I do need to tell the next generation and share of all the wonderful things He has done! The words keep coming to me, “pass it on” and pour as much as I can to those that come after me. May God bless this next generation, for they have a big job ahead of them! I am thinking that the teaching opportunities that are coming up this month and next, that this is my opportunity to do what scriptures days, to pour out into the next generation, all the marvels and wonders of our God – and to pass it on!

Question: What are you doing to pour into the next generation? What do you have to pass on?