dickbraswell

Word for Today:  January 11

If you are a Believer, you have the nature of God in you.

And the Nature of Jesus in you.  And the Nature of the Holy Ghost in you.

This means that you can think like God… Talk like God… Act like God… Believe like God… And have the same Faith that God has, the same Life God has and the same Victory God has.

You do not have to yield to the pressures of the present.  You do not have to give in… give up or give over.  You do not have to quit.  Or compromise.  Or feel weak and insecure.  You are:

• The Head and not the tail
• Above and not beneath
• Blessed and not cursed
• Strong and not weak
• Well and not sick
• Rich and not poor
• More than a conqueror

And you can do all things Through Christ Who is your strength.  Now.  Today.  Every day.

Where you go, God goes.  You take Him and all His Authority and Power and influence with you because He lives in YOU… you are His Temple of Dwelling.  The reason the devil hates you is because where you are, God is.

His Place of dwelling in the Old Testament was the Tabernacle.  It was Jesus in the New Testament and now it’s YOU in this Present Age.

Christ in you, the hope of glory…  Col 1:27

Word for Today:  January 10

History is the tablet on which the Hand of God writes.

What is happening in the world today is not a “strange” thing.  It has been prophesied and foretold by the Word of God.  Nations have risen and nations have fallen. Kings have come and gone.  Wars have been won and lost.  Governments have collapsed and economies have failed.

But none have without fitting into the Grand Plan God has set forth for His People and His Earth.   This year will see more of God’s Hand involved in humanity and history than any other time since Jesus walked the earth.   Mark my words.

• What we have heard about we will see.
• What we have believed will be manifested.
• What we have longed for will come to pass.

This Day is pregnant with God’s Eternal Ultimate Purpose and a Birth is at hand.   We are “that” generation that will see “all these things” fulfilled.

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.   Matt 24:34

Rejoice

Word for Today:  January 9

Most Believers give up too soon.

Christianity has not been weighed in the balances and found wanting, it has been TRIED and found to be too difficult and rejected.  Patience and Endurance and Persistence are necessary… Quitters never win and winners never quit.  Many are lacking right now because they got tired and discouraged and gave up.   Crybabies do not win great battles.  Wimps never take home the Gold.  Cowards quit because they lack resolve to press through.

All the Heroes of Faith in Hebrews chapter 11 did not have access to a complete Bible.  They did not have the freedoms we enjoy.  They did not live in the comfort and security we have.

Today we have God’s complete revelation in the Word of God.  We have nearly 2000 years of historical experience as the victorious Body of Christ.

The heroes in Hebrews accomplished their mighty works through a persistent faith.  A faith that did not quit.  A faith that did not ease up, let up, back up or give up…  They endured as seeing Him Who is Invisible… Heb 11:27

When you see the Invisible you can to the impossible

Word for Today:  January 8

Take what is rightly yours.

Many are caught up in the pressures of the present and cannot move out into the promises and provisions of our faith.  We see obstacles and hindrances.  We fear what might be and what could be.  We are worried by our assumptions.  We are confused by our conflicts.  As a result, we live in the stress of unbelief and the anxiety of the uncertain.

We need to KNOW some things.  We need to get out of hoping and praying and into assurance and expectation.    We need to transition from our dream to the fulfillment of it.   We need to possess our possessions.  We have been limited by religion and hindered by tradition.  We have been robbed by man’s doctrine and held back by the opinions of others.  We have been taught a lie and sold a false bill of goods.  We have lived in the natural and walked in the carnal and we have tasted death, defeat, disease, weakness, failure, limitation, disappointment and depression.

It is time for us to possess our possessions.  Jesus has bought them and paid for them.  On the Cross.  With His Blood.

They are all there and they are all ours… now. Today. This moment.

Take what is rightfully yours

Word for Today:  January 7

Many in the body of Christ have never made it into the realm of winning and overcoming.

Some are still living in defeat, sickness, poverty and death.  Some are frustrated and sad and overwhelmed by problems and obstacles and circumstances.  More are just plain weary, tired, worn out and wounded… they are on the verge of quitting or simply copping out.

However, you are destined to win.

It doesn’t matter how bleak or hopeless or helpless your situation may be, if you are BORN AGAIN YOU ARE DESTINED TO WIN!   This is GOOD NEWS.   And that is precisely what the Gospel is:  GOOD NEWS.

Jesus commanded us to preach the GOSPEL to the POOR.  When the Gospel that is preached is received and acted on, the POOR will not stay POOR, the SICK will not stay SICK, the WEAK will not stay WEAK and the LOST will not stay LOST.

Every Believer has a destiny to succeed.  God has planned winning for you and provided the means for you to accomplish victory.  In every situation.  Anytime.  Every time.  And all the time.

…and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.  1Jo 5:4

Word for Today:  January 6

Once upon a time.

Once upon a time there was a mountainside, where an eagle’s nest rested. The eagle’s nest contained four large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain causing one of the eggs to roll down the mountain, right into a chicken farm, which was located in the valley below. The chickens knew that they must protect and care for the eagle’s egg, so an old hen volunteered to nurture the large egg until it hatched.

When the egg hatched a beautiful eagle was born. Sadly, however, the eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more than a chicken. The eagle loved his home and family, but his spirit cried out for more.

While playing a game on the farm one day, the eagle looked above and noticed a group of mighty eagles soaring in the skies. “Oh,” the eagle cried, “I wish I could soar like those birds.” The chickens roared with laughter, “You can’t soar with those birds. You are a chicken and chickens don’t soar.”

The eagle continued staring at his real family up above dreaming that he could be with them. Each time the eagle would let his dreams be known, he was told it couldn’t be done. And so, that is what the eagle learned to believe. The eagle, after time, stopped dreaming and continued to live his life as a chicken.

Finally, after his long life as a chicken, the eagle died.  He never spread his wings, gathered the strength of the wind and soared in the heights he was created to master.

The chickens convinced the eagle that he would never fly.   He stayed in the chicken pen until he died.

If you don’t have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true? — Oscar Hammerstein

Word for Today:  January 5

Believers are called to demonstrate satan’s defeat.

And having spoiled principalities and powers, He (Jesus) made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it… Col. 2:15

God is a God of DEMONSTRATION.  He is a GOD of POWER and MIGHT.  He operates in great success and energy.  And He lives inside every Believer.

Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world… 1Jn 4:4

satan is the illegitimate ruler of this world.  he is a defeated and humiliated enemy.  he is a liar and a cheat.  he is an accuser and an intimidator.  he barks but can’t bite because Jesus pulled his teeth.

We have been given Power over the devil and his demons (Mark 16:17).  satan gets his destructive  power from ignorant, naïve Believers.  The devil cannot do what we will not allow him do.

You and I (the Church) have been called into the kingdom to DEMONSTRATE satan’s DEFEAT.  You have been saved to make an OPEN SHOW of satan’s LIMITATIONS and to parade him before the world in an open display of his powerlessness.

Let the parade begin today

Word for Today:  January 4

The dynamics of our contemporary mode of living tend to keep us ignorant of the Move of God.

Most are looking everywhere and seeing everything but God and what He is doing.  If we talk about the New Thing, the Move of God and the coming End Time Harvest most will think we are in too deep.  Too far.  Too much.  Too radical.  Too spiritual.  Too serious.  Too wild.

But don’t be surprised… they were acting the same way in Noah’s Day.  And Jesus said:

But as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man…  Luke 17:26

For 120 years they rejected Noah’s radical preaching.  They laughed at his “foolish” construction project. They ignored his warnings.  They refused to listen and heed.  They waited and debated.  They considered but refused to consent.

Then IT happened.  And when it did it was too late for them.  They got left out. They got shut out.  They got locked out of safety, security and life.  They were lost.  Forever.  Eternally.

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.   Mt 24:44

Word for Today:  January 3

Truth in the head is not enough.

Truth in the Church is not enough.  Truth in the world is not enough.

Truth must be in the heart and our entire being is to be motivated, instructed, guided and led by it.

We can stuff our heads with instruction.  We can train our brains with right things to do.  We can believe sincerely with our heart.  The need is for God’s power to flow through us.

• We can be clean on the outside and be dead.
• We can be correct and be dead.
• We can be religious and be dead.
• We can be sincere and be dead.
• We can be right and be dead.
• We can even have faith and be dead.
• We can be in the right place at the right time in the right manner and be dead.
• You can make all the right confessions and be dead.

And you know whether you are dead or alive!

The Scribes and Pharisees were right, religious, dedicated, obedient, faithful, consistent, committed, and unashamed.   Jesus said our “righteousness” would have to exceed theirs or we would not make it to heaven. They needed a Heart Experience instead of a head experience.

They were shallow, external, legalistic, arrogant, and self-centered.  They were “clean” on the outside but Jesus said they were full of dead men’s bones.  They looked good, but Jesus said they were dead and filled with corruption.

If they were around today, they would be sitting on the front row (or the platform) of the church.  They would be the loudest prayers, and the biggest givers.  They would be seen and heard and admired and recognized.  They would have a “form of godliness” but they would be dead inside.

For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 1Sa 16:7

Word for Today:  January 2

The very essence of increasing knowledge is research.

There is a constant digging, probing, searching, excavating, inquiring, researching, studying, exploring, that pushes us to the limits of our knowledge regarding the things that are natural.

From this “unrest” comes new understanding.  New discoveries.  Increased knowledge.  This is science and this is progress.  Millions of dollars and tens of millions of man-hours are invested in this.  They are exploring the seas, excavating ancient habitats, probing outer space, pushing into the fringes of science… working and researching the beginnings, genetics, the chemistry of human life… all because we need to KNOW.

The more we KNOW the more we can LIVE.  The more we KNOW the greater the quality of life.  The more we KNOW the more we can accomplish.  This is how it is in the natural system of the world.

The same is necessary in the world of the Spirit. We must KNOW all that we can KNOW about GOD, about JESUS, about the HOLY GHOST, about the WORD, about SALVATION.  Research is necessary.  Study is a must.  Understanding is tough to come by.  But it is essential to Spiritual Maturity.  This is the reason for intensive study.   This quest for Spiritual Knowledge and Bible Understanding will enable us to fulfill our very PURPOSE for being.   God has Plans, Grand Plans, for you and me.  God has Adequate and Sufficient Provisions for you and me.  God has a Purpose and an Eternal Blue Print for you and me.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jer. 29:11

Dig in.  Dig deep.