dickbraswell

Word for Today:  July 13

There are two kinds of faith.

First, there is Natural Faith and secondly, there is Supernatural Faith.

Natural Faith is based on what we see (our senses) and Supernatural Faith is based on what God Says.  Thomas exercised natural faith.  He would not believe (have faith) unless he saw the evidence.  He heard that Jesus was alive, but he refused to believe it unless he actually saw Him.  This is natural faith.

Abraham, on the other hand, exercised supernatural faith.  Abraham determined to believe (have faith) regardless of what he saw or felt.  His “senses” were not consulted.  He chose to Believe God.

Most believers are living in the realm of natural faith.   They tend to believe only what they can see.  They are subject to their senses and are dependent on natural facts.  Natural faith operates only in the realm of the visible, the sensible and the factual.

Other believers have determined to live in the realm of supernatural faith.  They can and do believe things that they cannot see.  They are not bound to the sense realm.  They are able to move beyond the natural and physical into the realm of the supernatural and spiritual.

They live by Truth instead of Facts

Word for Today:  July 12

There will be times in your Christian Experience when it seems like nothing is happening even though you are praying and believing.

However, waiting is not bad.  Not if you understand what is taking place in the realm of the Spirit.  When you PRAY and BELIEVE, powerful spiritual forces are released.  These forces are invisible but they are REAL.  They work and they produce.  While you wait, you can reinforce your faith.  You do not have to get discouraged, or depressed or frustrated.

Waiting can cause you to discover facets of God’s Grace and Tender Mercies that you never knew existed if  you wait with confidence and faith.

You will reap in due season (there is an APPOINTED TIME set BY GOD for your answer!), if you faint not… Gal 6:9

While you wait, there are some things you can do to strengthen your Faith Position.  Waiting does not mean “doing nothing.”  “Resting” in God does not mean idleness or inactivity.  Read the Word.  Meditate the Word.  Pray the Word.  Say the Word.

While you wait you can be assured that:

• God is working
• satan is resisting
• Patience is developing
• The answer is on the way

And God is with you

Word for Today:  July 11

Somebody is going through the fire today.

Fires are common to all Believers.

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice….  I Peter 4:12

There are several things you can do when you find yourself in the fire.

• You can run away
• You can try to put out the fire
• You can surrender and get burned up
• You can beg for help or
• You can rejoice, trust God and stand

We need to understand some things about fires.

• They are not caused by God
• They are not used by God to “teach” us something
• They are not punishment for something you did or did not do
• They are not terminal or fatal for the believer
• They are not unquenchable

Above all taking the shield of FAITH wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked…  Eph.  4:16

Who through faith… quenched the violence of fire… Heb. 11:33-34

It’s neat to know that God will not only deliver us from the fire but will walk with us through it…  (Isa 43:2)

And where He is I will always be OK

Word for Today:  July10

The level of victory.

The Level of Victory we are experiencing is directly proportional to the amount of Word that is active in our life.  This is a fixed equation.

• The amount of HEALING we have is equal to the amount of WORD that is ACTIVE in our life…
• The amount of PROSPERITY we have is equal to the amount of WORD that is ACTIVE in our life…
• The amount of PEACE we have is equal to the amount of WORD that is ACTIVE in our life…
• The amount of JOY we have is equal to the amount of WORD that is ACTIVE in our life…
• The amount of FAITH we have is equal to the amount of WORD that is ACTIVE in our life…
• The amount of OVERCOMING POWER we have is equal to the amount of WORD that is ACTIVE in our life…

All redemptive provisions work proportionately to the amount of Word that is active in us.

Whatever revelation we have from the Word is what we will have faith to act on and receive.   Revelation is important because this will determine our level of deliverance.

Knowledge is not enough.  Intellect will not do it.  Inspiration is inadequate. Revelation is imperative to receiving and maintaining our deliverance.

Our success level will never exceed our WORD level

Word for Today:  July 9

What if?

“But, what are you going to do IF….?”  “But, what IF…?”

What if it gets worse?  What if I’m not healed?  What if the money doesn’t come in?  What if my marriage fails?  What if I don’t get the job?

If our faith is determined by situations, then we really do not trust God.  We are simply “wishers” and “hopers.”    We are compromise and chameleon Christians.

If our faith is based on the Word, then, sink or swim… live or die… win or lose… succeed or fail… We Believe God!

Listen to the Hebrew Boys:

Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king… but if not, be it know unto thee O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up…      Daniel 3:17

Fires are faith’s Proving Ground.  Trials, Tests and Tribulations are the test track for your faith.  God does not bring on trials but they are the testing and proving ground for your faith.  “Impossible” and “hopeless” situations are opportunities for God to show Himself strong in your behalf.

The fire you are now in is purifying and refining… it cleanses and tempers… it develops and works patience into you.  It forces you to depend on God and it directs your attention off of yourself and on His ability.

Make your boldest confession in the midst of your hottest fire

Word for Today:  July 8

The Hardest Thing.

The most difficult thing to do in your Christian Walk is to stand.  It is always hard to stand.  We are in warfare and are constantly being buffeted by the enemy.  The challenge is for us to stand.  Anybody can quit, change or compromise when the pressure is on.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand…  Eph. 4:13

God wants to encourage you today.  He wants to build you up today.  He wants to strengthen you today.  He want to help you in your fiery trial and in your Spiritual Warfare.  He wants to reassure you that He is able to deliver you and that He, at this very moment, has everything under control and if He does, then so do you.

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper… Isa 54:7

When the enemy shall come in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard (the Word) against him…  Isa 59:19

Fear thou not for I am with thee: be not discouraged; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness…  Isa 41:10

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength…  Isa 40:29

Many are struggling with apparent impossible situations.  Some are hoping against hope and wishing for the night to end and the day to begin.

Many are tempted to doubt and move into unbelief because the manifestation of their faith has been delayed.

Others are fearful and anxious because of the intensity of their trials.

God wants you to know today that He is Able to Deliver you out of your fire.

And He will

Word for Today:  July 7

Evidence.

There is only one real fool-proof evidence of the new birth.    Jesus gave this measuring method to us in His Word.  This is the one most important characteristic of the Christian Walk.  Nothing is more important than this.  This one demand and one command is basic.

Jesus talked about it more than anything else and He demonstrated it more perfectly than any other message of His earthly ministry.  He longed to see it in His disciples and He knew that it would be the basis for the New Testament Church.

If the Church is to BE what Jesus died for it to be and if the Church is to do what He died for it to do, then this one thing is absolutely necessary.

I am convinced that this is the greatest need in this hour.   It is perhaps the greatest need in your life as a Believer.  It is not impossible.  It is possible.  It is necessary.  It is vital.  It is fundamental to the continuation of the Gospel on earth.

Jesus called this a “new commandment” in John 13:34.  He knew that He was soon to depart from the earth and He wanted so desperately for His followers to be adequately equipped to carry on His Ministry on earth.  He did not emphasize theology.  He did not emphasize education.  He did not emphasize experience or ability.  He brought attention to the one thing that will guarantee the continued success of the Gospel message.

He also stated that this would be the one qualifying characteristic that would cause the world to know how we stand with God.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples…  John 13:35.

By this….  This is the One Thing that will show the world where you stand with God.  And this is the greatest thing needed in Christian Faith today.  This One Thing is

LOVE

Word for Today:  July 6

We need to make our mouth say what the Word says.

When we feel bad we normally very verbal about it.   If we are going to talk about how we feel, we should say instead, “by His stripes we are healed….”  Because that’s exactly what the Word says.  Isa 53:5

When we are fearful and confused and unsure about things, we usually say, “I’m afraid…. “  We should say, “God has not given us the spirit of fear but instead He has given us the spirit of love and power and a sound mind…” 2 Tim 1:7

 When pressures build up and stress builds up and worry and anxiety come, we should not talk about them.  Instead we should talk to them.  We should talk to them and tell them when to go and where to go.

But some might say, “That’s not really true, I am sick or I am worried, or I am afraid or I am stressed out…”  If what is happening to us contradicts what the Bible says about us, then what is happening to us is a lie… it is not the truth.

The Lie will hold us in bondage.  The Truth makes us free.  Therefore, we should believe the Truth (what the Word says) instead of what our carnal, reasoning, physical emotions are saying.

I am amazed at how negative people talk.  They are giving power to the forces that plague them by talking about them, complaining about them and telling others how bad their situation is.

The world system is a negative system.  It is death driven and death doomed.  It is a kingdom of darkness and there is no light in it.  It is fathered by the devil and propagated by demons.  It is harsh.  It operates in fear.  It has no hope and no future.

It is totally opposite from everything in the Word. It will overtake us and hold us captive.  It will depress us, keep us in despair and make us miserable.  It is the primary purpose of the devil and hell to keep us away from the Truth, ignorant of the Truth, and disobedient to the Truth.

How we talk will determine how much control the world system has on us, our family and our possessions.

 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.  Pro 18:21

Word for Today:  July 5

Where the Power is.

One reason many do not have Power is because they do not know where it is.  If they do not know where it is they cannot function in it.   If they cannot function in it they cannot use it.  If they cannot use it they will be buffeted and whipped by the devil.  And the things that need changing will not be changed.

God’s power is not exclusively in heaven.  We have been taught that we are to pray for God’s Power to fall on us.  For God to “send the Power…”  For the “Fire of God” to fall and come down from heaven.

We were led to believe that we could do nothing unless the Power “fell” on us.

I often prayed for a Revival to come down from Heaven.  Our concept of God’s power has been flawed.  No wonder we can’t operate in God’s Power… we don’t even know what it is, where it is, how to get it or how to release it.

Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the (wonder-working, miraculous) power that worketh in us…  Eph 3:20

God’s Power does not “come down” or “fall on us.”  God’s Power emanates and rises up from our re-born human spirit that is Re-created in the Image of God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!   It is not in heaven and it is not floating in space or gathering in the skies to fall on us when we “pray through…”

IT is in us

Word for Today:  July 4

From the hearts of fifty-two framers of the Constitution, flowed the documents and structures which formed the foundations for this great nation: The United States of America.

“Of all the writings of the founders of our country, 94 percent either directly or indirectly cited the Bible.

In September 1774, the First Continental Congress opened its initial session with prayer.  Psalm 35 was read aloud:  “My soul shall be joyful in the Lord; it shall rejoice in His salvation… awake and rise to my defense!  Contend for me my God and Lord…”

George Washington often spent hours in prayer without interruption.  In his prayer book, he wrote:  “Direct my thoughts, words, and work. Wash away my sins in the immaculate Blood of the Lamb, and purge my heart by the Holy Spirit…  Daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy Son Jesus Christ…”

In his dying words, Alexander Hamilton, signer of the Constitution, spoke of his faith in Jesus Christ.  “I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty, through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am a sinner.  I look to Him for mercy.”

Samuel Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence, declared:  “First of all, I resign my soul to the Almighty Being who gave it… relying on the merits of Jesus Christ for the pardon of my sins…”

81 year-old Benjamin Franklin speaking at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 said:  “I have lived long, Sir, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men.  And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable than an empire can rise without His aid?  We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that ‘except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.’  I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without this concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.”

Where did these Men Come From?  What gave rise to such character and such confidence and such faith in God?  How did these men and women develop into such Champions of Liberty and Democracy?  I tell you, they came from Christian, Bible-believing, God-honoring, morally pure families.

Oh, God, give us Godly leaders…..