dickbraswell

Word for Today:  August 3

The impossible fueled a boy’s faith.

When David heard Goliath’s challenge, something happened deep down inside him.   Something began to stir his Confidence.  Out of this confidence came a surge of supernatural faith and a powerful spirit of boldness.  Faith literally exploded in the heart of David.    Out of his mouth confidence began to speak:

• “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the Living God?”
• “Is there not a cause?” (The God of Israel is being ridiculed and defied).
• “Let no man’s heart fail because of him…”
• “I will go and fight with this Philistine…”
• “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, HE will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine…” (Notice David did not call Goliath a giant… he called him a Philistine.)

Listen to Confidence talk on the battlefield:

“Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the NAME of the LORD OF HOSTS, the GOD of ISRAEL, whom thou has defied…”

This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will:      

1. Kill you
2. Cut your head off
3. Give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines to the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth…

Confidence prevailed.  David won.  Goliath lost.  The Philistines were shamefully defeated.  God was glorified.  And David became Israel’s new champion…

The giant you are facing will fill you either with fear or with faith.

Fear will cause you to lose.

Faith will cause you to win

Word for Today:  August 2

The day God air conditioned a fiery furnace

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s great image of gold (Dan 3).  The decree was that all in the kings domain would fall down and worship the image at the designated time… when the music played, they were commanded to stop what they were doing, fall down and worship the golden image.  Those who refused to obey this edict, were sentenced to death.  Death by being thrown into a burning fiery furnace (Dan 3:6).

Because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were faithful to the One True God, they refused to fall down and worship the image.  They were arrested.  They were brought before Nebuchadnezzar, who in great rage and fury, questioned them and commanded

 …if ye worship not (the image), ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? (3:15)

They were not fearful and they were not nervous… they had not cast away their confidence in God…and they declared:

Our God whom we serve is able us from the burning fiery furnace and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.”  (3:17)

In other words, you do what you have to do and we will do what we have to do.  We will see whose God is The God.

The furnace was heated seven times hotter than ever.  The three Hebrews were bound by the king’s men and thrown in the furnace; the fury of the fire was such that those who cast them in were instantly slain by the heat.  They fell down bound in the midst of the burning fiery furnace.  Pay Day has come.  Confidence has a great recompense of reward.

When the king looked in he was astonished.

Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?  …Lo, I see four men LOOSE walking the midst of the fire and they have NO HURT and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God… (3:24-25)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were delivered from the fire.  But that is not all, they were promoted into a place of prominence and the King was turned into a Believer.  Confidence has a great Pay Day.

Don’t throw your confidence away.

Pay Day is on the way

Word for Today:  August 1

The approaching Awakening.

There is a fresh wave of the Holy Ghost moving across the earth today.  It is a spirit of revival.  It is a spirit of renewal.  It is a spirit of restoration.  The earth is literally ripe for the end-time harvest.   You know this.  I don’t need to try to persuade you.  It is happening here and it is happening overseas.  It is happening everywhere.  The earth is in the process of being “filled with the glory of the Lord.” This is indeed a special time of God’s Visitation.  There has never been a time like this before.  God has some great plans.

The Bible is clear concerning the events of the end-time.  And the greatest indication of and proof for the closing of this age is the global outpouring of the Holy Ghost.  That is exactly what is happening at this moment.

The Word declares that in “the last days” God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh…

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh…  Ac 2:17

There will be a world-wide awakening that will jolt the earth and entire nations will be saved and brought into the Kingdom of God.   We are on the precipice of just such an Awakening…

Perhaps one of the greatest temptations the Body of Christ faces at this time is the temptation to lose confidence.  Confidence in God. Confidence in what God is doing.  Confidence in the Word.  Confidence in God fulfilling His Promises.  Confidence in the Church.

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.  Heb. 10:35   (“It will pay off.”…. It has a great Pay Day)

Hold on…  The best is yet to be

Word for Today:  July 31

God wants to encourage you today.

He wants to build you up in your most Holy Faith…  He wants to strengthen you and help you and deliver you.  He wants you to be blessed.  He wants you to know that He is able to set you free from every snare and every devil and every fiery trial.  He speaks to you by His Word and through the Anointing and assures you that He has everything under control.

We have a lot going for us.  We are blessed and well provided for.  We live in abundance and suffer no lack.  We are God’s People and we are a special people…  God calls us “Peculiar”… “Set Apart”… “A Holy Nation”… “His Children”… “His Husbandry”… “His Garden”… “His Temple”…

We are blessed with an abundance of His Word…  Yet, many are hurting and wondering and wishing… some are doubting and even more are struggling with apparent impossible situations and trying circumstances.   If this is you…. hold on!

God wants you to be delivered.  God wants you to be free.   God wants you overcoming, ruling and reigning in life.  Deliverance is for you.  God is for you.  The Word is for you.

And God is Able!

Word for Today:  July 30

The world is looking for heroes.

I’m looking for heroes.  People who inspire.  People who blaze trails.  People who refuse defeat.  Dreamers.  Pioneers.  The Bible is a great place to find winners.  And I had rather be around winners than losers.

Losers are for losers…  Winners are for winners…  In the Bible we find ordinary people who do extraordinary things.  People who are facing dream-shattering and hope-destroying situations and circumstances.  In the Bible we discover real men and real women.

The world is in for a shaking.  It will grow in intensity.  It will be good for those who know how to stand and it will be disastrous for those who are uncommitted and backslidden.  It will reveal heroes.  It will expose the strong and defeat the weak.  It will help the church… the true Church.  It will reveal the shallowness and the superficiality of religion.

Heroes are on the way back.  They are about to step out of the shadows into the light of the NOW.  History will be a great stage for the standers and the winners and the doers and the believers.    The movers and the shakers.  The courageous and the brave…. History is entering into a paradigm shift.   Nations are convulsing.   Governments are failing. Kings are falling.    But the Church is prevailing.   And will continue to prevail. Because Jesus is the Same yesterday, today and forever.  World leaders have come and gone.    But:

The Church will prevail

Word for Today:  July 29

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 28

There will be times in your Christian Experience when it seems like nothing is happening

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

We can discover facets of God’s Grace and Tender Mercies that we never knew existed if we WAIT IN FAITH.

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

While we wait, there are some things we can do to strengthen our Faith Position.  Waiting does not mean “doing nothing”.  “Resting” in God does not mean idleness or laziness.

While we wait can know that:

• God is Working
• satan is Resisting
• Patience is developing
• The Answer is Coming

And God is with us

Word for Today:  July 27

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 yourself
• You can surrender and give 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” you 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 you from the fire but will walk with you through it…  (Isa 43:2)

And if He’s there, you will always be OK

Word for Today:  July 26

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.  Revelation is imperative to receiving and maintaining our deliverance.

Our success level will never exceed our WORD level

Word for Today:  July 25

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 “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 Fires 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