dickbraswell

Word for Today:  May 13

Be Faithful.

Reinforce your determination to hold fast.  To stand.  Do not let the attacks on your faith prevent you from KEEPING ON.  The one thing satan really wants to do is to make you give up.  Through the years, I have seen saint after saint weaken and fall because they did not persevere.

You can be faithful.  There may be many things you cannot do, but you can be faithful.  Just because your faith is under attack is no reason to ease up, let up, back up, cave in or quit. This is the VERY time you and I need to make our most positive and determined stand.

Be faithful in your personal relationship with Jesus.  Be faithful in your daily faith walk.  Be faithful to your church.  Be faithful to follow the Word of God.  Be faithful in prayer.  Remember: the Word requires that good stewards be found faithful.   1 Cor 4:2.

Expect good things to happen any minute.

Keep your faith out for something.  Even though you get shot at and hit… keep believing for something.  Look for answers.  Expect results.  Do not be moved by the fact that you don’t see or feel anything.  Living by faith is living in expectance.  It is to be prepared for the harvest of the seeds you have sown…  Look for the increase.  Believe for the increase.  Expect the increase.

The woman with the issue of blood expected something to happen when she touched Jesus.  She pressed through all kinds of doubt, danger and hindrances.  She knew something good would happen when she came in contact with Jesus.

Live in expectancy

Word for Today:  May 12

Never give in.

Never give in to fear.  Never give in to discouragement.  Never be moved by facts or consequences or obstacles or impossibilities.  The God in you is bigger than man, the devil, any circumstance, any system, any movement, any government, any economy, any power…. nothing shall by any means harm you… when you go in the Name of the Lord God of Israel.  Don’t be afraid.

God was with Moses.  God was with Joshua.  God was with the Apostle Paul and all the leaders of the New Testament Church.  God is with us…  Even our enemies shall be made to be at peace with us.  God in us will strike terror in the hearts of those who resist God and resist God’s Word.  Don’t be afraid.

You have nothing to fear.  You have nothing to be afraid of.  God is with you.  God is in you.  His Power is working mightily through you.  Be courageous.  Be strong.  Be fearless.  Don’t be dismayed.  Don’t be discouraged.  Be aggressive.  Be on the attack.

The only way you can lose is if God loses…. and God never loses.  He never has and He never will.

Neither will YOU if you never give in

Word for Today:  May 11

Begin today with a positive attitude.

Never think weakness or failure.  Believe right and think right.  Your attitude will determine the condition of your faith.   The “artificial horizon” attitude indicator in an aircraft will tell the pilot what attitude the plane is in as it flies through the air.

Your attitude will indicate your thinking, your seeing, your saying and your doing.  Attitude is your present position.  Where are you now?  What is your attitude today?  How are you thinking?  What are you saying?  What are you expecting?

To fix damaged faith, reset your attitude to agree with the Word of God.  And the Will of God.  Flow in the direction of God’s leading.  Be sensitive to the Voice of the Holy Spirit.  Be deaf to the cries of the carnal man and to the vision of the natural eye.  Be encouraging.  Be encouraged.

See the best, talk the best, think the best and expect the best.  Be positive.

Because what you expect is what you usually get

Word for Today:  May 10

The prerequisite for seeing.

You will never “see the Invisible” until you are born of the Spirit.  The natural man cannot discern the things of God because they are spiritually discerned.  You cannot walk by faith unless you are Born Again.

The natural world burdens the heart of the natural man and its problems load his soul.  He can only see things as they are and he cannot look beyond the natural and see the invisible.

Nicodemus was religious.  Nicodemus was educated.  Nicodemus was righteous.  Nicodemus was seeking God.  Nicodemus was moral.  Nicodemus was LOST and he was BLIND and he could not SEE the INVISIBLE.  He would have made an excellent church member, but he was limited by lack of sight.  Jesus said, except a man be Born Again he cannot see…

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Joh 3:3

If Jesus said it, it must be important.  He wants you to be able to SEE the INVISIBLE and DO the IMPOSSIBLE.  Apart from the New Birth this is will never happen.

Many who are saved have difficulty “seeing.” It is hard for them to “forsake” and “endure.”  They are continually knocked down and overwhelmed by the enemy.  They are overcome more often than they overcome.  They are subject to worry, fears, doubts and discouragement.  They are depressed and done in.  They are unhappy constant victims of violent mood swings.  One day is good.  Then ten are bad.  One victory is won, then fifteen are lost.  Ground that has been gained is constantly being lost and retreat is the only way out.

We need to receive Power.  We need an encounter with the Holy Ghost that gives us the ability to resist the devil and win the battle, see the invisible and do the impossible.

John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:  Lu 3:16

Word for Today:  May 9

Faith comes by hearing.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  Rom 10:17

Bartimaeus the blind beggar heard about Jesus.  What do you suppose he heard?  Did he hear that the “day of miracles is over”?  Did he hear that “healing is not for this dispensation”?  Did he hear that the “supernatural” has no place in the modern, structured, organized churches?  Did he hear that the “GIfts of the Holy Ghost” and that the Supernatural Manifestation of the Presence of God were not for today?

Did he hear about all the hypocrites and the charlatans and the false prophets and the greed and the graft and the merchandising in the ministry?  NO! He heard that Jesus was coming his way! He heard that Jesus was healing the sick and raising the dead and casting out demons.  He heard that Jesus had GOOD NEWS and that Jesus had the ABSOLUTE ANSWER for every problem and every pain and every impossibility!

If he had heard all the negative stuff that most people are hearing today I really wonder if he could have had his blind eyes opened….

Hearing leads to seeing

Heaven is a Place where we all want to go, but most do not know what we will find when we get there.  We have been exposed to some really weird ideas about Heaven.  (Puffy white clouds and robed individuals sitting on them and plucking harps.)  However, the Word is very plain in describing heaven.  It tells us what Heaven is like.  It tells us who is there.  It tells us what it is.  And It tells us how to get there. 

There are three heavens.  The First heaven is the sky where the clouds are.  The Second heaven is outer space where the planets and galaxies are.  The Third Heaven is where God’s Throne is and where God presently dwells.

The part of Heaven Believers will inhabit forever is a city.  It is a city located in the Larger Place called Heaven.  This City is filled with the glory of God and has an outward appearance of beauty and precision and wealth that has never been witnessed by humanity.  It has walls and gates.  And foundations comprised of precious jewels. It is the largest (1500 miles wide) and most elaborate city ever imagined by man.  It has a surrounding wall 200 feet high made of indescribable material that resembles precious stones.  The twelve gates in this great wall are made of solid pearl. The streets in this city are pure transparent gold… nothing like this has ever been seen by human eyes.  The glory of God is of such brilliance that the city has no need of the sun for light. 

There are pure, crystal-clear rivers flowing from the Throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev 22:1).   There are great Broadways proceeding from each of the four sides of God’s Throne.  On either side of these great golden broadways there are rows of Trees of Life which bear fruit each month.  There is no sickness, no disease and no death in Heaven…  Eternal Life will be enjoyed by every inhabitant. 

Conditions will exist eternally as they did before the curse caused by the rebellion of Lucifer and Adam.  The inhabitants of Heaven are the redeemed, the faithful angels and all of earth’s original creatures.  The lamb will lie down with the lion.  Death is abolished.  All animals will be herbivorous.   Those there will be allowed to see the Face of God.  His Name will be written on their foreheads and they will rule and assist God in the administration and affairs of all Creation.  They will live with God FOREVER. 

That’s where I’m headed…

What about you?

Word for Today:  May 7

Faith eyes

It is our old human nature that really wants to “see” results.  When we do not see re­sults, the natural tendency is to get discouraged and back off of our faith stand.  Remember, we walk by Faith and not by sight.   Walking by faith means that we see the “invisible” with our faith eyes.  When we see the invisible, we can do the impossible.  The Believer really “believes” when there is no natural evidence.

 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)  2 Cor. 5:7

God is working in our behalf even when we see no results.  Our miracle is on the way.  Our answer is coming.  The great temptation is to “look” for something and “hope” to “feel” something in order to keep on believing.

Keep on believing and in God’s time you will not only see it but feel it as well.

We are promised that we will “reap in due season if we faint not…”  Gal 6:9

This is the unfailing promise given to us by our unfailing God.

Use your faith eyes because

What you see is what you get

Word for Today:  May 6

The prerequisite for seeing.

You will never “see the Invisible” until you are born of the Spirit.  The natural man cannot discern the things of God because they are spiritually discerned.  You cannot walk by faith unless you are Born Again.

The natural world burdens the heart of the natural man and its problems load his soul.  He can only see things as they are and he cannot look beyond the natural and see the invisible.

Nicodemus was religious.  Nicodemus was educated.  Nicodemus was righteous.  Nicodemus was seeking God.  Nicodemus was moral.  Nicodemus was LOST and he was BLIND and he could not SEE the INVISIBLE.  He would have made an excellent church member, but he was limited by lack of sight.  Jesus said, except a man be Born Again he cannot see…

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Joh 3:3

If Jesus said it, it must be important.  He wants you to be able to SEE the INVISIBLE and DO the IMPOSSIBLE.  Apart from the New Birth this is will never happen.

Many who are saved have difficulty “seeing.” It is hard for them to “forsake” and “endure.”  They are continually knocked down and overwhelmed by the enemy.  They are overcome more often than they overcome.  They are subject to worry, fears, doubts and discouragement.  They are depressed and done in.  They are unhappy constant victims of violent mood swings.  One day is good.  Then ten are bad.  One victory is won, then fifteen are lost.  Ground that has been gained is constantly being lost and retreat is the only way out.

We need to receive Power.  We need an encounter with the Holy Ghost that gives us the ability to resist the devil and win the battle, see the invisible and do the impossible.

John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:  Lu 3:16

Word for Today:  May 5

Be willing to wait.

Don’t be impatient. You don’t have to rush God. The production time of the Word is programmed in and it is as dependable as God is dependable. What is programmed will come to pass. In due season you shall reap if you do not faint (Gal 6:9).  Waiting will develop your patience and James tells us to let patience have her perfect work, that we may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing… (James 1:4).

Here is the hardest thing to do in Word production. It is not hard to sow. It is not hard to believe…. But it is next to impossible to wait, with patience, until God will produce in us the “wanting nothing” condition. God HAS SAID that we would “reap in due season IF we faint not… “

In Hebrews the Word declares: “For consider Him (Jesus) that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds…’ (Hebrews 12:3).

“Contradiction” here is anything that appears to disagree with God’s Promise. It is the “High Thing” that exalts itself against God that Paul writes to the Corinthians about.

The contradictions are what cause our patience to waver. When we see those things that seem to make God and His Word out to be a lie… these are the things that attack our patience.

Consider HIM… lest ye be wearied…

Word for Today: May 4

God established the family.

The first human He made was a Man

He was a Husband and Father.

The second was a Woman

She was a Wife and Mother.

The first children were biological Sons

The first family was given the awesome responsibility of “replenishing” the earth.

The family is more important than the church.  The family is more important than “religion.”  The family is more important than being “spiritual.”  The family is more important than anything God planned for the welfare, protection and propagation of the human race.

The family was established before the church.  It was on earth and functioning before Israel became the Chosen People… the nation through which God would send a Savior and redeem the world.

There is a Biblical pattern and plan for the family… It is simple and it is clearly stated in the Scriptures… One man.   One woman.  One time.  Forever.

The plan is defined and explained in the Word as follows:

• Husbands… love your wives. (Eph 5)
• Wives… submit (yield) to your husbands… (Eph 5)
• Children… obey your parents…. (Eph 6)
• Families… serve the Lord. (Jos 24)

…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Simple.  Plain.  Unquestionable.  Imperative.  Fundamental.