dickbraswell

Valentine’s Day Love Facts

• Love is not impatient but, instead, longsuffering.
• Love is not envious of others.
• Love is not self-centered, proud, haughty or puffed up.
• Love is not conceited.
• Love is not rude or crude.
• Love is not touchy or fretful or resentful.
• Love takes no account of the evil done to it.
• Love does not rejoice at the failures of others.
• Love believes the best of every person.
• Love bears up under anything that comes.
• Love endures every hardship without weakening (I Cor 13 Amp.)

1. LOVE encourages, builds up and edifies.
2. LOVE roots out all fear Perfect love casteth out fear… I John 4:8
3. LOVE makes your FAITH work Faith worketh by love…
4. LOVE heals sickness and keeps bodies well.
5. LOVE conquers selfishness and self-will.
6. LOVE makes marriages work and stops divorces.
7. LOVE makes your children obedient and respectful.
8. LOVE builds and bonds human relationships.
9. LOVE covers a multitude of sin. I Pet 4:8
10. LOVE forgives and forgets.
11. LOVE overlooks faults and weaknesses.
12. LOVE endures long… is patient and kind.
13. LOVE sees the best and believes the best of every person.
14. LOVE will not criticize.
15. LOVE will not wound or hurt or hinder.
16. LOVE will not find fault.
17. LOVE will not create strife and division.
18. LOVE will not gossip.
19. LOVE will not destroy or tear down.
20. LOVE suffers in silence.
21. LOVE gives expecting nothing in return.
22. LOVE speaks the truth.
23. LOVE is honest and full of integrity.
24. LOVE never fails
25. LOVE is GOD

God is Love

Word for Today:  February 13

Pentecost.

The Day of Pentecost marked a pivotal point in the history of the Christian Church.  (Acts 2)

It was the Birth and the Beginning of the New Testament Church.  The Book of Acts records this event as well as the subsequent development and growth of what we know as the “Church.”

Today, we need to go beyond Pentecost.  Pentecost was the beginning, but that was nearly 2000 years ago.  If we are to fulfill the Great Commission and prepare the earth for the Coming of Jesus, we must progress beyond Pentecost.

As we enter into a fresh new season of change, I believe God is raising up an Army…. an Army of Believers who will Believe God and who will believe the Word.  A People who are not moved by circumstance or situation but who are committed to follow Jesus to the death if necessary.  A generation of turned-on and tuned-in Believers who are not content to stay stuck, but who are determined to move on Beyond Pentecost.

It is this Body of Believers, I believe,  that will comprise the Last Days Church… The End-Time Church… the Vibrant, Powerful, Miracle-working Body of Christ… the literal, visible, tangible, living, breathing extension of God on earth today.

Word for Today:  February 10

Count the cost;  pay the price

Elisha paid the price.  He met the condition.  He did what he had to do in order to receive his Anointing.  To get His Double Portion.

And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.   2Ki 2:9

I believe you want it, too.  Because this is the one most important thing in your life.  Whatever it takes, do it.  Forgetting those things that are behind, and reaching forth to those things that are before… do whatever is necessary.

In order to experience continual anointing…Repent of sin.  Get rid of wrong attitudes.  Get rid of the “content with what I’ve got” mode of living.  Get rid of criticism.  Get rid of jealousy and envy.    Get rid of greed.  Get rid of bitterness and sarcasm.  Get rid of lust and loose morals.  Get rid of connections that pull you down.  Get rid of unbelief.

There are more than likely only one or two main obstacles that stand between you and your Anointing.  So, you know what you must do.  Do it.

Put them behind you.  Put them under your feet.  Put them out of the way.

No price is too great to pay to live in the Anointing of the Holy Ghost

Word for Today:  February 7

Never lose confidence in the work that God began in you.

Being confident (peitho; inward certainty) of this very thing, that He (God) which hath begun a good work in you will perform it (epiteleo; fulfill completely), until the day of Jesus Christ… Phil 1:6

You are Called, Selected, Elected and Chosen.  You are important and you are loved.  God has begun a work in you and He will complete it.  You are not what you were but you are not what you are going to be.

Always expect every situation to turn around for your good.

For I know that this (situation, circumstance, defeat, etc.) shall turn to my salvation, (Soteria; rescue, safety, deliverance, health) through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ… (Phil 1:19)

The battle is not yours… it is the LORD’S and He always wins.  Anytime, every time and all the time.

Never allow satan to intimidate you.

And in nothing terrified  (pturo:  to frighten, to scare) by your adversaries… Phil 1: 28

Where there is no fear there is no devil.  Perfect love “casteth out fear” and “fear hath torment” and “torment” is exactly where the devil lives.

Stay humble before God and expect Him to exalt you in due season.

(Jesus) made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant…. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death… Phil 2: 7-8

The example Jesus set for us is awesome.  He literally became what we are in order for us to become Who He is.

Never let go of God’s Word… no matter how impossible things seem.

Holding  (Epecho: to pay attention to; to retain) forth the Word of Life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain neither labored in vain…  Phil 2: 16

God keeps His Word.  God honors His covenant.  God fulfills His promises.  God does what He says He will do.  You can trust His Word.

Never hang on to your past.  Keep reaching forward.

I c0unt not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before… Phil 3:13

Word for Today:  January 29

Restoration

Restoration of the Image of God is an established fact that takes place at the time of Conversion.

To be “in Christ” is to be “out of” Adam.

The restored Image (Righteousness) is what God sees when He looks at us.  Our death-doomed nature has been changed.  We have been “re-gened” (regenerated) with the genetic signature of our Heavenly Father.  God does not look on the sin of our “old man”, in fact, He does not even see them.  They have been removed as far as the east is from the west.  God does not remember them anymore.  (Psa 103).

The image of the Old Man is what satan wants us to see and what Religion shows us and keeps before us.  Any image that is less than the Image of God is to be “cast down”… “casting down imaginations…”   (2Co 10:5).

As we Act on the Image of God (our Righteous Nature) in us the Word becomes flesh.

We should See (know and be aware of) the Image of God that is in us.

And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear:   (blepo:  see what you hear).   (Mark 4:24)

When we see the Image of God in us we develop a concept of Righteousness… we become aware of our Righteousness and boldness and confidence is produced.

We are never to “cast away” our confidence.  (Put aside our concept of Righteousness).

Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. (Heb. 10:35)

Do not allow your “heart” to condemn you!

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.  (1 John 3:20)

If you are Born Again, you have been Restored!  That which sin destroyed has been reestablished and transplanted into your spirit and you are now a “New Creation.”

Restored.  Recovered.  Redeemed.  Renewed.

Word for Today:  January 25

God Chose.

Man could never Know God unless God chose to reveal himself to man.

Our God so chose.  He wants us to KNOW HIM.  The real miracle of all ages is that God Revealed Himself to Man.  He continues to reveal Himself to us… we are continually discovering more about God and His Nature and His Redemptive Work and His Word and His Ways.

God reduced Himself to the common denominator of humanity so that we might know Him, love Him, be like Him and enjoy Him.

How can we find out about God?  How can we discover what God is really like?  Is our concept of God accurate?  Does what we know about God line up with the Word?  If God reveals Himself to man… how does He do it?

There are basically seven ways God reveals Himself:

1. Through the Word.
2. Through Creation
3. Through JESUS CHRIST Who is the Perfect Revelation of God.
4. Through the Church: The Body of Christ.
5. Through miracles.
6. Through individual believers. Every Believer is a reflection of God to the world.
7. Through personal experience. How you experience Him in real life situations.

The fact that God, by and through His own Will, chose to reveal Himself to His Creation is a Miracle of the First Order and an indication of His immeasurable Love for you and me.

That I may know him…    Phil 3:10

Word for Today:  January 24

Words are carriers.

We speak words and the words we say become carriers.  When our words agree with God’s Word they will carry God’s Power with them.  When our words agree with the negative world system, they will carry the power of the world system with them.

If we could ever learn to talk right, speak the Word and only what the Word says instead of what we see and feel and think, we could experience a radical transformation in our situations and circumstances.

The Devil and his demons must submit to the Word of God that we speak.  When we come to see that all the death stuff that is happening to us is caused by the devil and his demons and then get a real revelation of the Power of the Word of God we will be on the road to recovery.  We will be positioned to change things in us and around us.

But as long as we set our tongue in agreement with death, we will have what we say.

We can Search out and find those God Words that contradict our particular problem.  They are in the Bible…. Find them!   If we are sick, look up scriptures about healing.  If we are afraid and depressed, look up scriptures that promise peace and assurance.    If we are struggling financially, look up scriptures that promise God’s provision for us.  If we are held captive by habit or addiction, look up scriptures that promise us deliverance and freedom.  Then we make those scriptures a vital and strategic part of our language.  We begin to articulate audibly and forcefully with our mouth what God has already said about us in His Word.

When we do this, we will begin to see immediate changes.  God honors His Word above His Name.  God sends His Word to accomplish and create His purposes.

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish (create) that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isa 55:11

Word for Today:  January 23

The Glory of God.

The GLORY of GOD is the atmosphere of heaven.  You breathe it but you also absorb it.  It is the sustenance of your spirit.

AIR is the atmosphere of earth.  You breathe it and you absorb it. It is the sustenance of your natural life.

When we come into the Glory of God we are raised up into the atmosphere of heaven.

To come into God’s Glory is to come into His Literal Presence… to be Engulfed and Exposed to the Brightness and Effervesce of His Person.

The Glory of God has a destination.  It has a purpose.  It has an objective.  It will accomplish something.  There is a story behind the glory.  And we must go all the way to Genesis to find the beginning of that story.  Creation is crowned with the Glory of God.  Creation declares the Glory of God.

And God desires to share His Glory.  His Glory is the epitome of all that He is and all that He has done.  You cannot separate God from His Glory.  God and Glory are inseparable.  Where God is His Glory is.  Where His Glory is God is.  And God wants to share His Glory.  This is the reason behind Creation.  He created the Heavens and the earth as a demonstration of His Glory.   They are crowned with His Glory.  The Work of His Hands demonstrate His Glory.

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.   Psa. 19:1

The heavens and the earth and all that is in them can declare and demonstrate the Glory of God BUT they cannot share His Glory.

Only Man can share His Glory.

Word for Today:  January 22

What we desire, we acquire.

Our life is governed and controlled by what we value.  Those things we value most occupy most of our time and energy.  Those things we value least are things that are generally ignored.  I am assuming that everyone has placed a very high value on Knowing God.  Notice the extremes in the Scriptures regarding things we value (love) and things we devalue (don’t care about).

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ…   Phil 3:8

When Paul explained his Value System, he said compared to Knowing Christ, everything else he counted as loss and considered them nothing more than dung (nice word for a commonly used expletive).  Jesus touched on the vast chasm between Loving God and even loving family members…

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Lu 14:26

Compared to the Value placed on Loving God, the value placed on loving family members is almost off the page in the opposite direction.  Knowing God (really “knowing” in an intimate, intense and complete way) is the key to receiving and releasing the Gifts and Callings that have been given to us.

Knowing God is the way to receive “all things that pertain to life and godliness…”

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge (epignosis: knowing with understanding) of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 2Pe 1:3 

He made known his ways (methods) unto Moses, his acts (deeds) unto the children of Israel.  Ps 103:7

Understanding the “Ways” of God comes from Knowing God.

Understanding the “Acts” of God comes from Knowing About God.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation (a disclosure of Truth) in the knowledge (epignosis: knowing with understanding) of him. Eph 1:17

Word for Today:  January 20

It’s up to you.

• You will never do what you do not decide to do.
• You will never get what you do not decide to get.
• You will never get what you do not make up your mind to get.
• You will never receive what you are not committed to receive.

It is up to you.   God has given it.  Jesus has paid for it with His Blood.  Now, refuse to waver, to be moved aside, to take your eyes off your goal.  Refuse to back down. Refuse to compromise.  Refuse to be nice to the devil.

Refuse to “calm down” or “understand”… Be determined… get mad and be violent.  The “Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force…”   (Mat 11:12).

Just how mad are you at the devil?  How determined are you to take back what he has stolen?  How ferocious are you in this pursuit?  How enraged are you at the deeds of the devil and the kingdom of darkness? How much do demonic forces fear your resolve to overcome?

“Let not the sun go down on your wrath…”  In other words this can mean “Never let the sun go down on being mad at the devil….”

The ONLY legitimate avenue to release your wrath is to release it on the powers of darkness.