"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds." – 2 Corinthians 10.4 (NKJV)

A few weeks ago we remembered the anniversary of the D-Day landings by the Allied forces on the beaches of Normandy in France.   This operation was a most complex military manoeuvre which required great coordination to bring together all the elements and forces to fight the battle.   These soldiers signed up for such an event, and made up an army of immense proportions and prowess.  As the people of God we have been enrolled in the greatest army that has ever walked the face of the earth, the army of the Lord.  We have been given some great and powerful weapons to use.   Our weapons are not carnal, fleshly weapons, such as swords, guns or bombs; however, they are more powerful than them.  Our weapons are mighty in God to pull down and destroy strongholds of the enemy.  Listen to what the Amplified says: ‘For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds’.  God has entrusted us with these weapons to overthrow and destroy all that the enemy is doing.  Over the course of the next few days I want us to look at just some of the weapons of the Spirit that God has given us.

"Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God's consecrated people)." – Ephesians 6.18 (Amplified)

One of the great weapons that Christians have in their arsenal is that of prayer.  Not only is it one of the greatest weapons it is one of the most undervalued.   Paul lists prayer here in Ephesians 6, which you know outlines the Christian soldiers armoury; this is not just an after thought which has been added to the end of the list, this is the one weapon which needs to be wielded at all times in conjunction with the others.  Not only is prayer a form of attack against the enemy, it is also our vital connection with our Commander-in-Chief.  Prayer keeps the communication with heaven open; through prayer we receive our battle plans and strategies.  Pray at all times, on every occasion and in every season, that is whether we feel like it or not.  We are to employ different types of prayer: petition, entreaty, intercession and most certainly our prayer time must be purposeful.  In Thessalonians, Paul urges the church to ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thessalonians 5.17) – this doesn’t mean that we are to spend 24 hours a day on our knees, but we must always have a spirit of prayer, that is one that is ready to seek Him at a given moment.   Prayer will keep you alert to the enemy’s schemes and plans and give you the advantage. Don’t undervalue prayer, but rather be a prayerful person.

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." – Hebrews 4.12 (AV)

Another great weapon in the arsenal of the Christian soldier is the Sword of the Spirit, that is the Word of God.  This verse tells us that the Word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword which has the ability to cut both ways.  God's word is alive, it is a living word, it is powerful and will cut down any enemy that comes against you.  We have often noted that Jesus used the Word to cut the devil down in his tracks; when the devil came at him, Jesus responded with 'It is written..'.  I cannot emphasise enough how important the Word of God is to you; don't treat the Word as just another book; don't ever regard the preaching or reading of the Word as the 'boring' bit of a service.  The Word level inside of you needs to be sharp so that you're not floundering around when the devil comes by.  You don't have time to start reading up when the devil launches an attack against you, you need to be strong and ready right now, to come at him with the Word.  You often hear Christians giving too much praise to the devil during their testimonies - he may have some mighty weapons which he launches against you, but you have faith and the Word which are mightier than any weapon he has.  Faith quenches every fiery arrow that is fired at you and the Word cuts him down.  So get into the Word today, begin sharpening that blade, and stay with it.

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." – Revelation 12.11 (AV)

Yesterday we saw that another one of our great weapons was that of the Word of God.  Alongside that we have the weapon of our confession.  We wield the sword by confessing it with our mouths; our testimony or confession of faith is so important.  We said yesterday that Jesus' confession was 'It is written..' and that should be our confession too.  Our confession isn't just about saying words, it's about saying what God says in His Word and believing with confidence the words that we say; confession goes hand in glove with the Word of God.  From this verse we see there are two other weapons that we have been given, (1) the blood of Jesus and (2) refusal to fear.  The blood of Jesus overcame the devil the first day it was spilled and it still has all of its power.  When Jesus died on the cross he destroyed the devil and all his works, the Scripture says 'Since, therefore, [these His] children share in flesh and blood [in the physical nature of human beings], He [Himself] in a similar manner partook of the same [nature], that by [going through] death He might bring to nought and make of no effect him who had the power of death--that is, the devil' (Hebrews 2.14, Amplified).  The blood of Jesus gives you victory over the devil.  The third weapon mentioned in this verse is that of a refusal to fear.  The Scripture says that they 'loved not their lives unto the death', what this is in effect saying is that they were not fearful of death, that refusal to fear takes all the wind out of the devils advances.  One of the first weapons that he uses is that of fear, if we fear then we already have given the devil a foothold - most of the things that people fear will happen, never do.  So don't fear, refuse to fear, and that will stop the devil in his tracks, you'll be a couple of steps in front of him and will have the upper hand.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Hebrews 2.1-18

"I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." – Isaiah 42.8 (AV)

We must be careful when it comes to giving people praise;   I don’t mean that we shouldn’t thank them or acknowledge a good work done, what I am talking about is when we go beyond that and make a really big thing of it.  We see it a lot with the celebrity culture that we live in - to the point where it becomes idolatry. God says that He will not give (or share) His glory with another; all the praise rightfully belongs to God and we must not give it to another person.  You see this so very often in our churches; perhaps you hear a preacher and the words minister direct into your spirit, at this point you should give all the praise and glory to God, who has spoken to you through the preacher.  Do not go about telling everyone that will listen saying how wonderful the preacher is.  I don’t believe it’s wrong to mention it but as long as we give praise to God, “I thank God for this preacher because God spoke to me through Him”.   That would be perfectly fine as you are not building up the preacher but rather giving thanks to God.  The same thing goes for the person that prays for you or prophesies over you.  These men and women are just vessels that God uses to minister to you.  Have you read some of Paul’s letters to the churches and see how he deals with those who helped him or did something for him.  He acknowledges their part but gives thanks to God for them.

"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near" – Isaiah 55.6 (AV)

The prophet records in this verse that now is the right time to seek the Lord.  Many young people, and older ones too, want to put off coming to God into the future at some later stage in their life.  Their reasoning is that they want to experience life and enjoy themselves while they are young.  What they fail to realise is that those very same reasons they give for not coming to the Lord are the same reasons that I would give for them to come to the Lord.  If you want to experience life, you will not find it in the world.  Jesus said, ‘I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly’ (John 10.10).  If you want to experience life then only Jesus has real life, an evangelist once put it like this: if you want to have life with a capital L then you’ll only find that in Jesus.  In the world you will only live a little, in Jesus you will live a lot, He offers you abundant life, life that is overflowing.  I came to the Lord at a young age, I was just five years old; as I look back over my life at the things that I have really enjoyed, all of them with just one or two exceptions have been at times spent in the presence of God.  Even those few times of enjoyment outside of the ‘presence of God’, God was involved in.   Don’t put off seeking God until a later date – now is the acceptable time, He is near you right now and is waiting to receive you.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Isaiah 55.1-7

"And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" – 2 Peter 3.4 (AV)

Where is the promise of His coming? Have you heard this said by folk? Well maybe not those exact words, but you would have heard similar words like, ‘When is God going to move, when He is going to fulfil all these promises, prophecies and visions’. This chapter goes on to tell us that God is not slack concerning His promises. People today are very slack when it comes to keeping promises, they even try and make out that they didn’t mean what they said. Some even go ahead and write into their covenants and contracts ‘get-out’ clauses so that they don’t have to honour what they said. God is not slack concerning His promises so we better be careful that we don’t accuse Him of not keeping them. The early disciples were preaching that Jesus return was very imminent, and they lived fully expecting Him to return at any moment. But after a while, a few years later, some Christians had grown rather slack in this area; and these were the ones that were saying such things as ‘where is the promise of His coming; if He’s coming back then why isn’t He here’. God is long-suffering towards us, what that means is this – the Lord will come, He will not delay or be late in His coming, neither will He come early for those impatient ones. We are to be ready for Him, waiting for Him, living expectantly in faith for His coming, being patient and consistent and not slack. In the days of Noah God set His rainbow in the clouds as a sign of His covenant and promise, this bow always reminds us of His faithfulness to every promise and every covenant He made, and every word He has spoken.

Suggested Additional Reading:   2 Peter 3.1-18

"And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink" – Numbers 20.5 (NKJV)

God had always promised to bring His people into a good land, a land that was rich and prosperous.  Moses recalled what God had said to them about the land in Deuteronomy 8.7-9;  It would be land that was flowing in an abundant supply of water; it was a place where the figs, pomegranates, grapes, wheat and barley grew.  This land would be one of abundance for they would not lack one thing; they would also be able to mine copper and bronze out of the ground.  But during their years of wandering in the wilderness, after they had failed to  believe God to go into that good land, they spoke out against God and said 'why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place'.  In essence what they were saying was 'Why have you brought us here, you promised us that you would bring us to a good land, you promised us a land that was rich in crops, where the vines, pomegranates and figs are growing, you promised us a land of abundance where there was water to drink in abundance - this is not what you have promised, this is an evil place.  We said yesterday that the Lord is not slack concerning His promise but they had become slack in faith, they hadn't trusted Him, they hadn't stayed true to His word.  You might hear people today utter similar words, questioning God's timing, or His ability to keep His promises.  'Why haven't you done this..?   Why aren't you doing that..?  Don't become slack in your faith, He has promised to prosper and bless; He has promised to heal and deliver; He has promised to save you and your loved ones, and what He says He will do, He will do.

Here is a promise of healing for those who revere and fear the name of the Lord.  The promise of healing is not for the ungodly but for those who fear His name.  The ungodly may be healed in an evangelistic setting such as a service but that is only because of the mercy of God; but the righteous have a promise, it is their covenant right.  The Lord shall arise, this doesn't mean that He will awake or get up; the literal meaning of this word arise in this verse is 'to irradiate', that is to 'radiate or shoot forth beams' as the sun does its rays.  These beams are beams of His glory that bring healing; Are you sick? There is healing in His wings, His healing is poured out for you making you whole.  The Lord maketh thee whole, this verse says that 'you shall go forth and gambol like calves released from the stall and leap for joy'.  That's wholeness, total healing; there's no point in only being part healed, if you're only part healed then you're still sick.  The healing that God gives is total healing and wholeness.  Put your faith to work on this verse today and receive your healing; The Sun of Righteousness [Jesus] shall arise with healing in His wings for you.

The people that know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits for Him.   I know many Christians who will say that they know God but don't feel that they will ever amount to anything in the Kingdom.  Knowing God has nothing to do with your understanding; I often say to folk that I know how to fly a plane, that understanding has come from reading books, simulation games and the like.  Everything I have is a head knowledge as I have never sat behind the control deck of an aircraft. Only when I hold a valid pilot's license and have some flying time in my bag will I truly be able to say that I know how to fly a plane.  That's the same for many Christians, who claim to know God just because they are 'born-again'; they might know about God but don't really know Him.  That knowledge of God that I am addressing today is that which comes from spending time with Him in His presence.  Those who know God shall be strong - that strength comes from waiting on the Lord (Psalm 27.14; Isaiah 40.31).  Knowing God and waiting on Him involves spending time with Him, you can only get to know someone by spending time with them.  You will find that there are lots of young couples that think they know one another, but they don't really;  even after a few years of marriage there may still be occasions where their spouse will do or say something that will get the response 'I never knew that about you'.  Spend some time with the Lord today, get to know Him a little more.  Knowing God creates a confidence in Him,  that's why those who know God can be strong and carry out exploits.  They have that confidence that God will come through for them, be there for them and honour their words, faith and prayers.  Daniel knew God and was strong - that confidence in God came as a result of him spending time with God and that confidence enabled him to face the lions.

Here in this verse the apostle Paul quotes the Psalmist (Psalm 116.10), he says that we have the same spirit of faith that the psalmist had.  This verse and indeed the psalm gives us a characteristic of the man or woman of faith - they speak what they believe.  Words are not just words, they are carriers of life or death, and blessing or cursing; we are to choose our words carefully and deliberately whether we want life and blessing or death and cursing.  Ultimately what we truly believe in our hearts will be evident by the words we speak.  Jesus said that out of the abundance of a man's heart his mouth speaks, that is, if he has anger and hatred in his heart that will be evidenced by the words of his mouth; his words will be hatred and anger towards his hearers.  Have you noticed that if a person that is excited about something you can tell by the way they speak; if they are feeling down, low and depressed, you can tell that too just by listening to them speak.  What you believe will be evidenced by what you say.  Romans tells us that salvation comes by believing in the heart and confession with the mouth - we say what we believe.   That doesn't mean that we say it once and make our confession, it's how we consistently speak that determines what we believe.  Those who say they believe that God is their provider and healer, but consistently and continually speak that they are broke and sick, are deceiving themselves.  I am not telling you to deny the circumstance you are in, but I am telling you to line up your words with what God says, regardless of your circumstance - that's the spirit of faith that Paul spoke of.

This verse says that you should rejoice in every good thing that the Lord gives to you and your house.  Now the context of the verse is sandwiched in the middle of verses commanding tithing.  One thing that is evident from reading this chapter is that the giving of tithes is not only required, it is meant to be a joyous and celebratory time. The tithe was expected to be given, but those who gave grudgingly were not entering in to the original intention of it.  The tithe was given, and still is, as a 'thank-you' to God for His deliverance, providence and continued blessing.  God's people were to bring the tithe as an acknowledgement of His blessing and prosperity upon them and as a token of faith that He would continue to bless them.  Paul reminds the church that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9.7-8) - not one who gives grudgingly or out of necessity, but one who gives with a thankful and joyful heart, celebrating God's faithfulness and goodness to them.  Don't withhold the tithe, don't fight about giving it, don't argue with your pastor about the theology of it - just do it.  It's your key to unlock the blessing from God; God sees your tithe as a token of your faith for the blessing to come upon you.  'But times are hard Brother Peter, the economy is not good' I hear you say.  That's the time to ensure you are bringing in the tithe, that's the time when you need the blessing and prosperity of God.  Isaac sowed in the midst of famine (Genesis 26.1,12-13)and reaped hundredfold that same year;  sow your financial seeds, bring your tithe even in the midst of an economic crisis, and expect God's blessing and prosperity.  

'Salvation belongs to our God' - that's the cry of the redeemed.  God is still on the throne, He is still saving those that come to God through Him.  An examination of salvation, or as the Greek has it soteria, encompasses more than just the forgiveness of sins.  Healing is part of salvation, deliverance is part of salvation, your prosperity, security, victory are all part of salvation.    Don't you just like the translation of this verse in the Amplified Bible, 'salvation is due to our God.. and to the Lamb [to them we owe our deliverance]'.  Yes God is still on the throne, and you can come boldly to the throne today and obtain mercy and find grace to help in your time of need (Hebrews 4.16).  Salvation belongs to our God and He will save whoever calls on His name (Acts 2.21), that is whoever shall call on Him will find health and healing; and forgiveness of sins.  Those who call on Him find deliverance from all bondage and captivity to the devil, every oppression is lifted and depressions go; habits and addictions are healed and removed.  Those living under financial pressures find that salvation brings them into the provision and prosperity of God, where every need is met.  But let's first remember to give all the praise where it is due - salvation belongs to our God.

Proverbs says that wisdom is the principal thing (Proverbs 4.7), it is the one thing that we should seek out and desire above all other things.  Now we are not talking about the wisdom of man or that of the world, but the wisdom that comes from God.  King Solomon who penned these great proverbs knew that from personal experience.  At the beginning of his reign, God spoke to Solomon and told him to ask of Him whatever he desired; instead of choosing great wealth, a great name, or victory over his enemies, Solomon chose wisdom to judge God's people righteously.  God gave him what He asked, and because he hadn't asked for the other things but rather chose wisdom, God gave him everything else that he could have asked for.  The wisdom of Solomon was so great that all the other kings of the earth sought to come to hear him; one of those visiting monarchs was the Queen of Sheba.  After she had heard the wisdom of his words and seen his house, his servants and all that God had given him, she remarked; "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom... indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard".  The half hadn't even been told her; so many times we talk about the goodness of God to others, but we can't even tell the half of it.  Taste and see for yourself that the Lord is good, you'll find that everything you have heard about God is true, but it's not even the half of it.

Yesterday we ended up thinking that all we have heard about the goodness of God is true and yet it is not even the half of it.  I want to continue in that thinking today about the goodness of God.  God is good and all that He does is good.  There was a time in Moses' life, at about the time of the writing of the Ten Commandments, that he asked God if he could see His glory.  God said to him that when he came up the mountain to get the tablets of stone written with the commandments (for the second time! - Moses broke the first two tablets, he threw them on the ground when he saw God's people worshipping a gold image of a calf), that He would hide him in a cleft in the rock and all His goodness would pass before him.  Moses saw all the goodness and glory of God up on Mount Sinai, have you ever thought about what that must have been like for him.  There are some men and women in the Scriptures that really had a life-changing experience with God and this was one of those occasion; another was Peter when he walked on the water, none of the other disciples who were present at the time could say that they had walked on water, but Peter could, what an experience!   On the mountain Moses saw ALL of the goodness of God; the majority of us have only been told part of the goodness of God, some of us may even have been told half, but Moses saw it all.  God is not unwilling to make all His goodness pass before us, but there is a price that has to be paid.  If we want to see all the goodness of God, we need to have the type of relationship and fellowship with God that Moses had.  That requires sacrifice and obedience on our part - are we willing to pay the price, and find grace in God's eyes.  If we are obedient to God we will be a blessed people, knowing the goodness of God.

Philemon had a servant called Onesimus who wasn't as profitable as he should have been.  Verse 15 says that he departed from Philemon's house, the Scripture doesn't enlighten us as to the reason for his departure but we can safely assume that he had wronged his master in some way and decided to leave.  Even the fact that he was a runaway was reason enough for him to be punished.  While on the run he came into contact with the apostle Paul, he may have even spent time in the same prison for some minor offence.  However that contact with Paul was enough for him to hear the Gospel and receive Jesus.   This man who once was unprofitable to Philemon was now a great profit to Paul, Onesimus helped Paul and ministered to him.  Onesimus had obviously shared his testimony with Paul, and they soon discovered that Paul knew Philemon very well, and so he sends him back with a letter of commendation.  What a difference the grace of God makes to a life; it turns that which is unprofitable into something beautiful and something good; it can change a hardened heart into one that is pliable and ready to do His will.  Surrender to the grace of God; allow God to fill you with His grace today and see what a difference it will make to your life!

The Law stated that if a thief steals something from another person and he is later found out and caught that restitution needed to be made.  In some cases that restitution was double what he stole, other times it was four times what he stole, in others it was five.  Here Solomon states that the restitution was to be seven times what he stole, up to the whole substance of his house, in other words that could be everything he has.  There is a thief and Jesus said that his only purpose is to steal, kill and destroy what is yours (John 10.10); the devil is that thief.  The devil is a thief; the devil is a liar; and whatever he says to you do not believe it or hearken to it.  His only intention is to steal, kill and destroy those things that you have, that God has given you.   He is out to steal your health, your money, your things, even your loved ones; and then he tries to shift the blame on to God.  He will use Scripture and say something like, 'well it had to go sometime, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away'.  God does not take these things from you, let's make sure we identify the thief correctly - it's the devil.  Now that he's found out, restitution needs to be made, he must restore seven-times what he stole; don't let him get away with it.  If you don't see that the 'law' is enforced, he will keep taking from you; if you hound him for full restitution every time, then eventually you'll get too expensive for him to mess with.

According to this verse the anointing is burden removing, yoke destroying power of God.  It will come to pass God says that the anointing will remove the burden from off your shoulder and destroy the yoke that keeps you bound.  Burdens are weighty pressures, the scripture uses the word burden to sometime express the word of God that come upon a person.  The prophets often say 'the burden of the Lord' what it means is that a word came to them to speak forth.  This was heavy upon them thus it is deemed a burden;  but we most often use the word to mean some pressure that comes upon us because of a problem or difficult circumstance.  The anointing removes these burdens that oppress and weigh us down.  The yoke is the yoke of bondage; a yoke was an implement, generally made of wood, but also of iron, that was used to couple two oxen so that they ploughed together.  Other yokes were used to couple slaves together, you may have seen pictures of slaves (or prisoners) coupled in this way around the neck.  The yoke speaks of slavery and bondage and is also destroyed because of the anointing.  The anointing will break every bondage, the anointing will set you free.  This anointing is the unction of the Holy Spirit, a supernatural outpouring of God's power in a given situation.  Are you burdened, oppressed and weighed down?  Are you held captive to certain sins and habits?  Do you feel like a prisoner inside your body and spirit?  You need the touch of the Holy Spirit, the anointing;  John writes that you already have received the anointing, the burden is already removed and the yoke has been destroyed - so go ahead and walk free, in the glory of God and in victory.

Some churches hold Mary in high esteem, others think little of her; whatever your view is of Mary, one thing that cannot be denied is that she was the chosen vessel by which Jesus would come into the earth.  She knew who Jesus was, she knew where He came from and His purpose for coming.  So when she gives this advice to the servants at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, she already knows something.  'Whatever He says to you, do it!'.  Let's take a few moments today to examine this advice: Whatever, it could be anything, it might even sound strange or impractical to your understanding and logic, and it sure did on this occasion.  He says, make sure that what your hearing is what He says.  There are many voices that want to be heard: politicians, doctors, scientists, media, even your own body and soul, but there's only one voice we should listen to - His. To you, God speaks specifically to each one of us through His Word, prophetic utterances, songs, and other ways. Listen for His voice speaking to you, what does He want to say to you?  Finally the last thing Mary said was Do it;  The Scriptures say 'Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only'  there are many that love to hear, they have heard every message a particular preacher has preached.  Yes it's true that faith comes by hearing, but as James says again, unless there is corresponding action it is a dead faith.  Obedience always results in God's blessings - what God says may sound illogical to you, but obedience to it will bring God's blessing.

Just imagine how Abraham must have felt when God challenged him like this.  Is anything too hard for the Lord?  But Sarah's too old to have children!  Have you seen me lately?  You just don't know what I'm going through!   I'm sure that perhaps some similar words entered into his mind, maybe his lips as well.  But is anything too hard for the Lord? Well of course not, we wouldn't dare suggest otherwise, not vocally anyway.  But so many times our attitude and words say the complete opposite.   It's not that we don't believe God can do anything, more often than not our problem is that folk have a hard time accepting that God will do it for me.  Folk have an easy time acknowledging that God will move mighty mountains to minister to other people, but fail to accept that He will do those same things for me.  God wants to manifest His glory in your life - so that those seemingly impossible things become very do-able.  There was a man that lived many years ago whose name was Hudson Taylor.  He faced many 'impossible' situations, but rather than giving up and quitting when things got tough, he had the attitude that at first the situation may have seemed impossible; then he realised that God was on His side and looked at the situation not as impossible but instead just difficult;  it wasn't too long before he came to the realisation that with our do-anything-anytime God the situation became not impossible, nor difficult, but done.  What about those situations you're facing today, where do you stand?  Do you see them as impossible?  or are they difficult, but do-able?  Or do you see them like Hudson Taylor did as done.  I have often used this quote that there are no impossible things with God they are always Him-possible.

Be still and know that I am God, this verse is taken from the Psalms but there were several occasions in the Scriptures where God told His people to be still.  This wasn't to keep them back from things but rather so that they might know the power of the glory of God.  Whenever He told them to be still, a mighty victory followed.  When His people were faced with what looked like no means of escape, they had the Red Sea in front of them and the armies of the Pharaoh hot on their heels to take them back into captivity.  Stress levels were through the roof, the people murmured and complained, despairing of their life - they were looking for God to do something, and NOW.  But God told Moses to tell them to be still and know that I am God (Exodus 14.13). His actual words were 'Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord' - that means we quit murmuring, complaining, yelling at heaven, worrying or whatever else we're doing and we be still; we take the time to know that He is God.  King Jehoshaphat faced a mighty army that came against him and God's people, but God said to them, 'Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you' (2 Chronicles 20.17).  What happened next was a miracle - their enemies began to fight one another so that they were defeated and it took Jehoshaphat's army three days to gather up the spoils.  What do you do when the situation is pressing, seemingly impossible, when the odds are stacked up against you - Be still and know (experience, prove) that He is God.  In that time of stillness we can experience God's protection, provision and deliverance.  We can prove that He is who He says He is.

"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." – James 4.8 (AV)

I was reading the other day about Moses, while he was in the wilderness tending his father-in-law’s flock. Here in the back side of the desert, God revealed Himself to him in the form of a burning bush, which though it was burning with fire was not being consumed. The Scripture says in Exodus that Moses ‘turned aside to see this great sight’. As he approached, God spoke to him from the bush and said to him, ‘Do not come near, take your sandals off your feet for the place where you stand is holy ground’. Do not come near, Moses was not allowed to approach God at that particular time. But on redemption’s side of the cross, in the New Testament, we are told to come very near to God. In fact this Scripture says in James that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. If we will come near to Him, He will come very near to us. If we will come to Him, and wait on Him, we will find that He is right there with us. Do you remember the story of the two sons, the youngest went away from his father's house and wasted his livelihood. When the prodigal returned the Bible tells us that while he was still a long way off and drew near his father's home, his father ran towards him to welcome him. What a picture of the Lord - if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. I love the verse in Matthew 18.20 where it says ‘where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them’. When we draw near to God, He draws near to us, I AM draws near to us. When I AM was in the midst of His people great things happened, miracles occurred and battles were won. Are you going through some storm today, take some time to draw near to God, and the great I AM Himself will draw near to you.

"And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do" – Genesis 11.6 (AV)

Quite a while ago I saw an advertisement on the internet for a set of building blocks, the tag line on this advert was ‘if you can imagine it, you can build it’.  Before any workman can build anything, be it a house, an office complex or a tower block, there has to first be a blueprint, the plans.  These are drawn up from what is in the architects imagination, he sees in his mind a picture of the finished project and translates that image into building plans, so that another man can come along and follow the plans and build exactly what the architect saw.  Without that vision the builder would not be able to build the project.  It’s the same principle for anything: I’m constructing a model railway and before any tracks are laid or scenery built, I need to have a vision of what I want to accomplish.  In the church, it’s no different, we need to have vision, otherwise the church will not go anywhere or achieve anything.  A vision is essential for the man or woman of faith, what are you believing God for?  If you don’t know what you are believing for how will you know when you get it.  Get a picture of what you believe in your spirit; allow it to be drawn in your heart by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word.  What’s that picture of?  Is it a picture of healing, prosperity, or victory in a situation?  Do you see you’re loved ones all serving God?  Maybe your picture is that of standing in front of thousands ministering, preaching, or singing.  Get the picture in your spirit, write the vision down, then activate your faith and follow that blueprint.  Nothing you can imagine will be withheld from you.

"And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, 'The LORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil.'" – Zephaniah 1.12 (NKJV)

Suggested Additional Reading:   Zephaniah 1.1-18

"And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God" – 1 Samuel 30.6 (AV)

We all need to be encouraged from time to time; David and his men had just discovered that while they had been away fighting a battle, that another enemy had come to town and destroyed the city and taken captives their wives and children.   The people were so distressed that they wanted to stone David, they blamed him for their loss; while they were fighting his battle, they weren’t able to protect their own families.   There was no one that could be found to encourage David in this time. Elijah felt like that too, he had just defeated the 450 prophets of the false god Baal with an outstanding miracle on Mt. Carmel, he had been threatened by Jezebel, and when God found him in the cave he was all discouraged, ‘Woe is me, I’m all alone, the only prophet left, no one to encourage me’ (my paraphrase).  Sometimes we too may feel that we are all alone with no one to encourage us.  Without encouragement our vitality is drained from us, encouragement is the oxygen of the soul. However David had learned a great secret, he had spent many a long day all alone watching over the flocks, he had learned to encourage himself.   When there was no one else, he encouraged himself in God; He spoke to himself, rehearsed the Word of God to himself, sang to himself, built himself up.   There was another man in the Bible whose name was Barnabas, he was the complete opposite, the Bible tells us that his name meant ‘the encourager’ (Acts 4.36) – Barnabas was the one who first introduced Saul (as he was then known) to the church in Jerusalem.   He lived his life encouraging folk, bringing them on, being an example to the younger Christians.  There may not always be a Barnabas about so you may have to encourage yourself like David did; but more importantly be like Barnabas, don’t let somebody near to you go without encouragement.  You be an encouragement to someone else, sow encouragement and breathe some ‘oxygen’ into someone else’s life and walk with God – find that someone today.

"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days" – Daniel 6.10 (NKJV)

When Daniel heard that an ungodly law had been passed that forbade anybody to pray to God, he went straight home and prayed.  I like what the New King James Version says, 'as was his custom since early days';  Daniel had been brought up to pray, he knew the secret of prayer and praise; Neither had he ever hidden himself away and prayed in secret so that no-one knew, he was known as a man of prayer.  This was his custom, in other words it was something that he did out of habit.  So when he hears that this law had been passed, he did the only thing that he knew to do - he took it to God.  There are many in our land that are wondering what will happen if laws are passed that forbid Christians to preach, pray, witness or even gather in our churches and chapels.  Those who are accustomed to doing these things will continue to do them, they will not be put off by some law, whatever the consequences.  Whatever you are accustomed to doing, you will do when trouble comes; and that's one reason why so many are suffering and go under, it's because they are not accustomed to standing in faith, they are not in the Word, they are not people of prayer.  Don't wait until trouble comes to start reading the Bible or praying, do it now; develop the habit of prayer and reading, this will strengthen your roots so that you stand strong in those times.

"Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments." – Psalm 119.65-66 (AV)

God deals with us according to His Word - there are lots of faithful Christians that truly believe God uses sickness and other problems in our lives to teach us lessons in faith, patience and humility. However sincere these people are, they are deceived for this is false teaching; sickness and problems do not come from God, if God needs to chastise us for a wrong done then He will use His Word and only that.   You will hear them say such things as 'this sickness is a blessing in disguise'.  Let me tell you something today that will set you free, blessings do not come wrapped up in sickness or any other devilish thing.  What God does is good and only good and we need to get this statement out of our vocabulary today.  Because He is a merciful God, He may show you something in the midst of a bad situation but He did not send it to you.  Look at what the psalmist says, "You have dealt well with your servant in accordance with your Word".  He deals well with us, and He does it by His Word; God teaches us through His Word; wisdom, which is good judgment and knowledge is gained by revelation of the Word of God.  All we need to do is believe what God has said and walk in faith.

"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness" – Lamentations 3.22-23 (AV)

God's love is an everlasting love; His mercy is everlasting; His compassions (acts of loving kindness) do not fail, in fact the Scripture says that they are new every morning.   God doesn't deal with us according to our sins but according to His mercy, the New Testament says 'Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God' (1 John 3.1).  Our sins should have condemned us to death, but the mercy and love of God forgave us our sin and lifted that condemnation.  Now were are called His children; we are not called servants, slaves, companions or friends, but children.  But the mercy of God doesn't end there - His mercy, love and compassions are new every morning, His favour is upon us each day.  The next few verses in this chapter go on to say that the Lord is our portion, He is good to those who wait on Him.  Have you noticed in the Gospels that whenever the word compassion is used, there is also a manifestation of the goodness of God - someone gets healed, delivered, or receives a miracle.  That's His compassions, that's His favour; Have you already experienced the blessings of God in your life this week, well that's not your lot for the week, they are new every morning.  There is a fresh blessing for today, another for tomorrow, and fresh ones every day of your life.  He's a faithful God, He keeps His word, every promise is sure and certain, His mercy is new each day, Great is His faithfulness.

"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.'" – 1 Peter 5.7 (NKJV)

God loves you so much that He sent Jesus into the world to be your Saviour.  Jesus died on the cross not just to set you free from sin, but from all the curse that entered the world because of sin – the curse of death, the curse of sickness and the curse of poverty.   Are you struggling in any of these areas today?  Are you weighed down with the care of these worries?  It should not be that way;  Jesus commanded us not to have any anxious thoughts, not to worry, and not to fret about such things.  The instruction we have in this chapter of the Bible is to ‘cast all your care upon Him’.   He tells us to do that because He cares for us, He loves us so much that He wants us free of all care.  Now He’s not going to just step in and remove it from us, we have to cast it on Him.  That means we have to let go of the cares and worries and let Him take them.  All our cares and worries will not change our situations one bit, but when we cast our cares onto Him He can change the situation.  Have you noticed that this Scripture says we are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God; He wants to exalt and lift you up, but He can’t do that when you are full of cares.  True humility is casting your care on Him – when you have the cares, you are in effect saying ‘I can do it without God’.   Notice you have to cast them off on to the Lord; it will take effort, but you will be rewarded for it – He will exalt you in due time.

Suggested Additional Reading:   1 Peter 5.1-14

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" – Romans 12.2 (AV)

Be not conformed to this world - don't let the world set your standards. Our standard is that of the Word of God, we need our mind renewed to set our standards against it. Our standards should be that which are good, acceptable and perfect.  Tolerance of slack standards is the first step towards conformity. Men's standards (traditions) have replaced the Word of God.  We are to be judged according to the standard of the Word of God Himself (Acts 17.31).  Everything that Jesus did He did as a man, He was opposed by the same devil, knew the same weaknesses of the flesh that we experience, yet He was not conformed to this world.  He set the standard and therefore we can keep the standard that becomes saints (Ephesians 5.1-8).  Ephesians 5 also lists some unacceptable standards which are now acceptable to the world (vs 3-5).  Be not conformed to this world but rather be transformed by allowing the Word of God to renew your mind.  Read it, meditate it, put your faith to work on it so that it becomes as natural to you as breathing - then you and your world will be transformed.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Ephesians 5.1-8

"Who has believed (trusted in, relied upon, and clung to) our message [of that which was revealed to us]? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been disclosed?" – Isaiah 53.1 (Amplified)

This verse starts a very familiar chapter in the book of Isaiah, the chapter that prophecies of the cross and of the redemptive work of Jesus.   Who has believed our message? the prophet asks; that question is still being asked today by people like me who preach the infallibility of the Word of God.   Who has believed the message that has been revealed to us; I preached a message once from this verse titled 'The Report of the Lord'.  We can easily find ourselves hearing bad reports and believing them; perhaps you have a bad report from a doctor or surgeon who's told you that there's no hope.  Or maybe your bank manager has given you a bad report and told you that they're taking your house; or your employer has given you notice that you're going to lose your job.  We can very easily take note of what these people say and allow that report to give birth to worry and fear.  The children of Israel had received two reports, of the twelve spies that went in to spy out the land, ten of them brought a bad report and the other two a good one.  They chose to believe the bad report and it cost them their inheritance in the Promised Land.   God would ask you today 'who has believed our report'; you can trust in and rely on His Word - it is a good report. 

Suggested Additional Reading:   Numbers 13.25-14.11