"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" – John 11.25 (AV)

Martha met Jesus at the edge of the village and immediately said to Him; 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died'.  In response to her Jesus said 'I am the resurrection and the life'.  How many times have we gone before the Lord and said something similar to Him.  'Lord if you had shown up sooner I wouldn't be in this mess', His response to us is just the same as it was to Martha; whatever you are facing on this first day of a new month, you need to know this: Jesus is the resurrection and the life.  Martha, and her sister Mary, were facing the biggest crisis that they had ever faced. Their brother Lazarus had died, these three were personal close friends of Jesus, and Lazarus had now gone and the two girls were obviously besides themselves.  Notice what Jesus said to Martha at this tough time, 'I AM the resurrection and the life';  He says 'I am', He is the resurrection, literally 'to raise up, to cause to stand, recover, restore'.  He is the one that will raise us up in any situation, He will cause us to stand in victory, He will see to it that we recover and are restored.  Then He went on to say to Martha, 'he that believes in me' will see life restored to the dead situation, then He point blank asked Martha 'Do you believe this?' (vs26).  That's the crux of the matter - Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection, the restorer of your situation?  I'm not talking about whether Jesus can do anything for you; I am talking about whether you believe He will do it for you, right now, where you're at.  It's that raw faith that causes the zoe life of God to enter your situation.   If you own a copy of the Moffatt translation read the additional reading from there because it says 'as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live and move in the new sphere of Life' (Romans 6.4, Moffatt).

Suggested Additional Reading:   Romans 6.1-11

"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" – Colossians 3.2 (NKJV)

In His 'Sermon on the Mount', Jesus spoke of seeking the Kingdom of God above anything else.  He said not to worry about food, clothing, houses, or your daily needs - In fact He said not to worry at all.  'But that's impossible Brother Peter, how can you not worry?'  It's not impossible, if it were then Jesus would have told us to just try our best, but He didn't, He said don't do it.  How do we get to the point where we don't worry and fret.  First of all we need to understand what worry is; worry is meditating on the problem, now meditation is not a casual thought it is going over and over something in your mind.  When we meditate on the problem, that's worry; that worry implants fear into our hearts and we begin to imagine the worst.  Now let us see how we can get to the place of not worrying by looking at the flip side of the coin.  If we meditate on the Lord, His word, His kingdom we are not focused on the problem but rather on the answer and the need supplier, that's called waiting.  Waiting on the Lord implants faith into our hearts and we quickly see the need answered and the problem dealt with.  'Set your mind on things above' that is get it fixed and established on heavenly things.  If your mind is fixed and established on the Kingdom of God it will not move, even if a hurricane force problem hits; your faith will poke the eye out of the storm.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Colossians 2.18- 3.10

"He has distributed freely [he has given to the poor and needy]; his righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God) endures forever; his horn shall be exalted in honor" – Psalm 112.9 (Amplified)

God never intended for you to contain anything, God's purpose for you is that you overflow.  There are many Christians that are just coming into the knowledge that God wants them prosperous and when you hear them speak, you will hear something like, 'as long as I have enough to meet my needs I'll be happy'.  Prosperity is not about having enough money to meet your needs - prosperity is about having enough money to meet others needs.  True prosperity ensures that all your needs are met so you can then start giving to others to meet their needs.  How many times have you sat in a service and wanted to give an offering but didn't have any money to give.  I lived like that for years and it grieved me that I was not in a position financially to give an offering, in some circumstances we were struggling to pay our own way yet alone meet the needs of others.  Then I started to hear the truth about prosperity and things began to change.  This whole psalm deals with the prosperity of the righteous man and this verse reveals to us the true purpose of it - to be a distributor, to disperse abroad.  Paul quotes this verse in 2 Corinthians 9.6-9 as the base for his teaching on the true purpose of prosperity.  'God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work'.  Paul often uses this term 'good works' in his letters and in most instances he is referring to giving, the word literally means 'an act or deed that benefits someone else'.  God never meant for you to contain all his blessing but to be a blessing; that was his instruction to Abraham and that's His instruction to you.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Genesis 12.1-3; Psalm 112.1-10

"Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed" – Matthew 8.3 (NKJV)

Don't you just love these words of Jesus? 'I am willing; be cleansed'.  These five words alone tell us without a shadow of a doubt, that it is God's will for us to be healed.  No if's, no but's or maybe's about it.  Jesus said 'It is My will for you to be cleansed and healed' (my paraphrase).  There are so many that don't recognise the will of God for you is healing, they argue and fight for their right to be sick.  If it is really God's will for you to be sick then why do folk step out of the will of God and visit the doctor to get well.  This leper came to Jesus to receive healing;  he had heard about Jesus and the miracles of healing that He did, He knew that God could heal him, but like so many today he was unsure of the willingness of God to do it for him.  There are some folk in our churches that still talk as though they are unsure of God's will regarding healing, particularly where it appears that someone hasn't received their healing or even died.  You hear them say something stupid like, 'well maybe it is God's will that they remain sick' or 'the Lord needed them in heaven'.  It is and always will be the will of God that people are healed.  'I am willing', let those three words resound in your spirit until you get a revelation of God's will where you are concerned.   In fact healing always comes; I hear you say, 'now Brother not everybody gets healed so how can you say healing always comes'.  Let me say it again;  Healing always comes but not everybody receives the healing.  God is never slack concerning healing, we are slack concerning receiving, we need to learn how to receive.  Actually let me challenge you to read through all the healing accounts in the Gospels and see for yourselves how many times the words immediately or straightaway appear in regards to healing.  There are more than you may think.  Healing always comes for it is always God's will to heal you.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Matthew 8.1-17

"Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given" – Mark 4.24 (NKJV)

We have in this chapter the key to everything we have in life, it is all linked to this one thing - seedtime and harvest.  The measure that you use it will be measured back to you; the Scripture also say 'whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap' (Galatians 6.7).  Whatever measure we use we find that's the measure that it is returned to us.  If we sow sparingly we will reap sparingly, if we sow bountifully we reap bountifully.  You may not think about this much but even the world uses terminology like this.  In the past I have worked with many non-Christian colleagues and they used the phrase 'we reap what we sow' quite often, perhaps never even considering that this is a Scriptural law.  Any body knows that in order to get a crop you need to sow some seeds. A farmer doesn't buy a piece of land and after a while, when he sees no crops, says to his wife 'there is something wrong with this field, I've watered it and tended it but nothing is growing'.  She will say to him 'what seeds did you plant' and he says 'Oh I didn't sow any seeds, the person I bought the field from said that the soil produced very well'.  She will call him foolish; in order to get the field to produce a crop you have to sow some seeds.  But many folk are like this farmer, they see and hear of other folk blessed and enjoying all the benefits and want all the blessings that they have, and they wonder why there is no harvest.  If you don't sow any seeds you'll never reap a harvest.  Jesus said in another rendering of this verse (Luke 6.38) 'Give, and it will be given unto you'; did you see that, Give (sow, put something in the ground) and it will be given unto you.  Start sowing towards your harvest, and soon you will reap what you have sown.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Mark 4.24-34

"Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care? Can't you see how kind He has been in giving you time to turn from your sin" – Romans 2.4 (NLT)

Do you know somebody that's always grumbling or complaining about something or another?  The children of Israel were like that, there was always something that they grumbled about.  Even in the midst of some of the mightiest miracles they had ever witnessed they still found something to complain about.  When God fed them daily with bread from heaven, they complained that they had no meat.  When God gave them meat to eat they complained about the bread.  Even today, when men and women witness great miracles, you hear them grumble: 'why are they always getting their needs met, that never happens to me?'; 'God never blesses me like that'; 'I've had this sickness for 25 years and as soon as she gets it she's instantly healed'.  These same people never seem to recognise the goodness of God to them - they been forgiven of all their sins, they are recipients of the grace and mercy of God and yet they still seem to grumble.  All God has ever wanted is that His people turn to Him, follow Him and trust Him.   Actually it is the goodness of God that these grumblers and complainers are still around, God is giving them time to repent.  Look at Judas Iscariot, how many times had he taken money from the purse?  Do you honestly think Jesus didn't know about it?, most certainly God knew.  Yet you never hear Jesus rebuking him about it, the goodness of God was giving him time to repent.  However the reckoning day was coming and Judas didn't escape, his repentance came too late.  Come on brother, sister, turn to God and repent of your grumbling while you can, begin to appreciate the goodness of God in your life.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Romans 2.1-16

"He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit" – Proverbs 17.27 (AV)

Some time ago I was doing a study through Proverbs and noting down every day the things that the Lord was speaking to me from it.  One consistent theme in Proverbs is the emphasis God places on the power of the words of the righteous.  In this verse we read that the man who has knowledge uses his words sparingly.  Do you know anybody that has great knowledge on a subject?  If you look at them (or listen) you'll probably find them talking a lot about it, almost as if they like to hear themselves speak.  I know a man like that, he has a great interest on the subject of the 'First World War' and indeed is very knowledgeable, but once he gets hooked in on the subject he can talk for hours.  That's one illustration, now lets turn it around to what the Bible means.  Have you heard someone that is angry about something using his words, he shouts and rants using many words, and more often than not a lot of those words are not always good and edifying.  He has knowledge of something but he is not using his words sparingly.  He's just shooting them out like rounds coming from an automatic machine gun. That's not the case where the righteous are concerned, when you have knowledge of something that God has revealed to you you need to be careful what you speak, you use your words sparingly, you cannot afford to be spouting out any old junk.  If you are believing God for something, eg healing of a sickness, you need to speak healing all the time.  That sickness is working in your body all the time and you can't afford to let up on speaking words of healing.  You don't want to be spouting words of unbelief about sickness.  Look at what it says in the next verse - he that shutteth his lips is a man of understanding.  A man or woman that is wise before God, knows when to speak and when to be quiet.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Proverbs 10.11-32

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" – Psalm 91.1 (AV)

This verse starts one of the most loved of all the Psalms.  These are two places that every Christian should desire to be - dwelling in the secret place of the Most High God, and abiding under the shadow of Almighty God (El-Shaddai).  Psalm 31.20 says that God shall hide them [His children] in the secret place of His presence.  The secret place of the Most High God is His presence, and in His presence there is complete security.  It is the secret place, there is no devil in hell that can infiltrate the secret place.  Come into the secret place today, get into the presence of the Lord.  This verse also says that when we dwell in the secret place we abide under the shadow of El-Shaddai.  Have you thought about a shadow, as long as the sun is shining you are not separated from your shadow.  A shadow is never far from the body that casts it.  To be in the secret place of the Most High God is to be under the shadow of Almighty God, never too far from the God who is more than enough!  In His presence we are in the shadow of the God of provision, God of supply, the All Sufficient One who can meet all our needs, physical, spiritual and material.  The opening two verses of this psalm are the conditions that are necessary to claim and enjoy the rich promises contained in the rest of the psalm.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Psalm 91.1-16

"Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life" – Jude 21 (AV)

The apostle Jude writes in his letter that we should 'keep ourselves in the love of God'.  The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 12.31 that love is the most excellent way, love is what keeps us firmly grounded.  Some years ago in one of the daily reading books, the writer told the story of William Jennings Bryan (American statesman and lawyer 1860-1925).  He told an artist who was painting his portrait that he purposefully allowed his hair to grow so that it covered his ears.  His reason was that many years previously, when he was courting his then wife to be, she objected that his ears stuck out; so to please her he grew his hair.  The artist questioned him why he hadn't later had his hair cut, Bryan replied 'the romance is still going on'.  What wonderful words, the romance is still going on.  Is your romance with the Lord still going on?; are you keeping yourself in the love of God?;  Jesus said that we should continue in His love.  When we keep ourselves in the love of God we find that whatever we face cannot take it's place.  There is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God.  Many years ago Lanny Wolfe wrote a song which says "I keep falling in love with Him, over and over, over and over again"; may that be true today in your experience; Oh for a fresh revelation of the love of God.

Suggested Additional Reading:   John 15.9-27

"But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" – James 4.6 (AV)

The first word of this verses is 'but', this immediately tells us that it has a connection to the previous thought.  James had made a statement and then he writes 'but he giveth more grace' so in order to understand what is implied here we need to take a look at the previous few verses.   The thought begins at verse 4, here he says that friendship with the world is enmity with God; or you cannot serve the world and God at the same time.  There are some Christians that think they can get away with flirting with the world; yes, they go to church on Sunday and are so spiritual, praising God and speaking with tongues; but the rest of the week they are lying and cheating, and acting up to the world. Then they are back in church on Sunday as though nothing had happened.  The Bible calls those people adulterers and adulteresses - that's what they are and what they do, committing spiritual adultery.  As a Christian you cannot be allies with the world.  Then James writes in verse 5 that God's Spirit in us jealously yearns for us, to bring us to the place of desiring God rather than the friendship of the world.  That's why He gives more grace; the Scripture says in Romans 5.20 'where sin abounded, grace did much more abound'.  There was a time in history when the whole world had committed adultery against God, and yet there was just one man that was all out for God, his name was Noah.  The Bible says that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6.8) - where sin abounded there was a greater abundance of grace.  There is great grace today to bring you back to God and to keep you from going to the world.  Receive His grace, His love, His favour - it's never been as abundant as it is today.

Suggested Additional Reading:   James 4.1-17

"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." – Luke 22.31-32 (AV)

How do you think you would have felt if you were Peter?  Peter’s heart was wholly for God, even if he were a bit brash at times, we see a little of his outward character a bit later in the chapter (vs50), where he cuts off the ear of the High Priest’s servant.  Here, in this verse, the Lord tells him that Satan himself has desired to have him that he may test him.  Pete, ‘the big feet’ (as I heard someone once describe him, because of his tendency to open his mouth and put his foot in it before he had engaged the brain), immediately responded with ‘I am ready to go to prison and to die for you’ and yet we see him just two hours later denying Jesus with cursing and swearing before a young maid.   Jesus warns him that Satan is to try him, to thresh him as wheat on threshing floor.   For some that can be too much; you can hear them whimpering in some corner of a room, ‘Oh why am I suffering all these trials and tests? I can’t cope, it’s too much’.  But wait, before you get all hung up on the problem, did you read the next verse?  Jesus continued to say ‘But I have prayed for thee’; I like that word but, don’t you?  When we put a but in, it’s normally a precursor to a whole heap of doubt and unbelief; when Jesus says but, it’s there to give comfort and help.  What was the content of Jesus’ prayer?  That ‘your faith will not fail’.  When you face a testing time, you can have confidence that Jesus is praying for you that your faith does not fail.  Jesus has faith in you that your faith will overcome.  Yes Peter may have slipped up a couple of times but he came through victorious. He overcame the time of testing; he was threshed but not put out, and neither will you be.

"And so was it not right for this woman, a descendant of Abraham, whom Satan has for eighteen years kept bound, to be freed from this bond on the Sabbath?" – Luke 13.16 (C B Williams)

What a glorious occasion this was for this Galilean synagogue; a woman in desperate need of healing, kept bound by Satan for eighteen years, healed and set free by Jesus.  I particularly like the Williams translation of this verse because it states that it was her right to be healed as she was a descendant of Abraham.  If you let him get away with it, the devil will keep you bound in your need.  This woman could have been released from this sickness as soon as she got it, but she allowed the devil to keep her bound.  Freedom, healing and health were hers by right because she was the seed of Abraham.  Are you in need today, don't let the devil keep you there, you have a right to be freed from the bond.  That right has nothing to do with how long you've been saved, it is to do with birthright.  You are born again of the spirit of God, and that gives you rights and privileges under the New Covenant.  You are in Christ and are therefore you are also the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3.29) - Christ has redeemed you from the curses of the law so that you can be a receiver of the blessings of Abraham.  Salvation is your right!  Healing is your right!  Prosperity is your right!  Deliverance is your right!  Victory is your right!  Child of God be loosed from your bond.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Luke 13.10-17

"And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way" – Matthew 8.28 (AV)

As I was meditating on this verse, the Lord spoke to me about the last phrase, 'so that no man might pass by that way'.  These demons that possessed the two men, had control over everybody around and not just the two concerned.  You see the demons prevented anybody else from passing that way, maybe it was because of the sheer strength of the men, it could well be that others had been physically hurt by them, also they were most certainly prevented out of fear.  There may also be other reasons that prevented anybody from passing by that way.  The townsfolk were unable to pass by, they were limited; this was a work of the devil that kept them 'bound' to their limitations.  Many Christians today are still being limited by the devil; you might say 'I'm not being held back by the devil' but when God asks you to do something you make all types of excuses as to why you can't do it.  'I'm too sick', 'I haven't got enough money', 'I've got no time', 'I don't have the education', 'I'm not called to that'.  These are limitations that are holding you back from fulfilling your destiny in God.  God created you to be without limitations but the devil wants to hold you back.  Jesus not only set these two men free from that demonic spirit but set the whole town free from a limitation that prevented them.  This spirit of limitation needs to be broken in your life today, will you let me pray for you.  "Father, I decree and declare that your people reading this are free from any limitation.  I break the power of satan that would hold them back, I come against any sickness, lack, feelings of old age or inabilities that would prevent them from fulfilling their destiny, and I break their hold over your people in Jesus name"

Suggested Additional Reading:   Matthew 8.28-34;  Philippians 4.13

"At the beginning of your prayers, the word [giving an answer] went forth, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore consider the matter and understand the vision." – Daniel 9.23 (Amplified)

What a great promise this is; As soon as I read this verse while waiting on the Lord one day, my heart jumped and I shouted YES.    I have been concerned sometime about the way we tend to pray, I have listened to some prayers in the prayer meeting and thought 'Ugh'.  The people praying were very sincere but it sounded to me like their was no faith that Jesus would do what they were asking for.  Some folk tend to pray and pray for weeks and weeks about the same thing and that's all they do.  There never seems to be an ounce of faith that God is going to do it or should I rather say has done it.  Once we ask God for something we are told to believe that we have already received it (Mark 11.24) and we shall get it.  The angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel and told him that from the very first moment that he began praying, the command went out, the word went forth.  God's word never returns to Him void (empty and unfulfilled), it always accomplishes and achieves its' purpose, and prospers in the thing that God sent it for.  The moment you began praying for your need, the command was given for your manifestation, your victory, or your healing.  The command was given - as far as God is concerned it's already done.  One time when I was working in a certain place, the manager said to me, 'when I ask you to do something I consider it already done'. What he meant by that was that once the command was given, he didn't have to think about it any more because he knew that I would get it done.  The same thing goes for God, once the command is given it's considered as done.  That word was sent the moment you began to pray, so rejoice the answer is on it's way.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Daniel 9.20-23; 10.10-14; Mark 11.22-24

"But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up" – Matthew 15.13 (AV)

The Pharisees had become masters at twisting the Word of God to say what they wanted it to say.  They had enforced traditions and rituals on to the people that never were part of the Law.  Jesus told them that their traditions had nullified the Word of God and made it of no effect.  A couple of days ago I touched on limitations and saw how the devil uses these to keep us bound.  These traditions were keeping the people bound in religion but Jesus had come to set men free.  He told His disciples that 'every plant, which My Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up'.  The Word of God roots out every plant which has been planted by the enemy, religion and ourselves.  I remember once, I was still a boy of about nine or ten years, we had a big crusade in the church, lots of folk come to know the Lord during that crusade.  My father, who was pastor of the church, spent many evenings afterwards with a particular couple that had come to the Lord.  He went through the Scriptures rooting out many of the issues that they had become entangled in because of their connections with a false cult.  Every 'plant' that the enemy had planted was rooted out with the Word of God.   Every plant which God hath not planted - fear, jealousies, doubt, bitterness, unbelief, false teaching, traditions and sickness to name just a few, He will root out of you with His Word, some may have grown strong and become trees in your life, they too can be rooted out.  Meditate the Word of God today, allow the truth of the Word to penetrate deep into your spirit, rooting out that which should not be there.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Matthew 15.1-20;  Luke 17.6

"Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come" – Ephesians 1.21 (AV)

Ephesians 2.6 says that God has raised us up and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ.  Jesus Christ is sat at the Fathers right hand in the heavenly places where He is 'far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named'.  If that's true of Jesus that He is far above these principalities and powers and we are seated with Him, then we too are seated 'far above'.  There is no demon in hell that has any authority over us, they have no right to dump their junk on us - we are far above them; every rank and file of demon, every might and governing power, every thing that has a name - which includes every sickness and disease.  God put all things under Jesus feet and that means they are under our feet too - so now we can know 'what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe'.  One of the main issues that prevented God's people from entering the Promised Land was how they viewed themselves.  Numbers 13.33 says that they saw themselves as grasshoppers;  that grasshopper mentality kept them out of the Promised Land.  Had all the spies had the spirit of Joshua and Caleb, who saw themselves as 'far above', the Bible records would be completely different, there would have been no 40 years of wandering in the wilderness - they would have gone right in and defeated those giants.  You are 'far above every principality and power', don't let any giant steal your victory, get out of that grasshopper mentality and see yourself where God has put you.

Suggested Additional Reading:  Ephesians 1.15-23

"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water" – Jeremiah 2.13 (AV)

As I was waiting on the Lord for what to write in this devotion, the Lord spoke to me and told me that His people had substituted Him for other means of supply; this verse says exactly the same.  God said that His people had committed evil twice over, one that they had forsaken Him, the Fountain of Living Waters.  God is El-Shaddai, Almighty God, or as we often translate it 'The All Sufficient One'.  He is the source of all that we could ever want or need - from Him proceeds living waters, which bring life and healing wherever it goes (Ezekiel 47.9).  God is our source and nothing or no-one else; that leads us into the second of the two evils. Not only did they forsake Him, who is the Fountain of Living Waters, but they substituted the Fountain with another supply, they cut out their own cisterns, they sought satisfaction elsewhere; but God said that these cisterns that they had provided themselves were broken and could hold no water, they were futile cisterns.  Notice that the Lord calls seeking satisfaction from others an evil.  The Word of the Lord would come to you today - "I am your source and supply, seek no other for they cannot supply your needs.  You may think that they can, they man even appear to supply and satisfy your needs, but they are broken cisterns and they can hold no water.  Do not go running to the governments for help and assistance, do not go in search of help from banking institutions or others.  Lift up your eyes, your help comes from the Lord, the Fountain of Living Waters.  You can drink freely from His supply that will never run dry or become contaminated.  Wherever the water of life flows it brings life, healing and prosperity. Drink from it, drink from it and be satisfied."

Suggested Additional Reading:  Ezekiel 47.1-12

"Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.'" – Psalm 100.3 (AV)

Over the last six weeks our church has been gathering to seek the Lord in a Prayer Mission.  It has been our desire just to draw near to God and hear Him speak and reveal His will for us collectively as a church and as individuals.  One of the themes that He has been dealing with has been that of knowing Him.  He spoke to us early on in the mission and said that we are to ‘be still and know that He is God’.  When so many are rushing around no knowing what to do we are to be still in His presence and we would know His victory, His provision and His glory.  This verse from this psalm of praise says ‘know ye that the Lord He is God’ but not only that He is our God but we are to know that He has made us, we are created in His image according to His likeness.  He knows all about us, He knows how the body functions – He created it;  We can rest in Him knowing that He knows us through and through, He knows the things that we need.  We are also to know that we are the ‘sheep of His pasture’; He is the Good Shepherd, He knows His sheep and He leads them to the verdant pastures of blessing.  He is our God, He is our Creator, He is our Good Shepherd – He knows how to care for us and provide for every need and desire that we have.  It’s no wonder that the psalmist could go on to say ‘For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations’ – go ahead and give Him praise today.

Suggested Additional Reading:   Psalm 100.1-5

"As soon as they got out of the boat, [the people] recognized Him" – Mark 6.54 (Amplified)

I remember hearing a story once, and have since re-told it on several occasions, about a man that was expecting God to visit him in his house.  God had appeared to him while in prayer and said that He would come by that day.  The man patiently waited for God to show up, as he waited by the gate he met several people that day that all had differing needs, one was hungry, another had no money to buy any shoes for her baby, another had some other need.  He was not a wealthy man but was able to give a mug of hot soup to the hungry man, he had a small pair of shoes that were on the feet of a large doll that his daughter once had, and was able to give those to the poor mother.  He was able to minister to those that he met in some small way.  Later that night, slightly disappointed that God had not shown up at his house, he prayed.  'Where were you God? I waited in all day for you'; the Lord replied that He had indeed visited several times that day and thanked the man for his hospitality - He was the poor mother, He was the hungry man, He was each of those with their need, yet the man hadn't recognised Him.  This verse tells us that Jesus was instantly recognised and the people ran to fill the streets with those that had needs.   If Jesus came by your home today would you recognise Him.  Do you have some need in your life? Do you recognise Jesus as the one able to meet those needs? When you're sick, do you recognise Him as your Healer?  Is your Provider? your Saviour?  your help and strength?.  Jesus said 'I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me' (John 10.14, Amplified).   

"Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger" – Psalm 8.2 (NKJV)

Praise coming forth from your lips is powerful; so many Christians don't fully appreciate the power there is in praise.  In 2 Chronicles 20 we read that King Jehoshaphat under the instruction of God sent praisers in to battle at the front line.  The Bible says that as they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes among their enemies.  In another battle, under the leading of Joshua, it was the shout of praise that brought the walls of Jericho down.  The command was to wait for the sound of the trumpet and then every man was to shout aloud; they did and the Lord gave them a great victory (Joshua 6.20).  This verse tells that praise from out of the mouth of babes and infants, but that doesn't exclude you and me, God has ordained strength.  That praise silences the enemy and the avenger.  God has ordained that praise will still the enemy in his tracks.  Paul and Silas proved that while in prison, it appeared that the enemy was winning a battle, he had these two great evangelists thrown into prison for preaching and ministering in the power of the anointing.  But the Bible says (Acts 16.25) that at midnight they were singing and praising God - and God opened the prison doors.   Praise is not just singing a song in church, it is a weapon given us by God, never under-estimate the tremendous power that there is in praise.

"In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him'" – 1 John 4.9 (NKJV)

There is an often quoted verse in the book of Romans that says, ‘But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us’ (Romans 5.8, Amplified).  God has shown the world how much He loves us by sending Jesus to be our Saviour, even when we were still sinners and anti-God, He loved us enough to send Jesus.  Manifested love is always expressed through giving – God gave us Jesus; Jesus gave the needy His time and ministry, He was always giving and healing.  Peter states in Acts 10.38 that ‘Jesus went about doing good’, He was always ‘doing’, giving out.   Our verse today says that God’s love was manifested towards us that we might have life.  All God has ever wanted for us is to live and enjoy life; yet you hear so many sermons that say we must suffer, bear the burden, give up the things we enjoy.  Jesus came that we might have life; listen to John 10.10 in the Amplified Version – ‘The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)’.  Does that sound like what is heard in our pulpits today?  Jesus wants us to have and enjoy life; that’s why He came; that’s what love is all about.

Suggested Additional Reading:   1 John 4.7-14

"In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world" – 1 John 4.17 (Amplified)

Yesterday we looked at the love of God from 1 John 4.9; today I want to go deeper into that chapter and consider what it says in verse 17.  Perfected love gives us boldness, it casts out all fear, the Scripture says that in the next verse.  Fear is the opposite of boldness – just think about that for a moment;  a child who has no boldness will be very timid when it comes to approaching his father to ask for something.  That timidity is rooted in fear, he may love his father very much but finds it uncomfortable asking for things because of that fear of being rejected or his request denied.  When love is perfected we have tremendous boldness.  A few weeks ago I was waiting on the Lord and read from the Word some words which I knew very well, but the truth of those words hit me like an express train.  God spoke to me and said ‘you are greatly beloved’.  As I meditated on what that meant to me, God spoke to me again and said ‘I will do anything and everything for you.. because I love you’. That gives you boldness to approach the Father and ask whatever you want, and you know that your request will not be denied.   That love does something inside us, we know that as He is, so are we in this world.  We become an extension of God in this world, we can minister and be a vessel through which God’s love is manifested to a needy world.

Suggested Additional Reading:   1 John 4.15-21

"And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.  And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him" – 1 John 5.14-15 (Amplified)

I believe the Holy Spirit would have us consider the theme of boldness again today.  Yesterday we saw that perfected love gives us boldness, a boldness that can approach the Father at any time and ask our petitions of Him.  In the following chapter, 1 John 5, we see this theme of boldness being spoken of again.  This is the confidence (boldness) that we have in Him, we are absolutely sure that if we ask Him anything (according to His will) we know that He will hear us.  And not only that but if we are absolutely sure that God hears us, because we have petitioned Him according to His will, we are also absolutely certain that God cannot deny a request that has been made in accordance with His will.  That being the case then we know that we will have those things that we have asked of Him.  How can we be sure we get every prayer answered all the time? – Love.  Perfected love gives us that boldness, and that boldness assures us that whatever we ask we will have.  Paul wrote to the Corinthian church ‘Pursue love’ – it’s no wonder when we see what the love of God will do.

Suggested Additional Reading:   1 John 5.12-19

"Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way that you should go. Oh, that you had hearkened to My commandments! Then your peace and prosperity would have been like a flowing river, and your righteousness [the holiness and purity of the nation] like the [abundant] waves of the sea." – Isaiah 48.17-18 (Amplified)

This verse in Isaiah which we have read today, says that the Lord teaches us how to profit.  The Lord wants you to prosper and be successful..  I have never been able to understand why so many Christians would want to fight prosperity, apart from the fact that the devil is keeping them that way.  God says that He teaches us to profit - that's increase, prosperity and success.  For some years now I have had the pleasure of working with a charity that send books and Bibles overseas. During that time  I've seen a large volume of books written against prosperity and men of God such as Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland and others.  One thing that is very hypocritical is that all these people that write books against prosperity are selling them - for profit.  If prosperity is so bad, then stop selling the books!  The Lord teaches us to profit, His Word shows us how we can be a success, and He says that if we hearken to those words prosperity would flow to us like a mighty river or the waves of the sea.  Now let's understand the purpose for this prosperity, it is not necessarily to feather our own nests, although God has no problem with us being comfortable.  The true purpose of prosperity is to fulfil the job God has given us to do.  There is a world that needs to hear the Gospel and it's going to take a whole heap of money to reach them.  To go there takes money; to publish literature takes money; to hold services takes money; to get on television or radio takes money; to establish a church takes money - I think you get the message.  Don't push it on to others, God tells you to go - the only two reasons stopping people from going is (1) they don't want to go - which is wilful disobedience; or (2) they cannot afford to go.   'But what about me Brother Peter, I don't have the time to go, work takes up all my time'; I'm glad you asked, the Lord wants you to prosper so much that you have enough to be able to stop working for others and work for Him.  Prosperity is not really a money issue, it is an obedience issue - if people have the time and the money, then the only thing stopping them is a lack of obedience.

"Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'" – John 1.48 (NKJV)

As I was listening to the Word back in 2002, this revelation came to me.  In this account of Philip calling Nathanael, and Nathanael's subsequent conversation with Jesus, the Scripture says that Nathanael was sitting under a fig tree.  What do you think he was doing under that tree?   Verse 49 causes us to imagine it had something to do with faith as he quickly believed when He heard Jesus.  He was most probably meditating and contemplating the words that he had heard John the Baptist preach, 'Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world' (vss 29,36).  Everything he had heard was so wonderful, could it be true? could He really be the Son of God? could this man take away my sins?  While pondering these thoughts, Philip found him and invited him to come and meet Jesus, but there was one thing still bugging Nathanael about this Jesus, why Nazareth? what good comes out of Nazareth? if He were the Son of God, surely He would come from somewhere a bit more upmarket?   You see, Nazareth had a bit of a reputation locally; they were offended at Jesus' preaching and publicly rejected Him, they even wanted to kill Him.  When Nathanael eventually went to meet Jesus he was greeted with some revelatory words; Jesus said to him 'here's a man in whom there is no guile'.  Nathanael wanted to know how He knew him and then Jesus gave this answer, 'before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you'.  WOW, let me paraphrase that for you, 'I saw you Nathanael while you were sitting under that fig tree, thinking those thoughts, tossing those doubts and questions around in your mind.'  Nathanael believed straightaway and became one of Jesus twelve disciples.  Jesus knows the thoughts you are thinking, He knows the questions that you have, the doubts and fears - wait on Him and let Him minister to you today, let His word fill you with faith to believe. He is all that He said He was, He is your All-Sufficient one.

"From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised" – Psalm 113.3 (AV)

This psalm starts out by saying that we should praise the Lord.  The word praise in Hebrew is the word halal, and is from which the word hallelujah is derived. One of the definitions of the word halal is 'to shine, make a show of' others include 'to rave, celebrate, praise'.  I like that definition 'to shine' and when read in conjunction with this verse opens up a completely fresh revelation of praise.  I have always read these words as we should be praising God from when the sun rises in the morning until it sets in the evening, which is true.  We should be a praising people all the time, Paul writes on several occasions that we should rejoice at all times.  Think on this thought today: From the moment the sun rises in the morning until it sets in the evening it casts it's light on the land, it shines.  Even on cloudy and overcast days the sun is still shining in full strength, it may hidden from our view but it is still shining.  I'll never forget the first time I went up in a plane; the pilot lifted us up through the clouds, and it was good to see the tops of the clouds as though they were a carpet of cotton wool spread out underneath us; somehow the clouds just don't look the same from the earth.  But what else I noticed was how strong and bright the sun was, it reflected off the wings, and whenever the plan banked to the side, we were momentarily blinded by the brightness of it.  As I read this verse in the light of the revelation of 'shining', it dawned on me that as the sun shines constantly on the earth, so are we to shine on God, or to make a show of Him all the time; to lift Him up so that He can be seen by all.  Why don't you just go ahead and 'rave' on God today, shine on Him so all can see Him.  You can do that easily by the giving of a testimony to His goodness, talking about Him, or singing about Him.

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now Your word do I keep [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it]" – Psalm 119.67 (Amplified)

So many good church folk, so called Bible believing Christians are not reading their Bibles every day.  That is a very dangerous position to be in because when affliction strikes it takes a lot of hard work to get to the place where your faith is established to stand against the affliction and see your victory.  Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and it is kept sharp by hearing the Word everyday.  Have you ever used a blunt instrument such as a knife or wood-axe, it takes a lot more effort to get the job done; Keep the instruments sharp and the job is much easier.  I do quite a bit of cooking at home and cannot bear using a blunt knife.  So for one of my birthdays my daughter bought me a set of professional kitchen knives.  Just recently I was preparing a meal and needed to slice up some tomatoes.  As I had been using one of the knives for some time, the knife was not as sharp as it should have been and was struggling to get through the skin; so I put it to the steel and sharpened it, next time the knife touched the skin of the tomato, the tomato didn't have a chance.  The psalmist could say 'before I was afflicted I went astray', how did he go astray, well the verse goes on to tell us his sin, not heeding to the Word of God.  This is the sin of many Christians today, they are too busy doing worthless things and don't make time for the Word.  So when sickness strikes or some other affliction, they suddenly realise they don't know what they think they know - believe me, I've been there. Stand on the Word, establish your faith early and keep it sharp, don't wait until sickness or some other affliction strikes to get in the word.  These sicknesses will attack your body 24/7 and you may not have the time then to get started in the Word.  Today is a good day to start reading the Bible everyday.

"And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" – Luke 10.9 (NKJV)

Jesus sent out His twelve disciples on a mission, then Luke 10 tells us that He appointed another seventy to go out and do the same thing.  Their mission was to preach the same message that He Himself was preaching.  Jesus' message was 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matthew 4.17), this message wasn't an just empty message but that the power of God was now available to meet all their needs.  Jesus' message wasn't just that the Kingdom of God was at hand but also that the anointing of God was upon Him to heal and deliver: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.' (Luke 4.18-19).  Now He was entrusting His disciples with the same message, to go and preach the Kingdom of God is at hand and demonstrate it by healing the sick.  We have been entrusted with that same message - that's the gospel, but sadly most 'Gospel' sermons only make provision for folk to be forgiven of their sins.  The Gospel as Jesus and His disciples preached it, and the Gospel that the early church preached included demonstrations of the power of God - the sick were healed, the lame walked, the blind eyes were opened, people were set free from the grip of the enemy.  That's the message that you and I are to preach; notice that in this verse Jesus did not tell them to go and pray for those who were sick and maybe they would healed, He told them to go and heal the sick.  Go and set the captives free - that's our message today, that's the message this world needs to hear more than ever.  The kingdom of God has come near to you - there's life, health, prosperity and freedom in the Kingdom!

"But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God" – Philippians 4.18 (AV)

When reading the end of this chapter, most people focus in on verse 19 where it says that God will supply all our needs, but today I want us to consider the words of the previous verse, particularly the phrase 'I am full'.   God's desire for you is that you are full in every way - full of the Spirit, full of love, joy, faith, mercy and we could go on.  But God also wants you full in the area concerning material things, Paul could write 'I have all, and abound: I am full..''.  He was lacking nothing, everything he needed was supplied, the Philippian church had sponsored him and supported him in his missionary quest;  Epaphroditus brought their seed offering to him and he received it with joy.  This church did not just send him a small gift from out of the church funds, they blessed him, they sent money to him, but that's not all, they would also have sent food, and other things that would have been necessary for his mission.  Because the Bible tends not to mention too much about daily life, we tend to forget those necessary things;  Paul and his team would have needed money to pay the fares for the ship, clothes to wear, cloth for repairing and making tents, perfumes and oils for washing and bathing, food to eat.  Other resources would have been needed to establish churches; in the early days of his ministry Paul often spent many months, sometimes years training up pastors and leaders in the new churches that had been established.  That's why God needed him full: Listen to the words of this verse in the Amplified 'But I have [your full payment] and more; I have everything I need and am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent me. [They are the] fragrant odour of an offering and sacrifice which God welcomes and in which He delights' - I have everything I need and am amply supplied.  "But that was Paul, he was a missionary going all over the world, he needed church support, what about me, I have a job, I don't get supported like that".  Listen Honey, the Philippian church gave to him, and Paul went on to tell them that because of those gifts that God would supply all their needs.  Jesus also taught (Luke 6) that if we give, it will be given back to us, a FULL measure - that's everything we need and amply supplied.   The prerequisite for that is GIVE - that's a kingdom principle not a worldly one.  The world says store up, hold on, don't let go of it; but that's one sure way to lose it.  Look at those verses in Luke 6.30-38, this is talking about a giving lifestyle - giving love, giving mercy, giving money.  If you want to be full, then start to give out, be a blessing and you will be blessed.

The other day I was reading from Today's New International Version, a relatively new translation of the Bible, and I came across this verse, as soon as I read it a flood of revelation hit my spirit.  'Blessed are those..' a blessed man is a man empowered to prosper and succeed, a man who is enjoying the abundant life that Jesus came to give us.  The blessed man does not walk in step with the wicked - every day, every week and every month, the world's system wants us to keep in step with it.   It comes up with so called fresh plans, new ideas, and great deals to get us to keep in step with it.  But the Scripture says that the blessed man does not walk in step with the wicked, in fact the Bible says that we are not to be 'conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind'.  We are not to keep in step with the world but rather keep in step with the Spirit of God by allowing our thoughts and actions to be framed by the Word of God.  Hebrews 11.3 says 'Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God', look at this as your world, the sphere that you operate in, what causes you to function. Allow God's Word to frame that sphere, this is what Psalm 1 goes on to say, the blessed man delights in the law of the Lord and he meditates on it day and night.  Make this confession today "I do not keep in step with the world, my world is framed by the Word of God and I'm blessed, empowered to prosper and succeed"

Suggested Additional Reading:  Romans 12.1-3;  Hebrews 11.1-3