Month: July 2015
Let Your Joy
From the book of James. We are instructed how to go through the tests and trials of life and come out on the other side be complete and lacking nothing. In this part we see that the way we enter a test determines how we leave. Our joy must enter first if we are to see victory.
Dear Burd and AP and Church Family,
3 Keys to Communion with God” John Belt, Oklahoma City, OK
3 Keys to Communion with God” John Belt, Oklahoma City, OK
The Three Foundational Facets of Biblical Meditation
Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. (Photo via John Belt)
How important is what we meditate upon? With all the false practices of meditation associated with false religion some have wrongly categorized meditation as a bad thing. But the fact is that we are always meditating on something, thinking about something, or giving our thoughts over to something.
Psalm 1 makes it clear that there is a right kind of meditation that God wants us to engage in. In simple terms, where we place our thoughts determines how we will think, what we will act like, and where we will end up in the long term.
There are specifically three areas of meditation that we can engage in as Believers so that our heart and mind will be captured in the glory of Who God is. These areas include the Word of God, the voice of God, and the testimonies of God.
1. The Word of God
Psalm 119:1-2 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! (Photo via Pixabay)
Everything begins with His Word. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was made flesh (John 1:1). In the beginning God spoke (Genesis 1:3). Understanding the power of God’s Word, we need to prioritize our lives to meditate upon it.
In Hebrews it says the Word of God is sharp and powerful to the division of our soul and spirit, bringing distinction to what is actually coming from our own self versus that which is after the Spirit. This gives us wisdom, discernment, and understanding for our lives to walk after God’s will and ways.
The Word of God:
– Cleanses, purifies, and protects the heart (Psalm 119:11)
– Separates the soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12)
– Brings light of revelation, driving out the darkness (Psalm 119:130)
– Washes by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:26)
– Prospers our spirit, soul, and body (Deuteronomy 28:1-2)
– Brings healing (Proverbs 4:22)
– Revives (Psalm 119:25)
2. The Voice of God
Another powerful area of meditation is the revelation that God gives to us through His voice speaking personally to us. How is God speaking to you? Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice…and they follow Me” (John 10:27). This is the next important step: to walk with God, hearing His voice.
There are things outlined in the Word of God that are across the board in application to every one of our lives. Then there are the specific directions that God gives each of us according to His individual plans for our lives. This is where it is most important to hear His voice. (Photo via Pixabay)
Some might take the attitude that they are not important enough for God to speak to them. Nothing could be further from the truth. All of us are valuable. He is just looking for willing vessels. If you are willing, He is there and ready to use you. We have to make ourselves available for His plans.
Understanding that we have a role to play is foundational for us to even be motivated to seek the Lord and hear His voice. If we don’t have motivation, then we have no desire to hear. And we must hear the voice of God to obey. Have faith that God wants to flow through your life to impact others.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Our belief and faith give us the following action of diligent pursuit to lay hold of the reward that He has for us. Believe God, hear His voice, and diligently seek Him.
3. The Testimonies of What God has Done
As well, we have the area of testimonies of what the Lord has done to meditate on. Has He spoken to you? That is amazing in itself to meditate on! What prayers has He answered in your life? What is your personal testimony of coming to Jesus Christ? Then we also have all of the testimonies of what God has done in the Bible. These are our own testimonies as well, through inheritance. (Photo via Pixabay)
The world is filled with bad testimonies of defeat, sadness, and self-consumption. God wants us to meditate on the great things He has done! Because of all the bad testimonies in the world, we need to focus on the “good news” and the “good testimonies” of God’s goodness. This is how we give “witness” to the goodness of God, His nature and Person.
We see it all through the Psalms, how we are to remember the works of the Lord. We should meditate on all the things that Jesus did in His earthly ministry: the miracles, healings, deliverances, including other acts of His love and truth. The Book of Acts is a book of the things God did, how He worked through His Church, showing He is alive and active.
Choosing what we meditate on is hugely important because it is the difference between meditating and “communing” with the spirit of the world versus the Spirit of God. God has designed us for victorious living, but we have to make the right choices. In the Book of Deuteronomy God promises the blessings because of those who chose to make their meditation the Lord and the things that He values. We are not blessed just because we got the ticket to Heaven, but we have to live in pursuit of His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
John and Brandi Belt
Overflow Global Ministries
An Amazingly Encouraging Word to the American Church” byJohny Enlow
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An Amazingly Encouraging Word to the American Church” As I was praying today, I was able to see in the spirit some important things over our nation. I saw what I believe is our nation’s great angel named “Union,” and he was active, arising, and huge over Washington, D.C. I saw he had the colors of the American flag over his chest, and he was immense – as in he dwarfs sky scrapers. The imagery of size, strength, and power was profound. As I was seeing this, I began to sense other things. It is true that Washington is out of control. It is true that the Supreme Court has overstepped its bounds on several fronts. It is true that there are major conspiracies and plans of the enemy against our nation. It is true that the economy doesn’t have sound underpinnings. It is true multiple terrorist organizations are desirous of inflicting maximum damage on America. It is true satan himself is trying to destroy America from within and from without. It is true that he is working at it from all seven mountain avenues; satan has a governmental angle, an economic angle, a family angle, an education angle, a media angle, an arts and entertainment angle, and a religious angle. If you were to look at what satan has been working at for years and years, you would join in with all the voices of “We are doomed.” But here is what I saw and what I know. It is God Himself who is preserving us, and He has sent massive angelic firepower to make sure we don’t disintegrate and we don’t collapse. We are not being preserved by our own righteousness, as our nation has many laws and ordinances that are below righteous standards. We are not being defended because our churches are so full of God. Many of you correctly see that, based on our righteousness level or our church level, we could be destroyed. What many people have not seen, is that we will not be destroyed. Not only will we not be destroyed, but we will be brought through into a great strengthening beyond anything we have experienced as a nation. We are about to experience a transformational national renaissance. This is part of a sovereign design of God for this age of restoration of all things, and He is working with the minority. He is working in conjunction with discerning prophets of His who are able to see Him and what He is doing. Many of His prophets have become stuck and struck, seeing into the second heavens and all that satan has said he will do. Many are terrified, and it is coming out in their words and in their writings and in their videos. However, 99% of what satan has been plotting and planning for the destruction of America WILL NOT HAPPEN. In most cases he doesn’t know he won’t be able to accomplish his plots but he is about to go through a series of startling and humiliating setbacks. He is going to be humiliated in the eyes of his own powers and principalities. They have again underestimated the King of kings – and will suffer accordingly. We are about to go through a great national renaissance that will defy even most of our possibility thinking. The great angels being sent are much more key to that work then the present state of the American Church. I saw that angels have been seen to block the power of words from the mouth of many Christians. Right now the enemy has deceived many Believers into cursing America, and our Father has sent angels to block the effect of these words. I saw angels catching a gray slime and I was instructed that this was the words they were blocking. It was gray because it came out of gray matter, which was the mind processing things outside of God’s perspective. What we do, even what often seems like brilliant logic – is just slime. The time of the Gideons is upon us now. God is going to use a very small courageous and hope-filled minority, even while the bulk of His Church is either asleep, fighting on wrong battle fronts, or defending ridiculous doctrines and positions. These Gideons will soon have the enemy in so much flight that the rest of the Church army will adjust and join in. Even as in Gideon’s day, when the majority saw that just 300 were chasing hundreds of thousands and decided that victory was possible, so too will we see that today. The “300” (not a literal number) are those who run now to the beat of another drum. They are immune to fear, immune to hopeless reports, immune to reasonable caution, immune to influential religious voices of doubt; they are “all in” on a Pollyanna narrative that sees things entirely different than anyone else. These “300” are driven by crazy, radical hope. They have committed to seeing either the greatest victorious days in their lives or being crushed in their “foolish” attempt to make that happen. These “300” who are “all in” are running with God’s great renaissance narrative for today. The invitation is for many to follow this crazy trumpet sound – and if you could what they see – you wouldn’t hesitate, but you would arise and exterminate the fear. Johnny Enlow Johnny Enlow is a social reformer, international speaker, spiritual mentor, and author of The Seven Mountain Prophecy, The Seven Mountain Mantle, and Rainbow God. He and his wife Elizabeth are focused on awakening individuals to their call to provide practical solutions from the heart of God for every problem in society – until the real God of all of life is displayed in the seven primary areas of culture in all nations: Media, Arts and Entertainment, Government, Family, Religion, Economy, and Education. ![]() |