| ............ | A Word In Due Season Sept 2024 9/2/24 FORGIVENESS AND FAITH Scripture: Matthew 6:34 (NRV) "Today's trouble is enough for today." "I laid down my worries and looked at them. Part of them, I noticed, belonged to the past and another part to the future." - Corrie ten Boom Take a look at what you are truly concerned about right now. Many of us are experiencing Corrie ten Boom's words. We are living in the present day but are allowing the guilt of the past and the fears of the future to haunt us. We have become mentally indebted and we cannot seem to let go. It is said that guilt is the interest paid for past mistakes - and worry is the interest paid for the future. In the natural, you may have experienced a debt situation where the interest, penalty, and late charges that were added were quite a bit more than the original debt. Likewise, if you examine your entire situation, you may find that the interest you are paying for your worries, in terms of stress, is adding up to be more than the actual debt. Debt, whether it be natural or mental, can be costly and stressful. We must trust God concerning the failures of our past. When we live in guilt and fear, we are actually questioning God in His forgiveness and His ability to fulfill the promises that He has made to us. He wants to forgive us and is waiting to hear our confession. All that we have to do is simply confess our sins and God will faithfully forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Forgiveness for the past comes by confession. This means we must confess our sins to God, calling them by their name. He does not want a general prayer that vaguely confesses, "If I have sinned, forgive me." God wants us to take responsibility and own-up to our sins and failures, naming them one by one. When we do this, He has promised to cleanse us, erase the debt, and remove all guilt and shame. God also wants us to know that we can trust Him for the future. He will provide for us and fulfill all of the promises that He has made to us. Mathew 6:25 says, "Don't even take thought for the food, water, and clothes that you will need. Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things." If you just trust Him, He will provide daily food for you just like He does for the birds because you are more valuable to Him than they are. You are His special creation and He has even numbered the hairs on your head. Jesus said, "Just look at the beautiful lilies of the field. They don't toil, spin, or worry." They just look toward the heavens and draw their strength from God's daily provision of rain and sun. Because of their simple trust, God clothes them in a glory that exceeds the glory of King Solomon. Like the lilies and the birds, God will also take care of you and clothe you in the same splendor. Jesus said it so plainly. "You have enough to worry about for today. So forget the past and all of its failures and trust Me for your future." +++ 9/3/24 HEALING FOR THE HEART Scripture: Psalms 147:3 "He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds." Saint Augustine, who lived in 354-430 AD said, "It's one thing to remove the spear, but quite another to heal the wound by long and careful treatment." His statement was not only true concerning physical wounds but also true with regard to wounds that come when the heart has been shattered by the conflicts of life. The spear, or the circumstance that causes our pain, may be quickly removed from our lives. Yet, the wound that has been inflicted will take much time to fully heal because when the spear is removed, it leaves a gaping hole within our heart that only God can mend. Memories may linger for a lifetime and their reoccurrence will surprise us at the most inopportune moments. Against our will, they will resurface and remind us of the pain that we suffered and the injustice that we were forced to endure. Painful memories are like permanent stains, which cannot be erased, removed, or washed away without the supernatural work of our Comforter, the Holy Spirit. King David was a mighty warrior and knew the hardships and grief of battle. Yet, his heart had been wounded not by a spear from the enemy, but by a trusted friend. He prayed to God concerning this particular painful and personal experience that he had suffered. He said if an enemy had reproached and taunted him, he might have been able to bear it. Or if he had been hurt by someone who hated him, he would have just gone into hiding. But sadly, David's wounds came from his close companion and familiar friend. He was betrayed by someone with whom he shared a close relationship. They had a sweet fellowship with one another and had even walked together to the house of God (Psalms 55:12-14). Like David, most of us have sustained near-fatal wounds in the spirit and have felt the pain of the spear as it pierced our heart. We have lost loved ones to death, experienced divorce, or possibly suffered an estranged relationship with a close friend or a precious member of our own family. Through no fault of our own, we have been terribly wounded by those that we have loved and trusted the most. No enemy could have broken our heart that deeply. No worldly acquaintance could have disappointed us more than the betrayal by our spiritual brother or sister whom we fellowshipped with in the house of the Lord. These wounds to our heart are deeper and far greater than those that an enemy could inflict, for it is harder to receive healing when our wounds came by those whom we love. Nevertheless, we do have hope. The Lord, Himself, has promised to heal the broken hearted and to bind up the wounds. We must yield ourselves to His process. Jesus will remove the spear and then by long and careful treatment, He will lovingly bind up or dress our wounds until our hearts are thoroughly healed. +++ 9/4/24 KEEP ON ASKING Scripture: Luke 18:1 (Amplified) "Always pray ... do not turn coward, faint, lose heart and give up." This scripture deals with a widow who received justice from a judge. The judge gives his account of the situation and explains why he granted her justice. He said that he did not avenge her because he reverenced and feared God. Neither did he grant her petition because he had respect and consideration for her as a person. The judge avenged her because he began to realize that she was not going to give him any peace until she received some answers. Every time he turned around, she was there and her voice was in his ears. She was bothersome and an intolerable annoyance to him. She was determined in her spirit and was not going to leave without getting an answer. In verse seven, Jesus said, just like this unjust judge, "Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?" How many answers do we fail to receive because we quit praying and give up? James 5:16 says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." This speaks of Elijah's earnest prayers concerning rain. His petition was not a "one time" prayer. I Kings 18:42-43 tells us that Elijah cast himself down upon the earth, put his face between his knees, and prayed seven times until he saw that his answer was on the way. Effective prayer continues until there are results. It is like boiling a pot of water. Water must reach 212 degrees before it begins to boil. We can stand there and wait until it reaches 210 degrees and give up each time just before it starts to boil, or we can see the process through. In Mark 8:22-25, Jesus put His hands on a blind man the second time before the man's vision was restored completely. And Daniel's prayer was heard from the first day that he prayed, but his answer was delayed twenty-one days (Daniel 10:12). Shameless persistent faith holds on until the answer comes. You must never give in to disappointment and discouragement if you want to experience victory. And you must not turn coward and faint. Instead, "Ask and keep on asking, and it shall be given unto you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door shall be opened to you." (Luke 11:9 Amplified). +++ 9/5/24 GOD TEACHES AND DIRECTS Scripture: Isaiah 48:17 NIV "This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." As we travel our various roads of life, there are separate destinies that await us. Yet often in quest of God's purposes and plans, it seems difficult to 'get on' and 'stay on' the right course because there are so many distractions to lead us away in the wrong direction. Our paths may be diverted by failures and disappointments or sometimes even good things that are not necessarily the right things for our life. It would be great to be like the Israelites who were led by a cloud each day and guided by a fire at night. Or can you imagine being directed by the Star of Bethlehem, which led the wise men to their intended destination? With precise signs and wonders like these leading us, it would surely be hard for us to miss God's perfect plan for our life. God, however, has not ordained these types of supernatural happenings for our daily life. He has given us His Word, the witness of His Holy Spirit, and His still small voice to guide and direct us. As simple as this plan of communication may sound, however, His presence and His voice is just as phenomenal as signs and wonders. How awesome it is to feel God's presence leading us along the right path. It is just as exciting as the cloud by day or the fire by night because when God makes His presence known, it is an overwhelming and eternal experience. Also, when God singles us out and speaks distinctly within our spirits, there is no sign or wonder that can compare. Every time God touches us in a personal and special way, we are changed. His desires become our desires and His choices become our choices. The more we see Him move in our circumstances, the more we realize that His ways truly are better than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. All of God’s plans for us are for our good and not evil and they are designed to give us a future and a hope. He is our Redeemer and the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah said that the Lord not only teaches or lets you know the right way, but that He also directs you in the way you should go. God is interested in that which is the very best for you. Trust His leadership, for He knows what is ahead and is much wiser than you. As you trust Him, you will find that He always gives you the best when you allow Him to do the choosing. +++ 9/6/24 A PLACE CALLED PRAYER Scripture: Matthew 14:23 "Jesus went up into a mountain apart to pray: and …He was there alone." This scripture is sandwiched in between two mighty miracles that Jesus preformed. In the first miracle, Jesus fed over 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. Within just a few hours, He performed another miracle by walking on the water. Could we say as the people did in Matthew 13:54, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" Jesus answers this question in John 5:19-20 when He says, "The Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing ... For the Father loves the Son and will show Him what He is doing." Even though Jesus was God the Son, when He came to Earth He came in the flesh, or as John 1:14 says, He was the "Word made flesh." Jesus emptied Himself of His deity and took on the form of a mere man. He could only do what the Spirit of God anointed Him to do (Philippians 2:6-8). Jesus did not take advantage of His divine nature, but instead He completely abandoned Himself into the hands of God. He depended upon God the Father to show Him what to do and to anoint Him to do it. Acts 10:38 says, "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil: for God was with Him." Jesus' wisdom and power came about as a result of the anointing of God, and the anointing came as a result of His communion with God the Father. Jesus continually searched for a time and place to be alone with God. It was in those intimate places that God showed Jesus what He was to do and infused His being with the presence of the Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus to complete the work. After Jesus miraculously fed the multitudes, He sent His disciples and the multitudes away so that He could find a place to pray before He walked upon the water. Jesus renewed His strength through His relationship with God the Father and did not try to function in yesterday's power. Because Jesus spent time with God, God was with Him. Too often, we find ourselves trying to rely on yesterday's revelation and yesterday's anointing. We must recall the secret that Jesus held. He found wisdom and power in the solitary place called prayer. His main interest was His communion with the Father. God's anointing is only going to come to us through this same place of intimacy with Him. When we pass through the veil into God's presence, we gain an assurance that He is with us. In this place called prayer, we find the power of His anointing that will cause us to be able to fulfill His call. +++ 9/9/24 Copyright © 2024 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved www.widsonline.com |
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