Growth Daily Verses

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - SOLD-OUT

Romans 1:1 - "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ called to be an apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God."

Many are called, but we are never separated. That separation is a threefold thing:

FIRST: The New Creation separates us from the old life.


SECOND: As the Word is built into us, we are separated unto Christ. First, there is a separation from the world; now there is a separation unto the Master. Jesus becomes the Lord of our lives. His Word dominates us.


THIRD: In our walk then, as we are separated unto Christ, we come to believe that God has a PURPOSE for our life (our DESTINY). We ask, seek, and knock (Matthew 7:7,8) until we understand what that purpose is.

As we receive revelation of that purpose through the Holy Spirit we separate ourselves from those things which are not sinful in themselves but unnecessary. This separation continues year after year as we pursue our DESTINY in Christ, walking in the fullness of His fellowship.




QUESTIONS TO ASK MYSELF:

Am I completely sold out to the Lord Jesus Christ?

How much time per day do I spend meditating on Jesus and His PURPOSE for my life vs. participating and thinking about society (it's demands, requirements, and pleasures)?

What is my plan to increase my Christ consciousness?

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - FOCUSING ON JESUS


Luke 10:38-42 - "As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him in her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the feet of the Lord and listened to His teaching. Martha was upset over all the work she had to do; so she came and said, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!'
The Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha! You are worried and troubled over so many things, but just one is needed, Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.'"

Mary chose to sit at Jesus's feet while Martha chose to work in the kitchen.
Mary sought to please Him by being with Him while-
Martha tried to please Him through service.
When Martha became jealous, she asked Jesus to tell Mary to Help her in the kitchen.

Most servants want to degrade the role of the "FRIEND" to feel justified in their works-oriented approach to God. Jesus's response is important to remember: "Mary has chosen the better part."
Martha was making a meal that Jesus never ordered. Doing more for God is the method SERVANTS use to get God's attention that they might increase in favor.
A FRIEND has a different focus entirely: they enjoy the favor they have and use it to spend time with their master.



To say we need both Marys and Marthas is to miss the point entirely. And it simply isn't true. It has been said that nothing would ever get done if we didn't have any Marthas. That too is a lie. That teaching comes mostly from Marthas who are intimidated by the lifestyle of Marys. Mary wasn't a nonworker. Rather she was beginning to be like her Master, who only did what He saw the Father do (John 5:19). Jesus was talking, so Mary set aside other distractions and sat down to listen. She didn't get caught up in making the food that Jesus didn't order. She was learning that working FROM His presence is much more effective than working FOR His presence.

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST

2 Corinthians 11:3 -- "But I fear...your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

The problem is that we mistakenly strive for information when in reality we need revelation.

Ephesians 1:17,18 -- "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened....."

The Holy Spirit within the believer ministers truth by revelation. In other words, it is revealed, not figured out. God does not talk to our brains! He speaks to the spirit of man. Jesus never said that water would flow out of your head, but that, "Out of your innermost being would flow rivers of living water." John 7:36

1 Corinthians 1:20 -- "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?"


ULTIMATE CHRISTIANITY


Luke 10:21 -- 'In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight."'

One way we can be convinced we've heard from God is that the answer is simple. Jesus took complicated problems of blindness, leprosy, and paralysis, and simplified them into obedience -- 'Go wash.' ' Go show yourselves to the priest.' 'Take up your bed and walk.'

Hearing God's voice doesn't mean we understand all the mysteries of the world. It means that God will articulate a word or command that will simplify, heal, and deliver us in our situation.

This is the ultimate Christianity -- communication and communion with the Holy Spirit, knowing more and more about Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - FREELY GIVEN

Luke 1:28 - "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."

Ephesians 1:6 - "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."

The word "freely given" or "accepted" in Ephesians 1:6 (The Greek word - charitoo) is the same word used for "Highly favored" in Luke 1:28.
Mary was the one person on earth who was chosen to "bring forth the Son of God"; and she was called highly favored and beloved of the Lord.
Ephesians 1:6 is talking about every born-again believer being accepted in the beloved.
Just as Mary was used to bring forth the Son of God, so also, we will be used to bring forth the Son of God in all His Glory


Luke 1:35,38 - "And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And Mary said, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.' And the angel departed from her."



We need to ask Him for a release of divine hunger that will drive us deeper into Him.
Like Mary it is simply through intimacy, engaging the realm of heaven, and declaring what we see and hear that brings heaven to earth.
The deposit of heaven that will rest on us after engaging the revelatory realm will simply overflow and people
will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - SHOUT "GRACE" TO YOUR JERICO WALLS

Joshua 6:2 - "And the Lord said unto Joshua, See. I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king therof, and the mighty men of valor."

When the children of Israel entered the Promised Land ten cities stood as obstacles in their way. The first of these cities was Jericho. Israel was not yet an army -- they were simply a group of desert wanderers with a promise. They had no army. Their resources had worn thin from years in the desert.


THEIR ONLY WEAPON OF WARFARE WAS THEIR OBEDIENCE TO GOD

- "So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city."

The Church stands in a similar posture. We are facing a Jericho that is standing in the way. The world systems are unstable. Financial fear is trying to lure the people of God into its fear. There a lot of walls standing in the way of promise. God is positioning His Church to bring down those walls just as He did in Jericho.

Those walls will not fall by human wisdom and reasoning. Another church program will not do it. Only the shout of grace will bring it down. The shout of grace in obedience to God was the weapon of supernatural warfare for Israel. When we shout "grace" we are making a statement that unless God shows up we won't be able to move ahead.


STANDING BEFORE OUR JERICO WALLS

Today as we stand before the walls of our Jericho, we shout out loud the word, "Grace."
With that shout of grace will come the dismantling of the walls of those encampments that stand in the way of the promise of God:

Gather your mounting bills and shout grace over them.
Shout grace into your future.
Shout grace over a wayward child.
Shout grace over every obstacle that stands in the way of your vision and calling.
Stand on the high places of your city and shout grace over the broken and lost.


Once we shout the grace of God -- we walk straight ahead and see the glory of God. Under our feet will be the remains of fear and impossibility.


Zechariah 4:7 - "What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'"

 

[Tessa]

WOW !

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - FRIENDS OF JESUS

John 15:12-15 - "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you."

Jesus says, "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." It is easy to take this verse and maybe take a more "robotic" approach, thinking, "Oh, I need to go look at the 10 commandments." But actually, what Jesus is saying here concerning His commandments is in an ongoing tense.

He is calling them to continue in intimacy through hearing His voice, following His directions and yielding to His Spirit. Through this sensitivity and yielded life comes the ability to follow after His heart.

John 10:27 - "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

Here is His command for His friends – those who walk with yielded lives to Him in God's PURPOSE for their life (their CALLING in Christ). He has brought His disciples beyond the point of operating in a slave system and taken them into an organic, living relationship.
God has taken us out of a slave-system having brought us into His family as sons. Our hearts have the cry of His Spirit bringing us into an intimate communion with the Father. The same picture can be seen in that we are now saints, not sinners. The old life is gone and the new life has come.

 

[Tessa]

We should read that many times.

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - SEPARATING OURSELVES APART

In Joshua's day, before crossing the Jordan River and moving into their inheritance, God said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you" (Joshua 3:5).
This is an exhortation for us today!

DRAW NEAR TO GOD

The word consecrate, in Hebrew, is actually a relational term. "Qadash" means to separate or set yourself apart unto God. God's heart isn't, "Clean up your act so I can restore and bless you." He says instead, "Come to Me so I can bless you." BIG DIFFERENCE! His love is free, not earned.

"Qadash"(set apart to Him), is actually the root word for holy (qodesh). Being "holy" isn't the result of or defined as "being good enough?"
Rather it is the nature (qodesh) we receive from our union with Him (qadash), which motivates us to good works and a refusal to sin. We must be careful, then, that when we set out to prepare ourselves for a move of God's Spirit, we do not move into a legalistic works mentality, trying to accomplish separation and holiness in our own abilities; rather, we draw near to God in relationship.

The Lord desires to raise up men and women of prayer and radical devotion through which He can release a greater "Great Awakening" and shift the course of nations today. To be a part of this, however, we must be willing to comply with what God requires of us: Prepare ourselves through drawing near.

A SEASON OF SEPARATION

The Lord is inviting you to enter into a season where you separate yourself unto Him in an extra special way.

If you rearrange your busy schedule over the next few weeks to pray and fast and spend more time in worship and the Word, your life will radically change. No matter what level of relationship you currently enjoy with the Lord, He wants to transform you into a more passionate and zealous Believer. As you draw into His depths, His cleansing stream will prepare you to advance in His PURPOSE for your life.

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - FULFILLING GOD'S VISION FOR YOU

Deuteronomy 30:19 - " I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."

Some people seem to enjoy being the victim. No matter what failure or disappointment they have experienced in life, they have convinced themselves that someone or something is to blame
This lie is old as Adam. He blamed Eve and she blamed the devil when they messed up in the Garden of Eden. However, each one of them had a choice to obey or disobey God's Word. Instead of using their God-given dominion and subduing that lying devil, they chose to do what he suggested. Actually, they chose death.


Ephesians 3:20 - "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably (exceeding abundantly) more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us."

"The power" working within you is the mighty power of God's Spirit who lives inside you, enabling you to fulfill the vision He has given you. God's power is actually working within you for the fulfillment of His PURPOSE for your life. As long as we believe that we receive only what we ask for we are limiting the power of God in our life.

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - SEEKING THROUGH ARDENT ZEAL AND INTENSE EXERTION

Matthew 11:12 - "And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force (as a precious prize - a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion)."

The violence of the Kingdom is not physical violence but focused earnestness, a deeply passionate pursuit of God that enables Christ's followers never to give up regardless of the conflicts and trials they face.
John said he was a "partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus"(Revelation 1:9).
Jesus taught that true disciples "bear fruit with perseverance" (Luke 8:15).

The word "persevere" is rooted in the word "severe". It implies that there are times when we will not reach our spiritual goals unless we are stretched in ways others call severe or extreme. We don't go one mile; we go two. We contend for the faith; we wrestle against principalities and powers. We are soldiers who endure hardship. Even if we are knocked down, defeat is not final: We rise to fight another day. Surrender is not an option.



Ezekiel 3:1,2 - "Moreover He said to me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this scroll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that scroll."

God's primary purpose is not just having us believe His Word, but having His Word change us.
Through His Word and communion with the Holy Spirit, the Lord has provided heavenly bread that we can gather every day. Like the manna He gave to Israel in the wilderness, it cannot be stored, but must be gathered and partaken of fresh each day. As we partake of it we become what we are eating.

 

[stovebolts]

Scripture Of The Day - SEEKING THROUGH ARDENT ZEAL AND INTENSE EXERTION

Matthew 11:12 - "And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force (as a precious prize - a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion)."

The violence of the Kingdom is not physical violence but focused earnestness, a deeply passionate pursuit of God that enables Christ's followers never to give up regardless of the conflicts and trials they face.
John said he was a "partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus"(Revelation 1:9).
Jesus taught that true disciples "bear fruit with perseverance" (Luke 8:15).

The word "persevere" is rooted in the word "severe". It implies that there are times when we will not reach our spiritual goals unless we are stretched in ways others call severe or extreme. We don't go one mile; we go two. We contend for the faith; we wrestle against principalities and powers. We are soldiers who endure hardship. Even if we are knocked down, defeat is not final: We rise to fight another day. Surrender is not an option.



Ezekiel 3:1,2 - "Moreover He said to me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this scroll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that scroll."

God's primary purpose is not just having us believe His Word, but having His Word change us.
Through His Word and communion with the Holy Spirit, the Lord has provided heavenly bread that we can gather every day. Like the manna He gave to Israel in the wilderness, it cannot be stored, but must be gathered and partaken of fresh each day. As we partake of it we become what we are eating.

View attachment 6451

Thank you!

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - FUNCTIONING AS THE HOUSE OF GOD AND THE GATE OF HEAVEN

Matthew 16:19 - "Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."

How do we know what is bound and loosed in heaven? Who tells us what heaven's reality looks like?

The only way to know these things and to function as the HOUSE OF GOD and GATE OF HEAVEN is to have revelation of what is happening in heaven. Otherwise, we're working in the dark.

God has always wanted to release truth to His people, backed by the Word, of things that are found in heaven but have no earthly parallel. Jesus said: "If I have told you of earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you of heavenly things?" (John 3:12)

He was expressing a desire to reveal things to us about what's happening in the spiritual realm that have no corresponding earthly picture.


Isaiah 9:7 - "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end........."

As His government increases in the earth, the Church will receive more and more revelation as we are engulfed in His glory.


Affirmations:

I COME INTO AGREEMENT WITH THE FATHER TO RELEASE ME INTO THE THINGS HE HAS PREDESTINED ME FOR SINCE BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD.

I HUNGER FOR AND RECEIVE REVELATION AS PART OF MY EVERYDAY LIFE.

THAT REVELATION WILL HELP ME CARRY OUT MY EARTHLY ASSIGNMENTS WITH GREATER PRECISION AND WISDOM.

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - SEEKING PURPOSE, HOPE, AND VISION

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." - 2 Corinthians 5:20

We are His representatives on this earth. Jesus came so we would know what God was like. This we can easily accept. But, Jesus went on to say, "As the Father hath sent Me, even so I send you" (John 20:21). The Father was full of confidence that the Son would fulfill His mission successfully and that He would obey in every area and rely upon the Holy Spirit to preach, teach, heal, and deliver. The Father has sent us to do the same thing and is confident that even as Jesus was successful, so will we be. That is God's view of us.
When God chose you, He equipped you for His service. It's not a, "Maybe I'll make it," or, "Oh no, what if I fail..." God has full assurance that you will not only make it, but fulfill your destiny completely. He believes it. You must believe it also.

THE PROPHETIC GIVES HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

God is a God of the now, in the sense that He never changes, (see Malachi 3:6). We, His children, are not only people of the moment (now), but of the future, because we are being changed into His image (see Romans 8:29). You don't want to forever be like you are now. If all we had was the now, we would have little. Paul said, if this it, "we are of all men most miserable" (1 Corinthians 15:19). We need to press forward to the high calling of God which is in Christ Jesus (see Philippians 3:14). This high calling is prophetic, in the sense that we are going to be like Him one day (see 1 John 3:2).
The prophetic gives purpose, hope, and vision for the now and the future. When we have purpose, we have joy. You have a divine PURPOSE -- seek it!

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - FUNCTIONING IN THE FULLNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

“Rise up and shine, for your light has come. The shining-greatness of the Lord has risen upon you. For see, darkness will cover the earth. Much darkness will cover the people. But the Lord will rise upon you, and His shining-greatness will be seen upon you. Nations will come to your light. And kings will see the shining-greatness of the Lord on you." Isaiah 60:1-3

"Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever." Daniel 12:3

The Lord is raising up for HIMSELF a people who are walking in the three-fold blessing of His Character, His Nature, and His Power! We need to access and internalize what it means to walk in the full stature of Christ, to move and function out of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to experience the breakthrough power of the anointing.

FRUITFULNESS AND BREAKTHROUGH TO BE A WAY OF LIFE

Many have been thrust into great spheres of effectiveness and influence, according to God’s PURPOSE for their lives. The breakthrough glory realm sets in deeply like a firmly planted tent peg, altering everything to bring in great fruit and breakthrough in new levels of DESTINY.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20, 21).

EVERYONE HAS A MINISTRY

One of the unique things about the Church of the New Covenant is that God has authorized and commanded every believer to do the work of the ministry! God wants an entire army of workers out doing the vital work of DISCIPLESHIP of the saints and building up His Body, the Church.

The true success of our ministry to others will be by how it brought forth the formation of Christ within the person God has given us to DISCIPLE.

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - SEEING WITH DISCERNMENT AND UNDERSTANDING

Revelation 4:6,8 - "And around the throne, in the center at each side of the throne, were four living creatures who were full of eyes in front and behind. And the four living creatures, individually having six wings, were full of eyes all over and within; and day and night they never stop saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come."

The many eyes represent the open and all-inclusive vision that is the result of being in God's presence.
These "living creatures" are symbols of the life one finds as he abides in God's presence.

1 Corinthians 2:10 - "Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the Holy Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God."

In Him our eyes can think - they see with discernment and understanding. The mind of Christ fuses with our vision, revealing what was impossible to be seen by the narrowness of our perception; we see "In front and behind."
Our vision also comes from "The center of the Throne".
Not only do we see distant spiritual realities but we are close enough to penetrate and search the depths of God himself.

Ephesians 2:6 - "And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together in the heavenly sphere in Christ Jesus."

Yet, at the same time being near to God also gives us "eyes within" - eyes which monitor the motives that guide self; inner eyes which stand guard against sin. The more our vision opens up, the greater we see God and His Holiness.
The slightest sin in our lives becomes significant; we are compelled to live pure before Him.

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - GETTING GOOD

Romans 10:10 - "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness......."

Romans 5:17 - "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ."


Paul makes two significant statements about righteousness:

1. With the heart man believes unto righteousness.

2. When we receive Jesus and we are born again, we receive "the gift of righteousness."


RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A GIFT


Too often we have associated righteousness with "good works." The Bible teaches good works and right conduct, but all of our good works and right conduct will never make us righteous. If good works made us righteous, we wouldn't need Jesus.

Another fallacy about righteousness is that we've thought we had to grow into some kind of "high spiritual state" to be righteous. We can grow in the Lord and we can develop spiritually, but we cannot grow in righteousness. We will never be any more righteous than we are right now!


2 Corinthians 5:17,21 - "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. For he hath made him (God has made Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."


Matthew 6:33 -- "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."


In Christ we become new creatures. In Him we become the righteousness of God when we are born again (verse 21).

This righteousness we are told to seek is not right behavior, but RIGHT STANDING before God, which comes to us as a gift when we receive salvation.

Romans 4:5 -- "But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness."

We are not righteous because of how morally upright we are.
We are not righteous because we exercise self-control.
We are not righteous because we read 10 chapters of the Bible daily.
We are not righteous because we feel righteous.


JESUS' FINISHED WORK ON THE CROSS


We are the righteousness of God in Christ solely because the sacrifice of Jesus made us so. When we believe this, our faith is accounted for righteousness.

If we are righteous by our deeds, we don't need faith. We also don't need faith to know that we are sinful. But we do need faith to believe and declare that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, in the midst of our struggles with temptation and sin.

At the cross, Jesus didn't just remove our sins, He also gave us His righteousness so that today, we can come boldly before the throne of God and receive freely everything that He died to give us!

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - SEEING THE UNSEEN

2 Corinthians 4:18 -- "While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

We have two sets of ears and two sets of eyes. We have the "NATURAL SET" that we are born with, and we have a "SPIRITUAL SET" that is activated when we are born again.
As we grow spiritually, we begin to see with our spiritual eyes and hear with our spiritual ears.

John 5:19 - "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.


ALLOWING THE HOLY SPIRIT TO LET US SEE AND HEAR


John 5:30 - "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."

Jesus is our example. He stated plainly that He was able to see what the Father was doing, and hear what the Father was saying. Like us, He had to allow the Holy Spirit to let Him see and hear. The success of Jesus' ministry was based on time He spent with the Father and hearing Him accurately.

God never promised to lead us by our physical senses or our mental faculties. In every situation we have to:
1. Take note not so much what our natural (physical) senses are telling us, but what the Holy Spirit is revealing.

2. See through the eyes of the Spirit which is usually in great contrast to what the natural eyes are telling us.


THE HOLY SPIRIT REVEALS


John 11:41,42 - 'Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that you always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.'

Jesus was, in effect, saying it was unnecessary to pray, except for the people to hear Him. He had already seen what God was going to do. Earlier in prayer, the Father had revealed to Him that Lazarus was going to come forth from the grave.


Matthew 9:24,25 -- "He said to them, 'Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.' And they laughed Him to scorn. But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.''

Jesus ignored what His natural eyes told Him, and He declared what His spiritual eyes saw. He saw the heart of God and the mind of God which was far more of a reality than what His physical senses told Him.


CROSSING THE BRIDGE INTO THE ETERNAL


Faith is the bridge between the eternal (the unseen) and the temporal (the seen). In prayer, we can cross that bridge and see as God sees. Real prayer is not just words, but intently waiting on God until we (by the Spirit) see what He is seeing.

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - GOD GIVEN RIGHT

Ephesians 1:5,6 - "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."

A low opinion of yourself or self-hatred is not from God but from the enemy.

Prayer is not trying to get God to do something for you by making Him feel sorry for you. It is coming to Him knowing that you not only deserve what you ask because of the righteousness of Christ, but you also have a right to it because it is based on His Word.

Hebrews 4:16 - "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."


John 8:39 - They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham."

Abraham was an alien and stranger on the earth. The goal of his life was to have a place in what God was building, not men.

We are not the heirs of faith because we know that we must live by faith, but we become the heirs of faith by actually having faith, by doing the same deeds that Abraham did.

We must devote ourselves to finding what is God's PURPOSE for our life and sacrifice whatever is required to manifest it.

Galatians 3:6,7 - "Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham."

 

[Albert Finch]

Scripture Of The Day - SAVING POWER

Exodus 12:13 -- "Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you....."

On the night of the first Passover, many of the children of Israel were probably anxious.
They may have said "Yes! We were told to put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of our home and everything would be all right. Is that true?"
Or "Can the blood really protect me? Or How much blood do I have to put on my doorposts? Or Will the angel of death get me if I am fearful?

DO WE NEED TO DEVELOP DOCTRINE AND THEOLOGY OVER GOD'S CONDITIONS?

We do not need to add to God's conditions. He said, "When I see the BLOOD, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you."
He DID Not say, "When I see the blood, plus your understanding, efforts, obedience, faithfulness, and refusal to give in to fear, then I will pass over you."

THE BLOOD ALONE SAVES

We are delivered by the blood of Jesus alone. If we think that it is because of our faith, then we will always be wondering, "Do I have enough faith? No, it is the blood alone that saves.

Saves from what? -- anything that doesn't match up with heaven.

Matthew 6:10 -- "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

If we think that our deliverance depends partly on God and partly on us, we will not have a settled peace in our heart. But when we know that its the blood alone that saves, we will have an unshakable peace.