Devotion: Faith Is Released Through Words

Not long ago, we talked about the most powerful system in the world and we mentioned that we had been given “the power” to control and “the authority” to command this very system.  We even mentioned how important the words that we spoke were to this powerful system because they are the keys that control this system.  We mentioned that we have the ability to choose between life and death through the words that we speak.  In this system, we find that our blessings and cursings are completely based on and controlled by what we say.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverbs 18:21).

We found that our very salvation hinges upon words that we speak or confess not to forgo the required believing on one’s heart.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

We found that Jesus told his disciples that if they believed that those things they spoke would come to pass and not doubt in their hearts, then whatsoever they spoke would actually come to pass.

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:22-24).

Before Jesus spoke of being able to say to a mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, he had, the day before spoke to a fig tree, saying, “Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever” (Matthew 21: 19).  And when the disciple saw this tree dried up the next day, they inquired of the tree.

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:21-22).

In both of the above accounts of the fig tree story, we see Jesus talking about faith.  In “Mark 11,” we see Jesus telling the disciples to “Have faith in God.”  In “Matthew 21,” Jesus tells the disciples, “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree.”  Jesus is telling them that if they have faith and do not doubt, then they would be able to speak to a fig tree and not only get the same results, but they could speak to a mountain and tell the mountain to “Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

God has created a system that is controlled by the very words that we speak.  Put this thought together with the fact that God has place our eternal salvation in the control of the very words that we speak as well.  And God has made it possible that we can control the life of a fig tree or control the placement of a mountain through the very words that we speak is incredible.  And all we need is just a little faith.

“…for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).

Words are important.  Words combined with faith as a grain of mustard seed, “nothing shall be impossible unto you.”  We again give thanks to God for this avenue that he has given us to share his word through today’s inspirational message.  We continually pray that God’s grace will be upon you and that these devotionals will be a blessing to you.  If you are blessed by them, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: In Everything Give Thanks

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD

“The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place.  All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.  All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres.  They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.  The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord.  Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: ‘He is good; his love endures forever.’  Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God” (II Chronicles 5:11-14 NIV).

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD

“When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.  The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it.  When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, ‘He is good; his love endures forever.’  Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord” (II Chronicles 7:1-4 NIV).

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD

“A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day.  It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High” (Psalm 92:1).  “To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David.  I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvellous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High” (Psalm 9:1-2).  “Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.  Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.  Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise” (Psalm 3:1-3).

IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1 NIV).  “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy (loving-kindness) endureth for ever” (Psalm 136:1).  “And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good?  there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17).  “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (I Chronicles 16:34 NIV).

“I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.  My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.  My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt” (Psalm 71:22-24).  “Praise ye the Lord.  Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord.  Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant” (Psalm 132:1-3).  “Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely” (Psalm 147:1).

“It is good to say thank you to the Lord, to sing praises to the God who is above all gods.  Every morning tell him, ‘Thank you for your kindness,’ and every evening rejoice in all his faithfulness.  Sing his praises, accompanied by music from the harp and lute and lyre.  You have done so much for me, O Lord.  No wonder I am glad!  I sing for joy” (Psalm 92:1-4 TLB).

“Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18 TLB).  Amen and Amen.

May today’s inspirational message abundantly bless you and greatly inform you.  We pray that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by today’s message, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Don’t Worry

Worry is not a good thing.  It is definitely not something that is of God.  We are told that we really shouldn’t worry about anything because God takes care of everything.

“So my counsel is: Don’t worry about things—food, drink, and clothes.  For you already have life and a body—and they are far more important than what to eat and wear.  Look at the birds!  They don’t worry about what to eat—they don’t need to sow or reap or store up food—for your heavenly Father feeds them.  And you are far more valuable to him than they are.  Will all your worries add a single moment to your life?  And why worry about your clothes?  Look at the field lilies!  They don’t worry about theirs.  Yet King Solomon in all his glory was not clothed as beautifully as they.  And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won’t he more surely care for you, O men of little faith?  So don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing.  Why be like the heathen?  For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them.  But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and he will give them to you if you give him first place in your life and live as he wants you to.  So don’t be anxious about tomorrow.  God will take care of your tomorrow too.  Live one day at a time” (Matthew 6:25-34 TLB).

We are told, “not to worry about anything.”  God really does “take care of everything.”  He is “always on time.”  You just have to “be still and wait on the Lord.”  God wants us to “give him all of our worries and all of our cares.”  God want us to “trust him.”  God wants us to “depend on him.”

“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.  Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes” (Psalm 37:7 NLT).  “Trust in the Lord instead.  Be kind and good to others; then you will live safely here in the land and prosper, feeding in safety.  Be delighted with the Lord.  Then he will give you all your heart’s desires.  Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him to help you do it, and he will.  Your innocence will be clear to everyone.  He will vindicate you with the blazing light of justice shining down as from the noonday sun” (Psalm 37:3-6 TLB).  “Give your burdens to the Lord.  He will carry them.  He will not permit the godly to slip or fall” (Psalm 55:22 TLB).  “Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3 TLB).  “If you will humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up.  Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you” (I Peter 5:6-7 TLB).

So, do not worry about anything.  We have been told that God is never blind to our tears, that he is never deaf to our prayers and that he is never silent to our pain.  God sees everything, he hears all, and he’s never too far.

“Wherever you are going, God has already been there and paved the way for you” (Matthew 6:27-30).

It has been said that, “God has a key for every problem, a light for every shadow, a relief for every sorrow, and a plan for every tomorrow.”  God always has something for us.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.  His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 TLB).

So once you have knelt down and prayed, do not sit around worrying, wondering, and doubting.  Have faith in God and trust that things will work out, maybe not the way you planned but the way it was intended to work out.  If you want to succeed, then stop worrying and just let God be God.  He’s got this all covered.

We always give thanks to God for the ability to share our commentary with you.  We constantly pray that you will be blessed as well as informed by it and that you will be the better for having read it.  If you are blessed by them, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings. - KW