It pays to remember

Remember back with me to a few blogs ago about the goodwill of God (peace on earth goodwill towards men). If you haven’t read it, I recommend you read that piece first so it will set you in the right frame of mind to receive the revelation below.

Rom 2:12

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Don’t glaze over – hold on – yes, we’ve heard countless messages on this passage, but there is a GEM in here. Even as I type, I’m still amazed.

Here’s the breakdown so it sits properly in your mind:

No to conform one's self (i.e. one's mind and character) to another's pattern, (fashion one's self according to) to this period of time, BUT change into another form, to transform, to transfigure by a renewal, renovation, complete change for the better the mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining AND a particular mode of thinking and judging, i.e thoughts, feelings, purposes, desires to test, examine, prove, scrutinize (to see whether a thing is genuine or not), to recognize as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy what God wishes or has determined shall be done, the purpose of God to bless mankind through Christ and it is God’s will, choice, inclination, desire, pleasure (remember from the other blog). God’s good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, well pleasing, acceptable and perfect will.

Phew – you made it through that big hunk of meat! You guessed it.  That was the actual definition of each word as it translates in the Greek. So here’s a shorter one from the ARV (the Arin Rentz Version):

No to conform one’s self to this period of time, but choose a complete change for the better the mind, your particular mode of thinking, feeling, desiring so that you may deem worthy God’s determination to bless mankind through Christ – God’s good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, well pleasing, acceptable and perfect will.

Here’s the last piece to be covered that caused me to get out of bed while the kids were still sleeping on a holiday – you KNOW this has to be good!

The word “perfect” here is the Greek word teleios.  Why is this important? Because it is the last word Jesus spoke on the cross, “It IS finished!”  “It is teleios!” God’s determination to bless mankind through Christ was finished.  God’s will – God’s goodwill towards men had just been finished.

The trading of places had been made. 

Jesus bore in His own body you sickness and disease (Isa 53: 4- look at it in the YLT translation),.

Jesus bore every curse so you could live curse free. Generational curse free, law of sin and death curse free when He hung on the cross and when He wore the crown of thorns (picture of the curse).

Jesus’ flesh was actually torn to pieces so that your well-being could be whole (Isa 53:4, 5).

Jesus took on Himself our sin so we could take on His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21).

Jesus took our condemnation so we could and would not be condemnable (Rom 8:1).

Jesus took the judgment for our transgressions and sin so that we would be able to take His blessing (many references).

Jesus took our unworthiness so that we would be forever worthy (many references).

Jesus defeated EVERY work of darkness so that we would not live defeated by them (Col 2:15)

That, dear reader, is the finished work.  That is teleios.

Paul is telling us to choose to change our minds – choose to remember God’s goodwill. Change your mind from what your physical eyes see and remember INSTEAD God’s goodwill towards you – Christ’s finished work for you.

The enemy comes A LOT with upset. Being a human on this planet comes with daily things to overcome, but we have the opportunity to choose to completely change our mind for the better in remembering the finished work.

Jesus told us that He came so we might have an abundant life. A life that reflects His abundance, His goodness towards men. Your enemy wants just the opposite. He wants you to live out your days not understanding what Christ did for you in His finished work. The enemy wants you to live like the provision to trade places has not been made. The enemy wants you functioning in a "not-redeemed" state (redeemed means to be set back above in the place of authority)..

Why?

Because it means LIFE to YOU and God's good will in your life! It means DEATH to the enemy's plans for your life.  The enemy know it means not just life for you, but ABUNDANT LIFE.

When things are rough (some days it seems to be all day!), take 10 seconds and remember that Jesus switched places with you. Say it out loud if you can. Call a friend who believes the same and tell them again what the finished work has done.

Open up your mouth with thanksgiving and say, “Thank you Jesus for switching places with me – thank you for bearing all my sickness and disease in your body so I am every wit whole. Thank you Jesus that every curse fell on your head so I live curse free. Thank you Jesus that you gave me your peace – you were chastised so I could have total wellbeing (that’s another blog).  Thank you Jesus that the Scriptures tell me (2 Cor 8:9) that you were made poor so that I would be made rich.  Thank you Jesus I AM REDEEMED! (set back above in the place of authority) Thank you Jesus I am free!  Thank you Jesus for your finished work on my behalf – I believe it today – I receive it on my behalf today.”

And when the enemy comes seconds later to steal the joy or bring condemnation, let at least one more, “Thank you Jesus I’m free!” cross your lips.

You are effortlessly transformed by remembering Jesus’ finished work.

Your mind is made better by remembering the finished work.  He does the transforming – the Scripture doesn’t say to transform yourself. It says to change your mind for the better by remembering God’s goodwill, the finished work of His Son and you will be transformed.

I’m so glad He does it because I have tried and come up with less than stellar results. I’m guessing you’ve experienced the same thing too.  Sometimes it is a little hard for me to rest and let Him work…I’m working at resting – ha!

Thank you God for your goodwill towards us – thank you Jesus for finishing the work.  Help us Holy Spirit to remember it.  Amen.

Guest blog by Arin Rentz.

Happy Thanksgiving - take a bite of encouragement with you!

Hello!

I'm sure you are preparing for your Thanksgiving celebration.  I'd like to give you one preparation that will better the flavor of your celebration.

We know from Romans 5:17 that those who receive of the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life by the one Christ Jesus. Grace brings abundance into our lives - abundant life, abundant peace, abundant wisdom.  The key word is "receive".

The Word tells us we receive with thanksgiving so I am encouraging you to receive grace by giving thanks.  Don't reject or resist the grace He is so amply supplying by allowing an ungrateful, self-centered attitude.  Instead focus your attention on Christ and others by giving thanks.  You may not feel grateful or feel like giving, you may feel spent and worn out. However, the very choice to give thanks - to be grateful - is the empowerment, the energy that you need.

Receive grace by giving thanks!

Grace and gratitude are inseparable.  One makes way for another.  Thanksgiving is the hand that opens the door to grace and grace brings abundance.

So give God thanks, give people thanks and watch the flow of energy come into you - His abundance flowing to you.

We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Table of Grace

The blog below is something Elizabeth Sutter shared with us in a Thursday Bible study in November. Read and take courage!

"So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, ‘Go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him’.”

Mark 14:14 “Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples’?”

As it reads in Greek:

“And wherever if he might enter, say to the master of the house, The teacher says, ‘Where is the guestroom of me, where the Passover with the disciples of me, I might eat’?”

Breaking down from Greek:

Say:  lay it to rest, bring the message to closure, advise

Owner of house/Goodman: head of house

Roots indicate: a dwelling, family, church, race, nation where God is present, one’s entire property. All persons forming one family/household, family of God, Christian church. The house where God is regarded as present.

Authority figure who exercises complete jurisdiction, Lord, master, prince, correlated of a slave where despot (someone) has complete ownership and uncontrolled power.

Further roots: a man who is bound, tied fastened, imprisoned, put or thrown into chains, prisoner, b bound, captive, madman, bound hand and feet with grave cloths, put under obligation, law, duty.

In the Old Testament (Hebrew form of the word) it means the husband is not at home.

Say: lay it to rest, bring message to closure

Where: in what place (Do I lay it to rest)

Guestroom: lodging place, eating room, speaking of the breaking up of a journey.

Roots: to break up, , unharness, loosen thoroughly, to put up for the night, to halt for the night, to remove the straps and packs of beasts of burden, to unbound and take off. To set free, on that has been bound or swathed in bandages, bound with chains, in prison, discharged from prison and let go, to be free, bondage of disease(one held by Satan) by restoration of health, to release one bound by sin, to break up laws having a binding force, to destroy the bonds of death, to deprive of authority, to loose one bound (equals freedom).

To unyoke, tear down, overthrow, destroy, unleash, put end to, loose, untie, release, unbind so that something no longer holds together, to release bandages of feet.

Further roots: to come down from so that it flows down from his head, reaching down into the depth of extreme poverty, place where you join yourself to one thing and separate yourself from another.

To look or lie towards a goal, eye on goal

You are before the face of/in the presence of, before the eyes of Jesus

The idea of putting under denoting victory or rule over

Down from, higher to lower place

Passover:  accustomed to be offered for the peoples deliverance of old from Egypt.  In preparing to depart, Christ’s crucifixion is likened to the slain lamb over the dwelling to destruction passes over.

I might eat

To eat meat, live, feed, use,

Roots: to give one something to eat, to bring one something to eat, to dine, to feast in company of one

With one providing the meal at his house, to enjoy the blessings of salvation procured by Christ likened to a banquet with the people full of joy and reveling.

 

Insight:

The Holy Spirit orchestrates each word of the Bible - it all has meaning.  We see in Mark 14:13 that there are two disciples that he is speaking to and he tells them to follow the man carrying a jar of water.

The two is symbolic meaning “the matter is established as truth”, then we see a man carrying water. Water being symbolic of the Spirit. Then we see in vs. 14 that wherever he enters (the man carrying the water) you are to speak to the owner of the house.  The two disciples sent were said in the historical records that I referenced earlier to be Peter and John. Symbolically speaking of the exchange Peter meaning stone or the law and John meaning Grace.

In Mark 14, we see the master of the house being addressed.  This word has great depth in the Greek.

Jesus is showing us that this owner of the house represents many things. From the master of a dwelling place to nation, anywhere one has fixed his residence, one’s settled abode—any place where God is regarded as present. This is important because wherever the Holy Spirit enters is regarded as the place where God is present. So God is addressing the “goodman” and in studying the roots of this word, it refers to the fact that the Holy Spirit/God the Father/Jesus the Son as King may not have entirely established dominion over all his land due to the fact that the actual transforming work of the Spirit at any given moment is limited by our choice, thus we can withdraw ourselves from it. The roots of good man refer to a man who is still bound/ (reference to the definition). He is still under obligation and duty of the law.

The Old Testament form of the word means “the husband is not at home”!  . He is our total provider and He wants to provide for us in the areas of our needs/lacks/weaknesses.  He is provision. As we take the communion bread we recognize that at that point of our lack, He has what we need even if we do not yet experience it in our reality.  We are agreeing with this truth of provision by Faith, seeing and believing with eyes of Faith, calling it into manifestation with words of Faith.

The Holy Spirit leads us (all that call on His name as believers) into the guestchamber.

So as we follow along, Jesus is saying:    which means Laying it to rest, bring the message to a closure.

Where:     is the place (of rest).  I believe as Jesus sees us in those places of being bound, or those we are believing for being bound that He calls us to this guestchamber. “Where” is the place you are or others around you are in need/lack/sick.  He wants to bring us to this lodging place or guest room. Where we eat with him face to face, eye to eye, our audience of one, an intimate place with the Master.

The definition of guestroom (refer to definition).  This word again has great depth. It is the place where Christ has finished the work on cross procuring all our benefits in sonship /securing our inheritance. The guestroom is an open invitation, as is the cross for wholeness if we will receive and believe.  It is a place of rest for the believer, and it is where the exchange happens. 

When Adam and Eve were in the garden and Eve ate of the fruit, she did so based on the lie of Satan that God was withholding something good for her.  That partaking of the lie resulted in death for us all in spirit, soul and body,  Just as the fruit represented death, and the lie that God withholds good from us, causing us to doubt his goodness.

There is a correlation that when we partake of his “finished work” through the bread and the wine, we partake of the truth of life and that God withholds nothing from us. Rom 8:32  “ He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him graciously give us all things?” Believing this truth affects us spirit, soul, and body and a lamb for a household, as we pray and believe on behalf of others that they would receive of this truth.  Its all about the exchange, the exchange of the bound man (goodman-where the husband [source of provision] is not home) to the man who rests in the freedom of the finished work and is fully provided for.  AMEN!!!

I might eat:  I see Jesus giving us something to eat, bringing us something to eat often, serving us with Himself – wow!!!! Jesus is bringing us food, His food.  He is Provision, Deliverance, Salvation. His intention is that we feed on Him / take from Him as He is Life - that we put to use the food and provision.  That it brings us satisfaction (of our hunger and thirst) and that we are completely provided for when we feast in the company of One.  And what a place of feasting - what a place for celebration, when we recognize that the work is complete, all our needs/lack met. That would be the cause for rejoicing.  That every manifestation of death is swallowed up in His Victory!  1Cor 15:54. Swallowed in the Greek “to drink down, be devoured, destroyed, consumed. As we swallow the blood of Jesus, while taking communion, we are celebrating the victory that Christ won as every enemy has been consumed, or swallowed in Victory!!

The final symbolism for me was found in the reference of Mark 14:14. Biblically the numbers point to a double cycle of completion. The complete destruction and disarming of our enemies, and the complete and total freedom and wholeness we have when we have Christ!! I believe it is not by chance that these numbers are arranged like this, the Holy Spirit was making His point clear!!

So take communion today with the understanding that you are feasting with an audience of One who already provided for your every need.  Your very act of partaking His provision shouts the truth you have believed –  God withholds nothing good from us – and you have come to receive from Him.

God's Will is ALWAYS good towards me!

I encourage you to read EVERY word, every definition - it will change your perspective.

Luke 2:14

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” (Or literally "good will towards men").

Peace in the Greek is (eirēnē), but remember who the angels were talking to! It was not Greek-speaking shepherds. It was Hebrew-speaking shepherds. So when the angels proclaimed to the shepherds peace – it was the Hebrew word "shalom".

Peace – shalom, shalwom

1.    completeness, soundness, welfare, peace

1.    completeness (in number)

2.    safety, soundness (in body)

3.    welfare, health, prosperity

4.    peace, quiet, tranquillity, contentment

5.    peace, friendship

1.    of human relationships

2.    with God especially in covenant relationship

6.    peace (from war)

7.    peace (as adjective)

So the angels were saying there was now Peace on earth (a person).

They were also saying because of this event (God made flesh, what was going to transpire, the good will of God that had just kicked off) there is now peace / shalom on earth because that IS God’s will towards men.

It doesn’t stop there!

What did Jesus do right before his death?  What did He leave to us here on earth?

His peace – His shalom.

John 14:27

“Peace (eirēnē) I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

So what came to earth with Him did not leave earth with Him.

And remember again, Jesus is speaking Hebrew, not Greek to those listening so the word spoken was "shalom". God made a point to let us know that peace/shalom was now bestowed here on earth and Jesus made a point to let us know that peace was staying because He was leaving it with us.

How? Keep reading in John 14 just a few verses down.

John 14:31

“…but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.”

What was that command Jesus is talking about? To carry out God’s will. To carry out God’s good will.  Hold onto your hat…it’s about to take off.

Remember back to Luke 2, peace – shalom was the first part and then is the good will.

Good will in this portion means just what we think:

1.    will, choice

1.    good will, kindly intent, benevolence

2.    delight, pleasure, satisfaction

3.    desire

But remember again – it would have been proclaimed by the angels in Hebrew. We see an almost identical definition for good will in Isaiah 53.

Isa 53:10

"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand."

"Pleased"

1.    to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with, be pleased to do, to bend down.

"Bruise"

1.    to crush, be crushed, be contrite, be broken, to allow oneself to be crushed.

"Put him to grief"

1.    to be or become weak, be or become sick, be or become diseased, be or become grieved, be or become sorry

So in putting Luke 2:14, John 14:27 and Isa 53:10 together it looks like this:

It was God’s good will towards men to send His Son to be crushed, contrite, broken. It was God’s good will towards men to cause His Son to be or become weak, be or become sick, be or become diseased, be or become grieved, be or become sorry. Jesus knew He came to carry out God’s good will towards men.

Did you just take that in?

God’s good will towards you was to have His Son trade places with you so that you have completeness, soundness, welfare, peace and Jesus could become weak, sick, diseased, grieved, sorry, broken, crushed and contrite.

Jesus traded places with you! Say it out loud right now, “Jesus traded places with me!”.

Your enemy would have you think otherwise. He would have you believe that God’s will is NOT good towards you. Or believe that His will is good towards you based on your performance. Or believe that His will can change towards you.

Guess what?!? That’s a LIE. Look at the scriptures again. Look at the truth. Let it sink in. Let that new pathway in your brain be formed. 

GOD’S WILL IS ALWAYS GOOD TOWARDS ME.

Post it somewhere, tattoo it somewhere if need be – this is LIFE to you. Don’t allow your enemy to suck it from you. Don’t let him lie you out of it. Don’t let him condemn you out of it. It’s yours for the taking. It’s yours for the believing. It’s yours to hope in. It is literally your life.

Guest blog by Arin Rentz.

Anatomy of a Device and a Rescue

I awoke this AM with this conversation going on in my mind, "She NEVER calls me back!,  I heard myself say with an exasperated, bitter tone. "WHOA"! I shouted, "Hold on a minute. First off, that is NOT true. Secondly, that is not how I choose to feel. I do not choose to think that way about her or anybody else! I bring those bitter thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ."

Then the Holy Spirit gave me this, "I desire My people to refuse those kinds of thoughts, but, sadly, many of my people refuse to be comforted."  SELAH (stop and think about that).

He went on to say, "I sent My Holy Spirit to comfort my people,... to help them. The Holy Spirit is there to help you succeed, to help you overcome, to give you Hope and a future; to teach you to choose wisely - to choose life, but you must do the choosing. 'Choose you this day WHOM you will serve.' [Jos 24:15] "

Will it be bitterness?  Will it be fear?  Will you be Self serving?  (and Self "anything" - self indulgence, self consciousness, self righteousness, self pity, self gratification, self hatred).  All of these always leads to your enemy's camp - puts you in his clutches because self IS the old man.  Self is the carnal nature.  Romans 8 tells us the mind set on flesh is hostile - it is the fruit of that dark kingdom.

Self is the Sin nature you were born with; but, you have been "born again", "born from above".  That means you have been given Christ's nature.  You have been given His Spirit which is the epitome of NOT SELFish.  Will you choose to let Him live and dwell and rule OR will you choose to live under the rule of fear or bitterness or selfishness?

You are choosing moment-by-moment WHO will rule over you.  Christ's kingdom or the kingdom of darkness.  There are only two kingdoms. Life in one is very different from life under the other. Life is all about choices. Good life is all about informed choices. Each one of us has an adversary (and it isn't the person who just sprang to mind).  This adversary is NOT a human. Your adversary is a spirit being that is opposed to your well being. So, if you would like to be well and if you would like to enjoy life, you have to make some informed choices.

Let's talk about informed choices. Informed means we are given information with which to make a decision.  But, look at the word in formed. Many of us get our information from outside sources: TV, news, book, internet, Bible, people, etc. That is good , but BEST is to get your information from the Spirit of the living God. The Holy Spirit who resides in you.

IN YOU!

Let Him f-o-r-m your attitude from INside you.  Let Him IN-form you.  He will say, "This is THE way, walk ye in it."  He says, "For as high as the heavens are above the earth so are my thought not your thoughts." [Isa. 55:8]  "For as the heaven are high above the earth, so GREAT is His mercy toward those who reverence Him." [Ps. 103:11]

Recognize that His thoughts are mercy-full.  The template to know whether or not the thoughts coming to you are His thoughts is...is it LOVE?

God IS love.

His thoughts are thoughts of love.  His actions are actions of love.  Jesus Christ going to the cross was the ultimate act of love.

Just because a thought shows up in your mind, doesn't not mean it is from God or from you.  You have an adversary who introduces his thoughts into your mind in an attempt to get you to adopt them as your own.  This is where you apply the template of love.

Is it love?

 Know the nature of your adversary is to accuse, criticize, find fault, blame, be offensive, etc. The thought I woke up with was a device of the enemy to get me to think like him, feel like him, adopt his attitudes and disposition and speak like him.

All in an attempt to conform me to his image and carry out his BAD will.  The enemy's attempt to take me captive by the device of offense was thwarted by the Holy Spirit's rescue of bringing every thought captive to Jesus' obedience using the template of His love for me and for that woman.

Instead of being taken captive by those thoughts, I took took the thoughts captive. I applied the template of God's love and employed His way of escape. Instead of yielding to that device of the enemy and yielding to all the darkness. Instead I yielded to the Holy Spirit who IS the spirit of love and experienced the benefits of God's good kingdom.

Every device from your enemy has an escape provided by your Savior.  Your Savior ALWAYS provides the escape. Your Savior ALWAYS provides the victory!

Counterwise - you'll need it to love life!

 In our Bible study yesterday, Liz Sutter taught us insightful truths that instantly changes the way you look at life.  Understanding the breakdown of the verse noted below RADICALLY alters how you choose to respond to certain thoughts and interactions with those around you.

This is a thorough study. I encourage you to take the time to read to the end. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand and comprehend and APPLY what is being taught.  Are you ready?!?

1 Peter 3:10

“Do not rendering evil for evil or insult with insult, but with blessing because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.  For whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.“

STUDY

The word “rendering” in the Greek is very insightful. It has many meanings including:

 Yielding: to give away for one’s own profit what is one’s own (allowing our rightful inheritance to be snatched from us) to give up, to give over,  to give away, to give myself up, to grant or to permit, to give to one asking, to bring forth, to cause to come forth, to pay wages, to relinquish what is one’s own. 

INSIGHT

We have the blessings of Christ, until we relinquish them.  The idea here is that when evil comes “asking”, as it were, do we give ourselves up to it?  At that point of agreement, we are calling that evil to come forth in our lives, because we have granted the permission however subtly within our thoughts.

STUDY

The roots of the word render indicate a state of separation, a place of distance, where we offer, or give one something, let have, a place where we supply, furnish or commit to someone.

The Greek picture is giving a vineyard (to the devil) to be cultivated.

INSIGHT

As we agree with the evil that comes to us we are, in essence, allowing Satan to cultivate/plant his garden of thoughts, cares, and concerns in us.  We are then banding together and abiding with the evil that we opened the door to.

 The Greek further speaks that when we give over to someone, we follow them as a leader or master.  It says that we commit a thing to one, deliver it into ones power

When we then yield our members to Satan’s device, he then is mastering us. It further says to give someone to care for his interests, to give something to eat, to give food to. We have delivered our authority to Satan.

Satan is causing his cares then to become ours because we have offered him something to feast/to eat upon and to use against us.

The final Greek picture is this: “I have set before thee a door opened”. The rendering of evil is when a thought comes to us that is not in agreement with the blessings of the finished work(deliverance, peace, prosperity, health, the wholeness Christ has for us) then we are presented with a decision. If we walk through the door, by giving it permission to come, we have set the stage for death to reign in our lives.  We have given over our authority into the hands of Satan to use to cultivate his own garden in our hearts, renewing our minds to his will and plan, thoughts, and behaviors. 

Are we allowing death to reign in our lives by consenting to the evil that comes to us?

We are to resist this, not permit it or allow it by overcoming it with blessing.  Where it starts is in our thoughts. When we yield to the evil (things as they ought not to be) Satan has permission to rob us of our rightful inheritance, our rightful blessings! WOW!!!

STUDY

Let’s move on to the next words as they are powerful insights to us.

Evil. Here is used the widest sense.

Meaning that which injures, to do harm to ones self, wrongful thoughts in mode of thinking, feeling, acting; desire to injure; ill will, not such as it ought to be.

The Greek here is saying that evil is in reality, not such as it ought to be.  What ought to be are the blessing of Christ flowing in our lives; what ought to be is our faith picture being our reality.

Insult

Meaning abuse, railing, reviling, slander, reproach, to say harsh things/verbal assaults, to spew bitter statements, mean spirited, demoralize words.  The Greek indicates here when we return the insult we then become the reviler, the abuser. We simply are surrendering at the point to the one who is mastering our members.

But

Moreover, now, rather, on the other hand, given after negative sentences, moving to something new, opposed to what goes before.

On the contrary (other versions says counterwise)

The Greek word here means “to set against” to be opposed, opposite, contrary in principle and in practice, hostile, antagonistic.in feeling and acts.  The picture given is to be against as when “he (Moses) stood before Pharaoh”.

Another meaning is to serve as a transition (but) to something new; the ship which stood ready to carry them over.

We know Pharaoh as a type of Satan, we are to resist and overcome.

INSIGHT

When we are confronted with evil, we are to set ourselves against it. This word counterwise refers to a ship ready (the spirit is ready and willing) to carry us over (to bring us the victory over our enemies)!!!!! Jesus is ready to carry us into His victory, that we overcome Pharaoh/Satan by entering His victory. His finished work.

As we dig deeper into contrary, the roots of the word give a mode of acting, a state, condition, or place referring the reader to Matt 21:21 where Jesus took his authority and cursed the fig tree, and told the mountain to go into the sea. He acted contrary to the evil (when things ought not to be so) that he saw. So I believe this is speaking to us to be in a place of faith speaking to our enemy with authority and believing that we already have the victory.

STUDY

Blessing

To speak well of/ invoke blessing, praise, give thanks, pray  of blessing, to cause to prosper, to make happy, bestow blessings on,  to do one good, the blessings of the Messiah promised to Abraham,  acting well/rightly.

Also, the roots of the word refer to speaking or saying good, commanding, decreeing, mandating with our words good, through prayer, speaking words containing true life and imparting them to men, used in reference to discourse.  Discourse in that a kind or style of speaking which brings life - the sayings of God; His promises, words, counsels, commands. Thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating on good things, the idea of bringing things to closure and to rest.

Blessing involves “God calling things that are not, as though they were” Not being (as they ought) to being (as they ought) Rom 4.

Called

Used of Christ calling persons to be his disciples, to cause to pass from one state into another, called to participate in, and enjoy the blessings of the heavenly kingdom, to embrace to offer of salvation by the Messiah, to appoint one to salvation,

Implies a suggestion of duties /assignment to a post.

“That blessing you should inherit”.

Same as prior – but that we were called to receive praise, laudation, blessing of Christ, of God.

Inherit

Acquire, obtain, used in reference to believers claiming their earthly inheritance assigned by the Lord, to become a partaker, used to denote the tranquil and stable possession of the land crowned with all divine blessings under the Messiah, possessions by the right of sonship in Christ, to receive the blessings of Gods kingdom promised to Abraham by the favor of Christ

INSIGHT

It is important to note that we do not bless in order to inherit a blessing, but we bless because blessing is our portion, our inheritance. 

We have the blessings of wholeness through the finished work.

Our true identity is in Christ, our identity is not of our fleshly nature. As we agree with these blessings of Christ (even thou we may not see them) through faith and by His grace, we are claiming them for our lives.  Faith always says, “I have it!”, even when we don’t. At creation when darkness was hovering over the earth, God did not say “Oh its dark”, he did not acknowledge the dark.  He simply spoke “Light be”.

I see this principle: He didn’t permit the darkness!  He stood against it with blessing (commanding the word of God - calling things that are not as though they were).  

We are made in the image of God, and when God spoke, he saw.  It was His pattern - speaking and then seeing the manifestation.  When evil comes knocking, we are to think/speak His blessing, for it is the ship that carries us over - over our enemies that seek our demise.

As this thought pattern leads us into the next verse, it is showing us how to see good days!! Who does not want to see good days? Jesus wants us to see good days! Let’s agree with Him that we have good days!!!

1 Pet 3:10b

“For whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.“

STUDY

Love

To take pleasure in, Christ living his life through the believer, choosing God’s choices, embracing His will and obeying through His power, steadfast love, cleaving, grateful recognition of benefits received.

Life

Active and vigorous devoted to God, and blessed, to denote a happy life and every kind of blessings,

A life breaking forth from the abode of the dead, a tree whose fruit gives and maintains eternal life

Good

Outward and inward good things, the benefits of the Messianic kingdom, a peaceful conscience, such as one ought to be, wholesome,  affecting the mind agreeable-comforting and confirming what is spoken of the divine promises, and the gospel and its promises full of consolation.  Useful/beneficial, peaceful conscious, makes reference to a covenant

Refrain

Cease, quit, come to an end.

Hebrew ~ keep from (Psm 34:13)

Watch guard, look at, consider, examine.

Tongue

Used of flowing speech, projecting point.

Evil

Of speaking  evil in the widest sense, speaking of not such as it ought to be.

Lips

Banks of rivers, seashore, a pouring place of water, and opening, gulf/door.

To speak

Say, to express the souls thoughts.

Deceit

Bait, bait to allure, hook people, to snare, advertising the bait, concealing the hook, trickery.

INSIGHT

In order to keep the tongue, we must go back to the heart.  When the heart is full of God, its abundance will flow in godly speech.  Godly speech is filled with faith agreeing with all His covenant blessings, even if we do not see them, faith says we believe and then we shall see them.  We set our heart to live by things we cannot see and cannot yet feel.  The righteous are to live by faith and call things that are not as though they are. To call things that are not as they ought to be (definition of evil) as they ought to be (definition of good and the finished work coming to pass in our lives) Steadfastly blessing, thanking, praising , having a merry heart and loving all bringing about good days.

A little background is that verse in 1 Pet 3:10-12 is taken from Psm. 34.  In this Psalm, David has escaped from the King Ahimelech by pretending to be crazy because he was afraid he would be killed.  It was a very low point in his life.  He sought refuge in the cave Adullam. In that low point he turned his eyes on Jesus.  In fact Adullam  means “to turn aside”.   David turned aside from looking at himself and his trouble, focused on God and began to praise Him. He turned aside from the evil (things not as they ought to be) and crossed over by blessing (blessing, praising, etc.).

He was joined by 400 men who, in 1 Sam. 22, says these men sought out David and were distressed, discontent, and in debt. (the 3rd army). These men ran to David for refuge (a type of Christ). He began to teach them in this Psalm and he became their captain.  He taught them how to have good days.

David, here being a type of Christ, was a sought out by the poor and needy and by the end of his encouragement to these men, they became a mighty army accomplishing much victory over their Philistine enemies. The Bible says of these men after Adullum  (1 Chron 12), they were mighty men of valor, trained for war, who could handle shield (faith) and spear(word of God), and whose faces we like the faces of lions and they were as swift as gazelles on the mountains.  Also 1 Sam 23 unfolds their stories.

STUDY

Debt

Meaning, we were in debt - we owed a debt we could not pay, in word and deed we were marked with a multitude of transgressions, but also in that time means they had lost all of assets, and theirs was harsh punishment for debts unpaid.

Distress; anguish, narrow place, oppressed, pressed hard upon

Discontent; angry, bitter, vexed, enraged, provoked, grieved

INSIGHT

When we more fully understand what the Holy Spirit is showing us in 1 Pet; I believe we become like David’s mighty men - overcoming because of the finished work. Choose not to live like your enemy in countering evil for evil. Live like God, countering evil with blessing so you will love life and see good days!

Guest blog by Liz Sutter.

Fear is power- STOP it FAST!

Fear = power

Power for your enemy - one of his most commonly used tactics. Accepted as normal in our society. Treated commonly by the medical community. Experienced at one time or another by every person alive. Used to spur people to action or hold them back so they take no action at all - basically cause them to do the opposite of what they want to do.

Fear empowers the enemy in your life.  Fear is the fuel the enemy needs to gain power in your life. 

The enemy uses fear to try to gain power over us. He supplies the thoughts that take us from 0 to 60 in a blink. All of a sudden, we are acting on a thought process supplied by our enemy in order to get his will carried out in our lives.

How do we STOP this?!?

The Scriptures tell us not to be ignorant of the enemy's devices. [2 Cor 2:11] Congratulations! Now you are not ignorant of this device of the enemy.

Now what?

You can't go somewhere you haven't already been in your mind - in your thoughts. Nip the device of the enemy in the bud. Stop it at zero before it goes to sixty.

How?

Best example to follow is Jesus - it's unanimous - He knows better than anyone else. The WORD.

Yes, we've all heard that before. The enemy tempted Jesus and He used the WORD against the enemy. The enemy was speaking to the Lord and painting pictures for Him of what could be. The enemy was trying to bait Jesus into action. The enemy knew if he could get Christ to obey him, he would have gained control, gained authority in His life. The enemy wants to do the same to you and me.

Stay with me...

Here's how the rubber meets the road. For example, if you have children, the enemy will flash pictures or thoughts of bad thing happening to them or sickness or some ill befalling them. You turn your mind to the WORD and focus your thoughts on this truth, "I and the children whom the Lord has given to me are for signs and wonders (not for desolation which was rampant around the writer)." [Isa. 8:18]

Chest pain? Enemy flashes that and the thought that something is wrong with your ticker. Swing your thoughts from his bait over to this one in the WORD, "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." [Ps. 73:26]

Unsure of what to do and afraid of making the wrong choice? Hold fast to these truths in the WORD, "The step of a good man (remember you are righteous because of Christ, not your works) are ordered by the Lord and He delights in his way." [Ps. 37:23] along with thanking God for giving you wisdom and remember "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. [James 1:5]

You get the picture.  There is something in the WORD for anything the enemy would throw your way. The moment you focus on the WORD, you've made a choice in Who you are going to obey. Almost instantaneously, the enemy will try to swing you back onto his track. Put your thoughts back to the WORD. Begin and keep thanking God, praising Him - it causes you to remember what He has done on your behalf. You are filling yourself - your mind with the good that will PUSH OUT the bad.

The battle rages in between your two ears. The enemy cannot make you do anything apart from your consent and cooperation (either knowingly or unknowingly). So he has to use thoughts against you and make them look factual, believable and relatively reasonable so you will act on them. 

God has provided a way of escape for you at every turn - a way out from under the oppression of the enemy. The WORD says HE leads us in the triumph. [2 Cor 2:14]

Anytime you sense fear, remind yourself that you have the upper hand because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on YOUR behalf. Know the source of that fear has been defeated by your Savior  [Col. 2:15] and you can rule over fear instead of it ruling you. You can say,

"Thank you Jesus, I'M FREE!!!"

Offense = unbelief = no power

Offense.  It's only mentioned 13 times in the Scriptures with 11 of them in the New Testament.

Cutting to it - Jesus said, "Blessed is the one who doesn't take offense at me." [Matt 11:6] We have only one account in the Scriptures where it is recorded that Jesus acknowledged the offense of a group of people.

""Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him."[Mark 6:3]

What did their offense immediately lead to?

UNEBLIEF

What was the result?

"He could do no miracle (lit. work of power) there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them." [Mark 6:5]

Bottom line - don't take the bait of the enemy via offense and render useless the power of God available towards you.

Offense leads to unbelief.

"All things are possible to those who believe." [Mark 9:23]

When you choose to not take an offense or lay it down, you are choosing to believe God.

"It is his (a person's) glory to overlook an offense" [Prov 19:11] It is to your credit to make the decision to overlook an offense.

When you hold an offense you are not receiving the grace that has been offered to you by Jesus and you are most certainly not extending grace. It doesn't mean the offense didn't hurt. It DOES mean you take the grace of God understanding both your sins and the sins of the offender has been forgiven. You give over the offense to Jesus. Every time the enemy hits the replay button and that scene flashes in your mind, extinguish the fiery dart of the enemy by saying, "I forgive from my heart ALL who have offended me."

When the enemy ceases to get mileage out of that tactic and it accomplishes the opposite result, he'll lay off that device. Turn the trap on the enemy. Believe God by putting down the offense. Let the power of His finished work flow FREELY in your life by not allowing offense to stop the flow. You are the ONLY ONE who can make that choice.

-Guest blog by Arin Rentz

Take no thought...ok

I'm writing while the kids are napping so the words will be short and to the point - go with me OK?!?

We've been studying where Jesus instructed us to take no thought. He said to take no thought for your life (soul in the actual translation), what you eat or drink, for your body, for what you wear, for tomorrow and for how or what you will speak.

The word "thought" drills down in the Greek with this string:

thought - to be anxious, troubled with cares
             - care, anxiety through the idea of distraction
             - to divide, be split into factions

The enemy provides anxious thoughts that would distract us, causing us to be split into factions. Peace means to be set at one again and evil means to be scattered, dispersed in order to ruin.

Jesus tells us in this passage to take no thought, but to seek first His kingdom. The original Greek for kingdom notes that it is not to be confused with an actual kingdom, but rather the royal authority of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah (the finished work of Christ and the authority it won for us). So seeking first His kingdom is seeking first - putting first in our mind the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Keep trekking with me!

Matt 6:25 notes "For this reason, take no thought..." For what reason? We need to look back before we go forward. Looking at verse 24, Jesus notes you cannot serve two masters.

Serve - to be a slave, to yield obedience

To whomever you yield your members, his slaves you become - to whomever you obey. [Rom 6:16]

So when we take the breakdown of Matt 6:24-28 it reads like this in the ARV (Arin Rentz Version):

Jesus says, "Arin, you can't yield your obedience to me and the enemy. So, take no thought, don't be split into factions through distractions via anxiety in your soul (the seat of your feelings, desires, affections) over the things you need. Continually seek (set your mind to) as the FIRST thing, the Royal Power (authority) of Jesus as the Triumphant Messiah and the fact that you are the righteousness of God in Christ.  When you make this choice, the things you need will be provided, added (to join your company, to be numbered as one of your companions) to you."

When the enemy pops up thoughts of lack, stress, upset - put Christ's finished work at the front of your mind.  Remember He finished the work of triumphing over the kingdom of darkness so you could rest in His work.

-Guest blog by Arin Rentz

Faith not working?

Does it ever seem to you that sometimes your faith to believe for what you need is not working or is dead? You know faith works, but you seem to come up lacking. If you are endeavoring to believe God for healing or any other manifestation of the good provisions of God (wisdom, prospering, peace) you know that faith is essential. Faith is given to us by the Holy Spirit of Christ. It is very powerful. Faith works miracles. Faith works.

But there is a aspect of faith working that we often overlook and therefore do not activate. Two things we know:

1. Faith without works is dead (lifeless)
2. Faith works by love

The "works" that activate faith are these:

1. Forgiving, forgiving, forgiving

Forgiving is a work of faith that SHOWS you believe the complete work of Calvary. You believe that Christ, the Savior of all mankind, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world has truly paid in full for every sin done by you or done to you. For that reason, you can accept the grace of being forever and completely forgiven AND you can give the grace of forgiveness to others (especially those who have offended you, transgressed against you or even despitefully abused you).

The despiteful abuse you've suffered and the process you've gone through to get rid of it brings us to the next truth that will set us free and the next "work" faith...

2. Pray FOR those who despitefully abuse you

It is hard to pray for an abuser.  We can pray about them and tell God about all the bad they've done and how we feel about it, but that is only the FIRST step of getting out from under that burden baggage. Often, after we have stirred ourselves up by remembering and reporting on the offenses, we feel hatred and not faith. Sometimes we even pray against that person. We want God to give them a taste of their own medicine or some other curse. Those kind of prayers do not work out the way we think they should - they actually work against us!

Why?

The principal of God that rules in this scenario is this:

"Give and it shall be given to you"[Luke 6:38]

What is the "it" referenced above?

"It" is whatever you yourself has given. If you have given the abuser curses, hatred and fear - that is what will show up on your doorstep. Better to pray for them rather than against them because the "measure you mete (give out to others), shall be measured back to you".[Mark 4:24] Also, "whatever you sow, you reap". [Gal 6:7] Plus, the Golden Rule is "do unto others what you would have done to you." That is why you are instructed to pray FOR those who despitefully abuse you. This truth sets you free from oppression and bitterness, fear and other snares of the enemy. When you obey Christ's instruction to pray for and to bless and curse not, you are utilizing

The Way of Escape...the Way of Triumph

that God provides in every trial. Your enemy desires to oppress you, depress you, rule over you, harass you, incapacitate you so you won't use the power and authority you have been given over all the power of the enemy [Luke 10:19]. Conversely, your Savior desires you to believe Him, obey His Spirit's prompting, value and do His Word (which is to pray for).

He said to to pray for one another so that you may be healed.

How much more light do you need? He is shining the light on your situation so you can take the faith He has given you by these simple works of love and put them in to practice to overcome the evil of that despiteful abuse with the good of forgiving, praying for and blessing.

These are our weapons of warfare that defeat the kingdom of darkness who desires us to be imprisoned by that despiteful abuse or transgression or offense. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. The human is not the culprit or the problem. The enemy BEHIND the actions or the words are the culprit. Defeat the enemy by forgiving the offender. Defeat darkness by praying for. Defeat Satan by blessing and cursing not.

All of these actions are putting into practice the good word of God to overcome the evil works of the devil.

So how do you pray for?

First pray for them to come out from under the oppression and vexation of the enemy so they no longer further the enemy's work via offense and abuse.  Pray Romans 5:17 over them because when the offender receives God's grace and gift of righteousness, they reign in life by the One, Christ Jesus rather than the evil reigning over them. Pray Eph 3:16-20 so the eyes of their understanding may be enlightened so they can receive God's love. Remember the second half of Luke 6:38 that what you give comes back to you pressed down, shaken together and running over.  What you are praying for them, you are receiving multiplied back to you so pray for the things you hope will show up on your doorstep.

All of these works of faith remove the impediments to the blessings of God flowing to you and being received by you by faith.

Ruling from a Resting position

Last week, Liz Sutter taught on ruling from a resting position.  This is one of those "things" in life that you want to have in your arsenal so when life rages around, you can pull out the most powerful weapon - resting in Christ's finished work so you rule over your enemies.  Enjoy!

PSALM 23:5

{Thou  preparest}   {a table}  before  {me in the presence of mine enemies} : {thou anoints}  {my head}  {with oil:}  { my cup}  {runneth over.}

STUDY

First phrase: Thou prepares: Hebrew arak:  to arrange wood upon the alter; loaves upon the holy tablea table for a meal;  arms for a battle; to set in order, a cause in a court of justice;to set or put or lay in order; to furnish; to set forth a legal case; set in place

Second phrase: a table: Hebrew shulcan:  Kings table;  Extended/spread out, The table of shew bread; Table of Jehovah, the alter: Root is verb: shalach:  to send away; to cast out ; to dismiss; to be divorced, to cast, to throw as arrows into fire(into a city); to cast down;  to be expelled; set free

Third Phrase:  me in the presence of mine enemies: Hebrew tsarar:  to bind, be narrow; cause distress to besiege, be bound, tied up, shut up, cramped, to be in straits, to press hard upon, to show hostility toward; treat with enmity, vex,  harass,  to press, compress, to be wrapped up ina cloth or bundle, to lay hold of, persecute, to afflict,

Forth Phrase: thou anoints} Hebrew dashen: become/grow fat, prosperous , to take away ashes from alter, to fatten oneself of Jehovahs sword, good tidings make the bones fat, fills them with marrow, imparts strength, sending fire down from heaven, to clear from ashes,  to be anointed with fatness to be smeared

Fifth phrase: my head: Hebrew  ro’sh:  Head, upper part, total, sum, top ; chief of a family, the high priest,

Sixth  Phrase: with oil: Hebrew shemem: fatness;  feast of fat things; ‘yoke of Isreal is broken because fatness/ taken from a fat bull that casts off and breaks the yoke; fruitfulness of the earth, very fertile valley; dew of heaven; Root: verb  shaman; to grow or become fat: to be covered with fat…to produce it from oneself;sympbol of plenty, sign of luxery, royal treasure, as medicine, as a shield

Seventh Phrase: my cup: Hebrew kowc: a vessel, a receptacle

Eight Phrase: runneth over: Hebrew revayah:  saturation, abundance,Root verb: ravah: to be satiated or have ones fill, to drench, water abundantly, intoxicated, soaked, to satiate anyone with fat,  drench, bathed, a place of relief

INSIGHT

God prepared for us Jesus (a meal) shown forth on this table. The King's table of displaying the benefits of the finished work, this table of Victory and Freedom in which we can feast upon.  A table which we can eat and receive nourishment in our weakness and frailities…that we can gain strength and power to overcome. We have every spiritual blessing that Christ has for us from his finished work(Eph 1:3).

It brings to remembrance the Lords table with bread and wine..symbolizing the exchange.. His love and Victory for us. A table  speaks of the posture of sitting down (at rest). While we rest we receive of the blessings in Gods Kingdom at the table.  A place of rest before our enemies.  Where we don’t wok/fight the enemy..but our fight is the fight of faith..fight to believe what God has given us we have.   We receive of Gods provision through His meal, through communion, through the finished work.

A table spread out ..by implication is a meal..A meal that has already been prepared..When a meal is prepared and on the table/the work has already been done..so we enjoy and eat!! All the while our audience..our enemies are  confronting us. 

I believe Gods rest is our promise land. So when we rest and receive at the table we have entered our promised land. When I can, in the face of fear, enter into peace...I am experiencing triumph over this giant. In the face of disease, I can say with confidence that healing is at the table.  I am the healed of the Lord - I have my inheritance.  In the face of hardship, confusion, darkness, and pain(our enemies) I can say God's provision is mine.  Because I am receiving His meal, I am victorious.  

Then the scripture follows that we enter into the anointing so we grow fat from the table and receive strength  totally to overcome.  Even as the fat bull pulls away and breaks the yoke of bondage that has overcome it, he breaks free from what has laid hold of him.  Then we experience, as the scripture says, our cup overflows and we are saturated - we are soaked with the anointing oil because we have received of His table and have overcome (WOW!).

STUDY: Psm: 110:1-4

Vs. 1: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies they footstool.  The Lord shall send { the rod}  {of thy strength}  (out  ot Zion} :({ Rule}  thou in the midst of thine enemies.

First phrase vs. 2 the rod:  Hebrew matteh: branch(of vine), , a scepter,  to cast down(enemies)

Second phrase : of they strength; Hebrew ‘oz: might;power, the strong hero; fortified tower, defense, refuge protection, splendor, majesty, glory, praise, victory ,

Third phrase: out of Zion: Hebrew TSiyown: Jerusalem; a sunny mountain, city of David, to show the way, place of worship, to lead in music/song,

Fourth prhase: Rule: Hebrew radah: to tread down, have dominion, subjugate, to tread-winepress, to subdue, to take possession of

INSIGHT

When we are at rest, who is ruling us? Jesus is ruling our emotions, our mind, our body. He has the control. So when we allow Jesus to rule our emotions and mindsets, we are then ruling our enemies by allowing His Lordship over us. We are possessing that land of peace, possessing joy, healing, deliverance from dark mindsets. We are treading our enemies, prevailing over them by submitting to His Lordship. As Christ is now sitting at the right hand of God, He is at rest and even as Christ is in this world so are we.  Christ rules in a position of rest, He rules His enemies remaining at Rest. The Psalms states  “out to Zion, Rule.” Out of the place of worship and rest at His table, Christ is Lord, and we have His victory over every enemy! He has made the way in his finished work for us to overcome every obstacle!  He is so good!!