My Precious Child,
I wanted to write you to tell you how very special you are to me. I gave you my Word as a constant reminder, but I understand that sometimes you may find it difficult and time-consuming to dig through all the “thees” and “thous” to get to the verses that talk about my love for you. I hope that you’ll find the time to dig deeper into my Word, though, because within it I have hidden innumerable treasures for you to discover. As I have said clearly throughout my Word, those who seek me in earnest will find me.
First of all, I want to remind you that I made you. I dreamt you up before there was a heaven or an earth. I wrote your blueprint in the palm of my hand before I laid the foundations of the world. I knit you together in your mother’s womb before you were born. I gave you the light in your eyes and numbered the very hairs upon your head. I made you in my image and destined you for greatness.
Before you came to be, I devised a plan and purpose for your priceless life. It was a plan to prosper you, to make you successful, and to protect you from disaster. A plan to give you hope and a future. Through my deep, abiding, and eternal love, I made it possible for you to succeed in all your endeavors. I promised you that I would never condemn you or be angry with you. I forgave you before you ever sinned, and spared you the punishment that you deserved. Through my Son, Jesus, I freed you from the ultimate penalty of sin.
I redeemed you—bought you back—from the curse of the law and brought you unto myself because of my love for you. I made you a new creature. I crucified the sinful person you were on the cross with my Son. His blood cleansed you and covered all your sin. I placed my Spirit in your heart to guide you into all Truth. Through Him, you are now free from the power of sin.
I predestined you for eternal life. I provided the means and the motivation for you to receive my Son, Jesus, as your personal Savior and Lord. I have made it possible for you to life a godly life on earth, and I have prepared a place for you in heaven so that when your time on earth is over, you can come and spend eternity with me. I have designed a perfect, glorified body—one that will never decay—for you to wear in heaven. On the day when you finally meet me face-to-face you will be forever free from the very presence of sin.
I placed my Spirit in you as your Comforter and a guarantee of your eternal salvation. You belong to me and are continually under my protection. I have given you the same authority over the devil and his demons that I gave to my Son, Jesus. I have even given you the power to crush Satan under your feet. In your behalf, Jesus disarmed principalities and powers, making them a public spectacle, triumphing over them in the cross. Nothing can in any way harm you, my precious child. You will never be separated from my love.
Through my Spirit and my Word, I have given you everything you need for life and godliness. I have made myself your total sufficiency in every area of your life. I am the provision for all your needs, your strength, your health, your protection, and your victory. I am the Light of your world, and you are a reflection of my light. To me, you are a sweet-smelling fragrance. I have given you my glory and my joy in full measure, and I have flooded your heart with my love. I am available to you whenever and wherever you may need me. I will never leave nor forsake you. You can always rely on me because I never change.
I have made you a joint heir with Jesus of everything that I have. I have caused all things—good and bad—to work together for your good. Because I am for you, no one can ever be against you. You will never be put to shame because of your faith in me. I have given you the authority to reign as a king. One day you will judge the world and angels.
I will comfort you in your times of trouble, and discipline you when you go astray. I must allow you to endure suffering so that you can share in my glory, but my boundless consolation is available to you whenever you need it. You may be hard pressed on every side, but you will never be crushed. You may be perplexed, but you will never be in despair. You may be persecuted, but you will never be abandoned. You may be struck down, but you will never be destroyed. I have made you more than a conqueror in all things. One day, you will be led about in my Son’s triumphal procession.
Finally, I want you to know that to me, you are the righteousness of Christ Jesus, my Son. I have set you free and brought you to myself. I have given you the mind of Christ and made your body the dwelling place of my Holy Spirit. I have enlightened you and lavished upon you the riches of my grace with wisdom and understanding. I have made known to you the mystery of my will according to my good pleasure. I have chosen you and predestined you according to my plan, and I will work everything out in your life according to my desire. I will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you can know me better. You are my workmanship, created by me in advance to do good works. Nothing that I have ever created is more precious to me than you, My Child.
My hope for you is that you will remain in me so that I may perfect you and fashion you into the magnificent masterpiece that I had in mind from the beginning. I have begun a good work in you and I will complete it. I am working in you now to conform your will to mine and to cause you to do that which is pleasing to me. You have my peace, which passes all human understanding, to guide and guard your heart and mind. I am working within you to make you holy in my sight, without blemish and free from accusation. One day, Jesus will present you to me without fault and with great joy. Until that day, My Child, hold on to me as I have held on to you, for I am faithful. I will bring about all that I have planned for you in your life. Therefore, lay aside every weight and sin and run the race before you with patience so that you may ultimately receive the prize. And when the race is over, I’ll be at the finish line to welcome you home to glory.
Well done, my good and faithful servant!
ABBA
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Saturday, March 26, 2005
Thursday, March 24, 2005
The Power of Spoken Words
Have you contemplated the real power of spoken words? We've all heard the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." What nonsense! Words have the power to hurt deeply. We all have wounds from harsh and untrue things that have been said about us. Continually using negative words to bombard someone becomes verbal abuse. Verbal abuse, particularly when perpetrated upon children, is a most insidious evil. Words can hurt!
Words can also heal! You may recall things that were said to you as a child that encouraged you or helped you through a difficult time. I have heard testimony after testimony of those who have succeeded in ministry and life in part because someone significant spoke encouraging Truth into their lives. Scripture is full of encouraging Truth! We ought to find more opportunities to speak God's Word into our lives and into the lives of those we love. There is power in the words that we speak, so it behooves us to choose our words carefully.
One reason we speak is to be heard. When we speak, others hear us, but we also hear what we are saying. If we speak Truth, hearing the spoken Truth increases our faith.
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Rom. 10:17 NKJV)
This is the cycle of faith: from heart, to mouth, from mouth to ear, from ear to heart, and then from heart to mouth and so on. Truth is spoken, we hear it, our faith increases, and we speak Truth with more conviction. The New Testament in particular is replete with examples of how hearing and faith go hand-in-glove.
"I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?...So then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?" (Gal. 3:2,5 HCSB)To understand faith's role in the hearing process, we must understand what faith actually is.
“[Faith] is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see." (Heb. 11:1 NLT)
Faith is reality for the believer, even though it is not yet visible! God is the Source of all reality, so when God speaks into our lives, we can accept what He says as being already true, even if it has not yet happened.
“…That is what the Scriptures mean when God told [Abraham], ‘I have made you the father of many nations.’ This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who brings into existence what didn't exist before.” (Rom. 4:17 NLT)
God spoke light into existence when there was no light. He spoke space into being between the waters of heaven and the waters of earth. He spoke and grass sprung up and trees bore fruit. When God speaks, things happen!! When we hear God speak and believe what He says, faith happens! Confession and faith are vitally important. So much so that they are the two primary criteria for salvation.
“If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved” (Rom. 10:9,10 GNT).
Confession to the believer is speaking Truth or, in effect, saying what God has already said. Confessing Truth builds faith! Doing so reminds us verbally that God has made a promise to us that we can know will ultimately come to pass.There is also a negative side to confession. Just as positive confessions based on Truth bolster our faith, negative confessions can have the opposite effect. When we speak negative and untrue words about ourselves or others, we are replacing Truth with lies. Spoken falsehoods undermine our faith. When we or others hear the same lies often enough, we tend to believe them. The more we believe lies, the more our faith is weakened. This is why it is important to always confess Truth.
Read what Jesus said to the Pharisees.
“You snakes—how can you say good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Matt. 12:34 GNT)
The Pharisees' words came from their hearts, which evidently were full of corruption and evil. As a result, their words were corrupt and evil. It has been said, "what goes down in the well comes up in the bucket." We tend to speak what is in our hearts, good or bad. If we fill our hearts with lies and darkness, this is what spews from our mouths. Speaking Truth builds up, but speaking lies tears down. Negative words undermine our faith and negatively impact our faith, our attitudes, and ultimately our actions. This is what psychologists and others refer to as "self-fulfilling prophecy."
If we consider the “whole counsel” of God in the matter of confession and faith, we will discover that what we say matters greatly to us and to those around us.
“Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen! No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening. A fig tree, my friends, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water” (Jas. 3:10-12 GNT).
James reminds us that it is the source that determines the quality of water that pours from a spring. I remember the taste of the sweet, pure water that poured from the mountain springs in the Shenandoah National Park. Its source was pure, and as the water worked its way up from the source deep within the earth, it was filtered by the roots of sassafras trees and other plants. The farther from the source the water traveled, however, the less pure it became.
James also compared the tongue to the rudder of a ship--a relatively small object, but with the power to change a huge ship's direction. Read what Jesus said about power of confession.
"I assure you that if you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this hill, 'Go from here to there!' and it will go. You could do anything!" (Matt. 17:20b)
Jesus answered, "I assure you that if you believe and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I have done to this fig tree. And not only this, but you will even be able to say to this hill, 'Get up and throw yourself in the sea,' and it will. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matt. 21:21,22 GNT)
“For this reason I tell you: When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for. And when you stand and pray, forgive anything you may have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive the wrongs you have done.” (Mark 11:24,25 GNT)
“Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 7:7)
These verses are all are about making our requests known to God. And how do we do that? We do that by speaking! Asking is speaking or confessing to God what we want, and as long as we want what God wants for us, He guarantees that we will receive whatever we ask. To receive what God has for us, we must confess in words our belief in His Word, and ask Him specifically for what we need.
"You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it" (Jas. 4:2 GNT).
Consider the following reasons why speaking God's Word is important. God’s Word…
Paul stated in his letter to the church in Colossae,
“Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.” (Col. 3:16 NLT)
Speaking, teaching, and even singing are all forms of confessing or speaking the Truth. Praise is a very powerful form of confession in which we speak or sing back to God the Truth He has revealed to us about Himself. We can do this corporately (as a group) or individually. Either way, there is power in praise.
Speaking Truth wields such power that in the Revelation, believers defeated the enemy through their testimonies.
"And [believers] have defeated [the devil] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony. And they were not afraid to die. ” (Rev. 12:11 NLT)
Faith and confession are directly proportionate. Your faith increases in proportion to the frequency of your confession. The more you confess God’s Word (out loud), the more your faith increases. And since faith is reality for believers, increasing our faith increases our belief in and acceptance of God’s reality in our lives.
Be careful of what you speak!
Words can also heal! You may recall things that were said to you as a child that encouraged you or helped you through a difficult time. I have heard testimony after testimony of those who have succeeded in ministry and life in part because someone significant spoke encouraging Truth into their lives. Scripture is full of encouraging Truth! We ought to find more opportunities to speak God's Word into our lives and into the lives of those we love. There is power in the words that we speak, so it behooves us to choose our words carefully.
One reason we speak is to be heard. When we speak, others hear us, but we also hear what we are saying. If we speak Truth, hearing the spoken Truth increases our faith.
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Rom. 10:17 NKJV)
This is the cycle of faith: from heart, to mouth, from mouth to ear, from ear to heart, and then from heart to mouth and so on. Truth is spoken, we hear it, our faith increases, and we speak Truth with more conviction. The New Testament in particular is replete with examples of how hearing and faith go hand-in-glove.
"I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?...So then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?" (Gal. 3:2,5 HCSB)To understand faith's role in the hearing process, we must understand what faith actually is.
“[Faith] is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see." (Heb. 11:1 NLT)
Faith is reality for the believer, even though it is not yet visible! God is the Source of all reality, so when God speaks into our lives, we can accept what He says as being already true, even if it has not yet happened.
“…That is what the Scriptures mean when God told [Abraham], ‘I have made you the father of many nations.’ This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who brings into existence what didn't exist before.” (Rom. 4:17 NLT)
God spoke light into existence when there was no light. He spoke space into being between the waters of heaven and the waters of earth. He spoke and grass sprung up and trees bore fruit. When God speaks, things happen!! When we hear God speak and believe what He says, faith happens! Confession and faith are vitally important. So much so that they are the two primary criteria for salvation.
“If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved” (Rom. 10:9,10 GNT).
Confession to the believer is speaking Truth or, in effect, saying what God has already said. Confessing Truth builds faith! Doing so reminds us verbally that God has made a promise to us that we can know will ultimately come to pass.There is also a negative side to confession. Just as positive confessions based on Truth bolster our faith, negative confessions can have the opposite effect. When we speak negative and untrue words about ourselves or others, we are replacing Truth with lies. Spoken falsehoods undermine our faith. When we or others hear the same lies often enough, we tend to believe them. The more we believe lies, the more our faith is weakened. This is why it is important to always confess Truth.
Read what Jesus said to the Pharisees.
“You snakes—how can you say good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Matt. 12:34 GNT)
The Pharisees' words came from their hearts, which evidently were full of corruption and evil. As a result, their words were corrupt and evil. It has been said, "what goes down in the well comes up in the bucket." We tend to speak what is in our hearts, good or bad. If we fill our hearts with lies and darkness, this is what spews from our mouths. Speaking Truth builds up, but speaking lies tears down. Negative words undermine our faith and negatively impact our faith, our attitudes, and ultimately our actions. This is what psychologists and others refer to as "self-fulfilling prophecy."
If we consider the “whole counsel” of God in the matter of confession and faith, we will discover that what we say matters greatly to us and to those around us.
“Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen! No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening. A fig tree, my friends, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water” (Jas. 3:10-12 GNT).
James reminds us that it is the source that determines the quality of water that pours from a spring. I remember the taste of the sweet, pure water that poured from the mountain springs in the Shenandoah National Park. Its source was pure, and as the water worked its way up from the source deep within the earth, it was filtered by the roots of sassafras trees and other plants. The farther from the source the water traveled, however, the less pure it became.
James also compared the tongue to the rudder of a ship--a relatively small object, but with the power to change a huge ship's direction. Read what Jesus said about power of confession.
"I assure you that if you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this hill, 'Go from here to there!' and it will go. You could do anything!" (Matt. 17:20b)
Jesus answered, "I assure you that if you believe and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I have done to this fig tree. And not only this, but you will even be able to say to this hill, 'Get up and throw yourself in the sea,' and it will. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matt. 21:21,22 GNT)
“For this reason I tell you: When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for. And when you stand and pray, forgive anything you may have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven will forgive the wrongs you have done.” (Mark 11:24,25 GNT)
“Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 7:7)
These verses are all are about making our requests known to God. And how do we do that? We do that by speaking! Asking is speaking or confessing to God what we want, and as long as we want what God wants for us, He guarantees that we will receive whatever we ask. To receive what God has for us, we must confess in words our belief in His Word, and ask Him specifically for what we need.
"You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it" (Jas. 4:2 GNT).
Consider the following reasons why speaking God's Word is important. God’s Word…
- always produces fruit, accomplishes all He wants it to, and prospers everywhere He sends it. (Isa. 55:11)
- is pure. (Proverbs 30:5)
- nourishes the spirit. (Luke 4:4)
- always bears fruit. (Luke 8:15)
- blesses those who hear it and keep it. (Luke 11:28)
- cannot be broken. (John 10:38)
- grows and multiplies, (Acts 12:24)
- it works in those who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
- is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. (Hebrews 4:12a)
- is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12b)
- framed the worlds. (Hebrews 11:13)
- is JESUS! (Revelation 19:13)
Paul stated in his letter to the church in Colossae,
“Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.” (Col. 3:16 NLT)
Speaking, teaching, and even singing are all forms of confessing or speaking the Truth. Praise is a very powerful form of confession in which we speak or sing back to God the Truth He has revealed to us about Himself. We can do this corporately (as a group) or individually. Either way, there is power in praise.
Speaking Truth wields such power that in the Revelation, believers defeated the enemy through their testimonies.
"And [believers] have defeated [the devil] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony. And they were not afraid to die. ” (Rev. 12:11 NLT)
Faith and confession are directly proportionate. Your faith increases in proportion to the frequency of your confession. The more you confess God’s Word (out loud), the more your faith increases. And since faith is reality for believers, increasing our faith increases our belief in and acceptance of God’s reality in our lives.
Be careful of what you speak!
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