Hello dear ones, I am in Kentucky and finally have access to the internet.  Here are the rhemas from the last few days

 

December 27,2008   Deuteronomy 29      Know Him

 

Vs. 7”….that ye might know that I am the Lord your God.”

Just as the Lord provided for the Israelites, so also the Lord provides for us to remind us that He is our God and loves and cares for us each day.  Let these daily gifts and blessings keep us so very grateful and close to the heart of the wonderful Heavenly Father that we serve.

 

Vs.13  “That He may establish thee today for a people unto Himself.” 

Vs.  29  “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong to us and our children forever that we may do all the things of the law.”

 

Are we established deeply in the faith?  What is keeping us back from coming to a place of spiritual maturity?  Are we continuing to selfishly plan our days, giving Him no part of it?  Remember Psalm 1:2?  “His delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”  He wants us to delight in Him.  He is waiting to reveal His wisdom and truth to us.  We can live by our own wisdom or His.  The choice is ours.  That course that we choose will affect generations to come.  Let’s pass down a deeply godly heritage and one that will give our descendants a desire to follow in the footsteps of those before them that made God and His Word their sole delight.  Let them be able look back at lives blessed by God’s outpouring of blessings instead of lives ravaged by pain and despair because we chose to follow our own wisdom.  Life is so very short.  We can never take back those wasted years.  What’s stopping you from starting today?  Let’s not go another day of our lives without meeting with the God who wants to reveal Himself to us.  Let’s delight in Him. 

 

 

 

 

 

December 28,2008    Deuteronomy  30   Cleaving

 

Vs. 2-3   “And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shall obey His voice according to all that I command thee this day thou and thy children, with all thine heart and with all thy soul.  That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations…”

Dear one, have you strayed far or even just a little from the sweet fellowship of the Father?  Do you feel that sense sadness and aloneness?  No matter how far we have gone from His will and His leading, He wants us, right now, to return to that wonderful embrace of His love and protection.  He will turn our captivity and gather us back into that place of His perfect will for us.  He will have compassion. 

 

Vs. 14-15 “The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.  See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil. 

Vs. 19  “…therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live.”

Vs. 20  “…cleave unto Him for He is thy life and the length of thy days.”

 

Together, let’s cleave to the Father so that we, our children and grandchildren can live, truly live, with the blessings and abundance of the outpouring of His love.  There is just no other way to live.  Nothing this world has to offer is more precious and valuable than living with the results of cleaving to Him.

 

 

 

 

 

December 29, 2008    Deuteronomy 31   Battle with Boldness

 

Vs. 6  “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee: He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

Vs. 8  “And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee: He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”

 

These are incredibly amazing verses that belong in the ‘gold bank accounts’ of our hearts.  So much of our lives may be spent living in fear, dismay, feelings of failure and of being forsaken.  That doesn’t have to be true of us.  Look at these verses again.  We can be strong and have great courage because He is in the lead, He goes before us.  We don’t have to fear anyone or anything no matter how great the battle or the enemy.  We are not on the frontline of the battlefield.  He is!!!!

 

So many times we miss out on so much that God has for us because we don’t understand or know the truth.  Our battles will appear to be so lonely and hopeless.  We must take the time alone and with our family to read and memorize the precious gems from Scripture.  We must have our ‘gold bank account’ filled so that we can make those very needed withdrawals at a moments notice to be able to go with courage, boldness and confidence into the face of battle. 

Vs. 11-13  “…thou shalt read this law before all Israel in  their hearing.  Gather the people together…..that they man hear and that they may learn and fear the Lord your God and observe to do all the words of this law. And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God.”

 

 

 

 

December 30, 2008  Deuteronomy 32   Publish His Name

 

Vs. 3  “Because I will publish the name of the Lord:  ascribe ye greatness unto our God.”

 

Do others around us hear us speak of the God that we serve?  Do we tell of His greatness?  He is worthy of our praise.  We are made to glorify Him.  It is the reason for our existence.  Are we fulfilling that calling for our lives? 

I remember the day I realized that I spoke a different “language” to the lost around me.  I would speak freely to my Christian friends of His goodness and say His name freely.  Perhaps I thought I would offend the lost by mentioning His name.  Thankfully God showed me the error of my ways.  I began to share of His goodness and give Him the glory for the blessings in my life: my sweet husband, godly children, answers to prayers or just saying words like: “God is so good.”  Let’s continue to ‘publish’ His name at every opportunity that we have.

 

Vs. 11-13  “As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.  He made him ride on the high places of the earth.”

Oh, how good is God to do to us as the great eagle does for his young.  He stirs us up to obedience.  He fusses over us and dotes on us with His gentle and loving care.  He spreads His great wings of protection.  He takes us up and does not leave us in that nest of our lives alone and defenseless.  He carries us to new and great heights of joy and victory. 

 

Vs. 15  “…and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.”

 Let us not be guilty of this but instead put Him in the forefront of our lives, our speech, our thoughts, our ambitions, our time and our dreams.  

 

 

 

 

December 31, 2008  Deuteronomy 33    Prayers of  Blessings

 

 

Vs. 1  “And this is the blessings wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.”

Like Moses, are we taking the time to pray specific prayers of blessings on our children and others in our care? If that loved one is with us let’s stop long enough today to take that loved one aside and take their hand or place our hand on their head or shoulders or get on our knees with them and pray with them. If they are away from us let’s be faithful to also hold them up in prayer and to bless them.

 

 Here are some blessings Moses prayed over his people:

Vs.11  “Bless Lord, his substance and accept the work of his hands.”

Vs. 12  “…shall dwell in safety by him and the Lord shall cover him all the day long…”

Vs. 16  “Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph…”

Vs. 23  “…satisfied with favor and full with the blessing of the Lord….”

Vs. 27 “The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee.”

Vs. 29  “Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency!

 

We can and should live a happy life, filled with the joy of the Lord because we are His people.  Who are as blessed and so privileged as us, to be His children, saved by the blood He shed on the cross for our salvation?  

“Father, allow our prayers of blessings for our loved ones help to remind them of whose they are and to go forth into this world with joy, hope and victory in the battles that they face.  Remind them that You are their refuge and are holding them in Your everlasting arms.”

 

Deuteronomy 28 Overtaken by Blessings

 

Vs. 1-2 “…if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.  And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.”

Think of it!  We can be overtaken by blessings.  Wow!  What a way to live and go through this life.  But it is not just handed to us.  According to these verses we must be very careful and diligent to obey Him.  Just like the Israelites, He wants to set us high above the standards of the world and bless us abundantly.   

 Vs. 9 “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself.”

Vs. 10 “Then all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord.”

Do others recognize immediately that we are His children or would they be surprised to learn that we are Christians?  Do others seek us out for prayer and counsel?  Everything about us should be different and clearly  ‘speak volumes’ to those around us about who we serve: our prayer life, our study of His Word, our dress, our generosity, our quick forgiveness, our patience, our speech and lack of gossip, criticism of others and complaining, our gentleness, our words of wisdom and our godly counsel. 

 This chapter also explains the many dire consequences the Israelites would face if they chose to turn their backs on God.    One of these warnings would break the hearts of all of us: 

Vs. 32  “Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long.”

What a very high price we could pay if we choose our own selfish way through this world.  Even as adult children, they are watching our lives, not to mention those precious grandchildren.  Losing our children to the philosophy of this world and seeing them turn their backs on God is a pain like no other.  Let’s not put off our obedience.  So much is at stake!!  

Oh that we would be overtaken by blessings!!!!!!!

 

Deuteronomy 27 Celebrate!!!!

 

 

Vs. 5  “..there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God…”

Vs.  7  “You shall offer burnt offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the Lord your God.”

On this Christmas morning what a wonderful time it is to be reminded to worship Him.  We can offer Him the gift of a pure heart, and the gift of worship, praise and adoration.   We can eat and rejoice before the Lord in great celebration of His goodness to us.  Last night we read a passage from the Bible of the Christmas story and as tradition, we will read more this morning and sing “Happy Birthday to Jesus” as we always have in the past.  

 

Vs. 9-10  “…Take heed and listen, O Israel:  This day you have become the people of the Lord your ‘God.  Therefore you shall obey the voice of the Lord your God. And observe His commandments…”

Let this day be a reminder of the greatest gift of all, His salvation and think back on the day we became His child.  Let us give a gift back to Him, what He wants most of all from us, an attentive, obedient heart.

 

Deuteronomy 26 Review Our Blessings

In verses 1-10, the Israelites are instructed to bring their firstfruits and tithes to the Lord and following that to share their testimony of God’s great goodness to them in regards to their time of going in and out of Egypt.

 

Do we freely and willingly share and review often with our children and others about God’s goodness to us, our salvation experience, answers to prayer, His rescue during great trials and His abundant blessings. These topics should be priorities in our conversations.  Let’s not miss out on those wonderful opportunities to proclaim His magnificence and mighty power.  It will not only strengthen our faith but also those around us.

 

Then in verse 11 they are told, “So you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house…”

Do we have a spirit of gratefulness and thankfulness?  Sometimes we become blind to all the blessings that surround us.  We get sidetracked by looking at what we don’t have or what we want instead of focusing on the abundance and presence of the mighty God in our lives. 

 

I am once again reminded of that sweet old hymn, ‘Count your many blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.’

 

 

Deuteronomy 25 Wise Counsel

Vs. 1  “If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may judge them…..”

As our children come to us for justice in their disputes and also as God brings to us those wanting godly counsel, let us look to Him and His Word for wisdom.  The only way that we can gain that wisdom and share it is if  He is filling our hearts and minds with His Word every single day. 

Psalms 1 is one of the first chapters I memorized and eventually had my children memorize because it is so powerful. 

 

Psalm 1:1-2  “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”

Where is our wisdom and counsel coming from?  Are we slowly being taken in by the philosophy of this world? (counsel of the ungodly,  the scornful)  The world tells us to give our children what they want; demand our rights from our husbands; gossip about and put down our husbands; dress to please ourselves; eat what we want; have it all; spend beyond our means.  The list could go on and on.  There is so much at stake if we continue to live in our own wisdom and give out that same wisdom to those around us. 

 

Psalm 1:3-6  “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth its fruit in its season.  His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  The ungodly are not so but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

 

Are we that solid and grounded ‘tree’ that is bringing forth fruit for His glory: godly children; lives touched and changed because of the counsel He has given us to share with others?  Are we prospering in God’s eyes and not the ways of the world? 

Deuteronomy 25 Wisdom for Living

 

Vs.  4  “….you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.” 

Let us not, as wives and mothers, be responsible in any way of bringing sin into our homes, the place that God has given us.

 

Vs. 5 “…bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.” 

Let us also do the same to our husbands.  Many days my prayer is just that, to bring joy and laughter to my husband. 

 

Vs. 8, 9 “Take heed in an outbreak of leprosy…..”   “Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way when you came out of Egypt.”

God dealt severely yet with great mercy with Miriam when she rebelled against the Lord.  Are we taking the time needed to deal seriously with the sins of our children?  Bad behavior does not just go away.  They will be reminded of the past consequences of their acts when they are being tempted again in the future. 

 

Vs.  14, 15  “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy…”  “….lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.”

Our dealings with our children or employees should be without oppression but instead with a spirit of meekness, firmness, fairness, consistency and a godly love. 

 

Vs. 19  “When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”

Father, remind us every day of the less fortunate.  Give us clear ways to help them in their time of need.

 

Vs. 22  “And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt.” 

Let us rejoice in our salvation and that once we were in bondage and through His shed blood on the cross we have been set free!!!! 

Deuteronomy 23 A Curse Into a Blessing

 

Vs. 4-6  “…they hired against you Balaam…to curse you.  Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.  You shall not seek their peace not their prosperity all your days forever.”

Our lives will be full of battles and there will be many forces of evil that we must face.  Satan does not want us to be effective and to grow in Christ. Our responsibility is to not seek the kind of peace this world offers or its prosperity.  God will shield us from defeat as long as we don’t cross those boundaries of temptation. 

 

I love the story of Joseph and how God turned the evil acts of his brothers of selling him into slavery, into the miraculous saving of the nation.  It was a long hard journey for Joseph as he refused despair and defeat, but instead served God faithfully no matter where he was, even in prison. Many years passed before he saw the final fruit of his obedience to God.   

Genesis 50:20   But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

 

Don’t despair, my loved one.   You may feel that you are in a very long and perhaps worst battle of your life. You may see no light at the end of the long lonely tunnel.  That is just where Satan wants you.  He wants us to feel defeat and despair every day.  But we must ‘shake it off’ and stop looking in that tunnel and instead look upward where the light of His love, relief and comfort is overwhelming.  Bask in that light and the warmth of it.  Snuggle up faithfully every day in the loving arms of the Father who is waiting with wide open arms to embrace you, teach you and mold you into His image.  He will use this ‘curse’ in our lives to teach us so much about Himself and to remind us that in His arms are where we belong.

 

Vs. 14 “For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.”

 

He is in our midst, ready to defeat our enemies.  Our part is to be holy, and to rid our hearts and homes of unclean things.  Nothing, nothing, nothing is worth losing His blessings and His power on our lives.

Deuteronomy 22 Love Thy Neighbor

 

Verse 1  “You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray and hide yourself from them.”  This reminds us of Galatians 6:2, “ Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Luke 10:27  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.

 

Do we hide ourselves from the needs of others?   Whether it is a physical need or spiritual help, we are called by God to fulfill those needs when He puts those assignments in our path.  Can we really say that we love our neighbor as ourselves?  That is a tall order, yet we can’t ignore it.  Let’s ask God today to help us and show us how to live like this.  Let us be quick to respond to His promptings.

 

Recently our next door neighbor called to tell us that her husband had just had a stroke and was in the hospital.  We quickly went, with gift in hand, to see this neighbor.  I have been praying for my neighbors for years and I want to go through those open doors of opportunity to love them. I want to follow up on those promptings from the Lord.  I try to take goodies to them for Christmas.  I had a tea for the neighborhood ladies and had so much fun doing it as I shared God’s love with them.  I took great joy in also doing a ladies Bible study for them. Lately I felt the need to put money in the Salvation Army bucket at the grocery store.  There is so much that we can do to love our neighbor.  I have just scratched the surface and I want God to teach me much more deeply about sharing His love.  Let’s end and begin a new year with this motto, ‘Love our neighbor as ourselves.’  What can we do this week? 

Deuteronomy 21 Ambassadors

 

Vs. 5  “Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the Lord;  by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.”

Just as the priests were chosen to bless and minister, so we too are to do the same to those that God has put in our lives and paths.

 

Isaiah 61:1-4    1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.  4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

 

Don’t you agree, dear one that these verses are truly incredible and true for our lives!  In order to minister like this and to have His spirit upon us it is crucial to sit at His feet every day of our lives and learn of Him.  Are we faithful to take that time every day?  Do we offer to Him this sacrifice and gift of our time?

We have so much to share: we have good tidings; the brokenhearted are all around us; the captives are waiting to be set free; we can give others that beauty instead of ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of heaviness.

We can be a part in turning that waste and desolation into trees of righteousness.  Think of it!  We are His ambassadors!  Let us take this commission seriously.  Let’s not waste another day by being so busy that we can’t take time to be trained by Him to carry out our mission or to rush through life not even aware of the pain in our children and others we see every day.

Matthew 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

 

As in Deut. 21:5,  do our words settle matters or instead, add to the controversy and stir things up even more?  Are we considered to be a peacemaker? Do our family members and coworkers readily recognize and describe us to be a child of God?  Sometimes we just may need to stop and pray silently or with that person in the midst of a situation; hold our tongue; walk away; put our arms around that person; or speak words of wisdom as He prompts us.

 

Now, let us go forth boldly, in His strength alone, as His ambassadors!!

 

 

 

Deuteronomy 20 Victorious Battles

 

Vs. 1  “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

 

What is our battle?  Is it a life long battle with food and overeating?  Is it gripping fear about some ‘giant’ in our life?  Is it worry over a lost or wayward child?  Is it grief over a straying loved one?  Is it the fact that we are about to lose a house or worse yet, a loved one? 

Psalm 20:7  “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”

My dear one, our trust cannot be in ourselves.  We must not look back to the ‘Egypt’ we used to live in, a place of despair and destruction.  He has brought us out of that place.  He paid a great price for our victory.

 

I Corinthians 6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power. 15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

 

We can and should live to glorify Him and trust in this great Savior.   The battle is too great and costly to trust in our own strength.  We must trust in the Victor!!!  My life verses are:

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct the paths.”

Our own understanding is too limited, too variable and too circumstantial.  There are no limits to how deeply we can trust such a Savior as we have. 

 

Let us go out and also send out our children into this world like the priests did for the Israelites:

Vs.  2  “So it shall be, when you are on their verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people.  And he shall say to them, Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies.  Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies to save you.”

  

Let’s teach our children and grandchildren to trust.  I remember how my mother made the hurricane season fun for us, living here in Florida.  I could have grown up very fearful of bad storms but to this day, I feel a coziness when a storm is coming on.  When we would lose power, she would pull out the card table and we would play Monopoly by candlelight. 

Vs. 8 “What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted?  Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.”

 

Are we teaching others by our example, to be fainthearted or to trust? Today let us begin to live in a spirit of joy and victory.