Seventy Days of Blessing - Day Sixteen

We have arrived at day sixteen of Seventy Days of Blessings.  I pray that all of you had a joyous Resurrection Day.  Let us now step fully into resurrection life and victory.

And the first step? "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time" (1 Peter 5:6). Our first step into the presence, victory and blessings of God is the humbling of our lives before the risen King!  This is His desire as we present ourselves as living sacrifices before Him.

"O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise" (Psalm 51:15-17).

Humility, broken and contrite hearts and total dependence on Him will bring forth His promised blessings!

"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation" (Psalm 24:3-5).

Seventy Days of Blessing - Day Fifteen

Dear Saints

It is Day Fifteen of Seventy Days of Blessing. It's Resurrection Day morning.  It's  Firstfruits.

"But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy
that will be destroyed is death" )1 Corinthians 15:20-26).

He is risen!  He has conquered death.  He has released life in each of us.  There is no better revelation of the release of health, wealth and miracles than the revelation that He, and He alone, is the Lord of Life.  He is the Resurrection and the Life.

Seventy Days of Blessing - Day Fourteen

Dear Friends,

This morning's verse during my time with the Lord was Psalm 118:24: "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."  There just seem to be some days when this declaration is impossible! All of us have experienced days of great hurt, pain, loss or trauma. I can remember visiting a family in the hospital following the loss of a loved one and someone walked in and declared this verse.  As true as the verse is – that day in the hospital, the timing did not seem right.

I can't imagine the disciples singing "this is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made..." on that Shabbat following the horrific scene of Yeshua on the cross.  I read yesterday a short line that declared "The distance in time between the worse day and the best day in history was three days." I understand what the author of that line meant, but I don't agree.  And even though there may be times when it is not the right timing to joyfully decree that "this is the day the Lord has made, rejoice in it;" the verse is still declares the truth.

Good Friday and Resurrection Day – though divided by a day of great mourning and grief – are both

the greatest days in all of time.  Embrace both of them and all the days in between.  These are days of blessing.  On this 14th day of seventy days of blessing: "Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

And if we are mourning, then know this: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5b).

Seventy Days of Blessing - Day Thirteen

Dear Redeemed Saints

This is day thirteen of Seventy Days of Blessings.  Normally we would not like the number 13.  We consider it superstitious and unlucky.  But there are NO such days on the Lord's calendar.  All of the days of our life are ordained and blessed by Him.  And this day especially has His mighty hand upon it.  Today (on both the Roman and the Hebrew calendar) is the day our Lord journeyed to the cross.

"Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last. 47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!” 48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things" (Luke 23:44-49).

Our lives are redeemed.  The greatest act of sacrificial love has brought us the greatest gift of blessings.  Through this act we are forgiven, healed, restored, renewed and redeemed.  You are His blessed and redeemed saints.

"For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Romans 5:7-9).

Seventy Days of Blessing - Day Twelve

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

This morning I read the following in a Joyce Meyer devotion entitled: "Take Challenges One Day at a Time."

"I strongly urge you to face your challenges one day at a time. Looking too far down the road only tends to overwhelm us. Trusting God requires that we believe He gives us our 'daily bread'; that is, we receive what we need as we need it and usually not before."

As move down this road of Seventy Days of Blessing (today is Day 12), we cannot afford to look ahead several days or several weeks.  Faith in action will always begin with that one step we take.  In Matthew 16:15-16, the Lord asks: "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 

And our next step depends totally on this confession - "Lord, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.  I put my full trust in You and only in You as I move into this day of blessing one step at a time."

Seventy Days of Blessing - Day Eleven

Dear Saints,

This morning I had the extreme joy of welcoming my son Joshua back from Afghanistan.  It was wonderful to witness his reunion with his wife Andrea and three year old son Nate.  It was not so surprising to open my devotions for today and discover the following verse for today:
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9 NASB).

The Lord is with you wherever you go!  That might be your workplace or it might be Afghanistan.  Wherever you – be strong and courageous.  Amazing how the Lord brings a timely word in season.  The same passage was used by one of our State of Texas legislators at yesterday's Faith and Family Day in Austin.  He was exhorting us as saints to "be strong and courageous" as we our persecuted for standing and witnessing for the Lord in our daily lives.

Its Day 11 of 70 days. Wherever you go – be strong and courageous!

Seventy Days of Blessing - Day Ten

Dear Friends,

Today we begin Day Ten of the Seventy Days of Blessing.  Ten is a significant number.  In the Hebrew language it signifies testimony.  What is your testimony?  What has the Lord done in your life?  What will He be doing in your life today?  I believe it all starts with this simple confession from the Psalms.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts" (Psalm 139:23).

Search my heart, Lord. Only the Lord can know what resides in the heart of man.  My prayer for today is that He would find a heart open, pliable, honest and broken heart that invites Him to take full control.  As He fills us and occupies our very being – we are then recipients of the fullness of His blessings.