19 April 2012

with great substance ...

'And He said unto Abram, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years ... and afterward shall they come out with great substance.' Genesis 15:13-14

Affliction, for four hundred years ...
Yet afterward they shall come out with great substance
What a promise ... and the promise was fulfilled.

Understand that there may come situations and circumstances which afflict and attempt to enslave, yet we have such a wonderful promise from the LORD GOD Almighty.

YOU SHALL COME OUT WITH GREAT SUBSTANCE!!!!

The LORD, who promises to work all things together for the good to them that love Him (Rom. 8:28), assures us that we will come out unscathed. No weapon formed against you shall prosper (Is. 54:17).

The children of Israel, they came out of Egypt with great substance (Ex. 12:36)

Daniel, came out of the lion's den with the great substance of a testimony to the saving power of God (Daniel 6)

Esther, came out of that palace room with the great substance of her life being spared, being granted the opportunity to effect change for an entire people group (Esther 5:2)

The three Hebrew boys, they came out of the furnace with the great substance of being a miracle, walking through affliction and turning the hearts of many toward the One True and Living God (Daniel 3:25-27)

JESUS - He came out of the tomb with the great substance of having conquered death, hell and the grave - having purchased, by His own blood, the eternal salvation  of all mankind (Luke 24:6)

Counting my blessings this morning!
Thankful that I am coming out of this season with great substance...
Spiritual, physical, material and relational

What a Mighty God we Serve ... Hallelujah!

07 April 2012

all this time ...

Counting my blessings ...

Thinking back on situations, some which I perceived as failures but which ultimately positioned me to come into relationship with Him. So thankful for relationship and for the faithfulness of God.

Wonderful song by Britt Nicole ... All This Time





'Those who know Your name trust in You,
for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You.'
Psalm 9:10

04 April 2012

deal of the day!

This week is what some like to refer to as 'Holy Week' ...

Although, I must admit that I do not believe that it is any holier than any other week of the year. I say that not from an attitude of disrespect for all that Jesus endured. Rather, I speak from a place of awareness that recognizes it was not just the week leading up to His death, burial and resurrection that is 'holy'. It is the entire plan of salvation which God set in motion from the beginning which commands our respect and remembrance, at all times, every week of the year. You see, His sacrifice and all that it entailed does not vary in its significance based upon the seasons of the year or the attention we choose to allot it. It stands independently. And well it should!

It was an exchange like no other ...

wretchedness for beauty
isolation for relationship
shame for honor
guilt for pardon
fear for love

There is a song that I love called 'Lead Me to the Cross'
It is a beautiful song which causes us to reflect upon what Jesus did for us
It speaks of us laying ourselves down

However, anything that we could 'do' at the cross, could never begin to compare to what He did at the Cross. He paid the ultimate price.



Jesus ...
Perfect and blameless,
Went to the cross and had all of our sin imputed to Him

And me ...
Full of iniquity and shame,
Went to the cross and had all of His perfect righteousness imputed to me

Hard to fathom ... but nonetheless true

Yesterday at work I was talking to a friend of mine, trying to figure out a business challenge. And  we finally got to a place where we realized we were probably over-analyzing the situation and that the solution was much simpler than we were making it. Then we discussed how we had it drilled into us by our parents, 'If something seems too good to be true, it probably is'. We also talked about how much energy gets wasted and how we often miss out on something great because of that type of rigid mindset and skepticism.

Well, when it comes to matters of faith, it is often no different.


The whole idea of salvation seems too good to be true. Yet that does not change that it is true and that it is what can truly be defined as a 'real deal', an arrangement not just for mutual advantage, but for unfair advantage ... and in our favor!

If you've grabbed hold of that deal,
Take some time to thank God for Jesus ...

If you were unaware of the awesome benefit made available to all,
Seize the opportunity today -
Ask Jesus to come into your life, ask for His forgiveness and then receive it.

Afterall, it is not just the deal of the day ... it is the deal of a lifetime!

'God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us,
so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.'
2 Corinthians 5:21