Daily Bread - NOV/27/07

Psalms 84:11 - For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield; Yahweh gives grace and glory; He will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly.

Our God is our protector and provider, so we have nothing to fear. Just as He told Abraham not to fear, we should hear the same reassuring voice of God telling us that He is our shield (Genesis 15:1; 1 John 4:17-18). If we will make the purposes of God first in our lives then God will give us all those things that men spend their lives seeking for. If we are willing to walk with God then we will surely discover that He is our exceeding great reward Matthew 6:33; Mark 10:28-30; Philippians 4:19; Hebrews 11:6). God's grace and glory are everything that we need to walk in the fullness of His blessings. God's grace is the means by which we are empowered to do everything that He has purposed for us to do. His grace provides us with His wisdom and understanding and the ability to accomplish every task. God's glory carries with it every attribute of His power and wealth. If we are willing to walk upright, God will honor us in this glorious way. For He desires to show the immeasurable riches of His grace that He has given to us through Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6-7; 1:3; Proverbs 22:4; 1 Chronicles 16:27; 2 Peter 1:3).

The most important thing is the manifest presence of Jesus that is brought to us by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13-15; 1 John 3:24). The Holy Spirit has come to help us and to teach us how to increase with the increase of God (Colossians 2:19; 1 Thessalonians 4:10; Ephesians 4:15; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Peter 1:8, 11). As our souls prosper in this relationship with God there will be an increase in His manifest presence in our lives (3 John 2; 2 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 1:18). As the glory of His manifest presence increases in our lives so will everything else. As a result, we will prosper and be in health in direct proportion to the prosperity of our souls. We should recognize that God has a fast track for our increase. If we will be obedient we will have a thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and even one hundredfold increase in every dimension of our lives - especially in the realms of the Spirit.

The word of God and the Holy Spirit are given to us so that we may learn to walk uprightly (Matthew 13:23). We must not allow hard and stony places to prevent our growth and maturity in the things of the Spirit. We must be mindful not to allow the thorns of life to grow and choke the word of God that would otherwise bring forth the fruits of this abundant life. Jesus uses these impediments to the successful growth of a plant (such as hard ground, stony ground, and thorny ground) to describe, among other things, the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the pleasures of this world (Luke 8:14; Mark 4:19). Besides those things that would prevent our spiritual growth, we must also recognize the thief that would come to steal, kill, and destroy. Sin is that thief that would not only rob us of all the blessings that God has intended for our lives but even destroy our souls as well (John 10:10; Jeremiah 5:25). If we will walk uprightly and seek God, we will discover that God rewards those who seek Him and that He will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly.

Be blessed,

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org