The Blessing For All Generations

Revelation 21:1-8 (KJV)

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there wan no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.  And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6 And he said unto me, It is done.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7 He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murders, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

My heart is saddened because of the tragedy at the historic Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina where Rev. Clementa Pinckney served as pastor and state senator, and was one of the victims.  Click here for more information on Rev. Pinckney and how he ministered in his community.  It is also a reminder that amid our sorrow and pain, there is much work to do for transformation to occur on earth first with our individual selves, and then with each other.  The new Jerusalem is being developed in each of us who believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and who are filled with his life through the Holy Spirit.

Father, we love and adore you.  Thank you for the comfort of the Holy Spirit for all families who mourn for their loved ones.  Thank you for peace that passes all understanding in Jesus name, amen.

Praise The Lord!

Psalm 146 (KJV)

1 Praise ye the Lord.  Praise the Lord, O my soul.

2 While I live will I praise the Lord:  I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

4 His breath goes forth, he returns to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

5 Happy is he that has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

6 Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is:  which keeps truth for ever:

7 Which executes judgment for the oppressed: which gives food to the hungry.  The Lord looses the prisoners:

8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind: the Lord raises them that are bowed down: the Lord loves the righteous:

9 The Lord preserves the strangers; he relieves the fatherless and widow:  but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.

10 The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.  Praise ye the Lord.

Father, all the earth exalt your holy and righteous name forever in Jesus name, amen.

Building A Nation

Isaiah 61:1-6 (KJV)

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he has 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 (assign) to them that mourn in Zion, to give to 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.

5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

6 But you shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God:  you shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall you boast yourselves.

In order to achieve the new Jerusalem on earth I must consult resources already developed by Dr. Myles Munroe.  In the book The Spirit Of Leadership, he lists the following attitudes for leaders.

The Leader's Beattitudes

1. The Spirit Of Resilience - the ability to see failure as temporary and a necessary step to success.
2. The Spirit Of Courage - the ability to transform one's fear into a motivator for action and change.
3. The Spirit Of Patience - a belief in the potential of change and the ability to wait for it.
4. The Spirit Of Compassion - a sensitivity to the worth of others.
5. The Spirit Of Self-Value - a belief in one's importance to the world.
6. The Spirit Of Self-Confidence - a trust in one's inherent abilities.
7. The Spirit Of Perseverance - the ability never to give up or surrender to the context of a situation.
8. The Spirit Of Strategic Thinking - the ability to plan rather than panic.
9. The Spirit Of Time Management - the conscious application of time to goals.
10. The Spirit Of High Tolerance For Diversity - a belief in the beauty and strength of variety.
11. The Spirit Of Self-Competition - the practice of never comparing oneself to others but only with what one has been or done before.

Father, we delight ourselves in the way, the truth, and the life of the new Jerusalem on earth in Jesus name, amen.

I Am One With God

Psalm 118:18-29 (KJV)

18 The Lord has chastened me sore:  but he has not given me over to death.

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness:  I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord:

20 This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter.

21 I will praise thee:  for you have heard me, and are become my salvation.

22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

23 This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord:  O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.

26 Blessed be he that comes in the name of the Lord:  we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.

27 God is the Lord, who has shown us light:  bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will praise you:  you are my God, I will exalt you.

29 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:  for his mercy endures for ever.

Father, thank you for the light of your glorious gospel shining in and through us.  Thank you our hearts are ever open to receive from you. Thank you for the new Jerusalem on earth. Thank you we are bound with cords of love that cannot be broken in Jesus name, amen.

Developing My Community Of Faith

2 Peter 1:3 - 9 (KJV)

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;

7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love.

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, the make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because I believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and have received the Holy Spirit my training includes adding these companions to my faith:  good character (virtue), spiritual understanding (knowledge), alert discipline (self control), passionate patience (perseverance), reverent wonder (godliness), warm friendliness (sociability), and generous love. I do not completely evict the old neighbors of doubt, fear, anxiety and depression, but I can allow the new companions to have a greater influence so that new life flows daily.  I see the new Jerusalem on earth, and as Jesus Christ is in heaven, so am I on earth.

How do I apply this word to my life?

• loving God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength
• submitting my will to God's will
• giving God what is required, not comfortable
• serving and sacrificing with a pleasing attitude
• practice, practice, practice

What do I want to achieve with this scripture?

I want to bear the image and likeness of Jesus Christ, and to be a productive, contributing citizen of the kingdom of God.

Father, thank you for your divine new life. Thank you for teaching me to worship and give by faith in Jesus name, amen.

A Holy Nation

1 Peter 2:8-10 (AMP)

8 And, A Stone that will cause stumbling and a Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve [God’s] Word, as those [who reject Him] were destined (appointed) to do.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own [a]purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

10 Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God’s people; once you were unpitied, but now you are pitied and have received mercy.

As believers in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and as we are being filled with the Holy Spirit, we are one with Christ.  As such, we are living stones, dedicated for God's special use.  We are being built into a spiritual house, a nation, the new Jerusalem on earth destined to display the glory and majesty of our God.  Its an honor and privilege our Lord affords us to be transformed into the image and likeness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Father, we are grateful to be used for your purpose on earth as in heaven in Jesus name, amen.

The New Covenant

What is the evidence of the Holy Spirit operating in my life?

Hebrews 8:9-11 (KJV)

9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts:  and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord:  for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

Once we accept the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and receive the Holy Spirit, God has a new covenant with us, an agreement; we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and he will bring to remembrance all things that pertain to life and godliness.  God has written his word in our minds and hearts.

Are there any responsibilities that we, as partakers of the divine nature, have in maintaining this covenant?

Yes, the word of God tells us to do the following:

• Renew our minds with the word of God
• Mortify the deeds of the flesh
• Set our affections on things above, and not of the world

What are some of the benefits of following these instructions?

• Having the mind of Christ
• Maturing in our faith
• Seeing the new Jerusalem on earth as described in Revelations 21:2

Father, thank you for love, joy and peace dwelling in our hearts.  Thank you for teaching us the meaning of praise and worship in Jesus name, amen.