A Table of Victory Prepared for You

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

(Psalm 23:5)

This is not a picture of heaven, for there are no enemies there. It is not about the “sweet by and by” but about the “here and now.” It is about heaven on earth. The table comes from heaven and is prepared by the LORD our Shepherd, but it is set before us on earth, in full view of our enemies — and it causes them to tremble.

You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

(Psalm 23:5-6)

• This is a table of covenant, for it is the Lord Yahweh, our covenant God who prepares it.
• This is a table of anointing.
• This is a table of abundance and prosperity.
• This is a table of the sure mercies and goodness of God.
• This is a table of abiding in His presence.
• This is the Table of the Lord!

Jesus has prepared this table for all who come to Him.

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:19-20)

This table is prepared for us even in the presence of our enemies — or perhaps we should say, especially in the presence of our enemies. It is a powerful weapon of our spiritual warfare:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but might in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

At this table, we see that God’s enemies are ours, but we also see that our enemies are His, for that is part of our covenant provision with Him.

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

When we eat of this covenant table, we are submitting to God and resisting the devil — and he has no choice but to flee. Notice that he flees, not just from before God, but from before us.

As you take of this table, let the thoughts of your heart recall all the provisions of the covenant it represents. For it is at this table where you can deal most effectively with all your enemies:

• Sin is defeated by the forgiveness of God.
• Sickness is defeated by the healing of God.
• Poverty is defeated by the provision and prosperity of God.
• Brokenness is defeated by the peace, the wholeness of God.
• Fear is defeated by the faith of God.

All these provisions belong to us in the covenant we have with God through the body of Christ given for us and the blood of Christ shed for us.

The LORD your Shepherd has prepared a table for you in the presence of your enemies. Come and dine, and experience there the victory you have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Created For the Glory

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

The bummer is that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But the good news is that God created us to share in, walk in, experience and come into intimate relationship with His glory.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD will give grace and glory.

(Psalm 84:11)

That is why God gave us the Torah — that’s the Hebrew word for it, but you and I generally hear it referred to at “the Law.” However,  it can just as well be translated as “instruction.” It is related to the Hebrew verb form, yarah, which means to aim or direct, as a spear or arrow. God gave us His instruction so we could live on-target lives and experience His blessing and prosperity — the glory of God — in everything we do.

The problem is that we have all missed the mark. That is what the Greek word for sin, hamartia, literally means (the Hebrew word for sin means the same thing). We have fallen short of the target. We were created, not only to experience the glory of God, but to wear it like a garment. But by disobedience, we lost that.That is why Jesus came:

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

When Adam fell into sin and lost the glory of God, God immediately had a plan to restore it through Jesus Christ. It was a plan to destroy sin and its effects and once again direct our lives to the target of His glory — only this time through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is eternal life — the Tree of Life — and we receive it by receiving the Lord Jesus. The glory we receive in Him is the exact same glory with which God glorified Jesus. Jesus gives it to us freely (John 17:22).

You were created to experience and share in the glory of God given to Jesus Christ. Though you have sinned and fallen short of that target, Jesus has taken the penalty of your sin upon Himself. In its place, He offers you the Tree of Life and the full expression of the glory He received from God the Father. 

Thank God for Faith

Faith comes from God. That is why Paul regularly gave thanks to God for the faith of those who believed in Jesus Christ.

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1:15-16)

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints — the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven. (Colossians 1:3-5 NIV)

We gives thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father. (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)

Notice that it is not only faith that comes from God, but also love and hope. Faith brings forth good works, love energizes extraordinary effort, and hope results in patient expectation. The attributes and their fruit all come to us from God.

For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). The Thessalonians received faith from God by the Word that was preached to them.

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other. (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

Not only does our faith come from God, but we also grow in our faith because of God. From beginning to end, it is all about the God. There is no boasting before Him, only receiving and enjoying the benefits of His gracious work in us.

Thank God, the source of all true faith.

Where Does Faith Come From?

Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 6:23)

Notice: The peace comes from God. The love comes from God.The faith comes from God.

Faith without love is nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2), for faith works through love (Galatians 5:6). God is the source of both faith and love.

For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. (Philippians 1:29)

The Greek word for “grant” is built on the word for “grace.” To grant means to give as a favor. It is an act of grace. The Greek word behind “faith” and “believe” is the same; the only difference is that one is the noun form, the other is the verb. Paul says that it has been given to us to believe. Faith is a grant from God.

And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:14)

Notice again: The grace comes from God.The faith comes from God.The love comes from God.

We receive faith and love from the superabundance of God’s grace, which comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:1)

We receive the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 5:21). But first we obtain faith by the righteousness of God. Our faith comes from God and returns to Him as we exercise it in response to Jesus Christ.

If you desire to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, God has faith for you. You do not have to somehow work it up within yourself. Simply receive it. God also supplies all the faith you need to grow in grace and intimate fellowship with God, and to live the joy-filled Christian life.

(See also Faith Comes From God and Faith Comes By Hearing.)

Laying Up Treasure ~ Seeking the Kingdom

Therefore do not worry saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

Worry comes from laying up treasure on earth. When we invest ourselves in thinking the way the world thinks, acting the way the world acts, believing the way the world believes, we end up worrying the way the world worries. We look to the world to meet our needs because that is where we have treasured up our lives. In our heart we realize how fickle the world is, and fear that it will let us down — and it always does.

But when we learn to treasure up our treasure in heaven, all the needs we have on earth will be met. We will have more than enough, so that we can bless others.

Laying up treasure in heaven is about much more than our money and finances. It is about our whole lives. It is seeking the kingdom of God, which is His rule and reign. It is seeking the righteousness — the rightness — of God, which is His way of doing and being right. It is eating from the Tree of Life. Consequently, the life of God flows forth into every area of our existence. Seeking all from Him, we receive all from Him, for He is gracious in all things.

Call for the kingdom of God to come, as Jesus taught us to do. Lay up your treasure — your life, your being and all you possess — in heaven. Then call for the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven. You will flow with the abundance of heaven in all your earthly affairs. You will not only be blessed, you will be a blessing.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Laying Up Treasure ~ Only One Master

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24)

There are three decisions we must make about the treasure of our heart.We must choose where we will lay up our treasure — on earth or in heaven. We must choose whether our eye will be evil or good, whether we will be greedy or generous. We must choose which master we will serve — God or mammon.

“Mammon” is an ancient word that refers, not just to money, but to the god of money. The Greeks had Plutus as their god of money. The Jews never formalized such a deity, but there were some who idolized money just the same.

We cannot serve both God and money. For one thing, God will not share His glory with any other — the First Commandment declares, “I am the Lord your God … you shall have no other gods before me.”

For another thing, our hearts are not made to be divided. If we try to serve both gods, we will end up loving one and hating the other. It is the source of great confusion in both the inner and outer realms of our lives.

It is not money itself, but our attitude toward that is the problem. Some people think the Bible teaches that money is the root of all evil, but what it actually says is that the love of many is the root of all evil (or all kinds of evil). Many people love, serve and put their trust in money for their welfare. They have made it their god. Money can be a wonderful servant, but it is a tyrannical master.

A rich young man came to Jesus asking, “What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” (He did not realize that good works do not gain us eternal life — they flow out of eternal life.) After establishing that the young man had kept the commandments — the six out of the Ten Commandments that deal with loving our neighbor as ourselves — Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” The Bible says, “But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (This account is found in Matthew 19:16-22.)

This man failed in the very First Commandment. He did not trust in God alone and love Him with all his heart. He had already made a prior commitment to the god of money. His heart was chained to his possessions. He affected a fine religious tone, but he loved and trusted in his wealth and was unwilling to truly put his faith in God.

He could have treasured up his treasure in heaven, trusting God with everything in his life and serving Him alone — and he would have been full of joy. Instead, he remained the slave of his money, laying up his treasure on earth, and went away full of sorrow.

Who or what will you love, serve and trust? It will determine where you lay up your treasure, and whether that treasure will endure.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Laying Up Treasure ~ the Good Eye

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)

Jesus is not giving us an anatomy lesson here; He is still talking about laying up treasure. Just as we must choose where we will treasure up our treasure — on earth or in heaven, we must also choose whether our eye will be evil or good.

Speaking of the eye in this way, Jesus is using an ancient Hebrew idiom that describes whether a man is generous or greedy. We see an example of the “evil eye” in the book of Proverbs:

A man with an evil eye hastens after riches,
And does not consider that poverty will come upon him.

(Proverbs 28:22)

The man with an evil eye loves money. It has become his master and he trusts in it to see him through. But he does not realize that he is actually on the road to poverty and ruin.

We discover the source of the evil eye in the book of Deuteronomy:

Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart saying, “The seventh year, the year of release is at hand,” and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord again you, and it become sin among you. (Deuteronomy 15:9)

The evil eye of stinginess starts as a wicked thought in the heart. The Hebrew word for “wicked” is belial and refers to that which is destructive, worthless, profitless. It does not add to the goodness of life but takes away from it. The man with the evil eye deceived to think he will profit by his greed. He will not even break even, but will lose all he has.

That is why Jesus said, “if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness … how great is that darkness.” He describes that darkness in another place:

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within and defile a man. (Mark7:21-23)

But enough of the evil eye; let’s talk about the good — that’s where the blessing is. Jesus said, “If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be light.” The Greek word used here for “good” literally means “without folds” or unentwined. It is simple, single, clear. The good, single eye, is not complicated by the greed of the evil eye. A man with a good eye is generous. He sows generously and reaps abundantly (2 Corinthians 9:6). Psalm 112 describes the blessing of such a man:

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
  Who delights greatly in His commandments.
His descendants will be mighty on earth;
  The generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches will be in his house,
  And his righteousness endures forever.
Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
  He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
A good man deals graciously and lends;
  He will guide his affairs with discretion.
…
He has dispersed abroad,
  He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
  His horn will be exalted with honor.

(Psalm 112:1-5, 9)

This is a man who honors the Lord and follows His Word. It becomes light in his heart and he becomes light to all those around because he is full of grace and compassion. His generosity does not lead to poverty but to prosperity — wealth and riches will be in his house.

The greedy eye leads to lack, poverty, even destruction. The generous eye leads to prosperity and honor.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Laying Up Treasure ~ Where is Your Heart?

Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

The discipleship of the present world-system teaches us that we must sock away our treasure on earth if we want to be secure. But that is trusting in our riches and soon leads to our enslavement, for we become servant to whatever we place our trust in. Jesus tells us to stop doing it.

In the Greek, the text reads something like, “Do not treasure up for yourselves treasure on earth.” There is nothing wrong in having treasure; the problem is where we choose to keep it. Jesus tells us to treasure up our treasure in heaven. Then He gets to the heart of the matter:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Your treasury can be a great blessing or a great disappointment. The key is the attitude of your heart. If you store up your treasure on earth and set your heart only on the things of the world, it will soon let you down. It makes a poor master and is not worthy of your trust.

Both your heart and your money were made for better things. God wants to do something powerful and world-changing through them:

And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers. (Deuteronomy 8:18)

The Hebrew word for “get” literally means to do, to make. In other words, God gives us the power not only to get wealth, but to create wealth. He does it for a specific reason: That He may establish His covenant. God has a covenant — all those who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ are a part of it — and He is in the business of establishing that covenant on the earth. Our ability to create and get wealth has the potential to bless the earth because it has the covenant-establishing purpose of heaven.

Some people think that laying up treasure in heaven is for when we die—then we’ll go to heaven and get to enjoy all the treasure we’ve laid up there. But that is not what our treasure is about. We will not need any of that treasure in heaven, for there is no need or lack there. We need the treasure here and now, but we need it to be blessed with the prosperity and purpose of heaven.

• All those who have received the Lord Jesus Christ have been “born again” (John 3:3), literally “born from above,” that is, from heaven.
• Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).
• Jesus authorized us to command the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
• Jesus said, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).
• Jesus said, “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19).

See the pattern? God is in the business of transforming the earth with the substance of heaven. Jesus tells us to treasure up our treasure in heaven because that is how it will change the world.

Treasure laid up on earth will lead to poverty. Treasure laid up in heaven will lead to prosperity on earth as it is in heaven. There are many ways to lay up your treasure in heaven, but here are a few ideas to help you:

• Sow your tithe into the work of God’s kingdom. The tithe is a tenth, not the last and the least but the first and the best, of all your increase. God will not only bless that first 10%, but the other 90% as well.
• Give generously to the poor and those in special need. God always honors that and will pay you back with interest.
• Treat every financial transaction with godly integrity.
• Pay your bills from your treasury in heaven. Invest some prayer and faith into the process and expect divine blessing to come upon everyone involved.
• Be a good tipper. Let the generosity and prosperity of heaven direct you in prospering others even in this small way.
• When prices increase at the pump, in the grocery store, in your utility bills or wherever else, don’t panic. Look to your Father in heaven and expect His prosperity to take care of all your needs.
• Call for the kingdom of God—His rule and reign—to come and take over in your finances. Command His will to be done on earth, in and through your finances, exactly as it is being done in heaven.
• Understand that your treasure is much more than your finances. It includes your time, your talents, and everything else in your life.
• In all you do, discover the purpose of heaven and let that be your purpose as well.

Treasure up your treasure in heaven, for that is where your heart will be.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

I Would Declare and Speak

Many, O LORD, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And You thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.

(Psalm 40:5)

“I would declare and speak of them.” The “if” is set in italics, provided by translators as an aid to understanding, but I think it just gets in the way here.

The works of the LORD are many and full of wonder. His thoughts toward us (yes, we’ve been on His mind) are without number. They are so numerous that we cannot even classify or arrange them all — an infinite number, each in a category of one.

And yet, the psalm writer has a great passion to declare and speak them all. What a terrific idea. Why should we speak of anything else when God has an endless supply of thoughts — all of them good toward us — to dwell on and proclaim.

The Hebrew for “declare” is nagad and means to stand boldly to proclaim and manifest. The word for “speak” is dabar and means to arrange, subdue, appoint, bid, command, pronounce, or name.

When God saw darkness on the face of the earth in Genesis 1, He had a thought. It was not a thought of darkness, but of light, and He pronounced it, calling it forth: “Light, be!” And there was light.

God has many wonderful thoughts toward you and me. They are not like the thoughts you and I have toward ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of my own thoughts — they are completely inadequate. That is why wisdom advises us to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

Our minds were not made to think our own thoughts but to think God’s thoughts. The creative force of our speech was not made to call forth our own ideas, but to call forth God’s. By His own breath, He created us as “speaking spirits,” to be His likeness on the earth and to give voice to His heart.

God has an infinite number of thoughts toward us, and I would declare and speak of them all. I intend on spending the rest of my earthly life calling forth the promises of God onto the earth. To boldly proclaim His heart and arrange, subdue, appoint, bid, command, pronounce and name the earth according to His thoughts. This is our true calling.

Healing in His Corners

But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings.

(Malachi 4:2)

This is a messianic prophecy. It tells us about the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. He is the light of the world, radiating with the glory of God’s rightness. And He has come with healing in His wings.

The Hebrew word for “wings” is very interesting. It is the word kanaph. What is interesting is that we find this word in another place where it means “corners.”

Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners [kanaph] of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners [kanaph]. (Numbers 15:37-38)

This is the garment that came to be known as the tallit, a prayer shawl. It was a rectangle of cloth with tassels at each corner (kanaph). Each tassel contained a ribbon of blue (a color symbolic of heaven). It was a symbol of the covenant, a reminder of the commandments of God. In Hebrew, it is called a tzitzit and refers to a fringe, a tassel, a lock (such as a lock of hair) — a wing-like projection (see Strong’s number H6734).

The word kanaph means corner, border, margin, edge, and it is often to a garment. It also refers, in a number of Scriptures to the farthest reaches of the earth, the “four corners.” And in many places, it is translated as “wing.”

The Sun of Righteousness rises with healing in His kanaph.

Perhaps you remember the story of the woman with the flow of blood, who pressed after Jesus so that she might touch Him and be healed.

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. (Luke 8:43-44)

Jesus was an observant Jew, which meant that He wore the garment God prescribed in Numbers 15, which was meant to be worn “throughout the generations.” And on each corner was the requisite tassel.

This woman, desperately in need of healing, pursued Jesus through the crowd, crouching to touch this garment, which in those days extended almost to the ground. She was not simply reaching for the garment in general, she was specifically going after the “border.” The Greek word used here is kraspedon, and means “fringe” or “tassel.”

In Matthew’s account of this incident, we learn that she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well” (Mathew 9:21). She pursued with great focus and intent, reaching for that part of the garment which was given to remind the wearer of the covenant God made with His people, a covenant that included healing.

She pressed through until she grasped the tassel — the wing-like projection on the corner (kanaph) of His garment. The Greek word for “touch” does not mean that she merely brushed up against the tassel, but that she attached to it. With that very purposeful touch she released her faith and immediately she was healed — and knew it. Jesus also knew it. He wheeled around and said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me” (Luke 8:46). Her faith had laid hold of the covenant promise of God and released the healing power of the Messiah into her body.

This woman was not the only one who experience healing in the “wings” of Jesus. Many others came:

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem [kraspedon] of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well. (Matthew 14:34-36)

Jesus is the Messiah, the Sun of Righteousness risen with healing in His “wings.” If you need healing, lay hold of Him now by faith and receive His healing power into your body.

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Healing Scriptures and Prayers
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Living By His Faith

I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 KJV)

The man that I was is dead; he has been crucified with Christ. There is nothing of him that has any control over me. He is dead.

And yet, I have life. But this life does not come from me, it comes to me. It comes from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is His life, and He is now living it in me.

This life that I am now living in the flesh, I am living by the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice that is it not just faith in Him, but faith of Him. It is not my faith, it does not come from me. It is His faith. Apart from Him, I have no faith.

Everything I now possess I received from Him. His righteousness, His life, His faith.

I used to think my faith was weak, but now I know that His faith is strong. Jesus never had any problem believing the promises of God. His faith is always perfectly focused on the Father. His faith moves mountains, calms storms, heals the sick, raises the dead.

If I ever feel that my faith is weak, my faith is not really the problem, because it comes from Jesus. My problem is just that I need to know Jesus more.

The Knowledge We Need

The fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is always evil. It is never just the good by itself, but is always mixed with evil. Evil is nothing more than the lack of the good.

• Darkness is the absence of light.
• Hate is the absence of love.
• Sickness is the absence of health.
• Brokenness is the absence of wholeness.
• Poverty is the absence of provision.
  

When good is mixed with evil the final result is always a lack of good. Even great good, when it is mixed with a little evil, is evil in the end.

We therefore do not need to know evil, not even a little bit, for it will always bring us up short of the wonderful plan God has for us. That is what the Bible means when it says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). God created us to experience and be full of His glory — the extreme value of every good thing in Him. That is what the Tree of Life is all about.

But we have fallen short of that wonderful experience. The Greek word for “sin” literally means to “miss the mark.” That is, we have “missed the mark” of knowing the glory of God.

We do not need to know good and evil; we need to know the glory of God. The whole earth is full of His glory, but the world does not see because it is still eating from the wrong tree. Paul said,

If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them … For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:3-6)

The “god of this age” is the one who tempted Adam and Eve to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He wants us to be consumed with that knowledge. He does not mind us knowing the good, but he also wants us to focus on evil. He is quite content with those who will even identify and avoid evil and focus on doing good. For they are deceived into thinking that their good works will bring forth life and the intimate, personal knowledge of God’s glory. But His glory will never be revealed to us in that way.

The only way to know the glory of God is to eat of the Tree of Life. For the light of the knowledge of the glory of God is not revealed in our good works but in the face of Jesus Christ. He is the Tree of Life, the righteousness of God by whom we are made righteous. The knowledge we need is in knowing Him.

The Table of the Lord is the Tree of Life

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for may for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28)

In the Garden of Eden, Eve thought that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was good for food, so she ate of it. But the fruit was deadly. It could not be otherwise since it was eaten apart from the will of God.

In the Upper Room, on the night He was betrayed, Jesus offered a different food — Himself. He is the bread and drink that sustains us. His body, given to the stripes and the cross, and His blood, brutally shed to pardon and deliver us, are life for us. The bread and the wine are the symbols which minister the reality of these things to us in the Table of the Lord.

The Table of the Lord gives us a tangible answer to some basic concerns Jesus raised in the Sermon on the Mount:

Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

These questions express legitimate concerns, for the Father agrees that we need all these things. Many people fail to realize that every physical problem is based on a spiritual need, and they try to use material things to solve what is a spiritual problem — that is eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The real answer to these needs, however, is found in the spiritual realm. That is why we must seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, for only then do we discover that all these things have been taken care of.

That is what we are doing when we come to the Table of the Lord — seeking the kingdom of God. Jesus is the righteousness of that kingdom, and He took our sin on Himself so we, too, might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). The blood He shed for us is the very basis for the covenant of God’s kingdom. In that covenant, we find every provision, physical and spiritual.

In the Table of the Lord we discover that Jesus is the answer to our every need — the Tree of Life.

• What shall we eat? “Take eat; this is My body.”
• What shall we drink? “This is My blood of the New Covenant. Drink from it.”
• What shall we wear? “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14)

The Table of the Lord is the Tree of Life.

The Proper Work of Our Hands

Hear the voice of my supplications
When I cry to You,
When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

Do not take me away with the wicked
And with the workers of iniquity,
Who speak peace to their neighbors,
But evil is in their hearts.

Give them according to their deeds,
And according to the wickedness of their endeavors;
Give them according to the work of their hands;
Render to the what they deserve.

Because they do not regard the works of the LORD,
Nor the operation of his hands,
He shall destroy them
And not build them up.

Blessed be the Lord,
Because He has heard the voice of my supplication.

(Psalm 28:2-6)

The Hebrew word for “hand” is yad. It is a simple, ancient word referring to the open hand, signifying power, means, guidance. Three hands are mentioned in this psalm:

• The hand of the worshipper
• The hand of the wicked
• The hand of the LORD
  

The wicked occupy their hands with the works of evil because they do not regard the works of God’s hands. They have eaten from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and have borne its bitter fruit. They promise good but deliver evil. In the end, the evil they have extended to others is returned to them in greater measure.

Then there are those who lift their hand toward the holy sanctuary of the LORD. The KJV translates this as “holy oracle.” It is the innermost place where the voice of the LORD is discerned and petition is granted. The wicked consults his own thoughts for the answer to his problems because he has divorced himself from the thoughts of God. But the worshipper reaches for the heart of God and finds the Tree of Life.

The hand of the LORD is His power, and His works display His purpose. The wicked give no attention to the LORD. They do not consider His Word, discern His will, consider His ways or honor His works. The righteous lift their hands in worship and lay hold of the hand of God.

The proper work of your hands is to worship and honor God. When you reach out your hand to Him, He will fill it with what is in His hands.

From Which Tree Are You Eating?

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25)

This goes back to the original choice in the Garden of Eden: Eat of the Tree of Life, or of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? Notice how the Tree of the Knowledge appeared to Eve:

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. (Genesis 3:6)

Jesus said, “Is not life more than food?” Eve could have tasted life, but she settled for food.

Many people are worried about where their food is going to come from, where they will get their clothes, how they will be able to get to where they need to be. They do not realize it, but they are actually looking for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, as if it will take care of all their concerns. “If I can just discern good from evil, and then follow only the good, I’ll be okay.” Apart from the Tree of Life, good works are nothing more than dead fruit.

What we really need is life. Jesus said, It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

Bread alone is death to the spirit. We need to hear God, for every word He utters brings us life in abundance.

Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

Gentiles, the pagan followers of this present world system, vainly seek fruit from the wrong tree. They will never be satisfied. But seek after the Tree of Life — the kingdom of God, His rule and reign, His way of doing and being right — and all these things will be added to you.

The fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil leads to fear, anger, sickness, poverty, and death. The fruit of the Tree of Life leads to abundant life, full of every blessing and provision of God.

From which tree are you eating? The one that fills you with worry and has you frantically scrambling after the things you need? Or the one that has you hearing the life-giving words from God and fills you with faith, hope, love, joy, and peace?

A Wholesome Tongue—a Tree of Life

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life,
But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

(Proverbs 15:4)

The wholesome tongue is a soothing and healing tongue. It is a tree of life. Its opposite is the perverse tongue, full of distortions and cutting remarks. The perverse tongue fractures and wounds the heart.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

(Proverbs 18:21)

Words are very powerful. They have the capacity to wound or to heal, to give life or bring death. Those who respect the power of wholesome words will eat the fruit of the tree of life.

How it is that the tongue contains such great power? It is because God created the heavens and the earth by means of the spoken word. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God” (Hebrews 11:3). For example, when God said, “Light, be,” there was light. And God saw that it was good, for His words were wholesome.

When God created man in His own image, He breathed the breath of life into his mouth. The Hebrew word for “breath” is the same word for “spirit.” God breathed His spirit into Adam, and Adam became a living spirit. The Targum Onkelos, an ancient Jewish commentary, says that man became a “speaking spirit.”

God breathes out His word by His Spirit. Paul said that “all Scripture is give by inspiration of God.” A more literal translation would be that all Scripture is God-breathed (Greek, theoneustos). It is not that God breathes into the words (which is what we understand by “inspire”), but God breathes out His words. They are not external to Himself, but come from within.

When we speak, we breathe out our words — our breathe arising from within and passing over our vocal cords. More than that, we speak by the spirit in us (only man is a speaking creature). Our words have such great power because natural reality arises from the spirit realm, just as God, who is spirit, called the physical world into existence.

Remember, the first assignment God gave to Adam was to call the animals, giving them their names. A name is a word of that tongue that calls forth and establishes the nature and purpose of the thing which is named. By naming the animals, Adam established their destinies. That is what the Bible means when it says, “And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name” (Genesis 2:19).

You have the power of life and death in your tongue. If you respect that power and speak the words God would speak, your words will be wholesome — a tree of life for many others as well as yourself.

“Now I Will Arise” says the LORD

For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,
“Now I will arise,” says the LORD;
“I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

(Psalm 12:5)

God sees the oppression and hears the sighing. He has arisen and is moving His hand to rescue. He does it through His people.

Blessed is he who considers the poor;
The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble,
The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive,
And he will be blessed on the earth.

(Psalm 41:1-2)

Those who bless the poor will themselves be blessed.

He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD,
And He will pay back what he gives.

(Proverbs 19:17)

The Hebrew word for “pity” means to incline. The word for “poor” refers to those who are weak, thin, dangling. The word for “lend” means to twine, to unite.

When you incline your ear to the cry of those in great need, opening your heart and your hand toward them, you are entwining your heart with God’s, synchronizing with Him. For He has already inclined His heart and opened His heart and hand toward them.

Whatever you give in this time of great need, the LORD will pay back, and He always pays back much more than what you give. You will not come up short in any way but will abound with the blessing of the LORD.

God is arising to help the victims of Katrina, will you entwine your heart with His and let Him arise through you? It will be blessed back to you in greater measure.

Give to Operation Blessing Hurricane Relief.
Give to Somebody Cares America Hurricane Relief.
Give to Salvation Army Hurricane Relief.
Give to American Red Cross.

Father, Reveal Who You Are

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.

(Matthew 6:9)

A young Christian went to her spiritual mentor and said, “Teach me how to pray.” The mentor answered, “Pray the Lord’s Prayer, but take an hour to do it.” The opening line of the Lord’s Prayer is so loaded with meaning, you can spend an hour on it alone. Consider what it teaches us:

First, God is not just our Sovereign Creator, He is our Father. Anytime we see the word “father” we know that it is speaking to us about two things:

• Family name and honor
• Inheritance
  

We bear His name and honor of the Father and share in all that is His.

Second, the inheritance we have in Him is all of heaven itself. This is not just a matter of going to heaven when we die. It has very much to do with this life, for Jesus also teaches us in this prayer to say, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Because we belong to the family of our Father in heaven, we have an inheritance to bring forth on the earth.

Third, God is our Father. All who call on Him in this way are linked together. Our relationship with God brings us into relationship with each other. We are in this family together. We share in the inheritance with each other and with Jesus Christ.

Fourth, there is a uniqueness to the name in which we share. It is a name that is above all principality, power, might and dominion. No other name even comes close to this name. It is the name above all names, and it is full of glory.

In the prayer, “Hallowed be Your name,” we are calling for the revelation of God’s glory — His greatness and goodness — to be made know. The Message Bible puts it well:

Reveal who You are.

In the Bible, a name is not merely a means to get someone’s attention. A name discloses identity, purpose, destiny. In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam the assignment of calling the animals, of giving them names. It was not a matter of organizing a convenient system of identification, but of establishing what each animal was to be about.

When God makes His name known to us, He is actually revealing Himself to us, showing us who He is and what He is like. He is offering Himself to us in intimate relationship. To receive, believe and call on the name is to receive, believe and call on Him.

The mood of this prayer is imperative — that is, it is a command. That is exactly how Jesus authorized us to pray it. To speak this command does not go against the will of God in any way. We are not making Him do something He doesn’t want to do. No, it is completely in line with His will because He longs to reveal Himself to us. But He will not do it unless we ourselves are willing to receive it.

I am captured by this powerful opening line, and I am praying it wherever I go:

Father, reveal who You are.

• Reveal who You are in the businesses, schools and marketplaces of this city.
• Reveal who You are in the theatres and restaurants.
• Reveal who You are in the bars, strip clubs, porn shops and red light districts.
• Reveal who You are in the prisons, county jails and detentions halls.
• Reveal who You are on the hospital floors, in the E.R., the O.R. and the Paramedic van.
• Reveal who You are in the bodies of the infirm, the sick and the lame.
• Reveal who You are in the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf.
• Reveal who You are in the rescue missions, in the streets, under the bridges—wherever destitute souls seek refuge.
• Reveal who You are to all peoples and nations, to heads of state and religious leaders.
• Reveal who You are to the Christian, the Jew, the Muslim—to men of every religion, and to the atheist as well.
• Especially in this hour, reveal who You are in New Orleans, in Gulfport, in Buloxi, in all the places devastated by Katrina. Reveal who You are the lives of all those who have lost everything to this terrible storm. Reveal Yourself as the God of salvation, protection, provision, healing and restoration. Reveal the light of Your glory in this dark hour.
  

Reveal who You are in Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Lord Jesus Christ has authorized you to bring forth the revelation of the Father into this world. Begin now by praying, “Father, reveal who You are.”

Desire Fulfilled—a Tree of Life

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

(Proverbs 13:12)

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil creates false hope and leads to sickness of heart. But God’s way is a Tree of Life. It is not the squelching of desire, as some suppose, but a fulfillment that brings healing to the brokenhearted.

Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

(Psalm 37:4)

God’s way is delight and desire. When you choose to delight yourself in Him—in His ways, in His Word, in His will — the desires of your heart will be fulfilled. This is because, in choosing Him you are choosing the Tree of Life.

Praise the LORD, O my soul …
Who satisfies your desires with good things
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

(Psalm 103:1, 5 NIV)

Eating from the Tree of Life — getting into deeper personal relationship with God — will develop your passions for the things that give life. God will satisfy every one of them, so that your youth, your strength, your life will be made new.

The Fruit of the Righteous ~ a Tree of Life

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who wins souls is wise.

(Proverbs 11:30)

It has been said that “you are what you eat.” I think that has application here. When you eat of the Tree of Life you become a tree of life yourself and the fruit of your life becomes a great blessing to others. The wisdom of God begins to shine in and through you and give light to those around you.

Let me put it this way:

Q. How do you “win friends and influence people?”
A. By eating of the tree of life.

The Righteous
Who are the righteous whose fruit is a tree of life to others? They are the ones who do what is right. They walk according to rightness. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The Amplified Bible expands upon this righteousness of God as “His way of doing and being right.”

In other words, righteousness comes from God. Our own righteousness misses the mark of what God requires. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But, thank God, everything He ever requires of us, He has already provided. “For [God] made [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Notice that, in Christ, we not only receive the righteousness of God, we become it.

How do we receive and become the righteousness of God?

By faith. We discover this in the first book of the Bible, where it is said of Abraham,

And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:6)

We find this over and over in Scripture, but let one more example be sufficient. Paul said,

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. (Galatians 2:16)

The righteous are the ones who are justified, that is, made right by faith in Jesus Christ.

The Fruit of the Righteous
Let’s consider what is the fruit of the righteous that becomes a tree of life for others. The Bible says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

This Spirit is the Holy Spirit at work in the spirit of every believer. He is the “breath of life” God puffed into Adam’s nostrils when Adam became of living being. He is the Spirit by whom we are “born again” in John 3:3-6 ( the Greek behind that phrase literally means “born from above”). The fruit the Spirit brings forth in us is life-giving for others because it comes from the source of life Himself.

Have you ever noticed that fruit is never pinned on to a tree from the outside? There would be no life in that. No, fruit comes from the inside of the tree and is the overflow of the life of the tree. That is why it can give life to others.

Earlier in Galatians 5 we read, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). Many Christians somehow get this verse backwards and think it means “Do not fulfill the lust of the flesh, and you will then be walking in the Spirit.”

That is poison. It is trying to pin fruit on to the tree of life, but it is actually eating the deadly fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The choice remains the same for us as it was for Adam and Eve:

• Eat of the Tree of Life and overflow with the life of the Spirit, or
• Eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and try to clip on the fruit of good (but dead) works.

One will bless many through you; the other won’t even bless you.

Receive the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ and let the life of the Holy Spirit work in your spirit to bring forth His wonderful live-giving fruit in you. Only by eating of the Tree of Life will you become a tree of life to others.

Wisdom ~ a Tree of Life

Happy is the man who finds wisdom
  And the man who gains understanding;
For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver,
  And her gain than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies,
  And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
Length of days is in her right hand,
  In her left hand riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
  And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
  And happy are all who retain her.

(Proverbs 3:13-18)

Wisdom is a tree of life. It comes from God and brings all the things that many people are looking for: long life, happiness, peace, honor and riches. But wisdom is not automatic, you must engage it. For, as another proverb says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter” (Proverbs 25:2).

• You must search out wisdom until you find it.
• You must seize upon it with everything you have and establish it in your heart.
• Out of the treasure of wisdom in your heart, you must bring forth understanding into your life.
• Then wisdom will yield its reward and you will reap a rich harvest from the tree of life.

The wisdom of God is a tree of life to all who find, keep and walk in it. If you need wisdom, ask God and He will freely give it to you — no questions asked (James 1:5-6).

The Tree of Life

The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden. (Genesis 2:9)

Though mankind lost access to the tree of life through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, it was not lost forever. God has never abandoned His people, but has made a way for us to enjoy the abundance of His life.

The Word of God is the tree of life.
Psalm 1 speaks of the man who delights in the Word of God and makes it his constant meditation: “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3). Consider the life of this tree:

• It is planted by rivers of water. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John7:38 — verse 39 identifies this flow as the Holy Spirit).
• It brings forth its fruit in its season. There is an appropriate fruit for every season and it will always come out at the right time.
• Its leaf shall not wither. “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. The shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the LORD is upright” (Psalm 92:12-15).
• It prospers in all things. “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2).

The Lord Jesus Christ is the tree of life.
He is the living Word who took on human flesh to dwell among us (John 1:14). By nailing our sins to the tree of death He has reconciled all who receive Him to the Father. He is the life-giving, fruit-generating vine in John 15:

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing … If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. As the Father love Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:5,7-12)

Consider the overflow of the divine life we experience by abiding in Jesus:

• Abundance of fruit.
• Fulfillment of every good desire.
• The revelation of the Father’s glory.
• Abiding in the love of God through Jesus Christ.
• Fullness of joy.
• Divine love working through us.
  

The Holy Spirit is the tree of life.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). There is no law that can stand up against the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, no law that can now take away the life of the Holy Spirit in you, not even the law of sin and death. “If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).

The fruit of the Spirit is the overflow of our life in Christ:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness [faith], gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

God has given His Word, His Son and His Spirit to restore to you the tree of life. Immerse yourself in His Word, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and yield yourself to the work of the Holy Spirit. You will experience rivers of living water flowing from your inner being to bless the world as well as your own life. Love, joy, peace and all the fruits of the Spirit will be in you in abundance. You will begin to lay hold of life, health and prosperity and experience the glory of God changing your world. This life will be at work in you even in old age and you will be fresh and flourishing in the courts of the LORD to declare His rightness. In short, you will discover the tree of life.

Adam Failed to Exercise Dominion

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)

Then the Lord God took the ma and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. (Genesis 2:15)

Adam was given dominion over everything on the earth. That is, he had authority to rule and reign over the earth on behalf of God, in whose image he was created.

But somehow, Adam failed to fully exercise this dominion. For there cropped up in the garden a death-dealing tree — the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It did not come from God but from the enemy. Like the enemy in one of Jesus’ parables, who sowed tares among the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30).

Just as the tares looked very much like wheat — until they both came into fruition — so the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil looks so much like the Tree of Life. But the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge actually leads to death. God said, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17).

As soon as Adam heard that, he should have immediately exercised his authority to tend and keep the garden. He should have gone and ripped that tree out of the ground and cast it out of the garden.

And perhaps he would have done that, except that the idea somehow crept in that the evil Tree could not even be touched. That is what Eve thought. She (mis)quoted God as saying, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die” (Genesis 3:3). A seed of doubt was sown because someone added to the Word of God, saying what He did not say.

Adam missed another opportunity to exercise dominion when he failed to cast the serpent out of the garden. For God gave him authority over “every thing that moves on the earth.”

The rest is history.

The Lord Jesus Christ has given every believer the authority to call forth the kingdom of God and command the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Learn how to walk in this authority to release rivers of living water and the knowledge of God’s glory over all the earth.

Grace-Filled Works Release God's Glory

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

This is from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ teaching to His disciples. John said of Jesus that He is “the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:9). The light that He gives is the light that He is. Those who receive His light and walk in it, they themselves become light — the light of Christ that gives light to the world.

This light is the revelation of God’s glory. The whole earth is already filled with the glory of God (Isaiah 6:3). What is lacking is the knowledge, or the revelation of that glory. The enemy blinds the eyes of the world so that it does not see the glory. But it is God “who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

There are many ways we can release the light, the revelation knowledge of God’s glory. In this passage, we see that our lives can shine with the light of God through our good works.

A word about good works. They are not about trying to please or appease God, or trying to, in any way, get ourselves into His good graces. That is the spirit of religion, a deception from the enemy. Any works you do for that purpose are not good works at all — they are dead works. As Paul said to the Galatians, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4). Falling from grace is not about falling into sin, is it about falling into the idea that you can somehow earn God’s favor, mercy and love.

No, good works do not lead you into the grace of God. Rather, good works flow from the grace of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). We do not create the light of God by our good works. The light of God creates the good works in us so that we can reveal His glory.

The grace of God brings even material provision into our lives so we can bless others with the abundance of our overflow. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

God’s provision is itself a revelation of His glory: “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). When we receive the abundance of His provision and use the overflow for every good work, we are revealing the glory of God, “giving light to all who are in the house.”

The Word of God is a revelation of His glory which prepares us for every good, so we can shine as light in the world. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Here again, good works flow out of God’s grace. As we meditate on the revelation of God’s Word, letting it penetrate every part of our heart and change our thinking in every area of our life, it will soon begin to show in everything we do. We will be glowing with the life of God at work in us and will become a walking revelation of His love, mercy and grace — the glory of God being made known.

If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you are the light of the world. You do not have to try to shine. His light is already in you, you simply need to let it shine. Get deeper in fellowship with Him through His Word. Let His grace work deeply in you. Realize that He has a great passion to bless you and bless others through you out of the overflow of your life. Always remember that it is all about His grace at work in you, not you trying to work for His grace. Then the works of your life will be good, and they will reveal the light of God’s glory to your world.

Take It—By Faith

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive it. (Mark 11:24)

Give attention to the word “receive” in this verse. It is the Greek verb lambano. It means to receive, to take, to lay hold of. It is the same verb Jesus used at the Last Supper when He said, “Take, eat, this is my body” (Matthew 26:26).

Have you ever been to a party and the host comes up to you with a plate of cake and says, “Would you like some?” You say “Yes, thank you,” then simply reach out your hand to lay hold of the plate. You have received the cake. It is now yours.

That is what Jesus meant when He said, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe you receive it.” Don’t wait and see what’s going to happen, or whether your prayer is going to be answered. No, believe that you have actually laid hold of that for which you have asked. Take it by faith. You have secured it. It is yours. The NASB reads, “Believe that you have received it.” In other words, consider it a done deal.

Just because you have not yet seen it does not mean that you have not received it. Paul tells us to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Walking by faith means that you believe regardless of what your eyes or ears or mind or emotions tell you. You believe because of what God has said. In Mark 11:24, He says, “Believe you receive.”

Important life-changing note: Everything you do, say, ask or believe is to be processed through the Father’s love. For without it, nothing matters.

Whatever things you ask or desire when you pray, believe that you have laid hold of the answer. Take it — by faith.

(See also Whatever You Desire, When You Pray)

Invitation of Joy to the Nations

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.

(Psalm 100:1-2)

God is not exclusive to one people or place. Quite the contrary. He invites all peoples and all lands to come and enter into joy with Him.

Make a joyful shout! The Hebrew word is rua and means to break out of silence with ear-splitting sounds of joy. It might be a loud “Yahoo!” or the celebratory blast of a horn. In my neighborhood, whenever our football team scores a goal, my neighbor runs out to his car and honks the horn — repeatedly! He is making a joyful noise.

To the LORD. It is a joy that is in honor of, and is caused by the LORD, Yahweh! God is the source of joy — His presence is full of it (Psalm 16:11). Joy is the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

Serve the LORD with gladness. “Gladness” is the Hebrew simcha — lightheartedness, joy, mirth, gaiety and pleasure. And it comes from serving the LORD. Serving God is never just a matter of rendering service to Him, but of serving with Him. For God is love, and it is the nature of love to give and to serve. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

So the call to serve the LORD is actually an invitation to partner with Him. Yes, God invites all the earth to come and join in partnership — fellowship — with Him. No wonder it is joyful, lighthearted and full of pleasure.

Come before His presence with singing. Here is the invitation to come into the presence of the King of all kings. And the surprise is that it is not meant to be full or terror or even of sorrow. We come singing, not mournful tunes or sorrowful dirges, but songs of joy and triumph. The kingdom of God is a party!

The psalm writer continues:

Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

(Psalm 100:3)

This invitation is to come and know God by His personal name, Yahweh (rendered in English translations by “LORD” in all caps). This is the name by which He reveals Himself in covenant with His people. Indeed, this is a call to come enter covenant with Him.

This is an invitation for all the peoples to know the God who created them. We certainly did not create ourselves — pulling ourselves together out of the ooze, generating for ourselves the vast library of our genetic code, instilling our own personhood and intelligence into ourselves. No, God is our Creator, making us specifically in His own image and breathing into us the breath of His spirit.

This is also an invitation to come and know God as our Shepherd. “The LORD is my shepherd,” David declared, “I shall not be in want” (Psalm 23). Here is the promise of rest, provision, protection, guidance, goodness and mercy — all the blessing of God to all who come to Him. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who comes to give us the life of God in abundance (John 10).

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

(Psalm 100:4)

Yes, come on in. Recognize the blessing God has for you and join the celebration. You cannot do for yourself. Let God to for you whatever you need and give Him thanks. Enter deeper into His presence with joyful songs of praise. Pull your head out and behold the wonderful gift that has been given to you, then lift your hands in worship and bless the One who has reached His hand out to you.

For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

(Psalm 100:5)

Yahweh is God and Yahweh is good! This is not a one-off, one-time celebration. What He is inviting the nations to is something that will endure forever. This is not just for the nations but for the generations. When you accept His gracious offer and step into His wonderful life, it will be a blessing, not only to yourself, but also to your children and your children’s children — even to a thousand generations.

Make a joyful noise — everybody! Everywhere! The fathers of the Westminster Confession understood this well. It declares the mankind was made for this purpose — to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

God is reaching out to the nations. Become aware of His glory manifesting all around you. Enter into covenant with Him. Partner up with the Servant King of the Ages and reach out with Him to love, give and serve. Intercede for all peoples in all places. Pray the Lord of the Harvest and let Him send you into all the world preaching the Good News, bringing forth signs and wonders of healing and deliverance. Then pass this great inheritance on to your children and your children’s children. For the LORD is good, His love and faithfulness will endure to all your generations. Come glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

God Wants You Well

Healing Scriptures and Prayers
by Jeff Doles
Walking Barefoot Ministries
ISBN 0-9744748-1-9 (Paperback)
6 x 9 in., 128 pages

Someone has said that prayer is not about overcoming God's reluctance, but about laying hold of His willingness. This can also be said of healing ministry — it is not about overcoming God's reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness to heal. God's willingness is seen in His Word, where He has repeatedly revealed His desire to heal His people. This book is designed to help you lay hold of God's willingness to heal you by laying hold of His Word and praying it back to Him.

The Bible says that "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10.17). The Word of God reveals the will of God, and so enables us to pray effectively. "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him" (1 John 5.14,15). Healing is the will of God for His people, as these Scriptures show, so you can pray confidently, knowing that He hears you, and that you will receive your healing. In this book you will discover:

• God's healing words in the Old Testament
• How healing is revealed in the names of God
• How to choose life
• God's healing words in the New Testament
• The healing ministry of Jesus
• The healing ministry of the disciples
• Life restoration stories in the Bible
• How healing is revealed in the name of Jesus
• The Lord's Prayer as healing prayer
• The Lord's Supper as healing prayer

This is also a great tool to help you minister healing to others.

Available in paperback, Kindle, epub and PDF. Click here to for more information.

Discover the Passions of God

Do not be conformed this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you ma prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)

First, note that the Greek word for behind “world” is aion. It is where we get our word “eon.” So it primarily refers, not to a place, but to a time (yes, yes, I know that time and space are relative, but I did say primarily). It should actually be translated, not at “world” but as “age.”

So we have, “Do not be conformed to this age.”

You see, they are two ages going on: this present one and the one that is to come. To one that is to come is the age of God’s kingdom — the age of His rule and reign. The age that is to come has actually already been breaking into to this present one. Has been every since Jesus began His ministry preaching “Repent and believe, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”

The enemy of our souls wants us to continued to be conformed to this age, to think the thoughts of this present world order. He wants to blind us to the age of God’s reign, which is breaking in all around us. Paul said,

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:3-6)

The light of Christ is already shining brightly in the world, and the whole earth if full of the glory of God (Isaiah 6:3). But the devil, the god of this present age, has blinded the eyes of so many so that they don’t even recognized the light and know the glory.

There are only two kinds of people in the world: those who are being conformed to this age, and those who are being transformed by the renewing of their minds.

Enough about the former. Let’s talk about the latter.

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” For too long we have been discipled by the present age to think that way it thinks, feel the way it feels, act the way it acts. We have been conformed by it. Even in the Church, there are many who have been deceived by the spirit of religion to adopt a form of godliness, but totally lacking the power of godliness.

We need to be transformed, and it happens by the renewing of our minds. We need to begin thinking differently. That is what repentance means. The Greek word for “repentance” is metanoeo, and it literally means to think differently.

“My thoughts re not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

(Isaiah 55:11)

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)

God’s thoughts and ways are different from those we have received in this present age. He wants us to think His thoughts and walk in His ways, because the age of His rule and reign is breaking in. That is why He has given us His Word and His Spirit, so we could be renewed in our thinking, and thus be transformed. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

We need to be transformed and have our thoughts renewed so we can discover the will of God. The will of God is not a plan to manipulate and control us. The will of God is the passionate desire He has for us. He has created us for great things, to partake of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). He longs for us to enter into in, to see how good His will is, how full of favor His desire for us is, how perfect and complete His passions toward us are.

Our minds were made to think God’s thoughts, our emotions were made to express God’s heart, and our wills were made to express God’s desires. When we let God renew our thinking by His Word and the Holy Spirit, it will totally transform our lives and prepare us to receive His kingdom, already breaking in all around us — to discover the passions of God.

Rethinking Basic Discipleship

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature … And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. (Mark 16:15-18)

The Lord Jesus gave this commission to His disciples, and it is all part and parcel of preaching the Gospel — the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Notice first that there signs which will follow those who believe. Notice also that these signs will not merely follow the disciples, but will actually be performed by the disciples in the name of Jesus.

Jesus said, In My name they (those who believe) will:

• Cast out demons.
• Speak with new tongues.
• Experience divine protection.*
• Lay hands on the sick, and the sick will recover.

[*The bit about taking up serpents and drinking anything deadly is not a command to perform, but a promise of protection in case those things should happen. On the island of Malta, while Paul was collecting wood for the fire, he was accidentally bitten by a deadly snake. He should have immediately fallen ill and died — but he didn’t, and this increased his credibility with the islanders (Acts 28:3-6). Early Church history records the incident of a Christian leader who was deliberately poisoned but was not harmed by it.]

If these things are to follow those who believe the Gospel, how is it that so often they do not. We can trace the history of when and how these things began to fall away from the mainstream Church (Francis MacNutt does a good job of this in The Healing Reawakening: Reclaiming Our Lost Inheritance).

A lot of it was given up when the church developed the clergy/laity distinction (readily found in tradition, but not in the Bible). Only a special class of Christian was considered fit to pursue these ministries, and they pursued the less and less. When pride set in, they were not able to perform them even when they tried.

So there was a drought of these signs, but not a complete absence. They still turned up in many times and places in the history of the church. The attitudes of the institutionalized Church carried over into the Reformed and Evangelical Church and the signs were absent in these churches as well, not altogether, but to a significant degree.

Another reason for the lack is that the Gospel has often been limited, in modern Reformed and Evangelical churches, to salvation from sin. But Jesus never did this. Everywhere He went, He was always teaching and preaching the kingdom of God, casting out demons and healing all kinds of sickness and disease. Even His death on the cross was not limited to forgiveness of sin. The meaning of “salvation” in Scripture is much broader than that. The Greek and Hebrew words refer to deliverance, healing, wholeness, prosperity, and being rescued from whatever you need to be rescued from. And the name of Jesus in Hebrew, Yeshua, is actually the Hebrew word for salvation, so even His name includes healing and deliverance.

Is it any wonder then that whenever the Gospel is preached and believed, we should see people healed and delivered from demonic affliction? No, what we really ought to wonder about is when we don’t see those things.

Because of many of the traditions of the Church and the limiting of the Gospel to nothing more than the forgiveness of sins, many Christians have not been taught to expect these signs to follow. In fact, they have been taught to NOT expect them, even to reject the idea that they should happen at all.

Consequently, there is a big hole in their discipleship. For if these things — casting out demons, speaking in tongues, experiencing divine protection, and healing through the laying on of hands — are supposed to follow those who believe, then out not the basic instruction of new believers include how to minister and walk in these things?

Let that percolate a while (or if you prefer — Selah).

The need for these things has not disappeared. The Church has just largely forgotten how to minister them. Isn’t it time to rethink basic discipleship?

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Miracles and Manifestations of the Holy Spirit
in the History of the Church
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.