Training in the Faith Life

Faith is still our subject; I want to make sure that the importance of FAITH is not missed by any of us.

You can find the excerpt below on page 1083 of the New International Version, Women's Devotional Bible - Classic Edition.

Author: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman (emphasis added)
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Mark 9:14-29 (NKJV) *part 3*
emphasis: v. 23

Mark 9:23 (NIV)

²³" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."


The "everything" in this verse does not always come simply for the asking.  God is ever seeking to teach us the way of faith, and in our training in the faith life there must be room for the trial of faith, the discipline of faith, the patience of faith, the courage of faith, and often many stages are passed before we really realize what is the end of faith, namely, the victory of faith.

Real moral fiber is developed through discipline of faith.  You have made your request of God (your need to serve Him; a request that is according to His Will - not just Your want), but the answer does not come.  What are you to do?

First, check your request.  Is it a need to serve our King?  Is it a request in order to serve His people?  Is it a request that is according to His Will?  Or, is it a request rooted in selfish desire?  Is it a desire that God has placed on your heart?  Be real with yourself and with God.  You can't hide anything from Him; and it is just a waste of time to lie to ourselves.

If it is in line with His Will and Purposes, nothing should stand in your way of believing God's Word.  Never be moved away from it by what you see or feel, and thus as you stand steady, enlarged power and experience is being developed.  The fact of looking at the apparent contradiction to God's Word (by what you receive from this world) and being unmoved from your position of faith make you stronger on every other line.

Often God delays purposely, and the delay is just as much an answer to your prayer as is the fulfillment when it comes.

In the lives of all the great people in the Bible, God worked!  Abraham, Moses, and Elijah were not great in the beginning, but were made great through the discipline of their faith, and only thus were they fitted for the positions to which God had called them.  Isaac wasn't born to Abraham & Sarah until, he was 100 and she was 90.  Moses was 80 when he experienced his encounter with God (the burning bush) and received his mission; still having a lot to learn from there.  Remember this: time is used for God's good!  When He has the control, there is nothing to worry about.  This shouldn't make us sad, this should give us hope!  Age and time does not limit God.


Other examples: In the case of Joseph whom the LORD was training for the throne of Egypt, it was not the prison life with its hard beds or poor food that tried him, but it was the word God had spoken into his heart in the early years concerning elevation and honor which were greater than his brethren were to receive; it was this which was ever before him, when every step in his career made it seem more and more impossible of fulfillment.  These were hours that tried his soul, but hours of spiritual growth and development were established.

No amount of persecution tries like such experiences as these.  When God has spoken of His purposes to do, and yet the days go on and He does not do it, that is truly hard; but it is a discipline of faith that will bring us intoa knowledge of God which would otherwise be impossible.

Additional Scripture Readings:
James 5:10-11 (The Message)- ^10-11Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.

1 Peter 5:8-10 (New Living Translation)- ⁸ (Be self-controlled) Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.
¹⁰ In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.


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Daily Prayer: LORD, Your desire is not for any of us to perish; therefore, You are extremely patient with us.  Thank You for the time allotted to us to repent, so that we will not be destroyed (2 Peter 3:9).  Heavenly Father, today I would like to repent of (THIS IS BETWEEN YOU AND GOD; PUT IT OUT THERE TO HIM).  For everyone on this earth will not be saved, there will be individuals who will not choose You.  They will choose the ways of this ungodly world, loving their deceitful and wicked ways.  I do not want to be one of them; I choose not to be one of them.  Thank You for calling my heart and offering the forgiveness that only our Holy Father can offer through Your Son, Jesus Christ.  A gift that we will never be able to repay; nor do you ask us to repay.  It is offered to us freely, because You love us.  Thank You for sending forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You dwell.  I desire to live with You O God, my joy and my delight.  I praise You!  Let not my soul be downcast nor disturbed within me; but let my hope be in You always.  For I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

CONCENTRATE ON TODAY; HOW CAN YOU APPLY THIS TO TODAY?

SHARED COMMENTS ALWAYS WELCOMED!

 

 

"Help My Unbelief"

I give God all the honor, credit and glory for TGN.  Thank Him for all that you receive through it!

PRAYER THEME: Let's continue to talk to God about OUR faith and trust in Him - especially where it is lacking.  Be honest - where are you depending on yourself or people, and not on God.  Ask God to speak to you in that area from the Word today.
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Mark 9:14-29 (NKJV) *part 2*
emphasis: v. 21-27
"All things are possible to him who believes."

21 So (Jesus) asked (the boy's) father, “How long has this been happening to him?”
And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

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So first I want to check and see how "Praying & Fasting" was received in your spirits this weekend.  Did it begin to make sense to you at all?  Just in case you missed it, the corporate focus was: "building our faith."  The power comes from our faith.  Don't forget Jesus told the people in verse 19, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you..."  Without faith, nothing can be done. 
If your faith is small right now; this is a good start; faith starts small.  BUT don't let it stop there.  It's important, and your responsibility to not allow faith to disappear.  Each and every moment of our lives, we have the opportunity to build on our faith.  Praying and fasting are huge tools; but so is reading the Word every day (as you're doing now).  BUT don't stop there.  Implement (USE) the Word in your life now.  It's no good to just store it up for that second; put it into action.  This is how we consistently renew our faith in Jesus Christ.
To reiterate some points from last week:  The attitude of trust and confidence that the Bible calls belief or faith (Hebrews 11:1,6) is not something we can obtain without help.  Faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8,9).  He gave it to us.  But, no matter how much faith we have, we never reach the point of being self-sufficient.  Faith is not stored away like money in the bank.  You can't store some away for a rainy day.  Growing in faith is a constant process of daily renewal of our trust in Jesus.  This is why Jesus knew the Word, and took the time to pray and fast, this is why He shared and lived the Word each day - because this continuously renewed His faith in our Father.  This isn't just a lesson for today; it is a Truth that we need to take throughout all the days of our lives.  For those of us who have yet to realize the importance of doing this; for those of us who never really understood how to build faith - if it's starting to make sense to you today; then there's no better day than today to start living a lifestyle of faith.  
The faith of a mustard seed will move mountains, NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE- Jesus said (Matthew 17:20).  Again, emphasizing the value of faith to us all.  In verse 23, Jesus says, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”  His words do not mean that we can automatically obtain anything  we want if we just think positively (isn't that The Secret? Well, it's not Jesus).  Jesus meant that anything is possible if we believe, because nothing is difficult for God.  We cannot have everything we pray for as if by magic, but with faith, we can have everything we need to serve Him.  What do you need (to serve God)?  The "to serve God," is often lost in our requests.  Our requests are usually to serve ourselves.  It is time to change our thinking.  The world thinks "me!"  We should  be thinking "Kingdom of God."
If your need (to serve God) seems impossible; if that vision that He has given you seems impossible - that's good, because it gives God the opportunity to show you what only He can do.  I believe God likes to show out on our behalf; remember the Red Sea??? Ha!  It allows you to know without a doubt that He is the one who deserves the glory and honor.  By His acts alone, all will know the Name of the LORD.  Don't take or give God's glory to anyone - but God.  This is His command.  Let's bring others and ourselves into the awareness of Who our God is, and all that He can do by taking living by faith seriously today.

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Daily Prayer:  Jesus, I believe!  Thank You for the gift of faith.  But I need Your help.  Help me with my unbelief!  Where am I lacking trust in all that You can do?  Where am I fooling myself?  Where am I not trusting You to do the impossible in my life today.  LORD, I need Your help and Your guidance.  I submit to You and Your all-knowing Spirit.  I ask You for forgiveness in this area, and thank You for the freedom to admit this to You.  To leave this in Your hands to correct and make anew; because this is what You do!  New mercies every day.  I can't do this alone; not in my power; only Yours!  In Your Name I pray, Jesus.  Amen.

Please step out on faith and share with us how the Word is reaching you; or not reaching you.

Let's connect!  Let's fellowship!

Praying and Fasting

THE LORD OUR GOD IS GOOD!  FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER...

PRAYER THEME: Talk to God about YOUR trust in Him today.  Be honest.  Then ask for God to speak to you in that area in the Word today.
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Mark 9:14-29 (NKJV)
A Boy Is Healed

14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. 16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”
17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”
19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”
And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
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Children of God, I can't express in the right words how consistently stunned I am when I read God's Word.  I just studied this chapter in my own time with God on January 9th 2010, and the things being revealed today is something totally different, new, fresh and relevant.  God has a word for you.  I didn't plan this- give me no credit!   THANK YOU LORD!
While Jesus was with the disciples; the disciples were not praying nor fasting.  They saw Jesus live these disciplines consistently, yet, they didn't incorporate them into their own lives while with Him.  One reason is they were actually learning hands-on what it meant to depend on Jesus; that they needed to depend on Him.  So the anointing by Jesus to drive out demons that worked before, was not in effect at this time.  Did they call on Jesus, or were they exercising their own authority without Him over this demon?  We don't know, but what we do know is that there was no power coming from them.
Where is the power?
Let's start with definitions, because I love them!  We should know the correct meaning of our words:
Prayer-talking to God AND listening to Him; to intercede with or make petition to God; conversations with God-in praise and thanksgiving.
Fasting- abstaining from (food usually; or something that we depend on, or think we need to survive), for a specific period of time (hours, days, weeks).  It gives us the understanding that we only need God to survive; we need to depend on Him.

***YOU SHOULD NEVER BE FASTING WITHOUT PRAYING.  PRAYER IS AN INSTRUMENTAL PART OF FASTING.***

Jesus was "THEE CHAMP" at this.  Jesus' faith was unbreakable, unshakable.  He really is the Greatest (so interesting how humans try to steal His Glory).  But as we have discussed previously, like many other things, the disciples did not understand this discipline, nor the power that came from praying and fasting.  The battle with satan is a difficult, ongoing struggle.  Victory over sin and temptation comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
 
Aren't you happy that we have His example and the Holy Spirit to know what we need to incorporate into our own life?
Praying and fasting builds up strength that is beyond our understanding.  Why?  Because we are stepping in acts of submission to God, in expectant hope that He is going to handle everything; that He knows what is best; that He knows what He is doing; that He actually knows more than us!  These powerful tools that God gave us, move our faith; they increase our faith.  And what activates God's power??????
You got it! --FAITH---  ("By faith..." "Your faith...")  So let me stress that the emphasis of doing (praying, reading, fasting, stepping out in trust), is to build our FAITH.  Faith, Faith, Faith, Faith, Faith.  I cannot say it enough.  I can admit that I have done it wrong, and concentrated more on the act of what I was doing- either praying, fasting, even reading.  When the concentration should be on increasing my faith (not the works).  It's not the act of fasting or prayer even that moves anything.  It is our faith behind it.  We need to do what builds our faith.  Are you getting this?  I sure am.  Speak LORD.

Let me say it this way: We can fast and pray all we want, but without the FAITH - they are pretty much, empty acts.  The faith of a mustard seed will move mountains, NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE- Jesus said (Matthew 17:20).  I'm not trying to devalue fasting nor prayer; I am trying to emphasize faith to us all.
The attitude of trust and confidence that the Bible calls belief or faith (Hebrews 11:1,6) is not something we can obtain without help.  Faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8,9).  No matter how much faith we have, we never reach the point of being self-sufficient.  Faith is not stored away like money in the bank.  You can't store some away for a rainy day.  Growing in faith is a constant process of daily renewing our trust in Jesus.  This is why Jesus knew the Word, and took the time to pray and fast- because this continuously renewed His faith in our Father.

Are you geared towards constantly and consistently renewing your faith in Jesus?

Above, I advised that you should never Fast without Prayer.  Why?  Because prayer is the key that unlocks faith in our life.  Effective prayer needs both an attitude-complete dependenceand an action-asking/petitioning.  Prayer demonstrates our reliance on God as we humbly invite Him to fill us with faith and power.  There is NOsubstitute for prayer, especially in circumstances that seem impossible. The disciples often faced difficult situation that could be resolved only through prayer and so will you.

So get this!  Take it in!  Study more about this!  Really seek understanding.

I know for some of you, this is a lot to take in.  This is why I have to give God praise again, because thankfully you have all weekend to re-read and study this Scripture (and other relevant Scriptures) with God.  I encourage you to.  And if you need to extend it to more days to study... I encourage you even more.  TGN Daily will be here when you get back.

I desire for each of us to truly be enlightened by Truth.  I want to see the power of God come through in mighty ways for each of us- and guess what?  So does He.  God is so good!

We'll talk about "the impossible" on Monday.  Have a great weekend with Jesus.

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Daily Prayer:  LORD, I come to You and pray for increase for Your people.  And not just in financial areas.  I pray for an increase of the Spirit and in the spirit.  The spirit-man is so important, and too many of us are lacking in this area.  LORD, I pray for an increase of Your Spirit and in our spirit.  Touch each of us today LORD and empower us.  We NEED You.  Where some are too proud, scared  or even ignorant to admit this themselves; LORD, I admit each NEED for You, on their behalf; as well as mine.  For I want my brothers and sisters in Christ to really experience fellowship with You.   For You are so HOLY LORD.  And even in Your HOLINESS and GREAT SPLENDOR- You yearn for each one of us.  You desire our hearts LORD.  We mean more than we know to You.  You desire our love.  To truly ponder over all of this, is to be amazed over and over and over again.  LORD, I rebuke the unclean/evil spirits that we have allowed to become too comfortable in our lives LORD.  I plead the blood; the awesome, powerful blood of Jesus on our lives-to create barriers that no enemy can break.  I pray that every attempt, stronghold and attack are destroyed before us.  LORD, I thank You for Your angels of protection.  Your angels who act on our behalf at Your command.  Oh THANK YOU LORD.  For the angel of the LORDencamps around those who fear You, and You deliver us.  Thank You Jesus for interceding for each of us.  I declare healing physically, spiritually, emotionally, in trust of You, in relationships, in fellowships and churches, in finances, in everything.  For, You have given Your children, all who believe in you the authority and power to trample upon the serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall in any way harm us.  I ask all of this boldly in Your Name Jesus, and You declare it done.  For You said if anyone who abides in You, ask in Your name; IT SHALL BE DONE!  In honor and glory of our Father, let your people begin to see the manifestation of victory in every area of their lives.  According to Your complete purpose and Will; letting go of placing our own purposes and wills before You.  And I pray that our hearts truly continue to grow in obedience; not in the hope for any objects- but simply to obey, love and grow in You.  For You are everlasting!!  Amen.

It is soooo  good to talk to God!  May this prayer bless you.  I am so thankful for each one of you.  Let the LOVE of God complete you.

If you received revelation today- PLEASE- share.

If not, share as well.  Let's connect!

To Our New Subscriber...

God never forsakes those who seek Him!  Psalm 9:10

Love,
LT

Powerful Witness

LORD, let there be no addition nor deletions to Your Word today.  In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

PRAY your prayer and then get into the Word for the day.
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Mark 9:2-13 (NKJV)*part 2*

emphasis :9- 13 Peter, James & John

⁹ Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.
¹¹ And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
¹² Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? ¹³ But I say to you that Elijah has also come (John the Baptist fulfilled the role prophesied for Elijah in the Old Testament), and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”
 

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What are these verses revealing to your spirit?  Take a moment to just be silent and still; take the Scripture in. 

Take your time, there is no reason to rush this time.

It’s so awesome of God that no matter how many times we read it; or from the different perspectives of the authors of the gospels; the Word is always relevant.

In the above verses, we see that Jesus told Peter, James and John not to speak about what they had seen because they would not fully understand it until Jesus had risen from the dead.  Then they would realize that only through dying could Jesus show His power over death and His authority to be King of all.  He couldn’t just “talk about it’, He had to let God “be about it.”  The disciples would not be powerful witnesses for God until they had grasped this truth.

I know it may seem like I’m hard on the disciples sometimes.  In being a reader of these events in our history, it is easy for us to ask “How did they miss that?”  But I believe we all would have missed it, if we were in their place.  I mean we have the full Story and Guide before us now;  we know the beginning and what God has told us of the end.  We know the Key to living life- and still how many of us continue to miss the mark?  I sure do; it’s a consistent growth.  So let’s decide not to be so hard on them, not to be so hard on ourselves, and not to be so hard on one another.  The biggest lesson we can learn from the disciples (which we will read more about as we get deeper into the New Testament), is to encourage one another.

Let’s also concentrate on what will help you (each of us) to become a powerful witness for Jesus.

It was difficult for the disciples to grasp the idea that their Messiah would have to suffer.  The Jews who studied the Old Testament prophecies expected the Messiah to be a great king like David, who would overthrow the enemy, Rome.  Their vision was limited to their own time and experience.  They could not understand that the values of God’s eternal Kingdom were different form the values of the world (Kingdom thinking reminder).  They wanted relief from their present problems.  But deliverance from sin is far more important than our deliverance from physical suffering or political oppression.  Our understanding and appreciation of Jesus must, again, go beyond what He can do for us here and now.

It was natural for the disciples to be confused about Jesus’ death and resurrection because they could not see into the future.  We, on the other hand, have God’s revealed Word, the Bible, to give us the full meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  So what is keeping some of you from unbelief?

Powerful witness comes from spending time with God (I can’t stress enough how important this is).  The Holy Spirit should be our number 1 “go to.”  Seek Him for understanding and discernment of what you can’t get from the reading or a sermon or conversation with another believer; but don’t forget to also ask for direction on how to live in real-time, what you do get from the Word.  To be a powerful witness is to live a genuine life, covered by Jesus, filled with the Spirit and under God’s authority (our King; remember, I want to keep Kingdom of God on your mind).  A powerful witness is natural.  It doesn’t only come from the words we speak; it comes by what others see in us.

LIFE:  Build on one thing today that comes to your spirit.  Is it being kind (TO EVERYONE NO MATTER WHAT)?  Is it showing your forgiveness to someone today.  Is it asking for forgiveness?  Is it being humble?  Is it praying instead of gossiping, lying and complaining.  Is it working in excellence?  Is it showing concern for someone you don’t know?  Is it saying hello to people?  I can’t tell you what it is; but I’m sure something came to your spirit.  With the motivation of sharing your Savior with others in the small, ordinary moments of life- TGN will continue to help us begin to build it into the fabric of our beings.  The time is now family.  I have to encourage you to start today; or do something new today.  We can all rise to the next level!  There are no glass ceilings with God.

COMMENT AND SHARE WHAT YOU WILL WORK ON TODAY - I will most definitely share whatever comes to my spirit when it comes…  Let’s share with one another; Let’s make this life real!

My last question for today: Do you know (without a doubt), if the first thing people see when they come in your presence, is the Jesus in you?

I encourage this to be our goal!  By God’s Spirit we can do it!

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Daily Prayer: Holy Spirit, I invite You to be apart of each person’s life today; in all areas, but especially those spots that we have not allowed you to enter.  Holy Spirit, come in and have Your way.  Let Your divine nature take over in each one of Your children.  Jesus thank You for the wonderful gift of the Spirit.  I know we do not make it easy most of the time, but You continue to knock on our hearts because this is where You want to be.  As we concentrate on today, and only today; help us to build a true witness for You.  I pray that Your committed children become powerfully effective for Your Word in the lives of those around them.  I rebuke the idea of it having to be larger than life to mean anything.  For You are Life!  If our actions today shows one person Who You are; we’ve hit success.  Thank You Father.  In Your Son’s Name.  Amen.

Concentrate on bringing what you understood to life today!

Jesus Transfigured on the Mount

LORD, let there be no addition nor deletions to Your Word today.  In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 
PRAY your prayer and then get into the Word for the day.
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Mark 9 (NKJV)

:2- 13 Jesus Transfigured on the Mount

2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— 6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.
7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” 8 Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.
9 Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.
11 And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
12 Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”

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Definition of Transfigured: verb (used with object),-ured, -ur·ing.

1. to change in outward form or appearance; transform.

2. to change so as to glorify or exalt.

The Transfiguration revealed Christ’s divine nature.  God’s voice exalted Jesus above Moses and Elijah as the long-awaited Messiah with full divine authority.  Moses represented the law, and Elijah, the prophets.  Their appearance showed Jesus as the fulfillment of both the Old Testament law and the prophetic promises.

Jesus was not a reincarnation of Elijah or Moses.  He was not merely one of the prophets.  As God’s only Son, He far surpasses them in authority and power.  Many voices try to tell us how to live and how to know God personally.  Some of these are helpful, many are not.

*Please note: TGN does not purpose to tell you how to live, this is your choice.  The purpose of The Good News is to share God’s Word, help you to understand it and know Jesus.*

We must first listen to the Bible, and then evaluate all other authorities in light of God’s revelation.

This is a simple intro to these verses, I would like to give the Word more time to live with you.  We will continue with part 2 tomorrow.

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Daily Prayer: I receive Your Word into my heart today.  Help me to remain persistent in my seeking of Your Word; for it is a good living presence in my life.  And blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen (Luke 11).

What do I understand from this reading today?

Concentrate on bringing that to life today!

Resources: Joel Osteen (3/9/10)

Live Kingdom, Now!

IT’S TIME TO PRAY!  SPEAK TO GOD !
*Length of time does not matter, just talk to God in the Name of Jesus.*
Then get into the Word for the day.

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Mark 9 (NKJV)

:1 Kingdom of God
1 And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”

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Do you know that you don't have to die to see the Kingdom of God present with power?  Do you know you can see the Kingdom of God now?  Jesus wants us to see it now!  He says it to the disciples above even, "some won't taste death"- meaning they will still be living.

"How?" some of you are asking...

Well, I don't believe that Kingdom can be completely taught and understood in just one email/blog post.  This is why we read the Bible every day; to learn more and more about the Kingdom.

By no means do I know everything about Kingdom, and I will never imply that I do.  But I am confident in the Spirit of God, that I can share with you some of the basics to start with.  As we continue to seek, and gain more wisdom from the Word, I am assured that we will all grow in our understanding.  Today I will share with you what I do know and what I do understand, in regards to living the Kingdom here on earth.

For some of you, this may be very basic- but we can all benefit from going back to basics.

• First we have to change our thinking!

 - We are all heavily influenced with wrong thinking because of the sinful world that we live in.  We bring these wrong ideas to our faith and end up living incorrectly due to our incorrect thinking.  We have to think Kingdom, for Jesus is a KING!  He is not a president, He is not one of us, He is KING!  And He needs to be respected as such.

• Second we have to understand what a Kingdom is?

-Most of you are American and therefore have never lived under a king/queen.  Therefore, we are very far removed from the understanding of how a kingdom works.  Myles Munroe is a great resource for Kingdom (and Purpose); I recommend checking out his written works in your spare time.  As for now, I will use his words in describing what the Kingdom is:  

"The Kingdom is not a democracy, it is not a religion and it is not a republic."

Ok, so what is it?-

"A kingdom is a culture.  It is the governing influence of a king over HIS territory, impacting it with HIS will, HIS purpose and HIS intentions; producing a citizenry of people who reflect the culture of the king and manifest in the nature of the king."

• Third, a king has absolute authority!

-We look at authority as a bad thing, because it has been perverted, misused and abused.  But authority is a good thing.  The one in authority is called to make decisions that will protect and benefit those that they have authority over; not hurt/harm them.  Humans get this wrong all of the time.  But God doesn't!  And Who is our Protector?

• Fourth, know who our King is!

-Who is the King of Glory?  Who is the King of kings? Who is the LORD of lords?  JESUS!!!!! (Revelations 19:16)
What is the nature of God?  It is His Glory.  God desires that His Glory be reflected in each one of us NOW!  God wants to fill the earth with His nature, His Glory.

• Fifth, who are the citizens?

-Yup, that is you and me.  If you are born again, you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God.  Awesome right?!? 

-Being of the Kingdom we are affected by the mind of the King, this is why Jesus prayed, "Thy will be done."  Not our will, God's Will!

- We are not independent of the King (God), but DEPENDENT on Him.

-We don't own anything.  Everything we have is God's!  We are simply the caretakers and partakers of the inheritance that we have been given.  So a different outlook on care should be settling into our minds right about now.

-We have rights! You only know Your rights from knowing the Word.  From the Word comes amazing lasting confidence.

-There is law.  God's Word is law.  We don't get to vote on it, debate nor veto it.  It is law and created to be respected and obeyed.  We have to start to see the law as our culture and not things that we're forced to do.  And remember law is there to protect us, it gives us life (doesn't take it away) and it provides increase!

-We pay taxes- THE TITHE!  "Giving is not possible until after you tithe."   Tithing is so important.  What happens in this world when you don't pay taxes?  We are breaking the law, when we don't pay the taxes we owe.  We're breaking the law of God when we don't tithe, there is penalty in not tithing.  Which we will most definitely go into more details, at another time.

- As citizens, non-citizens should look at us and see what Heaven is like.  This is what God is developing in us now.

So in answering the "How do we see the kingdom of God present with power?"  It's simply by living and allowing the Holy Spirit direct our morals, our decisions, our concept of life, how we respond to others; absolutely everything.  We should experience the Kingdom of God with one another.  Unbelievers should see the kingdom through us.  We're in the world, but we're not of the world- our citizenship is in heaven.

There is so much more to learn!  I don't even want to stop typing because it is so exciting and providing revelation to me as I type!  God is so good!  But  I'll stop with these basics; with them we should definitely begin to read, receive and implement the Word with new eyes. I think it may even change the direction of  TGN.  God wants to reveal great things to us and through us.  God is King, King of Glory, King of everything.

I want to share a quote that the TGN Life Group read recently from Corrie Ten Boom.  A wonderful quote that I believe can help us all today, tomorrow and the days after that: "Worry about what I do understand in the Bible and do not live by." So many of us concentrate on the things that we don't understand, that we don't apply what we do understand to our lives.

Ask for God's direction in getting it right.   You have to know who the King is and how the King operates to start off on the right foot.  You know Who the King is- JESUS, and with Your daily individual time with God, TGN and other Bible resources-little by little we will all learn more, and mature in the Kingdom of God, in the Name of Jesus.  For YOURS, is the Kingdom of God; and it is YOURS NOW!

The Kingdom of God is within (or among) you, is approached through understanding and entered through faith, spiritual rebirth, and doing the will of God.

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Daily Prayer:  Heavenly Father, Your Kingdom is amazing, wonderful and larger than life.  Help each of us to honor our citizenship in Your Kingdom.  Continue to teach us Your laws and ways.  Continue to show us how to implement them into our daily lives.  Holy Spirit, thank You for Your anointing, thank You for making this all so real, personal and relevant.  I pray that everyone who reads Mark 9:1 today, receives Your insight on the Kingdom.  God, Your Name is Holy; may Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven.  Give each of us our daily bread, the exact Word we need to guide us through our day.  Thank You for providing for our every need, we don't even have to ask- it's in Your nature to provide.  Forgive each of us our sins, as we all learn how to consistently forgive all who have sinned against us.  Guide us away from temptation, fleeing from temptation- not playing around with it; and deliver us from evil.  For the Glory is Yours and we're thankful to be blessed with Your magnificent Glory.  In the Name of wonderful Jesus.  Amen (Luke 11)



Resource: Dr. Myles Munroe (appearance on Benny Hinn) 2008
biblegateway.com, NIV Women’s Devotional Bible- Classic Edition, Life Application Study Bible.