We must be careful whom we trust in this world. People make promises they cannot keep, break confidences on a whim, and come out with statements that are untrue. But there is someone who keeps every promise, never lies, and refuses to break a confidence: almighty God.

We serve a faithful Father. Throughout Scripture, God guarantees His children He will pardon our sins (1 John 1:9), supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19), protect us (Psalm 91), answer our prayers (Matthew 7:7-8), and be with us. (Deuteronomy 31:6) With this set of divine guarantees, a promise can be applied to every aspect of our lives. In fact, we can probably remember many occasions when God has fulfilled one of these scriptural assurances. Spending time recalling His faithfulness is an important exercise for believers because it strengthens our trust.

When we look back over the course of our life, we can also see the constancy of God. He does not change in His person or purpose. That means His faithfulness and trustworthiness are as true today as they were in Bible times, our parent’s generation, and yesterday afternoon. What great comfort we can draw from an unchanging Father during times of upheaval. Some of the most powerful metaphors in Christianity speak to this aspect of His nature—God the rock and God the anchor.

The Lord’s character is perfectly consistent with trust. Because of His love, He commits to fulfilling His promises to every generation of believers. We can trust God to do all He says He will do—and so much more. He will never fail us.

 ¹And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

   ²And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

   ³And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

   ⁴Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

   ⁵And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

   ⁶And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:

   ⁷And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?

   ⁸And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.

   ⁹And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.

   ¹⁰And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

   ¹¹And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

   ¹²I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.

   ¹³And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

   ¹⁴And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

   ¹⁵And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

   ¹⁶This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

   ¹⁷And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.

   ¹⁸And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.

   ¹⁹And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

   ²⁰Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

   ²¹And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

   ²²And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

   ²³And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

   ²⁴And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.

   ²⁵And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.

   ²⁶Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.

   ²⁷And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.

   ²⁸And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

   ²⁹See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

   ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

   ³¹And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

   ³²And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.

   ³³And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.

   ³⁴As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

   ³⁵And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.

   ³⁶Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

¹And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

   ²And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

   ³And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

   ⁴And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

   ⁵And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

   ⁶And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.

   ⁷Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

   ⁸And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.

   ⁹And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.

   ¹⁰And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

   ¹¹And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

   ¹²And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

   ¹³And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?

   ¹⁴And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.

   ¹⁵Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

   ¹⁶Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

   ¹⁷And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

   ¹⁸And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

   ¹⁹And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.

   ²⁰And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.

   ²¹And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.

   ²²And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.

   ²³And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.

   ²⁴And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

   ²⁵And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.

13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.

14 Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him].

15 For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but one Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.

16 Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].Hebrews 4:12-16 AMP

God’s Word is alive and full of power. It is active, operative, energizing, and effective. That means it works! God’s Word works when you work it. God’s Word works when you speak it and when you act on it. If you come into God’s presence in the boldness of the righteousness purchased for you at Calvary and standing on the authority of His Word – He has promised to help you and show mercy to you in your time of need.

So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.Isaiah 55:11 AMP

God’s Word is powerful and accomplishes His purposes. That means that His Word always works for Him and produces the results He planned them to. God’s Word will work for you if you speak it with conviction – if you believe that it is true and that He says what He means and He means what He says. If you don’t actually believe God’s Word, you can speak it until you are blue in the face and nothing will happen.

Then Jesus was led (guided) by the [Holy] Spirit into the wilderness (desert) to be tempted (tested and tried) by the devil.

2 And He went without food for forty days and forty nights, and later He was hungry.

3 And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God’s Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread.

4 But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a turret (pinnacle, gable) of the temple sanctuary.

6 And he said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said to him, On the other hand, it is written also, You shall not tempt, test thoroughly, or try exceedingly the Lord your God.

8 Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them.

9 And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me.

10 Then Jesus said to him, Begone, Satan! For it has been written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve. 11 Then the devil departed from Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.Matthew 4:1-11 AMP

The devil came to tempt Jesus and to try to get Him to yield to him in His weakened state after His forty-day fast. Explains that the devil is basically a coward – he waits until you are vulnerable and then he goes in for the kill. However, even though Jesus was physically weak, which made Him mentally more vulnerable than normal, His Spirit was strong. He had just spent forty days intensely fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit after spending thirty years meditating in the Word. He allowed the Word to rise up on the inside of Him and He spoke it out, “It is written!” and shut the devil up. Jesus did not defeat the devil on the basis of who He was – the Son of God – He defeated him with the Word!

If you are going to have any hope of defeating the devil and overcoming all the challenges that life throws your way, you will have to do it with the Word of God deposited and abiding firmly in your heart and coming out of your mouth with faith and boldness!

Teaches on faith

“But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, 9 I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, `You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11 “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. 12 Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. 13 For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. 14 Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15 “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. 16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 41:8-16 NIV

This passage shows the nature of our Heavenly Father—so loving and kind and patient—as he deals with His people—stubborn and rebellious as they are!

But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. Because He made a covenant with Abraham and promised to bless his descendants, God continued to watch over them and be kind to them—even though they severely tried His patience.

I said, `You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. One of the awesome things about God is that He is so slow to anger and so swift to forgive and to restore. When we repent, turn around and commit to Him, He forgives us completely as if it never happened and He treats us as if we are His family. Under the Old Covenant, the best position that God’s people had with the Father was that of a servant. It was an honor for God to call you His servant. Under the New Covenant, we are not only servants, but we are sons and daughters of God and we enjoy all the rights and privileges of our position.

When we return to Him in humility and repentance, He reminds us that He has not rejected us. In reality, when we feel that God is far from us, it is usually we who have already rejected Him. The good news is that if He does not reject us, then that means that He must have already accepted us! If we want to see God’s promise of help and strength manifested in our lives, then we must deal with fear and reject it from our hearts, from our thoughts and from our mouths. If we believe and receive God’s promise that He will be with us, strengthen us, help us and uphold us, then that is exactly what we will experience. God makes it available—we tap into it when we refuse to be dismayed or fearful. Instead we choose to trust in Him and to believe in Him.

All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. When you are on God’s side then He is on your side. It is completely useless for your enemies to try to take you out. By attacking you, they sow the seeds of their own destruction. They will come to attack you, but they are the ones who will be taken out. When you place your trust in the Lord, He will contend with your enemies on your behalf.  When God is finished with them, you will look for them, but you will not find them.

For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you,” declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. “See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel. Even though we may feel unworthy of God’s love, He loves us anyway. Because He loves us, He anoints us with power to do what we could not do. He gives us a reason to rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel!

Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!   Philippians 4:4 AMP

 

God instructs us in His Word to always rejoice in Him and delight in Him.  Not just occasionally or when all conditions are favorable, or only when we feel like it, but ALWAYS! We must be faithful to Him and faithful to rejoice in Him.

 

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Psalms 37:4 AMP

 

When you delight yourself in the Lord and rejoice in Him, He will give you even those things that are the secret petitions of your heart, the things that you have never even spoken of or asked for out loud.

For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:5 NKJV

 

In His Word, the Lord uses the marriage relationship as a parallel of His relationship with us, the Church. God is completely and utterly faithful to us just like a very good husband, and all He asks in return is that we would be faithful to Him. He adores us and rejoices over us like a new groom rejoices over and delights in his new bride.

 

Let your fountain [of human life] be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], and rejoice in the wife of your youth.  Proverbs 5:18 AMP

When we obey God and do things His way, we will always be blessed. Fidelity and faithfulness bring their own rewards. The spiritual follows the natural—if we can be faithful in a marriage relationship, then we can be faithful to God.  In both relationships, it is possible to develop a bad attitude and to become ungrateful and lose the blessing of the relationship.  However, if we retain a good attitude, appreciate one another and make a decision to rejoice in each other, then we will have a good marriage that lasts a lifetime and a wonderful relationship with our Heavenly Father that lasts into eternity!

 

The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.  Zephaniah 3:17 AMP

 

God is the perfect husband—He is faithful, He rejoices and exults over you, praising you and telling you, and everyone else, what a wonderful wife you are and He never reminds you of your faults or your mistakes.  Every woman would be so blessed to have a husband like that!

 

Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy. 9[At the same time] you receive the result (outcome, consummation) of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  1 Peter 1:8-9 AMP

 

Even in the midst of severe trials and persecutions, you can walk in heavenly joy—joy unspeakable and full of glory—because you know what lies before you and the glory He has promised.

 

Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). 2Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.  Romans 5:1-2 AMP

But Christ (the Messiah) was faithful over His [own Father’s] house as a Son [and Master of it]. And it is we who are [now members] of this house, if we hold fast and firm to the end our joyful and exultant confidence and sense of triumph in our hope [in Christ]. Hebrews 3:6 AMP

 

We are truly members of Christ’s household if we continue to hold fast and firm, our joyful and exultant confidence in our hope in Christ. This rejoicing we do with a sense of TRIUMPH—anticipating the victory! We don’t rejoice only when things go well, but we are faithful to rejoice always—in all things—confident in our God and confident of final victory because we know that He is completely and utterly faithful to us.

Delosperma lineare L.Bolus

“God’s Rock Flower”

A seedling, crevice unseen

Plump stems…leaves green

What strength lies within?

Eternal sproutling…

To split great rock apart

Forging mountains to art

Iron stone ground by your roots

Your bone…

For me to hold your hand,

To talk as we used to,

For you to utter “Goodbye”,

As breath became easier for you,

Iron caged lungs, set free,

To fly as angels do

Through our memories…

For we are frail and He is so great.

In Loving Memory of Kelly May 25^th December, 2002

Written By Earl Willis Weyers

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.Psalms 116:15 KJV

The Father loves His children and they are very precious to Him. He is tender and gentle with them. Man was created to live forever, but sin cut his life short. However, when a believer dies and steps out of their body, God warmly welcomes them into His presence.

For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.Romans 14:6-9 NIV

Jesus Christ died and rose again in order that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. If we are washed in the blood of Jesus, whether we live or die, we belong to Jesus all the same. The state we find ourselves in makes no difference whatsoever. We are living in eternal life right now. The condition of an unbeliever is something else again. While they live on the earth they are alive and have a hope of finding Jesus and receiving eternal life, but if they die without Jesus, they enter into a state of eternal death – they will never again have an opportunity to receive or experience God’s grace.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.Philippians 1:21-24 NIV

As a believer, if I live, I live in and for Christ. He makes my life worth living. If I die, it changes nothing, but my location – I go straight into his eternal presence. Because I love Him, I would like to go to Him and to be with Him forever, but for the sake of all those who have never heard of Him, it is better that I stay on the earth to declare the goodness of God and to introduce them to Him, too.

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.2 Corinthians 5:6-10 KJV

Whether we are at home in the body and absent from the Lord or absent from the body and present with the Lord, we are working to please Him. This is because there will come a time when everyone of us will appear before the judgment seat of Christ and receive the reward of our labor, whether good or bad.

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.Hebrews 9:27-28 NIV

We will only live once and die once and after that we will have to face judgment – whatever we do now, in this life, counts for eternity. Let us make sure that what we do now is that which is pleasing to the Father and that which builds and blesses the kingdom of God.

21 Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.

22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet

23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.”

24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years,

26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment;

28 for she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”

31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.

33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”

37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.

38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.

39 When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.”

40 And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.

41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”

42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.

43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat. Mark 5:21-43 NKJV

As we study the gospels, it becomes evident that there were certain individuals who received their miracle, or their healing, or their need met because they placed a demand on the anointing on the life of Jesus.

In John 21:25 NIV, John says that, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Jesus did many miracles, but the Holy Spirit prompted the writers of the Gospels to record only certain ones.

I believe that these examples were permanently recorded for us so that as we read the Word. Our faith is stirred up for our miracle and so that we will place a demand on the anointing and in so doing, receive our miracle as well.

Besides the woman with the issue of blood, who placed a demand on the anointing by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment and Jairus, who was convinced that his daughter would be healed if Jesus laid His hands on her, some of the people who placed a demand on the anointing were:

The wise men, who followed the star to worship Jesus and to bring Him an offering (Matt 2:1-12); blind Bartimaeus, who cried out loudly to Jesus for mercy so that he could receive his sight (Mark 10:46-52); the centurion, who believed that all Jesus had to do was to speak the Word and his servant would be healed (Matt 8:5-13); the four men, who ripped up a roof to bring their paralytic friend to Jesus (Mark 2:3-12); the Syro-Phoenician woman, who was convinced that the crumbs from the children’s bread were enough for the deliverance of her daughter (Mark 7:24-30); the ten lepers, calling for mercy, to be healed and cleansed and the one grateful leper who was made whole (Luke 17:11-19), little Zacchaeus the tax-collector, who climbed up a tree to see Jesus and Jesus and salvation both came to his house (Luke 19:1-10).

Although they were different kinds of people with very different needs, they had their own breakthrough because of something they had in common – they all placed a demand on the anointing. Placing a demand on the anointing will cause you to enter into the realm of the miraculous.

Adonica and I would like to encourage you in this – that every time you come to The River you come hungry and thirsty, always placing a demand on the anointing. If you will do this, we believe that your needs and the needs of your family will be supernaturally met. We want you to know that we love you and we are placing a demand on the anointing for ourselves and for you as well.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,

 

2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

 

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

 

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

 

5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

 

6’But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”

 

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.

 

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

 

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

 

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

 

11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child

with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Matthew 2:1-11 NKJV

 

When Jesus was born, Father God put a star in the sky, which led wise men from the East right to the house in Bethlehem where Jesus, Mary and Joseph were living. When they finally arrived at their destination they were so excited to see the Messiah, the King of kings and Lord of Lords that they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. The Amplified Bible says that, “they were thrilled with ecstatic joy.”

 

When they saw Jesus, they fell down and worshiped Him. They opened their treasures and presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These were very precious and expensive gifts from a king to a King. In life, when we come into the presence of a king, or a queen, or a president, a prime minister, or anyone else we highly respect, it is considered right and necessary to bring a gift. The gift honors the recipient. We might feel underdressed, inadequate and unprepared if we forget to bring a gift.

 

There is a common theme in the Bible concerning our giving and it is demonstrated very clearly in this story of Jesus and the wise men. If we love God and if our heart is right with God, we will give generously and cheerfully. We will not have to be forced or coerced, but we will give of our own free will and we will do it joyfully. Our giving is a measure of our love and respect for the Lord.

 

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

 

7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

 

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

 

9 As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

 

10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

 

11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.  2 Corinthians 9:6-11 NIV

 

I just came across a website that talks about meetings taking place in Arizona during the month of October 2008. It involves 5 or more churches throughout the state that are working together to bring in the harvest of souls. It appears to be one of the largest soul winning events ever in the state of Arizona. I plan on emailing this to all my friends in Arizona to go check it out. If anyone that reads this attends, please let me know how the meetings were. I was told these will be awsome.