Thursday, July 12, 2018

Morning by Morning, July 12 - "Abundantly Prosperous"
 
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Thank You for the gift of prayer, here in the communion of Your Presence -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...
 
"When all these things have happened to you, the blessings and the curses that I have set before you, if you call them to mind among the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, and you and your children obey Him with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you. Even if you are exiled to the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. The Lord your God will bring you into the land that your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors.
 
Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live. The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on the adversaries who took advantage of you. Then you shall again obey the Lord, observing all His commandments that I am commanding you today, and the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as He delighted in prospering your ancestors, when you obey the Lord your God by observing His commandments and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
 
Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.... No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe" (Deuteronomy 30:1-14).
 
You take delight in making me "abundantly prosperous in all (my) undertakings" (v. 9). You take delight in my obedience to Your will and Your ways (v. 10). And You take delight when I come to realize I cannot even obey You apart from You, that I need Your word in my mouth and in my heart every moment of every day (v. 14).
 
Lord Jesus, You are the Word of God who lives in my heart (John 1:14). You are the One, along with my Father, who's given me Your Spirit to give me the desire and the power to obey Your will and walk in Your ways (Philippians 2:13). And You are the One who reminds me that the measure of my love for You is revealed in my obedience to You:  "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.... On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. They who have My commandments and keep them are those who love Me; and those who love Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love them and reveal Myself to them.... Those who love Me will keep My word, and My Father will love them, and We will come to them and make Our home with them. Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word that you hear is not Mine, but is from the Father who sent Me.... The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.... 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. I have said these things to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (John 14:15-15:11).
 
So there is a Biblical relationship between love, obedience, and prosperity. And it's all related to my personal relationship with You and complete dependence upon You and Your Spirit abiding within me. This is how You've expressed Your heart and Your plans for me in Your Word:  "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).
 
Obedience is not just an Old Testament thing; it's a Jesus thing. Just like prosperity is not just a Jesse Duplantis thing; it's a Bible thing. And You've said these things through Your Word living in our hearts so that "(our) joy may be complete" as You delight in both our obedience and our prosperity. There's no "prosperity gospel" apart from the "obedience gospel."
 
Come, Holy Spirit, sent from My Father in the name of Jesus. Anoint me afresh with the desire and the power to love and obey, to keep turning to God and returning to God. No matter how far I ever get away, You're always calling me home to the place of being "abundantly prosperous" in my relationship with You. "How joyful are those who fear the Lord -- all who follow His ways! You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be! ... This is the Lord's blessing for those who fear Him!" (Palm 128:1-4 NLT) In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays




My friend, I pray you are "abundantly prosperous" in your deeply personal relationship of obedience and love with the Lord our God, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

     




Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
  
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257

Please share this word to encourage a friend!