Potter's Hand

I would like to dedicate this video to those in this world who are in any kind of trouble. No matter what the problem, no matter the care, just know that Jesus is there. All you have to do is reach out to him with all your heart and He will meet you.

How Great Is Our God

Little By Little

Why do you suppose that God told the Israelites that he would deliver them little by little when they were coming into the promised land?

Deut. 7:22 Amp.

And the Lord your God will clear out those nations before you, little by little; you may not consume them quickly, lest the beasts of the field increase among you. 

For one thing, the Israelites didn't have a very good track record. They suffered from having a hardness of heart towards God, and they often rebelled against him. If they had been able to the land immediately then they would of just taken God for granted again
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The beasts of the field could have been their attitude. They murmured and complained, made a golden calf and worshipped it, and they often had to be punished for their sins. They were often guilty of the sin of pride, and they also didn't trust God like He wanted them to.

When I was reading about this, I remembered a scripture from Proverbs.

Proverbs 13:11 Amp.

Wealth [not earned but] won in haste or unjustly or from the production of things for vain or detrimental use [such riches] will dwindle away, but he who gathers little by little will increase [his riches]. 

The King James version of the above scripture uses the word labor instead of little by little. This scripture is referring to how you get your money. If it is made honestly, then God will let you keep it. You could also regard spiritual riches in this verse also. It doesn't just mean monetary wealth and riches.

What kind of track record do you have with the Lord? What can he trust you with? Do you expect God to honor His promises to you, and when it comes to doing your part, do you fail Him? There have been times that God has delivered me from situations and has moved for me immediately. If I didn't fully obey Him, then the next time I asked for His help I had to wait awhile, and my deliverance didn't happen as quickly as it did before.

It is time that the Christians got down on their knees and asked the Lord to help them become honest with God, and with self. When God gives you deliverance little by little it is for a reason. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what it is. If you really want to know, He will show you.

Sometimes God does it to help you increase your faith. Also, it may overwhelm you if He gave you deliverance all at once, and may hinder your Christian growth. Or, it could be God testing you to see how strong you are in believing Him for your miracle. If you got your miracle all at once then you may get puffed up with pride. Little by Little isn't always a bad thing. God's ways are much higher than ours, and so are His thoughts. Sometimes God uses the little things to confound the mighty. Sometimes Little by Little is used to strengthen us in faith.

Lets get honest with God. If you open up your heart to Him, and worship Him, Love Him, and Honor Him, He will do the same things for you. The Bible says it is the "little foxes that spoil the vine". One little thing in your life can cause you to stumble if you aren't careful. Jesus taught us to watch and pray that we might not enter in temptation. When the devil tempts you, it starts with something little, like a thought that he puts into your mind. Acting on that thought is what gets you into trouble.

What is the opposite of "little foxes spoiling the vine"? Little by Little, God gives you your victory!

Something that happened to me this week

I had been reading Psalms 12:5-7 in the Bible.

Psalms 12:5-7 AMP.

5. Now will I arise, says the Lord, because the poor are oppressed, because of the groans of the needy; I will set him in safety and in the salvation for which he pants. 

6. The words and promises of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times over. 

7. You will keep them and preserve them O Lord; You will guard and keep us from this [evil] generation forever.

 The next day, I was driving down the road and while coming around a curve, I started sliding. I slid all the way around and into a ditch on the other side of the road. At that point, I restarted my vehicle and put it into first gear and it came right out of the ditch. I had to find a place to turn around, so that I could calm down, because I was shaking all over.

I give God all the praise and all the Glory because I or someone else wasn't hurt, and I had missed two mailboxes, and I didn't hit any other cars, etc. I praise Him for protecting me.

Persistance Brings The Answer

Have you ever been praying about something and can't seem to get an answer?
You have to be persistant in your prayer life. In God's time your answer will come.

Text:Luke 11:5-10 LB

Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this illustration: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would shout up at him, 'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit and I've nothing to give him to eat.' He would call down from his bedroom, 'Please don't ask me to get up. The door is locked for the night and we are all in bed. I just can't help you this time.' "But I'll tell you this-though he won't do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough he will get up and give you everything you want-just because of your persistance. And so it is with prayer-keep on asking and you will keep on getting; keep on looking and you will keep on finding; knock and the door will be opened. Everyone who asks, recieves; all who seek, find; and the door is opened to everyone who knocks."

 Persistance and the refusal to give up brings the answer. You just have to have faith. Faith can move mountains in your life. Sometimes you have to do something in order to release your faith for your miracle that you need from God. Sometimes it takes a "prove-me offering", or fasting and prayer.

Two frogs fell into a bucket of cream. One frog decided to except his fate, so he gave up, and drowned. The other frog kept on kicking until he made butter out of the cream and he was able to jump out.

Which frog are you? Are you the one who keeps on kicking? Or are you still in the bucket? The bucket can be your circumstances. In the natural world you have no way out of your situation. The only place that you can go is up, to get out of the top of the bucket. When you look up, God is there. The Bible says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers us out of them all."

Here is another example found in Luke 18:1-8 LB:

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes. "There was a city judge," he said, "a very godless man who had great contempt for everyone. A widow of that city came to him frequently to appeal for justice against a man who had harmed her. The judge ignored her for a while, but eventually she got on his nerves. "'I fear neither God nor man,' he said to himself, 'but this woman bothers me. I'm going to see that she gets justice, for she is wearing me out with her constant coming!'" Then the Lord said, "If even an evil judge can be worn down like that, don't you think that God will surely give justice to his people who plead with him day and night? Yes! He will answer them quickly! But the question is: When I the Messiah, return, how many will I find who have faith [and are praying]?"

The Vision of Ezekial

I read this the other day, and looked up some more scriptures and it blessed me so much, that I decided to share it with you. In Ezekial 47, God gave him a vision of a river of living water flowing out of the temple of God.

Ezekial 47:9 KJV

"And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh"

Water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Ezekial saw a divine flow of the Holy Spirit that is being released from the throne of Almighty God. That river is alive with God's awesome power! Everywhere the river flows, it brings life and healing. That same river will release the power of God into your body to heal and set you free from whatever sickness or desease that you have. This river has the life and spirit of Almighty God in it.

John 7:37-39 KJV

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

Everything Ezekial saw was the flow of the Holy Spirit which God was going to send forth into the world. From the river of God, you can receive salvation, healing, deliverance, miracles, or anything else that you need, from salvation from your sins to raising you from spiritual death unto life. The same God that will heal you of all your diseases.  The same God that brought the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage is the same God Who has placed His Spirit within you.

Psalm 103:2-3

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases"

See also Romans 8:11, John 4:14 . If you have a need, get into the river that flows from the throne of God. This is a powerful truth, let it sink into your spirit. Claim God's deliverance in your life. Read the whole vision in Ezekial 47.

God's Covenant Based on Offerings

Deut. 15:4-5 Listen to God and obey his commandments.
Deut. 7:12-14 God promises to bless and multiply them.
Deut. 7:15 God promises to take away all sickness.
Deut. 11:23, 24  God promised to drive out all nations from before them. He gave them every place where the souls of their feet tread.

The main conditions of these blessings were based on following the commandments of offerings. When it was time to do offerings, they were not a solemn time, but a time of great rejoicing before the Lord with their families and servants. This really got me to thinking, and now when I start to give an offering, I thank God and praise Him for what he has done for me, holding my offering in my hand before I give to him. Sometimes, after I praise Him, then I tell Him my needs, and then thank Him again for the answers. 

Back then, it cost them a lot of money to bring one of their animals to the temple. In the book of Lev. it gives strict instructions to the people and to the sons of Aaron, the priests. The ram or bullock was to be brought to the temple in the presence of God. They were to lay their hands on the animal's head, and then they killed the animal before God. The priests did the rest of the work.

The reason they laid their hands on the animal's head is because the animal was taking their place on the altar. Jesus's death on the cross fulfilled the offerings, and we don't have to do that anymore. We give our money now in an offering to God. It represents us.

Something else about offerings that I have learned, is that when God speaks to me to give a certain amount, then I know that he has a harvest in mind. There are some seeds that you can plant where you don't see a harvest right away. But when God speaks to you to give, He has something in store for you. There are also times when you can give an offering to Prove God, as it says in Mal. 3:8.

Targeted Offerings are offerings that you give like a vow to the Lord, to get your needs met. For example, if I need a miracle in my finances, I pledge a certain amount until I pay it off.  In my own personal experience, I have found that when I make a pledge to a ministry for a certain amount, as I pay it off, God moves for me. The payoff of the pledge is my point of contact to get my needs met. A word of warning however. Don't ever make a vow to God that you can't keep. He holds you accountable for it. The Bible tells us of a vow that Jacob made to God. He vowed to give God a tenth of whatever he blessed him with.

One time, years ago, I made a pledge of a $1000.00 to a ministry, and forgot about it. The Holy Spirit brought it back to my memory, and I had to pay it. I asked God to forgive me for not paying it.

Worshipping God in Your Giving

If you need God to move for you in your finances, you have to follow His commandments. If you aren't following His commandments, then you are living under a closed heaven, and He is not obligated to help you.
I have been studying this subject a lot lately, and I decided to share some of the things that I have learned.

Learn to Worship God in your giving. Every bit of the money that you have, came from God. All He asks you for is 10% of your income. You get to keep the 90% for yourself. I personally write out a check and hold it in my hands and thank God for everything He has done for me. You may have another way of doing it.

For those of you who think that tithing was a part of the Law of Moses, then read the book of Genesis. Cain and Abel gave God offerings, and Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. 

The Israelites brought so much gold, silver, etc. to the temple, Moses had to tell them to stop. See Exodus 35.

2 Corinthians 9:7 KJ

 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Follow His commandments so that you can claim the promises of the blessings that only He can give.

Deuteronomy 15:10 

"You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.

Your money represents you, and your heart. God sees and acknowledges it when you give with the right intentions.

1 Chronicles 29:17 

"Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You.

I have been studying how the Israelites gave offerings to God. They had different feasts and festivals and different offerings that we don't do today.

Romans 12:8

 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

2 Corinthians 8:12

 For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. (NASB ©1995)

The bible also tells us that man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. 1 Sam. 16:7.

Secrets from Beyond The Grave

Priming Your Pump

Have you primed your pump today? The old pumps with the long handles that we used to use, you had to lift the handle up and down a bunch of times to get water flowing.

You have to do the same thing symbolically in your spirtual walk with God. How do you do that? I will show you some scriptures on how to release God's power into your life.

Phil. 4:6 KJV

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Bible in Basic English

Have no cares; but in everything with prayer and praise put your requests before God.

You prime your spiritual pump by prayer, worship, and praise. You have to let your requests be known unto God. Having The word in your spirit is essential to getting your prayers answered. You get The Word in your spirit by reading it, confessing it, and meditating on it. I am not saying what some teach, name it and claim it. I am saying to get them into your spirit. Also, a good way is to write the scriptures down. I find scriptures and promises and add them in a notebook. I arrange them into subjects. Then, when I need an answer to prayer, I go to that subject.

Here are some more scriptures relating to this subject.

Matthew 6:25

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Ephesians 6:18

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

1 Timothy 2:1

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,

 We must learn to prime our pumps in our souls. Put God first in your life. Let Him be the source of your total supply. Teach yourselves how to truly worship him. I am learning this again myself. I have been studying the sacrifices that the Children of Israel gave to God, and what they represented. They worshiped God through their giving.

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