Renewing Our Minds – Living in the Supernatural IS Natural for Disciples…
But Do We REALLY Believe It? And Do We Live It Out?
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” (1Corinthians 4:20)
Beloved, the title of this article is provocative, is it not? The word “power” above is dunamis in the Greek from which the word “dynamite” comes. The unpacking of that word from the online My Sword Bible Concordance gives us an even greater picture of its full-blown definition:
- Thayer definition: Strength, power, ability
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- inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth,
- power for performing miracles,
- moral power and excellence of soul,
- the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth,
- power and resources arising from numbers,
- power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces or hosts
- Strong’s definition:
- force (literally and figuratively)
- specifically miraculous power (usually by implication a miracle itself)
- ability, abundance (meaning mightily)
- miraculous power, strength
- violence, a mighty (wonderful) work
Wow! When we consider the depth and breadth of this word and the Reality that we are Kingdom of God citizens and ambassadors to the kingdoms of this earth, we quickly realize that in our day, this kind of overcoming, unassailable SUPERNATURAL POWER is not yet normative in the everyday lives of the Body of Christ at large. And at the same time, it informs us that it could, and dare I say, should be normal… especially for us Last Days disciples. So why isn’t it? What are we missing? What may have been getting in the way?
I think there may be several things going on… things that may not be compatible with our new identity in Christ, or vestiges of our fleshly self-life that have not yet been crucified, or we may have embraced some not-necessarily-accurate teachings, or even something to which our Father has given us a “Not yet, My Beloved” answer.
Instead, we want to dive a little deeper into the ongoing process of renewing our minds, readying them to yield fully to that ‘deliciously scary’ realm where the Holy Spirit showing up in Supernatural Power is normative. This brings us back to the initial questions and causes us to once again consider the ongoing and essential task of renewing our minds as simply stated in Proverbs 23:7a (KJV):
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
So, in this meditation, we are not looking to critique what is or has been our experience. Neither is it designed to critique common practices within the Body. And neither is it designed to be a “How to make it happen” tutorial. As we’ve addressed in many of our writings, we are designed to be vessels that accurately reflect our Great God, so we certainly do not want to make ourselves the star of the show or hero of our life story – that position is already taken by the One who sits on the Throne and rules over all Creation, including us!
The Foundation Upon Which We Are Building
The foundation of Disciple Boot Camp is simply this: We understand that God Himself is the only Source and Resource for all Creation. It is His prerogative to reveal His Supernatural self here on earth, and it is our honor and privilege to host that indwelling Supernatural Presence in our yielded hearts and minds and lives. In a sense, we are simply the ‘container’ in which He dwells. So, our responsibility and honored duty is to make His dwelling place within us suitable for His use… whenever, wherever, and however He chooses. So, it’s important that we don’t find ourselves ‘lost in the weeds’ as we contemplate how we can begin operating in the realm of the Supernatural.
As we progress through our Boot Camp training, we discover that it is really about growing like young Yeshua did…
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” (Luke 2:52 KJV)
And like John the Immerser declared:
“He must increase but I must decrease.” (John 3:30 NIV)
And so, as His Overcoming Life within us grows in its place and authority in our minds and hearts, we become increasingly proficient in reflecting His Glory wherever we are, and whatever we do. In our innermost beings, His indwelling Presence increasingly enables us to join the myriads of disciples before us who have prepared the way for His Kingdom to come here on earth as it is in Heaven.
“A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.’” (Isaiah 40:3-4 NIV)
So we find ourselves once again being reminded that what goes on in our minds, and in our heart of hearts is the source of the outcomes with which we – and those around us – must live. And so, again, we are called to take a good hard look ‘under our hoods’ to see what’s actually in there. And the next step after seeing it is to deal with it consistently, and if needed… ruthlessly. Anything contrary to the Word of our God must be removed. Anything that is polluted or false or deceptive must not be allowed to stay because it stifles the full Power and Presence of the Lord our God from flowing freely and effectively from within us. Therefore, all of that stuff must be forced to yield its currently held place in our minds so that the Good Seed of God’s Perfect Finished and Effectual Work, and the Life of His Living Word, can then flourish there.
I want to cite a helpful concept that I picked up from one of Mario Murillo’s teachings. This isn’t an exact quote but here is the gist of it: “Judgment is surgical. Every successful surgery is designed to remove that which is killing you while enabling the healthy tissue to thrive.” And so, Beloved, we must allow ourselves to be uncompromising in judging what is really in our hearts and minds, and then yielding it all to the Holy Spirit to surgically remove if it no longer belongs there.
During this critically important aspect of disciple life in the Kingdom of our God, we need to hold two parallel streams in tension… that of our responsibility to renew our minds, and that of our willingness to embrace the realm of Supernatural Life – the Life of Christ Himself which is designed to flow unhindered in, and among, and through us for the sake of our God’s desire to reach and save the lost and dying people who are still stuck in the Serpent’s coils of deception and darkness.
We begin by using our Blood Covenant Eyes to see past what is visible with our natural eyes and learn to bring the invisible, spiritual world into our primary line of sight. Then we begin to prepare and seed into our minds the overwhelming and invincible Truths of the Kingdom and the absolute Authority of the Living Word, Yeshua Himself, who lives and reigns within our yielded hearts.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 NIV)
Our goal here is to grow into – and OWN – that rock solid place of abiding in the Kingdom of our Great God as we commune with His indwelling Presence and yield to Him in all things. And when this lifestyle becomes our moment by moment ‘path of least resistance’ it births a continuous expectation, rooted in the absolute, airtight, immovable knowledge that – at all times we bear the Presence of the Living God within our spirits… KNOWING and BELIEVING and RESPONDING and ACTING as though He is really able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could think or ask or pray… from us, and as us.
“Only let us live up to what we have already attained.” (Philippians 3:16 NIV)
“And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (Ephesians 3:19-21 KJV, emphasis added)
“And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:14)
And So Our Internal Review Begins…
We start by reviewing our human make up – we are essentially spirits who have a soul and live in a body. Each element has its own intrinsic purpose and function.
- Our spirit is what connects us to the Supernatural, and to God Himself. But due to the fall of our first Covenant Representative, Adam, it is dormant from our very conception until that born again moment… the day we willingly dethrone our self-life and invite Holy Spirit to take His rightful place on the throne of our lives. He then enters our hearts and joins Himself to our spirits. The result is that a Person who never lived there before moves in, and now abides within and is one with us. We become new creatures, now indwelt by His Holy Presence and are born again – our first physical birth has now been followed by a new and eternal spiritual birth.
- Our soul is what makes us unique – it includes our mind, will and emotions, our temperament, personality, natural talents and giftings. These faculties are used only in soulish methods and motives until we are born again and have become one with our indwelling Lord. After that new birth, it then becomes the part of us that enables the indwelling Holy Spirit to reveal Himself in and through us as we bear His image and likeness here in the material world.
- And our body is the physical ‘container’ for our spirit and soul. It is described as an ‘earthly tent’ by Paul in 2 Corinthians 5. I am fond of referring to it as my ‘earth suit’ because that wording reminds me that our bodies are, by design, only ours for a limited time. And thus, it is only our temporary housing while here on earth and we leave it behind when we ‘change clothes’ as we are promoted to glory. One particularly important aspect of this physical body is that it contains our brain… the physical ‘command center’ and repository of all of our memories, life experiences, thoughts, choices, regrets, pains, and all that we have ever learned – even the lessons that were not anchored in the absolute Truth of God.
Keeping our ‘parts’ and their differences in mind is an important aspect in the renewal of our minds because when we are born again, from that moment forward our spirit is totally and completely made new. However, we must then strategically and purposefully rewire and retrain our soul and brain to catch up to our spirits, and to this new reality of who we are in Christ, and how we now operate. And we must understand that in the past, because we’ve previously trained our faithful soul and brain to operate in worldly ways, that original way will still be our ‘path of least resistance.’ As we work on renewing our minds, in our imaginations we can picture some push back (our soul’s faculties) saying, “But, boss, we’ve always done it this way!”
Our diligence in planting massive amounts of new Supernatural Covenant seed into ourselves based on our new identity in Christ is absolutely essential for our growth and maturity as the image and likeness of our Beloved Master. And this is especially important when it comes to embracing the FACT that our Supernatural God functions Supernaturally… and since He abides in us, we too are created to function Supernaturally in concert with Him. But if we’re honest with ourselves, unless we regularly operate in the Supernatural, that is clearly an area of needed growth for most of us. Thankfully, we have a wonderfully dedicated, thorough and efficient Holy Spirit tutor who abides within us to teach us exactly what we need to learn and apply.
- Holy Spirit transformational lesson 1 – First and foremost we Last Days disciples MUST KNOW that our God is faithful to ALWAYS keep His Covenant and His Word… fulfilling every one of His great and precious promises in His timing, and His way. He is who He says He is… and He does what He says He will do. And He has already conquered the Serpent and his demonic minions when the Lamb of God was slain before the foundations of the world.
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12 NIV)
“All who dwell on the earth shall worship Him – everyone whose name is not written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain.” (Revelation 13:8 TLV)
Thus, beloved, we see that God’s work in all of creation is FINISHED; therefore, our role is not to plead or beg – our role is to thank Him for His Perfect Presence, finished work and provision… and then, as we become His points of entry here on earth, we bring it down in all of its Supernatural, complete and victorious form (power). We usher in His Kingdom just as His disciples and apostles have done throughout history.
- Holy Spirit transformational lesson 2 – Beginning with Pentecost, as described in Acts 2, we begin to see an extraordinary multiplication of His Supernatural Presence and Power and Ways. As we study in the Old Testament (‘Tanach’ in Hebrew), we see occasional, and very personal, encounters between God and men. They were specific and seemed to be focused on particular needs or battles.
After Yeshua’s death and resurrection, Holy Spirit’s Presence and activities among men had a much broader application – it was now active among His people, not just certain individuals at certain times. Additional discussion related to first century disciple life as seen in the book of Acts is also included toward the end of this article.
- Holy Spirit transformational lesson 3 – We must recognize the limitations in which our mortal enemies thrive and their greatest tools (lies and deception) in the warfare for our souls. They live to derail us at every turn… but here’s the TRUTH – they can only get away with it IF WE ALLOW THEM TO DO IT. So, we MUST see and OWN our inheritance in Christ, and then live out from that foundational and unshakable Reality. Only then can the fullness of His unhindered, unlimited Presence radiate out from us… all because we were diligent in planting seeds of that Fullness into ourselves. And this is how we obey His command:
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21 NIV)
- Holy Spirit lesson 4, 5, etc. – These, and many other lessons to follow, are up to each of our yielded hearts and the continual instruction of our all-wise Tutor, who will impact and transform the everyday issues of life in us and through us and as us. And as He does, our growing confidence in, and boldness to share, an ‘everyday norm’ of Supernatural living will grow as well. And Holy Spirit’s curriculum for each of us will be tailored to our specific needs.
Disciples through the ages have been learning and applying Biblical Truth in their lives just as we do. Our job is to continually renew our minds in Biblical Truth to such an extent that the Supernatural Presence of our Supernatural God regularly intersects and supersedes anything we will ever encounter here in the realms of time and space.
We must remember, too, that in the process of learning to embody the Supernatural and Victorious Life of Yeshua, the Living Word, we will encounter resistance – both from demonic enemy forces and, unfortunately, from other professing people of faith… as well as parts of our own fleshly brain and soul that have not yet been rewired. Thus, we see the importance of continually renewing our minds in the Reality that the Living Word’s Supernatural Presence is in us, to work through us. The Message Bible puts it this way:
“The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6 MSG)
Putting Our Awesome Mental Pipeline to Work for Us, Not Against Us
We begin with a quick review of the importance of reminding ourselves of the way our brains work so that we can wisely process what we are seeing and learning as we study Scripture. Remember that:
- the way you see something determines how you think about it.
- the way you think about it determines how you begin to feel about it.
- the way you feel about it determines what you feel compelled to do about it.
- what you feel compelled to do about it determines the actions you end up taking.
- and the actions you take determine the results and consequences you harvest and will have to live with, in this life and in the one to come.
This chain of events is referred to as The Awesome Mental Pipeline in Ultimate Journey materials. It is a key component of the in-depth rewiring process taught in those materials, and in FMM materials as well. It reminds us of the importance of, and continual vetting of, our self-talk and self-realization. This discipleship journey upon which we travel must be filled with consistent and diligent application of such tools to accurately and completely renew our minds as encouraged in Jude (NIV)
Verse 3b “…I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.”
And Verse 20 “But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit.”
Beloved, can you see the clear connection between what we see and believe… and how that impacts what we will be able to do, or cannot do? We are in a battle, and it begins in our minds. We must be willing to take seriously that very daunting task of renewing our minds. Yet we must also remember – always! – that the effort is not done in, or by, our flesh; it’s done by Holy Spirit who lives and empowers us from within.
A Biblical Overview of the Supernatural Intersecting Disciple Lives
We begin looking at those who are often referred to as the ‘Fathers of our faith’ in this section and will be looking at a number of Scriptural examples as we consider this topic. And it will be important for us to pay close ‘behind the scenes’ attention to what the disciples believed, and what their belief enabled them to accomplish. So put your investigative detective hat on, open your Covenant Eyes, and consider what happened beforehand… before the Supernatural occurrence or outcome. And ask yourselves… “Could this have happened like it did if they didn’t already KNOW their God and TRUST in His indwelling PRESENCE and POWER?”
It will be apparent that an absolute, airtight level of Covenant relationship is the foundation undergirding what they did. So, as we go through this review, I believe we will see clearly that many current day disciples – some of ourselves included – have been robbed of a good part of our inheritance in Christ; we don’t often see miracles as the normal course of daily life yet, but they did! And it’s time for us to reclaim that ground for the Glory of our God and the furtherance of His Kingdom in our days. The deceived, lost and dying people who are still caught in the coils of the Serpent need to hear the Gospel, but more importantly, they need to actually SEE the Gospel in its Supernatural application… right here, right now, right where we live.
This won’t be a complete and comprehensive list of examples, but it should be enough to whet your appetites to look further, because as we continue building on the essential practice of renewing our minds on this Supernatural aspect of our lives in Messiah, we are building not only a ‘house of faith’ in and for ourselves, but also for generations to come. We are preparing ourselves ahead of time in order to be ready when our Great Commander in Chief calls us to the front lines in the ongoing battle for the souls of those who desperately need to see that He is REAL, RISEN, REIGNING and RIGHT HERE.
Abraham had a number of supernatural experiences with the Lord… the Lord appearing to Him at the trees of Mamre, the miraculous birth of Isaac (See Genesis chapters 18 and 22).
In both of these examples, Abram’s immediate response to do exactly what the Lord commanded clearly demonstrates a level of trust and Covenant commitment between him and his God. Notice, as difficult as these examples were, especially in Chapter 22, we see no push back, no questioning… only unwavering trust.
Moses – “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground… Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.” (Exodus 14:16; 21-22 NIV)
And there were many other miracles evidencing God’s sovereignty over all of His Creation including his interactions with Pharaoh, the plagues, the manna in the desert, quail, bitter water turned sweet, water out of a rock, the parting of the Red Sea. Clearly, this disciple knew His God and was confident in his standing within the Eternal Blood Covenant with his God, who holds All Authority… Always. Over and over again, God demonstrated His Covenant loyalty to His chosen people.
Joshua – “On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!” (Joshua 10:12-14 NIV)
Note below the intimacy between Moses and the Lord, and also Joshua’s devotion to the Lord and to Moses. He was not at all passive in his desire to interact with, and honor, his God in any way that was required of him.
“Thus, the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. (Exodus 33:11 NASB)
David – In his battle against Goliath (See 1 Samuel 17:26-51), David clearly saw the overwhelming power of His God as more than enough to defeat this enemy. See his confidence in the verses below:
“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. (verses 45, 46a)
Job – After all the loss he suffered, and the unhelpful advice from his friends, he still stood on the unwavering Truth of the faithfulness of his God. Look at his repentant interaction here:
“Then Job replied to the Lord: ‘I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted.’ You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures My counsel without knowledge?’ ‘Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.’ You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ ‘My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.’” (Job 42:3-5 NIV)
Jehoshaphat – When the Ammonites, Moabites and some Meunites came to make war against Israel in 2 Chronicles 20, we see in this account how Jehoshaphat led the people in humble submission and clear faith to rely on their Lord for deliverance:
“Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek Him.” (vs 3-4) “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” (vs 12)
The Book of Acts chronicles the lives of those Apostles and Disciples who had been with Jesus personally, or had come to know Him through their lives. It is replete with countless examples of living supernaturally and impacting the world in which our predecessors lived. For this study, we will zero in on Chapter 5, and beginning at the end of Chapter 4 for context:
“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.” (Acts 4:32-37 NIV)
Take a moment and reread it again, slowly… and use your Covenant Eyes. Can you begin to see evidence of the Supernatural? How about the unity among them? Their selflessness and generosity? The relinquishing of property and merging of monies? And all done for the good of the whole. And how about their willingness to live in submission to the Apostles’ leadership, recognizing that authority as a gift from God?
Now imagine that being True within the Body of Christ in our day… no ego trips, no jealousy, no selfishness, no squabbling – just a group of people living in community and following their Messiah. What a beautiful testimony to the Supernatural Power of our God to change lives and make us new! And this is exactly what Holy Spirit is doing among those of us in the FMM family, for which we are so grateful!
Now to Chapter 5, Verses 1-10 which give us the account of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, who sold a property, kept some of the money, and then lied regarding the sale price. Peter confronts Ananias for lying to Holy Spirit (Supernatural Word of Knowledge) and Ananias drops dead on the spot. Three hours later, Sapphira comes in and the story is repeated… she lies, Peter confronts her for lying to Holy Spirit, and she too drops dead on the spot.
Verse 11 “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.”
It’s clear that this demonstration of the REALITY of the Holy Spirit’s Power and Presence, and how jealously He upholds His HOLINESS made a huge impact on believers and unbelievers alike. “All who heard” found themselves in a major reality check, did they not?
Verses 12-14 “The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.”
The indwelling Holy Spirit continues to reveal Supernatural Power, having differing effects, dependent on the hearts of the people. All saw signs and wonders; the believers were strengthened in their oneness and commitment; the unbelievers kept their distance, not daring to join them; and many others with open, receptive hearts, were joined to the One who wooed them out of the darkness and into His marvelous Light and Life.
Verses 15-16 “As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.”
Here again we see evidence of the Supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. What stands out to me is the fact that even Peter’s shadow passing over someone was enough to bring healing. I’m also struck by the rest of the narrative, not only what is shared (“…and all of them were healed”), but also what was NOT shared (no reference to the usual ‘ministry’ efforts we see in our day – no mention of prayer, or laying on of hands, or anointing with oil, or fasting).
This begs a significant question to us modern day disciples… could our ‘normal’ ministry expectations be getting in the way of the Supernatural Presence of our God being free to move mightily among us? Please hear my heart… there is nothing wrong in any of the practices listed above; we know this to be true because we have Scriptural references to all of them being used in various settings. So, I think the important take away for us is this – if we have certain agendas or expectations in mind as we enter into a ministry opportunity, it can be fleshly rather than of the Spirit. Thus, our first step always must be to defer to our indwelling Lord in order to be able to join Him in whatever and however He desires to minister in any given setting.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful through God for the tearing down of strongholds. We are tearing down false arguments and every high-minded thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 TLV)
So, Beloved… can you see that living in the Supernatural cannot be a ‘How To’ teaching. It’s instead a lifestyle change along with a mind being consistently renewed in Scriptural Truth while our hearts remain ever ready to repent as Holy Spirit does His work within.
“For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3)
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12)
“Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:2 NIV)
Some final reminders…
Our God has already covered and provided all we will ever need through His finished work and leads us throughout life toward the destiny He has ordained for us.
“For I know the plans that I have in mind for you,” declares Adonai, “plans for shalom and not calamity – to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 TLV)
And so… we can declare, and walk, each and every day in this steadfast and unwavering Truth:
“For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28 NIV)
And we can encourage our hearts with the knowledge that what we are investing in our own growth becomes a heritage of faith for our children, grandchildren and generations yet to come:
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV)
And last, but certainly not least, we await the fruit of our labors bringing forth a Great Harvest:
“…and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:46 NIV)
May His Name be exalted in and through us all, for the glory that is due to our God, the one True God, now and evermore!