Monday, December 31, 2012

Radical Enough


Are you bold enough to believe the impossible? Are you radical enough to walk in the supernatural? Are you committed enough to finish what God has started? With faith we can shake up the world.

Almost 2,000 years ago 12 men (11 original followers of Christ and one converted radical[Paul]) turned the world upside down by simply stepping out on faith. They did not fear for their lives (All but one, John, died horrible deaths) but they left a legacy that said, "I came, I saw and I conquered."

200 Years ago a man named John Wesley declared, "Give me 100 men that fear nothing but God, and hate nothing but sin and we will change the world." John and his brother Charles did just that. Through their faith, they ignited the greatest revival known to man and from that revival came the Methodist Church.

My friends, God has sent me to tell you that it is revival time!. God desires to use those that are not afraid to speak against popular opinion to rise up and share His Word. God wants to work through those that have been cast away and maligned by the main stream as not worthy. God wants to take those that have made mistakes in abundance and the enemy has been telling you that you are not worthy. God wants to use the ex-convict that everyone looks down their nose at. God wants to take the women whose heart has been shattered by a man that could not comprehend her worth.

God is opening a spiritual portal through which He will allow His omnipotence to flow through those that are bold enough to bear it in its fullness. It is time to stop waiting on someone to show up and rescue you from your mess, God has empowered you to not only rise up out of your mess, but to be a part of the remnant that will breathe His Word like fire to the masses.

When you speak your words will heal. When you speak your words will edify. When you speak your words will calm storms. When you speak the world will take notice. We will not be bound by fear, for God never gave us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.

Dr. Rick Wallace
I dare you to be bold enough to walk with me. I dare you to be radical enough to proclaim your dominion through your unique gifting. I dare you to be committed enough to walk this thing out all the way to the finish line. This walk is not for the timid. This walk is not for the one would prefer to ponder at the pool of popularity. This is not for the one whose fear will cause them to meander through the maze of mediocrity. This is not for the one that would rather make and excuse than make a move. No, this is only whose heart is set on taking back the ground that the enemy has taking for years.

If you are serious about living in your anointing, if you are serious about walking in your purpose, if you are serious about fulfilling your destiny, let me hear from you.


No more timidity. No more victim mentality. No more excuses. Stand up and dare to be all that God designed you to be. If I don't promise you anything else, I promise you this; when I have breathed my last and my work on earth is done, they will be able to say that I came, I saw, and I conquered ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Sunday, December 30, 2012

In the Midst of Trouble (You Will Revive Me!)


Thou Wilt Revive Me

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me" (Ps. 138:7).

The Hebrew rendering of the above is "go on in the center of trouble." What descriptive words! We have called on God in the day of trouble; we have pleaded His promise of deliverance but no deliverance has been given; the enemy has continued oppressing until we were in the very thick of the fight, in the center of trouble. Why then trouble the Master any further?

When Martha said, "Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not died," our Lord met her lack of hope with His further promise, "Thy brother shall rise again." And when we walk "in the center of trouble" and are tempted to think like Martha that the time of deliverance is past, He meets us too with a promise from His Word. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me."

Though His answer has so long delayed, though we may still continue to "go on" in the midst of trouble, "the center of trouble" is the place where He revives, not the place where He fails us.

When in the hopeless place, the continued hopeless place, is the very time when He will stretch forth His hand against the wrath of our enemies and perfect that which concerneth us, the very time when He will make the attack to cease and fail and come to an end. What occasion is there then for fainting?  --Aphra White

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I have given great passion to the business of informing believers that their is no circumvention of life's struggles. No matter how hard you try to get around it, the vicissitudes of life will roll in. You will face hardships and disappointments. At some point you will feel the heartache of abandonment. Your advancement is dependent upon it. There cannot be a victory without there first being a battle.

Process always be precedes promise. The believer must come to a complete understanding that there can never be an obtainment of divine promise without there first being a bearing out of divine process. The process prepares the believer for advancement. Well, how are we do engage these moments of difficulty and darkness? We must come to the knowledge that God does his greatest work in the darkest of times.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. (Ps. 138:7, AMP)

When I am in the midst of trouble, when the darkness has encompassed me, not at the beginning of trouble, but in the midst of it is where I find that the hand of God moves most powerfully. When trouble has become my reality, when heartache is my daily meal, when disappointment as taken up residence in my soul; that is when God comes in. When it seems that you have breathed your last breath of hope and your soul despairs beyond rescue; this is when God comes in and revives.

When the doctors have said that there is nothing that they can do, God can revive you. I am not speaking of those times in which God shows up at the eleventh hour, just in the nick of time. I am speaking of those moments in which the clock has struck midnight and there has been no answer. When people have begun to write the obituary to your life, hopes and dreams. That place where, even you start to believe that it is too late. There is no pulse, there is no sign of breathing, the body of your hopes and dreams has grown cold, but God is not restricted by time and circumstance. He is not shaken by the depth of your despair. He is not perplexed by the prognosis of the specialist because he specializes in the impossible.

So don't allow the darkness to deafen your faith. Don't allow the difficulty to deter your drive towards your destiny. Don't allow the flagrant assault of those you trusted to fool you into submission. If God has chosen to leave you in the midst of this most vehement storm you must believe that He has a great work to perform in it. There was over 400 years of intense prayer and waiting to move God to move Israel. It took 13 years of unwavering perseverance before God elevated Joseph to meet his destiny head on. It took 25 years of waiting with nothing but a nomadic existence before Abraham received the promised seed.

Dr. Rick Wallace
There is a bearing out of the process at hand. The awesome thing about God's principle of process is that He does not ask you to tread it out on your own. He has promised that He will never leave nor forsake (fail) you. He has promised that He will be a strong tower. He has promised that He will do a new thing. He has promised that He would heal the land.

It is when the enemy has pinned you in and is about to strike that fatal blow to your hopes and dreams that God moves in and defends you with the ferociousness of a parent defending their young. It is in the darkness that God proves Himself. It is in the midst of trouble that God's power is manifested in full. So hold on, refuse to give in. Instead of giving up, look up, and you will be able to say like King David, "Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me." God is about to revive all that has died in your life. Don't give up! ~ Dr. Rick Wallace



Saturday, December 29, 2012

Trust in Trouble!


"He knoweth the way that I take" (Job 23:10).

Believer! What a glorious assurance! This way of thine--this, it may be, a crooked, mysterious, tangled way--this way of trial and tears. "He knoweth it." The furnace seven times heated--He lighted it. There is an Almighty Guide knowing and directing our footsteps, whether it be to the bitter Marah pool, or to the joy and refreshment of Elim.

That way, dark to the Egyptians, has its pillar of cloud and fire for His own Israel. The furnace is hot; but not only can we trust the hand that kindles it, but we have the assurance that the fires are lighted not to consume, but to refine; and that when the refining process is completed (no sooner--no later) He brings His people forth as gold.

When they think Him least near, He is often nearest. "When my spirit was overwhelmed, then thou knewest my path."

Do we know of ONE brighter than the brightest radiance of the visible sun, visiting our chamber with the first waking beam of the morning; an eye of infinite tenderness and compassion following us throughout the day, knowing the way that we take?

The world, in its cold vocabulary in the hour of adversity, speaks of "Providence"--"the will of Providence"--"the strokes of Providence." PROVIDENCE! what is that?

Why dethrone a living, directing God from the sovereignty of His own earth? Why substitute an inanimate, death-like abstraction, in place of an acting, controlling, personal Jehovah?

How it would take the sting from many a goading trial, to see what Job saw (in his hour of aggravated woe, when every earthly hope lay prostrate at his feet)--no hand but the Divine. He saw that hand behind the gleaming swords of the Sabeans--he saw it behind the lightning flash--he saw it giving wings to the careening tempest--he saw it in the awful silence of his rifled home.

"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!"

Thus seeing God in everything, his faith reached its climax when this once powerful prince of the desert, seated on his bed of ashes, could say, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." --Macduff

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What in the world could have the power within it to cause Job to declare "Though He slay me yet will I trust Him?". The simple answer is faith. Most Bible students only consider that which is before their eyes to present the truth. What most fail to do is consider the path of Job prior to his encounter with destruction and devastation. God gave an unbelievable testimony of Job to Satan:

 8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you [c]considered (O)My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, (P)a blameless and upright man, [d]fearing God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:8, NASB)

In this testimony we can take a wealth of information away. God's testimony of Job does not come through superficial observation; this is God we are discussing here. Job's reputation was not built overnight. The testimony that God gave of Job was one of character and integrity. Any believer knows that character and integrity is developed in the midst of adversity. This was not Job's first encounter with trouble. Job had been acquainted with struggle in some form. His trust in God was based on his experience. He could say though He slay me, yet shall I trust Him because God had slain Him before through the process of adversity.

The one thing that believers have to apprehend is that process precedes promise. There is no apprehension of the promise without there first being an endurance of the process. Christians spend way too much time attempting to circumvent life's struggles, not understanding that their promotion is facilitated through their problems.

Job could declare the blessings of the Lord in this moment because he recognized the process. He knew that his life of prosperity came at a price and that for him to move to the next phase of perpetual elevation, there must be an endurance of the process. This is why he could declare to his wife "Must we accept only the good and not the bad?" Christianity is not a joy ride, it is a journey, an ethereal journey that is filled with trouble. Christ told the disciples, "In this world you will have tribulations" and then reassured them by saying, "but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world."

There are going to be trials and tribulations. There are going to be struggles and disappointments. There are going to be losses and disasters. There will be times when you will declare, just as David, "In return for my love, they have become my accusers." The Christian life is not about living a life void of struggle, but about having access to a power so great that you overcome them all.

"Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Though my marriage has fallen apart, I will trust Him. Though all my money is gone, I will trust Him. Though they are lying behind my back, I will trust Him. Though many have used His name to take from me, I will trust Him. Though it seems that he has left me, I will trust Him.

Dr. Rick Wallace

I will trust Him because He has never failed me. I will trust Him, because He has always kept me. I will trust Him because He delivers like no other. I will trust Him because there has never been a time in which His Word returned to Him void. I will trust Him because He is able.

If you have not yet visited the "Valley of the Shadow of Death", know that your moment of testing and preparation is forthcoming. If you have not yet experienced the pain of betrayal, it is searching for you in the night as rest. If you have yet to feel the heartache of abandonment, be certain it will find you one day. The question is not will the trials come, but simply: When they do, "Can God trust you with TROUBLE?" ~ Dr. Rick Wallace


Changing the World One Life at a Time!


Too Passive to Prosper


Stop confusing servility and passivity with humility. There is no mandate for believers to be servile and passive. That is a lie by the enemy to convince believers to sit idle and accept whatever comes their way. The true believer is not servile, but assertive. They are not passive, but passionately aggressive.

Humility has nothing whatsoever to do with passivity or servility. Humility is simply the result of a state of mind that acknowledges the source of the overwhelming confidence that is within you. Humility recognizes that the source of your strength and ability originate in God and that it is not of yourself. It is the reflection of your understanding that you cannot do it on your own.


Dr. Rick Wallace
The enemy has robbed you of your swagger because he told you it was not Godly, but arrogant. Arrogance is confidence that stems from a belief that you are somehow responsible for all that you are able to accomplish. The Bible is literally my living and life, and so I spend a great deal of time in it, therefore I can say with absolute certainty, that Christ was not passive, neither was Paul, and neither was Peter. These men were extremely bold and challenged all that moved against the knowledge of God.

I would suggest you read a short book by Wallace D. Wattles entitled: Jesus, The Man and His Works. He opens up the true the Christ to the reader.

It is time to rise up and walk in the boldness of your design. It is time  to move in the power that God has placed on the inside of you. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Friday, December 28, 2012

An Abundantly Able God!


Abundantly Able

"And being absolutely certain that whatever promise He is bound by, He is able to make good" (Rom. 4:20).

We are told that Abraham could look at his own body and consider it as good as dead without being discouraged, because he was not looking at himself but at the Almighty One.

He did not stagger at the promise, but stood straight up unbending beneath his mighty load of blessing; and instead of growing weak he waxed strong in the faith, grew more robust, the more difficulties became apparent, glorifying God through His very sufficiency and being "fully persuaded" (as the Greek expresses it) "that he who had promised was," not merely able, but as it literally means "abundantly able," munificently able, able with an infinite surplus of resources, infinitely able "to perform."

He is the God of boundless resources. The only limit is in us. Our asking, our thinking, our praying are too small; our expectations are too limited. He is trying to lift us up to a higher conception, and lure us on to a mightier expectation and appropriation. Oh, shall we put Him in derision? There is no limit to what we may ask and expect of our glorious El-Shaddai; and there is but one measure here given for His blessing, and that is "according to the power that worketh in us."  --A. B. Simpson

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How often have I said that God meets us at the level of our expectancy? The problem is that our expectations are too low. Too many believers are simply in survival mode. We are asking for bills to get paid and for less traffic on the way to work. Is that all your mind an conceive? Are the mundane issues in your life the ceiling of your concerns? Are the simple necessities of life the extent of your aspirations? There is nothing impossible with God. There is nothing that you can ask that will challenge His omnipotence.

If God can bring life from two dead bodies in Abraham and Sarah, than he can perform the supernatural in yours. To this point you have not experienced the supernatural workings of God. You are asking yourself what is the difference between you and Abraham? Maybe it is the fact that God chose Abraham, but He also chose you. The only difference is that Abraham was willing to believe God for the impossible. What do you believe God for? What are you expecting from God?

Dr. Rick Wallace
The Word says that Abraham did not stagger at the promises of God, believing that God was more than able to perform that which had promised. I have a little saying, "When you refuse to stagger, you develop swagger." Swagger is a confidence (originating in your faith in God) that flows outwardly to the point of impacting those other than yourself.



Trust God without wavering and you will be amazed by the movement of God in your life and circumstances. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace



Changing the World One Life at a Time!

More Dinghy than Cruise Ship?



More Dinghy than Cruise Ship?

Are you more dinghy. . .than cruise ship? Or in my case, more blue jeans than blue blood? Well congratulations, God changes the world with folks like you!

The next time you say, “I don’t think God could use me!”—stop right there!  Satan’s going to try to tell you that God has an IQ requirement.  That he employs only experts and high-powered personalities.  When you hear Satan whispering that lie—hit him with this:  God stampeded the first-century society with swaybacks, not thoroughbreds.  Before Jesus came along, the disciples were loading trucks, coaching soccer, and selling Slurpee drinks at the convenience store!

But what they had going for them was a willingness to take a step when Jesus said, “Follow me.”

So what do you think?  More plumber than executive?  More stand-in than movie star? Yeah—congratulations!  God uses people like you…and me.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  Matthew 16:24″

From Max on Life
Listen to UpWords with Max Lucado at OnePlace.com

Thursday, December 27, 2012

By Thy Spirit of God!


By Thy Spirit

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts" (Zech. 4:6).

My way led up a hill, and right at the foot I saw a boy on a bicycle. He was pedaling up hill against the wind, and evidently found it a tremendously hard work. Just as he was working most strenuously and doing his best painfully, there came a trolley car going in the same direction--up the hill.

It was not going too fast for the boy to get behind it, and with one hand to lay hold of the bar at the back. Then you know what happened. He went up that hill like a bird. Then it flashed upon me:

"Why, I am like that boy on the bicycle in my weariness and weakness. I am pedaling up hill against all kinds of opposition, and am almost worn out with the task. But here at hand is a great available power, the strength of the Lord Jesus.

"I have only to get in touch with Him and to maintain communication with Him, though it may be only one little finger of faith, and that will be enough to make His power mine for the doing of this bit of service that just now seems too much for me." And I was helped to dismiss my weariness and to realize this truth.  --The Life of Fuller Purpose
pose

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God has bequeathed His divine power to us. For he has promised to do exceedingly, abundantly, and above all that we can ask or even imagine by the power that works in us. Christ said that there would be power after the Holy Spirit has overtaken us. God himself indwells us (for greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world), so there is nothing that the wielder of faith cannot accomplish.

Joshua's radical & audacious faith was powerful enough to cause the sun to stand still. Hannah's faith freed her barren womb. Elijah's faith commanded the elements. Hezekiah's faith added 15 years to his life. Jacob's faith secured him a new identity. Bartimaeus' faith retrieved his vision. The women with the issues of blood found her healing through faith. Gideon's faith allowed him to take 300 men and conquer a nation. It was faith that brought down the walls of Jericho. Faith parted the Red Sea. is there anything impossible for God? I think not, God specializes in the impossible.

Dr. Rick Wallace
It is time to to step out on faith and let God move through you. God wants to push His power through you to affect many. Your power is useless in this spiritual journey, but the power that has been provided by our Lord is more than sufficient. Stand up soldier and prepare for battle. It is time to fight the good fight. It is time to to put the enemy on notice. God has given us a great work, but He has equipped us for the battle. Don't you dare fall back, you were built for this. Those tears you shed through your broken heart was preparing you for this moment. That bought of loneliness that you conquered was preparing you for this moment. That failed marriage was preparing you for this moment. That betrayal was preparing you for this moment.


This is the time that you walk out. It is time. Rise up and walk in the power of your anointing and shout down the wall of trepidation. Shout down the wall of incompetence, shout down the wall of uncertainty, shout down the wall of fear. Shout down the wall of inferiority. Shout down the wall of mediocrity. My brothers and sisters, you have arrived at the banks of the Jordan, on the other side is the promised land. Step out on Faith! ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

The Fall of Man – Who is at fault?



The Fall of Man – Who is at fault?

Michelle has a very valid point, it would do everyone involved in this discussion a great deal of good to look at the entire dynamic that created the fall in order to understand the current state of man.
It all starts in Genesis Chapter 1. Many atheist use Genesis Chapter 1 as a point of focus in attempting to scientifically disprove the creation, when, in fact, Genesis Chapter 1 is not meant to be a scientific account of how God brought the world into existence, but it is to set the stage for the fall of man, which is the transitional pivot on which the plan of God turns from a day by day abidance and renewal of a covenant to an eternal engagement between man and God facilitated through God’s plan of grace. (Grace is more than the word that Christians place over their sin, it is the entire plan of God that allows a fallen race to engage their Savior from a position of righteous. It is God’s unmeritorious plan of reconciliation. There is nothing man can do to bridge the gap between him and God that sin created. To attempt to do so forms legalism bred from religion, which is man’s attempt to gain the approbation of God through works.)

Genesis 1 is simply setting the stage of a perfect environment created as an inhabitance for one species, man. A close study of the first three chapters of Genesis will reveal that the entire creation was centered on the entrance of man into history. The role that man would play in settling the Angelic Conflict (the ongoing battle between God and Satan and his fallen angels) would prove to be huge. It is not the purpose of this study to completely address the fall and its consequential impact on the angelic conflict, but to simply investigate the grand culpability of the fall. Who is ultimately responsible? Does Eve get an undue share of the blame? We shall delve into this to see what the Bible lends to this quandary.

We know that Genesis 1 lends the environment to the entire story so let’s move on to Genesis Chapter 2.

5 (F)Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, (G)for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to [c]cultivate the ground. But a[d]mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole [e]surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed man of(H)dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and (I)man became a living[f]being. (Gen. 2:5-7, NASB)

The first thing that must be observed here is the fact that there are no shrubs and no plants of the field. There are two reasons for this. First, God had not yet sent rain upon the earth. The second is what I want you to pay attention to; there was no man to cultivate the ground. This is important is understanding man. God did not yet put the vegetation on the earth because there was no man to cultivate it. In this we find the man’s work. Man was designed to work. In this work a man finds fulfillment. A man has to have a work in order to have a sense of fulfillment.

It is important; however, to understand that this work is not arbitrary in shape form or fashion. Each man is given a specific type of work that is in direct correspondence to his particular design and gifts. In other words, each man is designed by God with a particular purpose in mind and this work corresponds with his purpose. Then, it is also necessary to understand that a man’s work is not necessarily what he gets paid to do, that is his job. A man’s work is that thing that he is innately driven to do. It is that thing that creates passion within him. When the man is lucid in his thinking his passion reveals his work, his work reveals his purpose, and his purpose reveals his identity. A man’s identity is what provides his confidence and ability to lead based on the vision that he has received from God.

The next thing that I want to bring attention to is the word “formed”. Verse 7 says that God formed (Hebrewיצר   , yâtsar, meaning to squeeze and form into shape). So, in essence when God created man, He performed two acts in one; he first formed the shell or material form of man from the dust of the earth, and then he breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living (Hebrew, Nephesh, meaning a living being [a spirit being inside a material body made from the ground] from nothing he created a spirit from the model of His own essence.

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.16 The Lord God(Q)commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not [n]eat, for in the day that you eat from it (R)you will surely die.” (Gen. 2:15-17, NASB)

Here God purposely placed the man in the midst of the Garden to cultivate it. Here you see God having given the man his work. Adam’s work was to cultivate the Garden. He also gave Adam the mandates and instructions of what he could do and what he could not. At this point, the only sin in the entire world is “eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. It is worth taking note of the fact that the woman has not yet been created and given to Adam as a helper, so Adam is given the vision and his work before the woman arrives. This is the formulation of the male’s role as leader. He was given the vision (which constitutes purpose, direction, and destiny) before the woman (female of the human species) arrives on the scene.

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; (S)I will make him a helper[o]suitable for him.” 19 (T)Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the [p]sky, and (U)brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the [q]sky, and to every beast of the field, but for[r]Adam there was not found (V)a helper [s]suitable for him. (Gen. 2:18-20, NASB)

God declared that it is not good for the man to be alone. The first thing of note here is that this statement is diametrically opposed to the mindset of many that feel that they don’t need anyone, or specifically a mate (Paul’s personal preference, notwithstanding). In this fallen world, will everyone find a mate, unfortunately not, and in these cases, God will provide the strength and insight to live the life of a believer. Yet, it was meant for man to have a mate.

Not only does God say that it is not good, but he says that he will “make” (Hebrew, ‛âśâh – to make or sculpt from something) a helper suitable (Hebrew, neged – meaning a front, that is, part opposite; specifically a counterpart, or mate). This helper was to be of the same species, but different. Her physical attributes would be counteractive to his. She would be different in spirit and her personality would be meant to mesh with his. She was designed to perfect and complete him.

Then we see that God creates all the creatures of the earth and then allows the man to name them. In doing this it establishes man’s dominion, but more importantly, what is subliminally and subtly stated is that each animal that passes before Adam is both male and female (meaning that they are meant for one another and they are capable of procreating and replenishing their species. What this does is make Adam aware of his need for a mate. After Adam names all of the creatures, he sees that there is still no mate suitable for him.

21 So the Lord God caused a (W)deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The Lord God [t]fashioned into a woman(X) the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. (Gen. 2:21, NASB)

Now God puts Adam to sleep and removes a “Rib” from his side. From this “Rib” he “fashioned” (Hebrew, bânâh – meaning literally to build). Meaning that he took the time to build, fashion, shape the women; making her specifically to the specification of the man’s natural desires. In other words, the women was built to meet the needs of the man in every way, physical, emotionally, and spiritually.

 23 The man said,
(Y)This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
[u]She shall be called[v]Woman,
Because[w]she was taken out of [x]Man.”
24 (Z)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.25 (AA)And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Gen. 2:23-25, NASB)

The man was given the responsibility of naming his helper. His response; “Bone of my bone (Rib), flesh of my flesh (by extension, a part of my body), she shall be called “woman” because she was taken out of man. What is important here is to understand is that when the man’s Rib was removed, he was now not whole or complete, but God returned his Rib to him in the form of a mate that would function as his spiritual Rib. She would cover his vulnerabilities. She would not exploit them, she would not use them to control him, and she would not expose them by sharing them with others. She would cover them, providing the confidence the man needed to lead.

God declares that in the case presented that the man should leave his mother and father and be joined to his wife and they should become one flesh. So, how do they become one flesh? There is a common misconception that they become one flesh at the moment of exchanging vows, but actually this is not the case. In order to gain clarity we actually will borrow from the Apostle Paul.
16 Or (AD)do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “(AE) The two shall become one flesh.”  (1 Cor. 6:16, NASB)
So we can see now that the two become one flesh through the act of sex, and so many wonder why they are so spiritually, emotionally and mentally fragmented. When you have sex with someone you become one (joined to that person, physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally) with that person and every time you break up and move on you leave a part of yourself. Fortunately, we serve a God that is able to restore and rebuild.
So what we see from Chapter 2 is that God created the man and gave him the vision and the responsibility of leading and adhering to the mandates that accompanied the vision. So when Satan enters the scene in Chapter three, he does not approach the man, he approaches Ishshah, the woman (she did not become Eve [the mother of all living] until after the fall).

As a man of God that understands divine order. The first question I ask is: Where is Adam, and why is he not covering Eve? We are not given a true time frame of how long it took for the initial couple to fall, but obviously there was enough time for there to be enough distance from the vision and God for Adam to allow his wife to be alone. This is massive in understanding order. The woman was designed with great power, but she was designed to always be covered by a man. In Biblical times, the woman was to remain in her father’s home, under his covering until her husband came for her and took her out from under her father’s covering and placed her under his. There are certain things that the woman is susceptible to and when uncovered she becomes an easy mark for the enemy.

All three involved in the fall, the serpent, the woman, and the man have a level of culpability in the fall, but the man was given the vision and the mandate, and if you notice, when the woman ate of the fruit, there were no immediate repercussions; however, when the man took of the fruit and ate, humanity was forever changed. This is because the vision and the mandate was given to Adam (the man).
When Paul is explaining justification in the book of Romans he tells us that through the first Adam, sin entered into the world (not through the woman, but through the man) and through the second Adam (Jesus Christ) the righteousness would be established:

Dr. Rick Wallace
12 Therefore, just as through (X)one man sin entered into the world, and(Y)death through sin, and (Z)so death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 for[h]until the Law sin was in the world, but (AA)sin is not imputed when there is no law.14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned (AB)in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a [i](AC)type of Him who was to come… 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience(AM)the many(AN)were made sinners, even so through (AO)the obedience of the One (AP)the many will be made righteous. (Rom. 5:12-14, 19, NASB)

So then the man carries the brunt of the responsibility. It is still true today. The man has moved out of his God ordained role as leader, provider, covering and protector. He has left the woman to fend for herself and she has been deceived and overtaken by the machinations of the enemy. The man must move back into position and the woman, must come to understand her role, value and importance in God’s plan. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace





Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Stand Still


Stand Still
"Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord" (Exod. 14:13).

These words contain God's command to the believer when he is reduced to great straits and brought into extraordinary difficulties. He cannot retreat; he cannot go forward; he is shut upon the right hand and on the left. What is he now to do?

The Master's word to him is "stand still." It will be well for him if, at such times, he listens only to his Master's word, for other and evil advisers come with their suggestions. Despair whispers, "Lie down and die; give it all up." But God would have us put on a cheerful courage, and even in our worst times, rejoice in His love and faithfulness.

Cowardice says, "Retreat; go back to the worldling's way of action; you cannot play the Christian's part; it is too difficult. Relinquish your principles."

But, however much Satan may urge this course upon you, you cannot follow it, if you are a child of God. His Divine fiat has bid thee go from strength to strength, and so thou shalt, and neither death nor hell shall turn thee from thy course. What if for a while thou art called to stand still; yet this is but to renew thy strength for some greater advance in due time.

Precipitancy cries, "Do something; stir yourself; to stand still and wait is sheer idleness." We must be doing something at once--we must do it, so we think--instead of looking to the Lord, who will not only do something, but will do everything.

Presumption boasts, "If the sea be before you, march into it, and expect a miracle." But faith listens neither to Presumption, nor to Despair, nor to Cowardice, nor to Precipitancy, but it hears God say, "Stand still," and immovable as a rock it stands.

"Stand still"--keep the posture of an upright man, ready for action, expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the directing voice; and it will not be long ere God shall say to you, as distinctly as Moses said it to the people of Israel, "Go forward.'  --Spurgeon

***

"Stand Still", what a seemingly awkward command. In the same way that God commanded Moses at the Red Sea, He would , centuries later, command David..."Be still and know that I am God." There are those moments in which God has positioned us in a place of grooming and development, a place of testing and proving, and His command is not advance. His command is not engage the moment. His command is simply, "Stand Still".

Dr. Rick Wallace
Sometimes the moment can be so much bigger than you, and no matter how you view it, it becomes more and more and more overwhelming. Maybe you are standing at the Red Sea of your life, and there seems to be no place to cross. You can see the promises and blessings that await you on the other side, but there is no way to cross. Your natural proclivity will be to strive harder and press more inexorably toward your goal, but in many instances, God is saying "Be Still" I've got it from here.

There are those moments in which God simply wants you to believe. There are the moments when you are to go in and possess the promise, but there are other times when He simply wants you to "Be Still" and in the peace that comes from knowing that you serve an able God, wait. There are moments in which God desires to carry us across or to pave the way for us to simply step over.


Trust this, whenever God tells you to "stand still" something supernatural is about to take place. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Friday, December 21, 2012

Walking in Forgiveness


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Friday, December 21, 2012




        

The Forgiveness of Christ

Nov 28, 2012

The dilemma was:  “I know the Bible says I’m forgiven.  But my conscience says I’m not!”

If this question hits home… If you haven’t accepted God’s forgiveness, you’re doomed to live in fear.  And no pill or pep talk can set you at ease.  Am I right?  You may deaden the fear, but you can’t remove it.  Only God’s grace can do that!

Have you accepted the forgiveness of Christ?  If not, do it!  The Bible says “if we confess our sins, God is faithful–not just to forgive us, but He cleanses us from all unrighteousness! I John 1:9"

Make it your simple prayer:  Dear Father, I need forgiveness.  I admit I’ve turned away from you.  Forgive me, please.  I place my soul in Your hands and I trust in your grace.  Through Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now!  Live forgiven!

From Max on Life

Listen to UpWords with Max Lucado at OnePlace.com




        



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