Tag Archive | Compromise

Scripture Of The Week by JoBeth Kested

Scripture of the week for May 12, 2024

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:11-12 (NIV)

Have you ever heard someone say, “I love you to the moon and back” in effort to express the greatness of their love? God declares the magnitude of His love for as there is no end to the height of the heavens above the earth. You may need to ask, “What does it mean to fear the Lord?” It simply means great reverence and awe for the Almighty-Omnipotent-Creator-Ruler God of the universe and to acknowledge that He is the Lord over us individually, as well. When we choose to fear the Lord and receive His gift of salvation, His lovingkindness removes the consequences of our failure to meet His standards of holiness and perfection as far from us as the east is from the west! How wonderful it is to understand that east and west never ever meet! May we choose the fear of the Lord and experience God’s extravagant love for us that is over the rainbow, beyond the moon and to the height of the heavens!

Scripture Of The Week By JoBeth Kested

Scripture for the week of May 5, 2024
By JoBeth Kested

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Do have difficulty dealing with fear of failure, fear of rejection, or fear of the unknown? Fear is the friend of doubt and unbelief and the robber of our faith. The King James Bible mentions “fear not”, “do not fear” and “do not be afraid” 110 times and it is usually followed by exhortations that the Lord is with you. God makes five promises in this scripture. 1) He is with you. 2) He is your God. 3) He gives strength to replace your weariness. 4) He will help you. 5) And, He holds you up in the power of His righteousness. So, let the power of His presence, strength and righteousness overcome your fears of failure, inadequacy, or insufficiency. Let your faith be renewed in God’s empowering love, provision, and protection for you today.

Everyone Has A Portion by Beth Auman

What will you do with your portion?

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Every person has a portion. God created each of us with purpose. The Bible says:  Psalm 16:5 (Voice) You, Eternal One, are my sustenance and my life-giving cup. In that cup, You hold my future and my eternal riches.

Your portion is the portion that God designed for you and giving your portion has everything to do with your purpose. It contains everything that God designed for you to give back to Him throughout your entire lifetime. Your portion is your key when it comes to anything that we need from God.

Each of us has free will and we can choose to give God our portion or keep it. If we give our portion back to Him, He will give us what we need. If we bury our portion deep down inside and refuse to allow God access then we receive nothing back from Him.

Many people live their entire lives and never give God His portion. They die in sin and never fulfill their purpose. That is very sad. Many Christians never give their entire portion to God and they do not fulfill their purpose. Take a moment and ponder what the Church would be on this earth if we all gave 100% of our portion to God. What an amazing world to live in would that be?

God created each of us a storehouse, filled with everything that we need in this life. There are keys to our storehouse and these keys communicate with God in a way that you may not have ever thought.  When our hearts are open to Him in every area of life and we can come to Him with total abandon – our spirit plays a symphony to Him. There is a melody within each one of us and our song is incomplete many times because we have hidden places within ourselves that we refuse God access.

At church for example, many times I have gone and with total abandon given Him 100%. Other times I have been preoccupied and repented later because I did not give my portion in total abandon to Him in worship. He is so worthy of my all. He is so worthy of your all. Giving Him our all plays a melody to Him – a pure communication and He answers every time. When we give Him our all we give Him access to us 100% of the time.

When we open ourselves to Him and give back all that He has given to us. When we cry out to Him and He hears the song that He wrote inside us crying out to Him in total abandon, He answers and provides whatever that need is. But when we hold back and keep negativity, unforgiveness, bitterness, rejection, shame, hate, anger, fornication, sin, dark cords of our soul inside ourselves, He is not answering.  God provided His son Jesus as the perfect lamb slain on the cross. He took our shame, sin and iniquity onto Himself and His blood created a pure path back to God. We can communicate, sing our song, worship, pray, intercede, cry from our heart, come before God – only through the blood of Jesus Christ. When we do this He answers and provides.

Each and everyone of us has to remember that it is our freewill and choice to give God our portion. If we don’t give Him full access, how can we expect Him to? We have all had times of darkness in our lives, only by allowing God in can Jesus bring His life – for light overcomes darkness – every single time.  John 1:5 (VOICE) A light that thrives in the depths of darkness, blazes through murky bottoms. It cannot and will not be quenched.

I want to give Him my all. I don’t want to withhold anything. I don’t want to become ensnared by others religious traditions, nor their repetitious sayings. I want my worship to come out of my being like a flower blooms in the sunshine.

It is my desire to yield into God in every area of this life that He has given me. Worship, prophecy, prayer, intercession, financial, watchman, healing, wisdom, revelation, counsel, power, knowledge and the fear of The LORD Most High, in every area and aspect of me with nothing hidden from Him. If He desires to use Me in any way, I set my will to come in line with His in Jesus Name.

Declare this with me today: So beginning today and everyday hereafter LORD, I give You access to all that I am. Take me, use me, help me focus on You and yield unto You all that I am, all that I will ever be and all that I will ever do. Help me give You my entire portion and fulfill my purpose eternally in Jesus Mighty and Strong Name. Amen.

Matthew 22:37-40 (VOICE)

Jesus (quoting Scripture): 37 “Love the Eternal One your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.”[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is nearly as important, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 40 The rest of the law, and all the teachings of the prophets, are but variations on these themes.

Psalm 42:8 (Voice) Yet in the light of day, the Eternal shows me His love. When night settles in and all is dark,He keeps me company— His soothing song, a prayerful melody to the True God of my life.

Psalm 81:2 (Voice) Sing and strike up a melody; sound the tambourine, strum the sweet lyre and the harp.

Psalm 98:5 (Voice) Make music to the Eternal with the harp; sing a beautiful melody with the harp and chorus.

John 3:16 (VOICE) 16 For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life. 

Psalm 16:5 (NASB) The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.

Mark 4- All

Blessings and Shalom – Love Beyond Measure, Beth

 

Choose Victory by Beth Auman

We have two choices in this life. We can choose to

5 Trust in Adonai with all your heart;
do not rely on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him;
then he will level your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 CJB

Or

We choose to trust in and walk with the false, forever loser the devil, the thief.

10 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure. John 10:10 CJB

Personally, I choose YHWH! Yeshua is Adonai (LORD).

I stand with and pray for the Shalom of Jerusalem and believe His Word!

Psalm 76 CJB

76 (0) For the leader. With string music. A psalm of Asaf. A song:

2 (1) In Y’hudah God is known; his name is great in Isra’el.
3 (2) His tent is in Shalem, his place is in Tziyon.
4 (3) There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. (Selah)

5 (4) You are glorious, majestic, more so than mountains of prey.
6 (5) The bravest have been stripped of their spoil and now are sleeping their final sleep; not one of these courageous men finds strength to raise his hands.
7 (6) At your rebuke, God of Ya‘akov, riders and horses lie stunned.

8 (7) You are fearsome! When once you are angry, who can stand in your presence?
9 (8) You pronounce sentence from heaven; the earth grows silent with fear
10 (9) when God arises to judge, to save all the humble of the earth. (Selah)

11 (10) Human wrath serves only to praise you;
what remains of this wrath you wear as an ornament.
12 (11) Make vows to Adonai your God, and keep them; all who are around him must bring presents to the one who should be feared.
13 (12) He curbs the spirit of princes; he is fearsome to the kings of the earth.

Today settle this within your own self. Yeshua (Jesus) IS Adonai (Lord) of my life! I renounce satan! I ask forgiveness for my sins and repent for my wrong doing!

I enter into a right relationship with YHWH’s Word! Declaring Psalm 76 in Yeshua’s Name! 2 (1) In Y’hudah God is known; his name is great in Isra’el.
3 (2) His tent is in Shalem, his place is in Tziyon.
4 (3) There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. (Selah)

Psalms 24 CJB

1 By David. A psalm: The earth is ADONAI’s, with all that is in it, the world and those who live there;

2 for he set its foundations on the seas and established it on the rivers.

3 Who may go up to the mountain of ADONAI? Who can stand in his holy place?

4 Those with clean hands and pure hearts, who don’t make vanities the purpose of their lives or swear oaths just to deceive.

5 They will receive a blessing from ADONAI and justice from God, who saves them.

6 Such is the character of those who seek him, of Ya’akov, who seeks your face. (Selah)

7 Lift up your heads, you gates! Lift them up, everlasting doors, so that the glorious king can enter!

8 Who is he, this glorious king? ADONAI, strong and mighty, ADONAI, mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, you gates! Lift them up, everlasting doors, so that the glorious king can enter!

10 Who is he, this glorious king? ADONAI-Tzva’ot he is the glorious king. (Selah)

Amen!

Love Beyond Measure – Blessings and Shalom, Beth Auman

Victory Is in Yeshua (Jesus)

Scripture of the Week by JoBeth Kested

Scripture for the week of September 10, 2023
By JoBeth Kested

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. Isaiah 60:1-2 NKJV

Is there anything more beautiful than the dawning rays of sunlight breaking into a new day over majestic mountains, upon rolling ocean waves or watching from the serenity of your own back porch? But, what does the glory of the Lord rising upon us mean? The glory of the Lord in this scripture seems to mean the promise of His loving presence that drives away loneliness, the comfort of His peace that passes understanding, blessings of mercy that triumph over judgement, and the goodness of His enabling grace bestowed upon us. There are times we all need the restoring hope of light to drive out the darkness of fearful times and the unexpected circumstances afflicting our souls. What an encouraging gift we have in the promise of these scriptures that even in the darkest times our loving God promises the arising light upon us with His glorious presence, comfort and sufficient grace for each day. Thank You, Lord!

Scripture of the Week by JoBeth Kested

Scripture for the week of July 23, 2023

A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand. Psalm 37:23-24 (HCSB)

Have you ever enjoyed the craziness of a scavenger hunt where you are dependent upon finding the clues to guide where you need to go next? Sometimes, we can feel stuck in our life without a map or plan to follow and no clue of how to proceed. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we can find ourselves feeling helpless, like stumbling along in the dark with a fear of failing and falling. How encouraging it is to learn in these scriptures that we can trust that the Lord takes pleasure in establishing our steps and showing us the way we need to go. He promises that even if we stumble along the way, He is holding our hand to strengthen and protect us from the overwhelming fear of falling. Lord, establish our steps, please hold our hand and protect us as we follow you out of the dark and confusing times of our lives. Amen.

By JoBeth Kested

Declaration For Today In Jesus Name

Each day I go before Adonai and ask Him what I can read to Him. I read and declare as He leads. Recently, He instructed me to share. My hope is that you will be strengthened to move forward by His anointed Word. I declare life into each of you. His Life, His Love, His Word be it unto you this very day in Yeshua (Jesus’) Name Amen

Psalm 32 By David. A maskil: How blessed are those whose offense is forgiven, those whose sin is covered! How blessed those to whom Adonai imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no deceit! When I kept silent, my bones wasted away because of my groaning all day long; day and night your hand was heavy on me; the sap in me dried up as in a summer drought. (Selah) When I acknowledged my sin to you, when I stopped concealing my guilt, and said, “I will confess my offenses to Adonai ”; then you, you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Selah) This is what everyone faithful should pray at a time when you can be found. Then, when the floodwaters are raging, they will not reach to him. You are a hiding-place for me, you will keep me from distress; you will surround me with songs of deliverance. (Selah) “I will instruct and teach you in this way that you are to go; I will give you counsel; my eyes will be watching you.” Don’t be like a horse or mule that has no understanding, that has to be curbed with bit and bridle, or else it won’t come near you. Many are the torments of the wicked, but grace surrounds those who trust in Adonai. Be glad in Adonai; rejoice, you righteous! Shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

I declare Psalm 32 over myself and everyone in my delegated rule of authority in Yeshua (Jesus’) Name Amen

Blessings and Shalom – Love Beyond Measure, Beth Auman

Discerning Between Good Or God By JoBeth Kested

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Have you ever presumed that just because something is good means that it is God’s will? The Bible does say that every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). But, we also need to understand that sometimes good can be the enemy of God’s best for us.

Many years ago, I remember hearing a sermon titled “One Too Many O’s”. The gist of it being that the reason we must ask ourselves if there is one too may O’s is because sometimes good is not God’s way! That insight has kept me from settling for some things that seemed really good, but helped me to wait a little bit longer to find God’s will. I have learned to stop and ask myself, “Is there one too many O’s?” And, “Just because it is good is it God?” We cannot presume that just because something is good means it’s God’s will for us. We will do well to remember that the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden was the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Settling for or pursuing good things can be just as big an enemy of God’s best plans for us as any evil!

Looking back upon my life, it’s clear to see that many good and seemingly wonderful things or opportunities were definitely not God’s best plan for me. I can honestly thank the Lord for a lot of unanswered prayers! It’s so clear now that God protected me from a lot of not-so-good things. I am thankful that many things that looked so perfect and important, that I had prayed and prayed for, were definitely not for my good; even some things that broke my heart and caused me to question God’s love for me at that time.

So, how can we know the difference between what’s good, but not God? There are a few questions we can ask ourselves:

1. Does it disagree with or compromise scripture?
2. Does it honor God and lead me into closer relationship with Him?
3. Does it bring peace to me and those important relationships in my life?

Here are several scriptures that have also become guiding light to me when trying to discern God’s will:

By prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV) First of all, it is very important to take everything to the Lord in prayer and to thank Him for circumstances that give Him the opportunity to demonstrate His power, provision and love to us when we need His help or guidance. Then, we are in the place to experience His peace that passes understanding which will guard our heart and mind; helping us to determine the difference between good possibilities and God’s best for us.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5,6 (NKJV) Besides encouraging us to trust The Lord with ALL our heart, the hardest part of this verse is the challenge to make sure we are not leaning to our own understanding. Many times it is so much easier to settle for the good options because they usually make much more sense to our natural understanding.

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV) One of the hardest things to do is to wait upon The Lord and His timing. (This is an active waiting, continuing to ask, seek and knock, doing all we know to do in the mean time. (Matthew 7:7)) The temptation to settle for a good thing is often because it seems so much simpler, easier or more comfortable. But, the main reason I mention this verse is because doubt, confusion and fear weigh us down with such a heaviness. When we wait upon the Lord and his will becomes clear, there is a great uplifting peace and joy with a renewed strength that launches us into the new way.

Next time something seems too good to be true or seems so good you think it must be God, I encourage you to stop and ask yourself, “Are there one too many O’s?” and, “Is it good or God?”

Dear God, give us the ability to discern the difference between the traps of good that rob us of Your abundant blessings. Show us Your way and shed Your light onto our paths. Help us to wait on You, to trust You in all our ways and to lean not unto our own understanding. Grant us Your peace that will guard our hearts and renew our strength so that we can mount up with wings like eagles as we discern Your way. In Jesus name. Amen.
How great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You. Psalm 31:19
© JoBeth Kested 2014