Troy A. Brewer's Blog, page 342
January 31, 2017
Doubting God's goodness?
Even during the storm, God is good. Use the storm to draw near to God and you will see how He will even use the storms of life for His good purposes.
GOD IS GOOD-LOOKING
This may come as a shock to you, but God is good. No, really. God is real and so is His goodness.
I think God has gotten the worst PR imaginable from His kids. You and I have not represented His goodness very well over the past 2,000 years. Part of that is because I don’t think we really believe God is all that good.
The goodness of God is a very foundational principle to being a Devil-stomping Christian. It’s been under a bunch of dirt for a long time, but it’s worth its weight in gold to do an archeological dig for it. Once you do, you will find this fundamental truth: wait for it…
GOD IS GOOD AND THE DEVIL IS BAD.
For some reason, you can teach a 3-year old this, but it’s difficult to understand when you grow up and life gets hard. I’ve come to believe it is impossible to understand after your third year in seminary! No matter how smart you think you are, this simple truth changes everything. It sets you free.
Your childlike faith in the goodness of God causes you to receive the Kingdom of Heaven, first in salvation, then in your victorious journey through life.
“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
-Mark 10:15
Just because bad things happen or you “grow up” and no longer believe the Bible “stories” — I like to call them “accounts,” because that’s what they are, historical accounts — doesn’t mean God is no longer good. He is, and if you think back through your life, He’s proven it time and time again.
From my book: GOOD OVERCOMES EVIL
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January 30, 2017
Let God show His glory
God says to ask and you will receive. You do not have because you do not ask. Let God show you His glory, His goodness, as you ask for those things that He has put on your heart.
GOD’S DOUBLE WHAMMY
The one-two punch of God’s goodness is what I like to call the “wow factor” – the glory of God in our relationship with Him. When you don’t see God’s goodness, you miss His glory altogether.
Moses, the Old Testament rock star who parted the Red Sea, turned the Nile to blood and talked to God like He was talking to a friend, and told his friend that he wanted a back stage pass to the greatest show on earth. Like Oliver Twist, who was dissatisfied with “three meals of thin gruel a day, an onion twice a week and half a roll on Sundays,” Moses wanted more out of his relationship with the Creator of the universe.
So he approached God in child-like faith and dared to do what you and I should do every day — he asked for more…
“…show me your glory.”
-Exodus 33:18
This is one of the all-time epic moments in all of human history. God is going to let Moses in on something He doesn’t let anyone else see — a peek, a glimpse, a shimmering second or two at the very heart of who God is. Not His work, not His ways, but Moses is going to see what God really, really, really looks like. Incredible!
This is God’s response to that bold request…
“And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence…”
-Exodus 33:19
His very name is glory! So proclaim it!
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO BOLDLY CALL ON THE GLORIOUS NAME OF THE GREAT I AM! LIKE MOSES, ASK JESUS TO SHOW YOU HIS GLORY. THEN DON’T BE SURPRISED WHEN HE SHOWS UP IN YOUR LIFE AND SAYS A SUPERNATURAL ‘TA-DA!’ BECAUSE HE WILL, THAT I PROMISE YOU. HE WILL!From my book: GOOD OVERCOMES EVIL
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January 29, 2017
Dare to act on His power!
Walking in God’s power is not for the faint of heart. Be brave and step into all that God has for you!
LOOKING FOR POWER IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES
People flock by the millions to pack out movie houses to see X-men, Spiderman, The Avengers, Thor, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. The reason? These movies portray people who have a leg-up on everyone else around them. They have what we all want — power.
How tragic it is that there are churches on every corner in America that don’t know where the power is. It is so important that the church believe and declare that our God is a miracle-working God — not just in biblical times when great men of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, put pen to paper, but for this time as well.
Let’s throw away the doctrine that says God will be powerful again someday. The world has gone to Hell while we’ve fed in to this lie.
Jesus is no less God now than He was in biblical times. Nor is He less God now than He will be when He rides His white horse from Heaven to take back this earth. He is God right now — this very minute — and He is powerful.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
– Hebrews 13:8
There are a lot of people who don’t believe in the power of God for today because they don’t want to be held responsible for walking in the power of God today. They relegate healings and prophecy to the past. Dreams, visions and words from God, they say, are not for us. If they were, we would have to act on them — heaven forbid!
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO ACT ON HIS POWER! DARE TO BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF GOD TODAY IN YOUR LIFE — TODAY IN THIS WORLD. DARE TO SHARE THAT JESUS IS IN THE MIRACLE BUSINESS AND YOU ARE JOB #1.From my book: MIRACLES WITH A MESSAGE
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January 28, 2017
It is good!
Let God turn up the dial of your spiritual thermostat and you will see the atmosphere change around you. Be prepared for His goodness to increase in the same measure that you poor out His goodness on others.
THERMOSTAT VS. THERMOMETER
I have noticed that goodness likes to show up in a mess. The deal is, once goodness is engaged in the chaos that is us, the mess is no longer the issue. That’s because goodness is like a thermostat. It can’t help but change the atmosphere.
You see, unlike a thermometer which only measures the temperature, God’s goodness is a thermostat. It not only measures the “temperature” of the atmosphere, it changes and resets the tone of a situation, and the tone of your life – permanently.
That’s why at the beginning of the creation story and at the end of every day, God said, “It is good.” Goodness is always the catalyst for transition. That’s were transformation begins – God’s goodness pouring out on you. It’s what sends you on your journey with Him.
And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have told us to do is good.’
– Deuteronomy 1:14
Are you stuck in a rut along your path with Jesus? If it’s been a long time since you’ve seen transformation in your life, turn up the heat by pouring out the goodness of God onto others. The Lord will reset your thermostat to a new level of goodness in your life each time you turn up the amount of goodness you demonstrate.
Father God likes it when His kids are thermostats.
From my book: GOOD OVERCOMES EVIL
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January 27, 2017
This is not the time to bail out
It is the Lord’s will that you find a church where you can praise Him, and encourage those you worship with. This is your tribe and they need you.
MISSING OUT AND MISSING US
Hebrews 10:25 warns against “forsaking the assembly of yourselves together, as the manner is for some.” In other words, don’t skip out on church.
There is a growing movement of people who play the “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian” card. While they are correct, they are also opting to be irrelevant, misinformed and empty.
THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN BE RIGHT WITH GOD AND WRONG WITH HIS PEOPLE!
More than that, the few of us who are joined together, need you. It’s just not the same without you!
Here are some scriptures to invade your soul if you are MIA – Missing in Action:
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
– Romans 12:10
Those who be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
– Psalms 92:13
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
– Romans 12:4-5
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.
– Hebrews 10:24-25
Wake up and smell the coffee! “The day” is fast approaching so this is not the time to bail out! Get yourself into church and plugged in for good. The salvation, healing, provision and strengthening of many depends on you!
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO COMMIT TO THE BODY OF CHRIST. CONSIDER YOUR GIFTS AND HELP FINISH THE PUZZLE OF THE CHURCH!From my book: SOUL INVASION
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January 26, 2017
Prepare to stand against the mob!
Mobs come and go, but God’s goodness is forever. Stay away from the mob and don’t get caught up in it. God has an amazing future in store for you as you stick to His truth.
THE SWITCH
When the Rolling Stones released their album “Beggars Banquet” in 1968, the opening track caught the word’s attention and hasn’t really let go. “Sympathy for the Devil” was a huge hit. Rolling Stone magazine would later list it as No. 32 of the 500 greatest songs of all times.
Personally, I think it was part of a prophetic voice for those times that “were a’ changing” – the last days where the devil starts to become the world’s hero.
Just two years later, a leather-bound papyrus document found in Egypt also made world news. The self-titled “Gospel of Judas” was an ancient writing that told the story of Jesus’ death from the viewpoint of Judas as the good guy. Of course, Jesus was the bad guy and the whole thing was a setup for poor Judas.
“You love evil more than good…”
-Psalm 52:3
If you jump from books to modern movies, God is increasingly portrayed as the bad guy. In 2014, we couldn’t wait to see “Noah,” directed by visionary filmmaker Darren Aronofsky. Guess what we were treated to? God is the bad guy refusing to speak to people who desperately need Him, while fallen angels, or demons as the Bible calls them, are some kind of weird, selfless rock monsters saving the day.
Millions of unsuspecting people all over the world now know this modern fable as the story of Noah’s ark. As they said in the 2014 movie Maze Runner, “Wicked is good.”
Well, no it’s not and it never will be. As the day of Jesus’ return draws closer, you and I will experience a world that seems backward and upside down. You will be persecuted for doing good and loving Jesus. Don’t fear! That means you will have to step up your goodness game because good overcomes evil. Period.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine… and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
– 2 Timothy 4:3-4
From my book: GOOD OVERCOMES EVIL
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January 25, 2017
Can you serve with a smile?
I was told when I was young, "You can get happy just like you got mad." It is my choice to set my mind on things above instead of things of this world. Jesus desires us to bring His kingdom into our earth, which affects the people around us and helps them see the true love the Father has for us. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. (Matthew 13:44)
SERVICE WITH A SMILE
How badly do you want to reach your potential and fulfill your true purpose in life? How real is your desire to be clean, victorious and full of the peace of God? Know this…
God has some terrible things on a leash that want to invade your space and chew you to pieces.
If you refuse to serve God the way He wants you to, He will eventually let go. On the other end of that leash are terrible masters who are crying out to rule over you. Don’t ask for them!
See, tyrants are not just dictators. Tyrants are also spirits that hold your heart captive. They tell you to be stressed out and full of anxiety. They are circumstances that incarcerate all your free time and never allow you to love your family.
A tyrant can also be an unbelievable disgrace or an embarrassment that will imprison your goals and dreams. It can enslave an entire family to the regime of drug abuse, pornography, depression, failure and spiritual bankruptcy.
These are the things He is holding back from you because you have decided to serve Him. You do not want Him to let go. So what is God looking for?
Service yes, but service with a smile. Stay in His service and be happy about it because if you leave the reservation, you will walk out from under His protection.
God is looking for people who are happy that they answer to His authority. Who are delighted and feel fortunate to be part of His kingdom and service to others. Service with a glad heart is not unreasonable for God to expect.
God doesn’t love a giver. He loves a cheerful giver.
– 2 Corinthians 9:7
Do you want to experience the love of God? Be a cheerful giver. Hand down a blessing instead of a curse.
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO SET YOUR HEART TOWARD CHEERFULNESS IN SERVICE, GIVING AND GREETING BOTH GOD AND PEOPLE! THIS IS YOUR PURPOSE FOR LIVING.From my book: SOUL INVASION
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January 24, 2017
Perfect love casts out fear
Fear is one of the enemies strongest tools that he likes to use. When we are in its grip our faith in the Lord Jesus is greatly hindered. Our thought process is not on the only One who can deliver us. When we trust in Jesus, He is the author of our story and He determines how it ends. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made in perfect love.” So know Jesus and know His perfect peace and love for you.
THE HEEVIE JEEVIES
Sometimes, for no reason whatsoever, a good and godly person can get the feeling like something bad is about to happen. It usually includes an attachment of “and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
This is a theme that transcends culture, the ages and beats up on saved and pagan alike. Everybody gets the heevie jeevies now and then. It is a feeling of impending doom, and a sickening dread that threatens us.
Even in our own generation, teenagers flocked by the millions to a movie called “Final Destination” and its popular sequel. It’s a really scary movie about a bunch of kids who cheat death, then spend the next two hours running from it. The conclusion is that, once death is after you, it is going to get you.
I have something to tell you that will absolutely deflate the terror that once death is after you, you are doomed. Let me turn that 2-hour movie into a 5-minute flick.
Death is not after you. Death already has you. It caught you before you were even born!
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men.
– Romans 5:12
Death isn’t chasing anybody! It doesn’t have to. Death never has and never will pursue you. With that knowledge comes freedom!
There is a great country song by Tim McGraw where he sings about having cancer. Knowing death is inevitable, he sings, “I loved deeper, and I spoke sweeter, and I gave forgiveness I’d been denying. Someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying.”
From my book: SOUL INVASION
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January 23, 2017
God doesn't change - we do!
Look to Jesus. He is your Light and your Life and you will always see good coming from Him. And if you hang around Him long enough, His goodness will rub off on you. His truth will always set you free, indeed.
GOD DOESN’T CHANGE — WE DO
When I was a kid, all of us munchkins would fold our hands, close our eyes and repeat our memorized prayer in our best country bumpkin accents before every meal. “God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food…”
We kids had it right. God is great and He is good, so when did our prayer life change from “God, I know you’re good” to “God I hope you’re in a good mood…?” Something happens between the first day of school, the second marriage or the third trip to the funeral home.
After years of what feels like just bad — being bad, talking bad, living bad, experiencing and feeling bad — you do something amazing. You recreate God in your own self image! Crazy, isn’t it? Through the lens of your messed up life, you become less convinced that God is really good after all because you’re not.
It’s a good thing that Jesus programmed you to connect with Him, because “in Him is life and that life was the light of men.” He created you and I to yearn for His goodness, knowing we would have to fight to comprehend it.
“He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from the beginning to end.”
-Ecclesiastes 3:11
Drop that poisoned apple that tells you God is not good! Once you take a bite, you become bewitched into believing He is waiting for you to mess up so He can punish you. It takes a miracle from the Prince of Peace to kiss you with His goodness — forgiveness through salvation — and awaken you to the truth:
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO TAKE A STAND: KNOW THAT WHEN STORMS COME, GOD IS GOOD. DURING BLUE SKIES, GOD IS GOOD.AGAIN, GOD IS GOOD AND THE DEVIL IS BAD. IT’S JUST THAT SIMPLE.
From my book: GOOD OVERCOMES EVIL
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January 22, 2017
Savor the flavor
It’s time to look for a new wineskin. The old has gone, the new has come. The Holy Spirit is pouring into your life in a new way. Let the new wineskin stretch to hold the new thing the Holy Spirit is working in you.
THE TASTE OF WATER INTO WINE
Call me crazy, but I think that wine is a huge counterpart to something very supernatural in the kingdom. I guess this makes me somewhat of a Holy Ghost wino.
You see, when it comes to wine, the simplest flavors are the easiest to recognize. Very ripe, jammy fruit and vanilla flavors are perfectly natural for new wine drinkers to relate to. They are familiar and likable. The problem with these “soft drink-like” flavors is they lack complexity.
That’s the way it is with tasting or experiencing God’s presence.
He shows up first in ways that you can easily recognize. But, then He moves you on to much more unique, personal and complex “tasting” or experiences with Him. That’s called “fine wine.”
Complex and fine wines dance in your mouth. They change even as you’re tasting them. Like a good painting, the more you look, the more there is to see. Truly aged wines often evolve from complex into sublime. How long do the flavors linger after you swallow? That’s a good indication of maturity.
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines.
– Isaiah 25:6
Beginning wine drinkers tend to move on too quickly to the next sip when there is a really good, mature wine in the glass. Hold on! Let the wine finish its dance.
Likewise, let the Lord finish His experience with you before you move on to a new encounter. Savor the “flavor” of your encounter with God. He is good. When you encounter Him in different levels as you progress in your relationship with Him, you will truly taste His goodness.
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD. SAVOR YOUR TIME WITH HIM AND ENJOY HIS GOODNESS.From my book: GOOD OVERCOMES EVIL
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