Posted on

What The World Needs Now

An old song says, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.” The question is how to get it. In the book of Romans chapter 5 verse 5, Paul says, “And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

If the Holy Spirit fills us with love, then what the world needs more of is the Holy Spirit. We desperately need Him. We can’t know how to love without Him. It isn’t enough to know about Him. It isn’t enough to visit with Him. We must be filled with Him. We must allow ourselves to be emersed and overwhelmed with God’s Holy Spirit. And by that intimate experience, we can more fully understand the difference between our carnal love and His perfect love. 

Real love, Godly love, makes one feel safe and secure, casting all fear from His presence. Once the fear is gone, then peace is free to reign. If we struggle with peace, we are struggling with love. If we are struggling with love, we are living with fear. Thank God for the Holy Spirit. 

I don’t know about you, but I need Him. I need Him to think straight. I need Him to clear the clutter of my mind. I need Him to lead me in the way I should go. I need Him to comfort and calm me. I need Him to encourage and strengthen me. I need Him to teach and instruct me in the ways of God that lead to life instead of aimlessly walking the paths that lead to destruction. I need His love filling me so that I know how to love.

Folks, we need the Holy Spirit. Can I encourage you to recognize and cherish the gift we have been given and spend time being filled by His Spirit today? He alone can meet our hearts’ deepest needs, and He is available right now. Why wait another moment. Invite Him in to make the difference and fill you with His much-needed perfect love. Allow His love to cast out all fear and bring you the comfort of His matchless peace. He’s just a prayer away.

Jaime Luce

Photo 7444425 / Baptism © Jose Antonio Sanchez Reyes | Dreamstime.com
Posted on

The Main Thing

In every circumstance and every situation, there is one determining factor that has the power to alter, change, restore, and make brand new. It alone holds power to manifest an answer where only questions abound. It is the single factor that set’s you apart. This one element is the golden ticket, the treasure map, the compass of direction. The single key that opens every door tears down every wall, and defeats every enemy is the presence of God!

In Exodus 33, Moses is having an exchange with God about continuing with his assignment. We’ve all been there. We begin and see the mighty power of God displayed as we set out in faith to accomplish the task He called us to do. Somewhere along the line, things go sideways. The people who were with you are now against you. Where you thought you’d be and where you are now look nothing alike. Even your conversations with the Lord are discouraging because He’s just as fed up with everyone’s lack of faith as you are. Though God promises you that He will still use you and accomplish what He said He would, you feel depleted and not comforted.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Keep the main thing, the main thing.” What Moses was worried about was the main thing. He knew that even if he continued forward with a new plan, that would still eventually accomplish his task; without the main thing, it would mean nothing. This is where most people miss it. This one main thing is why God chose Moses.

All Moses cared about from the beginning was God’s presence. It was his only sure thing. It’s as if to say, “If God goes with me, I know it will go exactly how God says it will go.” Moses was so attached to this truth that God would speak to him face to face. And even in that seemingly perfect relationship, Moses wasn’t satisfied. The cry of his heart was, I need to know you more. He says to the Lord, “Show me your glorious presence.” In essence, he was saying, “I know you talk to me, even intimately, face to face, but I want to know why you do what you do and how you think. I want to know all of your ways and how to walk in them.”

King David had this same heart. That’s why it is said of him that he was a man after God’s own heart. God’s presence going with you, leading the way, is the secret of every victory. To know that God is with you, fighting for you, preparing the way, is the peace and courage of every giant slayer. It is the ammunition for every weapon you wield. It is the ultimate prize. To have the presence of God is to have peace that passes all understanding. It is strength to continue to fight the next battle. It is assurance that you’re going to be ok.

If you seek anything today, may you seek His presence. Keep the main thing, the main thing. Nothing else really matters. Though the season is busy and chaotic, remember where peace comes from. It won’t come from checking off all the boxes and finishing the must-dos. It will come when you’re face to face and hear Him say, “I’m going with you, and I’ll show you all my goodness.” There is nothing like the presence of God. Make Him your priority, and watch Him make the difference.

Jaime Luce

Photo 131085075 / Presence © Photodynamx | Dreamstime.com
Posted on

Surviving The Waiting Season

Hang on, saints! God is faithful. And He is going to see to it that the promise He made you comes to pass. Staying encouraged in the waiting season is key. But to do that, we need to look at the first promise. In that promise, we see three important factors about promises.

God told Noah to build an ark of safety for the coming flood. He was asked to prepare for something that no one had ever experienced before. Everything about this call would sound crazy to anyone who heard it. He would be mocked and ridiculed for years. Yet despite public opinion, Noah obeyed and survived a flood that destroyed everyone else.

After a year on that boat, God told Noah to leave the ark of safety. Noah’s first act once off the boat was to build an altar and make a sacrifice to the Lord. The scripture says that the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and promised that he would never again flood the earth and that as long as the earth endures, there will be seed, time, and harvest. It was a tremendous promise that their future would be secure and blessed.

Then, to give Noah a continual reminder, God placed a rainbow in the clouds as a symbol of His promise. So in every time of rain, Noah wouldn’t need to fear. He knew where to fix his gaze. He could look up and see God’s promise.

The first point in this promise is that it would not only affect Noah. Its reach still covers us today. When God gives us a promise, it endures. Our God is eternal, so His gifts are eternal. Romans 11:29, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” No matter how much time has passed, God hasn’t changed His mind about you. The promise stands, and it will bless you and those after you.

Second is the necessary element of time. God said there would be seed, time, and harvest. The promise is the seed. But after you receive the seed, there will be time. How much time? The right amount of time. God’s perfect plan has a perfect time. “For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by faith.” Habakkuk 2:3-4 (NKJV) If you remember that time is part of the promise, you won’t be so discouraged in the waiting.

The third element of this promise is perspective. God put the promise in the sky. For Noah to see it, he would need to lookup. Luke 21:28 (KJV) “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” This scripture reminds us that even when we face the chaos of a fallen world, we can look up and know God is faithful to His word. Just as Noah was safe on the ark, God will keep you.

Your promise is for an appointed time. Look up. It will come to pass.

Jaime Luce

Photo 2600043 © Steven Ramsdell | Dreamstime.com
Posted on

The Tool Being Used Against You

The Eleven O’clock news used to be known for its news. You could turn on the television for thirty minutes and get caught up on the world’s headlines. Now, however, national news has become nothing more than argument and opinion. A quick synonym search for the word argumentative will give you opinionated. Everything we see and hear, from commercials to cartoons, is now bloated with opinions being shoved down our throats. And if we aren’t careful, we will become, in retaliation, precisely the same way. Why?

Exodus 17 tells the plight of Israel right after coming through the Red Sea and escaping Egypt and its slavery. The people are moving camp but have not found water. V.2- 6 says,

“2 So once more, the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded. “Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?” 3 But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses… 

Thirst torments

4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!” 5 The Lord said to Moses, “walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. 6 I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.”

The reason everyone so badly argues is thirst. The world desperately needs living water from The Rock, Christ Jesus. Instead of expecting mere men to satisfy our thirst, we should be asking the Lord for the water only He can provide. Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:10-15, 10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” 11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?” 13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” 15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

Until we drink from Him, we will continually be thirsty, argumentative, and opinionated. Like the woman at the well, we will continue having even our most intimate relationships destroyed for thirst. Our angry spirits need a drink of living water. People will never satisfy. Only Jesus satisfies.

If you are angry today or feeling so unsatisfied that you’re irritated by everyone and everything, I have the answer. It’s Jesus. He wants to give you living water that will bubble up from your inner-most being and water the dry hard ground of your heart. People will never be able to satisfy you. Five husbands couldn’t do it for the woman at the well, and different people or a new city, won’t do it for you either. Turn to Jesus and take a long deep drink. In fact, go to Him every day and take as long of a drink as you need. His well never runs dry.

There is a famous beer commercial that says, “Stay thirsty, my friends.” I find it ironic that the world wants us to remain thirsty. But Jesus wants us satisfied. The choice is yours today. Choose refreshing. Take a drink and choose life.

Jaime Luce

Posted on

Keep Digging!

“We’ve struck water!” they exclaimed. Isaac’s servants had just found freshwater. While still excited about the discovery, the people in the next town came demanding that it belonged to them, though they themselves did not dig the well. Instead of wasting time in senseless arguments, Isaac sends his men to another location to begin digging there.

They again have great success and find water, yet the same argumentative people come to claim it. Refusing to give up, Isaac moves a third time to a different location where his men are again successful. This time, without dispute.

We will all have to dig wells on our journey. A well not only represents the obvious of water for life, livestock, and crop growth, but it also speaks of inheritance and blessing.

Abraham, Isaac’s father, was very wealthy. He had passed all that he owned to his son Isaac. In order to carry that kind of blessing, he needed wells to sustain that blessing. Digging wells meant making room for more blessing because they were an identifier. It marked land, ownership, and independence. If you had your own wells, you didn’t rely on those around you for sustenance. Isaac’s wells meant it was God alone who provided for his needs, as was the case with his father.

If you want to be blessed, you need wells, but know that there will be attacks from the enemy to rob you of your wells. The enemy wants you bound to his demands and to keep you from freedom. In America, we face this threat even now. Our government wants to control our wells. Businesses everywhere are wanting to hire, but people have decided to receive their water from others wells. It affects, economy, freedom, and prosperity.

I encourage you today to keep digging! Don’t quit! Dig a well of prayer and let the Lord lead you to a place of freedom and a well of no dispute. Don’t drink from someone else’s well. Dig your own and don’t waste time. There is a well for you. There is a place of refreshing and provision, and God has an inheritance and blessing for you that no one can take from you. He is our provision and sustainer. His authority is unparalleled and undisputed. And God will give you good success.

Keep digging!

Jaime Luce

Jaimeluce.com

Photo 224923788 © Alekna | Dreamstime.com

 

 

Posted on

When God Closes A Door

After enduring the years of mocking and unbelief, the day had come when all the preparation was finished. God gave Noah the final instructions. Get your family in the boat because, in seven days, everything is going to change. So Noah did everything as the Lord commanded him. 13 “That very day Noah had gone into the boat with his wife and his sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—and their wives. 14 With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild, large and small—along with birds of every kind.15 Two by two they came into the boat, representing every living thing that breathes. 16 A male and female of each kind entered, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind them.” Genesis 7:13-16

There are times when we have labored, worked, and obeyed. We did the work alone while standing against the mockers and the nay-sayers. We did everything the Lord asked us to do, and then God closes a door. It can feel isolated and cut off. It can seem like a tight, narrow, and limited space. It can even stink! Nothing seems solid. The ground continually moves under your feet. There is no stability for what seems like an eternity.

You may question if this is actually God’s plan for you and wonder if you heard Him correctly. But when God closes a door, it’s for your protection. When God closes a door, He’s redirecting you. He knows that the landscape of your world is changing, and you won’t survive it if you aren’t shut up with Him and shut out from your yesterday and all those who wanted to hold you there. But the flood you are experiencing is serving to carry you to a new mountain top with a whole new view and perspective.

Keep checking the dove’s (Holy Spirit) response. He will let you know when the floodwaters are no longer a danger to you. While you made the preparations not knowing what was coming, God has been making the preparations for all that is new. And when that door opens, it will be a whole new world.

Jaime Luce

Photo 184850667 / Ark © Nonneljohnvilbar | Dreamstime.com
Posted on

Where Is Real Peace Found?

Gone are the days of just desiring to live a quiet and peaceful life. A life where you can just freely live, make a living of your choice and raise your family with the values and beliefs you hold dear without interference. Instead, we are daily wakened to the life-draining news and propaganda. Couple that with the onslaught of forced feedings of agenda by social media or any media for that matter. 

In this current climate, we need the grace and peace Peter spoke of in 2 Peter 1:2-4. “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

Thank God for the Word! We can escape the kingdoms of this world by living for the Kingdom of God. In a time when we desperately need grace and peace, Peter tells us how to get it. It is found in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. The more that I seek to know Him, the more grace and peace I receive. 

The knowledge of Jesus gives us access to His great power by the Holy Spirit for “all things” that deal with life and righteous living. Through salvation, we are now partakers of the promise that we can escape this world’s corruption and the lust that drives it.

If you need the grace to deal with today, go to the Word. If you need peace for the storms outside, go to the Word. Jesus said in Matthew 11:29, “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” So today, if you need more grace to deal with this life, or if you need peace for your mind and heart, learn of Jesus, who will multiply to you all that you need.

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

Jaime Luce

blob:http://127.0.0.1:41050/e5b4e346-9440-4b5b-bae8-d4bcff8fff8a