Permission is hereby freely granted in advance to anyone who may wish to use, preach, teach, print, copy, duplicate or distribute any of my maxims, teachings, books, study guides, posters, or devotionals as long as neither the content nor the authorship is changed... Dr. Dan Cheatham
FORWARD FREELY. This devotional is updated each week, each year. The freshest content is near the top of each week's devotional. Content from previous years for any given week is included below the fresh content. NOTE: If you have the option to do so, please add us to your 'buddy', 'accepted', 'approved' or 'trusted sender' list to ensure you continue to receive our messages. Thanks. This Week's Memory Verse is Philippians 4:13 KJV: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
WEEK 9
Eagles stir their young out of the nest and challenge them to fly on their own.
Immediately before a spiritual breakthrough in your life there often comes a battle to try to divert your attention. This is the devil's doing. So you must resist the devil aloud in Jesus' name, pray over the matter, forgive in prayer anyone who may have been used by the devil as a pawn against you, and realize that what has happened to you means that you're doing something right and have simply attracted the attention of the enemy! Hallelujah!
Some things are worth contending for, struggling for, praying for, and enduring for.
Get rough. Get tough. Get going again. Someone has said, "The task ahead of you is never as great as the power behind you!"
You CAN accomplish your dream!
You CAN reach your goals!
Philippians 4:13 KJV - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
You CAN be blessed!
You CAN be a blessing to humanity!
You CAN receive from God!
You CAN overcome those negative emotions!
You CAN defeat those negative thoughts!
You CAN defeat those impure thoughts!
You CAN be all that God designed you to be!
You CAN overcome that inferiority complex!
You CAN overcome any shame of your past!
You CAN enjoy God's forgiveness!
You CAN!
You CAN succeed in every way!
You CAN... THROUGH CHRIST!
Philippians 4:13 AMP - I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].
Acts 6:4 KJV - But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
To what are you giving yourself?
To whom are you giving yourself?
Give yourself fresh to Prayer and God’s Word.
Abandon yourself to a lifestyle basked in prayer and steeped in God’s Word.
Prayer & Bible Reading keeps you fresh!
Lack of Prayer & Bible Reading stagnates and bores.
Prayer is at once your ticket out of trouble and your passport into spiritual maturity.
People don’t pray because the last time they did so, they had no fun.
Pray until it creates a memory of pleasure. You will only return to something that brings you pleasure. (Mike Murdock)
Your Father longs to share with you.
Prayer = Enjoying God.
Prayer is the very oxygen I breathe.
As I exhale prayer I inhale His very presence.
The prophet Habukkuk knew how to FAIL FORWARD!
Habukkuk 3:17-19 - Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
Habukkuk did two things in the above passage to outlast his crisis. First he praised his way out of it. He rejoiced in his salvation, in his relationship with the Lord despite the terrible circumstances surrounding him. He knew that HIGH PRAISE IS THE CURE FOR LOW EMOTIONS! (Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.) Second, Habukkuk confessed God's Word over His life and aligned his own words with God's Word. (The Lord God is my strength!) The way out of a disaster is to praise your way out and confess your way up! The circumstances will eventually have to bow to your confession. Feelings of failure will eventually give way to glorious praise.
Find me a man who has never failed in a venture and I will show you a man who has never tried to do anything noble or worthwhile.
There are risks to obeying God, but there are far greater risks in disobeying.
The walk of faith is sometimes bumpy, but it will make you a big person.
Abraham's faith walk made him big on the inside.
The reason some Christians fall for legalism is that following a system of strict rules appears easier to their flesh than having to foster a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord. To their flesh, it seems less risky and easier to simply comply with a bunch of "thou shalt not's" than to actually pursue His presence and listen to His voice on a daily basis.
People who keep walking with God grow larger and larger in their hearts.
Commitment is the cornerstone of anything successful.
Loyalty is Legendary! God has a difficult time finding a person who will stay the course and be loyal to Him, loyal to His plan, and loyal to the local church and their pastor. Psalm 12:1 KJV - Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. Proverbs 20:6 - Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?
The Word teaches that in the last days, loyalty will be a rare find. 2 Timothy 3:3 KJV - Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good.
Loyalty is the ability to stay faithful to someone or something for decades, despite plenty of reasons and excuses to do just the opposite.
As a man of God for 30 years now, I am humored by what most people think is loyalty and faithfulness. Most people think they are loyal to a local church if they stay there for a few years. Ha! One has never truly been a church member until they have been in one place for at least 7 years. "Seven" is God's number of completion. I also stand amazed at how lightly people can enter and exit their marriage covenant(s)(ss)(sss)(ssss). I am sickened by the transient mentality of most Christians today. Too many saints are like vagabonds, wandering from church to church, trend to trend, and the latest Christian magazine craze. They treat a local pastor and a local church family like a disposable diaper or like a mere consumable product on the Shoppers TV Network. Today in Christendom it is all about "me, me, me, my needs, my needs, my needs." What about the ancient message of "denying self, taking up your cross, and following Christ?" What ever happened to that message from the Bible? What about "Go ye!" Most American Christians treat the things of God like shopping for toys or clothing in the mall. Most Christians today are faddish, trendy, unreliable, and nomadic. They cannot endure. They cannot persevere. They have no sense of commitment. Hard times come and they crumble. Testing of relationships comes and they "cut and run." Many are still moral or ethical weaklings. They do not spend quality time with God in His Word or in prayer. And loyalty... well, that is too old-fashioned for them. While our troops faithfully die on foreign soil to protect us from Islamic error and terror, most Christians cannot even stand their ground for the things matter the most! They are thrill seekers and have lost their way. They need to repent, settle down, get rooted and stay loyal where God plants them.
Tithing 101 is the prerequisite to Prosperity 202. Offerings 303 is the prerequisite to Abundance 404. And Memorial Offerings 505 is the prerequisite to Wealth 606.
Your PASTOR is not your PAL. Your pastor is your friend, but there must be a bit of healthy separation in the relationship for you to receive from his ministry. The moment your pastor becomes your BUDDY in your own heart, you can no longer receive much from the anointing on his life. God didn't give you a pastor be CHUMMY with, but to be a MENTOR, a spiritual ROLE MODEL. Yes, your pastor is just as human as you are, but He is CALLED and SEPARATED according to the scripture, so that God can minister to you through his life. An uncommon measure of RESPECT is necessary for the Shepherd-Sheep relationship to thrive. Often after a period of time passes, a person becomes too FAMILIAR with his or her pastor and then accidentally begins to relate to their pastor as a PAL, a CHUM, or just another Christian friend on their same level. But this is a mistake. You should love your pastor and your pastor should love you, but don't let the relationship become CASUAL and thereby miss the blessing God intends. You and your pastor should feel naturally comfortable in one another’s presence and be able to enjoy sweet fellowship. Friend, yes! But Pal, no.
Hebrews 13:17 NIV - Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 NIV - Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
There is a DIFFERENCE between a believer and a PASTOR... NOT a difference of VALUE or IMPORTANCE to God... NOT a difference of being loved by God... BUT a difference in Kingdom Authority... a difference of CALLING and FUNCTION in the body of Christ... a difference of RESPONSIBILITY in the house of God. There is a SEPARATION!
Romans 1:1 KJV - Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, SEPARATED unto the gospel of God.
1 Chronicles 23:13 KJV - The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was SEPARATED, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.
Does God love a father or mother more than a child? Of course not. Is a child of EQUAL VALUE to God as his parents? Yes! BUT... a child is NOT of equal AUTHORITY and RESPONSIBILITY as his parents. Therefore, God instructs children to obey their parents. It is the same in the Kingdom of God. Everyone in the church is of EQUAL VALUE, but NOT everyone in the church is of equal authority and anointing.
Numbers 12:8b KJV - Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
The existence of AUTHORITY in this universe is for SAFETY and ORDER. Differing levels of authority DO NOT DIMINISH anyone's equal worth, but rather furnish a structured environment for everyone to flourish and grow.
Paul the apostle told Timothy the pastor in Titus 2:15 NLT, "You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them. You have the authority to correct them when necessary, so don’t let anyone disregard what you say."
2 Corinthians 10:8 NLT - I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority.
Any Pastor who gets a RUSH or KICK out of being in authority was, at worst, never really called by God to be a pastor in the first place, or at best, has lost his humbleness and brokeness before God and has allowed himself to become lifted up in pride. Pastoring is all about RESPONSIBILITY; the authority of God is only there to assist in fulfilling the awesome responsibility and sacred privilege of LEADING and FEEDING God's own people.
Whoever is the FEEDER of the local church is the LEADER of the local church. God has never asked a person who is not called to the five-fold ministry to lead his church. Only someone appointed by God with an anointing to FEED his sheep is qualified to LEAD his sheep. It is out of divine order when non-called, non-separated believers run a local church. When people who are not called, anointed and separated by God into the ministry try to run a local church, the Bible calls it "offering strange fire." (See Leviticus 10:1) This is why many churches lose the touch of God and forfeit the power of God in their midst... the leadership of the church has been inadvertently turned over to the laymen.
As someone has noted, "When God has a plan, God has a man." (NOT... "When God has a plan, God has a committee.")
Can you imagine how tragic it would be if John 3:16 read as follows: "God so loved the world that He gave His committee..."
When God wanted to save the world He sent His one and only Son.
When God wanted to deliver the Israelites, He sent Moses.
When God wanted to raise up a king with his own heart, He raised up David.
When God wanted to build a temple, He chose a man named Solomon.
When God wanted to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines, He raised up a single judge in every successive generation... Deborah, Gideon, Samson, etc.
When God wanted to take His people into the promised land, God tapped a man named Joshua to do it.
When God wanted to deliver the Israelites from Baal worship, He raised up Elijah.
When God wanted to establish the Gentile church, He appointed and anointed Paul.
NOTE: When God wanted to do anything in the Bible, He never appointed a BOARD, a COMMITTEE, or a CONGRESS to do it. He appointed a MAN, a SINGLE PERSON. Certainly boards and committees have their place in society and even in the local church, but they should NEVER, EVER replace or rebel against God's way of governing through the Man of God. God doesn't lead by deliberation, popularity, recent trends or voting. God leads through giftedness! If it is not God's own GIFTEDNESS doing the leading, then it is mere natural men substituting. The GIFT makes room for the leader. A touched mouth is still the acid test of God's calling on a person. It is a tragedy when the local church is run by WANNA-BE's instead of CALLED-TO-BE's.
Question: What is an associate pastor or assistant pastor? Answer: Another called minister whom God has assigned to the senior minister, to uphold his arms in the spirit of Aaron and Hur. (See Exodus 17:12)
Those who SHOW UP for church sporadically GROW UP sporadically. But those who make church attendance a lifestyle grow up quickly.
Those who TITHE sporadically PROSPER sporadically. Those who TITHE consistently PROSPER consistently!
God cannot bless a CASUAL CHRISTIANITY.
God blesses PASSION, CONSECRATION, COMMITMENT, LOYALTY, CONSISTENCY, and FAITHFULNESS!
Often God places conditions along with a promise from the Bible. He does NOT do this because He is trying to be hard on us. He does this to protect the promise from the rebellious and to vouchsafe it to the obedient. When we meet the conditions of one of God's Bible promises, the promised results are then absolutely guaranteed! Meeting the condition makes it IMPOSSIBLE for the promise NOT to come to pass! The promised results are INEVITABLE! Having met the condition of the promise then takes the results from from possible - to probable - to inevitable - to EXPERIENCED! Hallelujah!
Fly with the Eagles! Don't Grovel with the Chickens. Run with the Lions! Don't play with the Monkeys. To become Great, you must associate with Greatness. Who you associate with reveals just how lofty or how low you have set your dreams and goals.
A Great Mentor can take you to the Top. A Poor Role Model can sink you to the Bottom.
At all times you are modeling someone else, whether you realize it or not. Someone is setting the standard to which you aspire, whether you acknowledge it or not.
To some extent, a person can become your Mentor and you can become their Protege, even if you do not have access to them on a personal basis. How can this be? Simple. You can read every book they write or listen to every message they publish. When I first came to Christ, I bought hundreds of dollars of Kenneth Copelend preaching tapes. I also purchased hundreds of dollars of Kenneth Hagin books. I literally devoured, read and re-read, highlighted, underlined, listened, re-listened, to everything God had given them, so as to model my life after theirs. Today I purchase every book Dr. Mike Murdock publishes. I literally absorb every nugget of wisdom he teaches from God's Word and endeavor to put these Biblical principles into practice in the different areas of my life. I can literally quote hundreds of Mike Murdock's teachings. (Whenever I quote him in these devotionals, I always give him the credit by listing his name in parentheses.) I decided a long time ago that I wanted the spirit of Mike Murdock, so I follow hard after his ministry. I told the Lord that I cherished the teachings Mike ministered to me through his books, and that I would sow financially into his ministry and that I wanted everything God had given Mike to become mine as well. Not that we should worship any servant of God, or that any servant of God is perfect, or that we shouldn't also receive ministry from other men and women of God, or that we shouldn't be careful to weigh everything someone teaches, comparing it to scripture... BUT... I knew that the Lord Himself had sent Mike Murdock as a special messenger into my life.
If Jesus is not Lord of YOUR CALENDAR, He is not truly Lord of your life!
To stop making bad decisions, one must stop allowing bad influences into their life.
If there is bad behavior or bad decisions in your life, then there is almost always a bad association somewhere in your life with whom you must ruthlessly sever all ties.
SEVER people who are dragging you down. TREASURE people who are taking you up.
BURY your past! MARRY your future!
My Past is Drowned. My Future is Crowned.
Enoch got so close to God that he fell over into Heaven.
Genesis 5:18-24 KJV - And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch... And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Enoch walked so much with God that the only new place left for them to walk together was the Streets of Gold!
Enoch so pleased God, that God couldn't wait any longer to see him in person.
Hebrews 11:5 KJV - By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Enoch succeeded at what Adam failed - consistently walking and talking with God in the cool of the day.
Evidently Enoch was a God-Pleaser, not a Man-Pleaser.
Enoch must have been Christ-Centered instead of Self-Centered.
Jude 1:14-16 KJV - And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
Because Enoch was SO CLOSE to God, he could prophesy SO FAR into the future!
Those who are CLOSE to God can often see FAR into the future!
Enoch must have been a person who obeyed God Quickly & Quietly, Promptly and Politely.
I may not be able to live and walk with God for 365 years like Enoch did, but I do believe it is possible for me to walk with God 365 days a year!
Disconnect from contentious people.
Disconnect from friendships which have become manipulative, choking, possessive or abusive over time.
Disconnect from abusive authority. (Just make sure that what you are calling abusive authority isn't actually your own rebellious streak.)
Are you a "PLUG" or a "PLUS" to what God is doing in your local church? The Holy Spirit sometimes has to do some subtracting from a congregation (pruning) to remove one or two people PLUGGING the flow, in order that he may add new people who will be a PLUS to the established FLOW OF THE HOUSE! Most PLUGS have an independent streak or an inordinate need to control. Whereas PLUS people are those with a TEAM PLAYER mentality.
Every organization, whether it be a business firm, a government, a church, a family, or a club, RISES or FALLS on the presence or absence of one ingredient... RESPECT! If your organization is to RISE, you and your team members must learn the principles of EARNING RESPECT and FREELY GIVING RESPECT.
As a LEADER, I must cultivate the attitude that "I WILL EARN THE PEOPLE'S RESPECT" because the Bible expects me to have integrity and character. As a FOLLOWER, I must cultivate the attitude that "I WILL FREELY GIVE THE LEADER RESPECT," because the Bible commands that I do so.
Hebrews 13:17 NLT - Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.
A definition of Agape Love is "To Respect Another's God-Likeness." Genesis 1:26 says, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..."
He who organizes, rises. He who refuses, loses.
Your To-Do List: List it or lose it. Your Creative Idea: Write it or Flight it.
He who is without a Daily List becomes Listless.
He who is without a Target hits Nothing!
I.D. Your Ideas That Are Inspired by God!
Whatever God gives me to do, He graces me to do.
God only gives Matching Grace for what I Presently Face.
Whatever God Starts, God Stablishes.
Whatever God Births, God Blesses.
Whatever God Founds, God Finishes.
Life is a series of Difficult Choices amidst Conflicting Voices.
Eagles don't try to Fly Backwards.
THREE LEVELS OF EXPECTATION: Basic: "I am looking for employment." Intermediate: "I am looking to start a business!" Advanced: "I am looking to become an employer!"
Don't Consult your Critics! Consult your Circle!
"Your Circle" are the small handful of "Confidants" that God has placed in your life for your protection. Your Circle are those friendships that you have fertilized over the years; people who really respect you and who have earned your respect, people who believe in you, people who celebrate what God has called you to do and to be. Your Circle are those few people who you can really trust to pray for you, without bias, manipulation, or selfishness. Your Critics, on the other hand, are those acquaintances, fellow-workers, fellow-Christians, and possibly even some family members, or relatives, who don't respect your dreams and goals as they should. Your Critics will never be "consultation-worthy" because they are going another direction than you are. They can't discern your worth, much less your Divine Destiny. They are self-absorbed in their own little world. They may even love you as a family member, but they don't understand you or your divine assignment from God. Never consult with anyone who doesn't understand you. Your lofty dreams mean little to a Critic, so in your better discretion, you must disqualify them for consultation. Don't allow them access into your inner sanctum and never consult them for intimate input into your plans and decisions. But you MUST cultivate a CIRCLE of confidants for your life if you are to be truly successful.
Isaiah 55:12 is the Bible Recipe For Divine Guidance. Four Essential Ingredients assure that you are really tasting God's Will for your life and that you are not heading the wrong way. "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap [their] hands."
1)"Go out with JOY..." God is never going to lead you to do something or to go somewhere that brings you sadness and heaviness when you think about it or pray about it. He wants you happy; that is a given! When God is truly guiding you in a certain direction, the thought of it will bring you joy. But joy alone can be deceiving since the anticipation of any favorable change brings joy. And emotions are often unreliable. So the second and largest ingredient of the recipe is Abiding Peace!
2)"Led forth (forward) with PEACE..." Deep inside of your belly, your spirit, when you pray over your decision, do you have a warm sense of approval, a gut feeling that it is right, a "Yes" in your bosom, an "Ahhhhh" when you pray? Or most every time you pray over the decision you are facing, do you feel unsettled, disturbed, confused, or "something's not right" deep inside you?
3)The third ingredient is "the MOUNTAINS AND THE HILLS shall break forth before you into singing." In other words, the circumstances are singing! Doors of opportunity are beginning to open concerning your decision. Of course, opportunity BY ITSELF is NOT a sure sign of God's approval because there is nothing more common in life than opportunities. However, if God is truly "in" something, He will be opening doors.
4)The fourth and final ingredient is "all the TREES OF THE FIELD will CLAP THEIR HANDS." Who are the trees of the field? The trees are the important people in your life... your Pastor, your trusted Confidants, your Prayer-Partners, your Spouse. The trees are those people "over you in the Lord" and those "close to you in the Lord". Are the important people in your life clapping their hands in approval and agreement about your pending decision? Do they bear witness or are they sounding alarms of warning after praying over you and your decision. And are the people on the other side of your decision beginning to clap their hands? Are the important people on the SENDING side of your decision clapping their hands? Are the important people on the RECEIVING side of your decision beginning to clap their hands?
When all four of the above ingredients begin to coincide and blend together... you can be sure you are heading in the right direction... and the Plan of God for your life sure does taste good!
Survival-Minded People and Success-Minded People never mix! The two philosophies of living are so antithetic that it makes cohabitation impossible.
The Dream Deciphers! The Divine Dream that is burning in your bosom and that you talk about constantly will automatically dig into the hearts of those around you and will ultimately decipher which people belong in your life and which don't! The Dream will divide between healthy relationships and unhealthy ones... who enters and who exits your life.
Some will be DRAWN to your Dream. That very same Dream will also DIVIDE others away from you. Allow this most natural process to occur, realizing that it is healthy for you and the person(s) being DRAWN or DIVIDED. And be gracious with those exiting your life because one day in the future they may grasp the worth of your dream after all, be drawn once again, and wish to be part of your life.
The same anointing on your life that INVIGORATES some, will INFURIATE others!
Thank You, Lord, where I End, You Begin! When I'm Out, You're Still In! When I'm Off, You're Still On! When I'm Down, You're still Up! Remind me, Father, that our relationship with one another rests entirely on Jesus' performance, not mine!
At all times a Leader is either AFFECTING or INFECTING people.
Touch a CHILD today. Savor their smile. Hold their hand. Compliment them. Laugh with them. YOU HAVE JUST TOUCHED HEAVEN!
