Servias Ministries Blog

FATHER spoke in Jeremiah chapter 1:
12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”

What a wonderful commitment to us from FATHER!  HE did not just provide us with a book full of “maybe’s” but one filled with HIS promises which HE will watch over to fulfill in each of our lives.  Who better to place our trust than THE ONE who created us and loving hovered over us as we were formed in the womb.

As we read chapters and study topics in Scripture, let us keep in mind this fundamental promise FATHER has spoken.  There is none greater who can challenge HIS Word and the power contained therein.  HE expressed HIS Divine Intent in each Word given to us through various means.  When HE speaks to me directly, I fully trust HIS Word, no matter what the world would say otherwise.

How much power does FATHER have?  It is infinite and beyond our comprehension.  HE is not constrained by lack of knowledge or skill, but has all the resources of Heaven and earth at HIS disposal.  I daresay there are resources we have not been given a glimpse of that are available to bring HIS Word to pass.

What can negatively impact this unfathomable power?  Our unbelief.  Because of HIS Love, HE will not override our decision to seek our own way outside of HIS Word.  The power in The Word is still there but is held back by our own unbelief.  Unbelief will withhold power because of FATHER’S commitment to allowing us to choose our own way.

With this understanding we are able to appreciate FATHER speaking the following in Deuteronomy chapter 30:

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 

16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 

17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 

18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 

19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 

20 that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

As for me and my household, we choose life. 

There are some days when we simply need to ponder FATHER’S Word in its purest form.  Psalm 1 contrasts the righteous man with the ungodly man.

1 Blessed is the manWho walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,Nor stands in the path of sinners,Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He shall be like a treePlanted by the rivers of water,That brings forth its fruit in its season,Whose leaf also shall not wither;And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Our Heavenly Father is full aware of our path and I appreciate knowing that Truth in my life.

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in 1 Corinthians chapter 16:
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 

2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. 

3 And when I come, whomever you approve by yourletters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. 

4 But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.

Is every word written by Paul to the Corinthians fully inspired by FATHER’S Divine Intent and manifested by HIS SPIRIT?  Is there any Word or thought conveyed intended for any other purpose than FATHER’S Intent?  I ask these questions because our ego will have us discount certain verses in order to protect its “kingdom” of scarcity.  It only has power based on what we provide it and thus when we no longer accept its kingdom, its ruler has nothing left to rule over.

Paul gives a clear directive concerning collection for the saints at Jerusalem.  They were to set “something” aside at the beginning of each week to be distributed to those in need elsewhere.  Paul did not set a specific amount except to say that there must be something to be set aside.  Further, he would not take up a collection when he came so there would be no compromise to the “something”.

The collections would be taken by those who were approved as trustworthy to handle the proceeds but Paul was willing to lead the way if required to do so.  It is clear he understood the importance of meeting the needs of those in Jerusalem, or anywhere else for that matter.

Willingness to give is often an issue of trust.  At the highest level, do I trust FATHER and HIS promises to me concerning giving?  When my wife and I give, we do not concern ourselves with “policing” the recipient because we know our intent is honored by FATHER.  The recipient’s honesty and integrity is judged by FATHER without our assistance and he or she will receive the appropriate reward. Paul’s final exhortation:

13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 

14 Let all that you do be done with (agapē) love.In all aspects of our walk, let each be done in Love.

Transition is the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another, and we are in constant transition.  Movement is the hallmark of transition.  In Genesis chapter 1 by THE SPIRIT:

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

The word “hovering” means to shake or move with a feeling of tender Love.  FATHER’S Divine Intent causes transition to occur as HE focuses on the manifestation of that intent.  When our intent manifests, we move either higher or lower depending on how our intent aligns with FATHER.  As we seek HIS Wisdom and respond accordingly, we move higher.  As we look to the world and its sensual, experiential, limited wisdom, we will only move closer to the scarcity associated with man’s wisdom without FATHER’S Divine Intent.

Each one of us is in a constant state of transition and we each have sole discretion which direction we pursue.  If we will only build our foundation on the Rock rather than the sand, we will be able to embrace the deeper Intent of FATHER.  We must:

Be still.  Stillness teaches us restraint.

Be silent.  Silence eliminates noise from the outside and forces the mind to become quiet… if you tell it to do so.

Listen.  FATHER’S Thoughts are higher than ours so we must be intent as we listen for a Word from HIM.

If we are not a peace, one of these facets will be a problem and we must deal with whatever is preventing us from hearing.  Jesus spent much time with FATHER isolated from the others.  This prepared Him for the next day of ministry as He heard instruction from FATHER.  In Deuteronomy chapter 32, THE SPIRIT gave us the Song of Moses including:

11 As an eagle stirs up its nest,Hovers over its young,Spreading out its wings, taking them up,Carrying them on its wings,

12 So the LORD alone led him,And there was no foreign god with him.

It is my desire to have no foreign god directing my footsteps.  Such gods include greed, lusts, logic. goods, signs, lying wonders, etc. and all of these are of a temporary nature for they are all of man’s invention and have no place in The Kingdom.

Those who oppose or fail to seek out FATHER’S Divine Intent effectively place themselves on their own thrones as though they are gods.  Let’s face it, man’s ego is at the top of the list of offenders.  The ego’s needs and desires will become the guiding force of those who walk away from FATHER’S Throne and they will only find death and destruction as a result.  The inward rule over our lives is always greater than the outward rule by others.

No one is stationary in his spiritual walk.  You are always on the move.  Let each of us be established in The Word so that we will always be in an upward motion toward Spiritual maturity.

Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 16:

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 

25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 

26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 

27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”

What are we asked to deny?  My “self”, my soulish life.  What will replace it?  Love of FATHER for mankind.  The primary issue to making this commitment is fear, uncertainty, and doubt of the trustworthiness of what Jesus calls “My sake”.  The word sake means cause, for the purpose of; in the interest of; in order to achieve or preserve.  Jesus told His disciples that His cause was the pathway to life and the glory of FATHER.  In essence, Jesus provided us cause and effect of either taking our own path or following Him.
What is my cross to take up?  It is very specific to my own history thus none of us can create a set of generic steps to address specific histories of sin and lawlessness each of us has been exposed to in our upbringing.

The ego will sacrifice the long term for the short term every time it has a say in our decision-making.  “Self” wants no denial in its way and will sabotage our decisions if given the opportunity.

What will help me discern when my ego is losing ground?  Look at the fruit of your decisions and how you look at others.  Are you seeing them from the eyes of Love or disdain?  Are you drawn to help others or is your sole focus on your own situation?

Finding a quiet, silent place where there is no distraction will allow you to open your ears to what FATHER wants to reveal to you today.  Once we begin to quiet our soul, our spirit can hear what FATHER wants to show us today according to HIS priorities.  There are issues in our soul which must be resolved, especially in the area of unforgiving.   Our initial trust to be nurtured by our family may have been damaged by their actions or lack thereof.  Childhood traumas certainly impact the soul of an immature and impressionable child.  These acts by others require us to root out hurts from the depths of our soul and finally forgive them for they know not what they do.

As we follow in the footsteps of Jesus and take up our cross, we will finally confront the past hurts and forgive those who have wronged us.  As we listen to FATHER and ask HIM to expose those past hurts, HE will cause those remembrances to surface allowing us to finally forgive those acts against us.  It may be like peeling an onion but the result will be to jettison those issues from preventing our spiritual walk of fully expressing Love toward others.

“Self” wants to hold on to those deep-seated hurts but we must nail them to our cross once and for all.

Luke wrote by THE SPIRIT in chapter 23:
33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
Jesus provides us the key to forgiving others in the above verse.  Jesus did not call upon 10,000 angels to wipe out the enemy but instead He forgave them.  Men and women act and react based upon their revelation of who they are.  Jesus observed their fruit and knew they were blinded to Love and discerned their current state of destruction.  Jesus spoke in Matthew chapter 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Each of us was born into a fallen state and as we become self-aware, we are able to make a decision to change.  The decisions we make will determine the fruit we bear.  If we are ignorant of what it takes to make a positive change in our life, then we will continue toward self-destruction.  
Our fruit reflects our current state of blindness.  Jesus forgave them of their blindness and we should do the same when people negatively affect our lives for they are simply living at the level of their current revelation of Love.  Clearly, it can be negligible.
Men’s fruit which are outward speech and actions are what we are to observe and discern.  Each of us knows whether their fruit is consistent with Love and lawfulness.  When drivers cut you off in traffic, they are benefitting themselves at your expense.  Rather than responding in rage, Love realizes their blindness and forgives them.
Each day we make decisions moving us toward full restoration or moving us toward some manner of destruction.  We must be brutally honest and open with ourselves by judging our own fruit.  If we have acted badly, there is something needing to be revealed and corrected in our lives.  We must ask FATHER to show us the root of the problem causing our unloving act so correction can take place.  Jesus continued:
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
As we do the sayings of Jesus, even those He spoke while on the cross, our foundation of forgiveness will respond in Love to the bad acts of others.  Let their blindness not ruin your day, forgive them they know not what they do.