Monday Morning Scripture (Wk28/2022) – Exodus 33:12-23

The LORD’s Glory

12 Moses said to the Lord, “Look, you have told me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor with me.’

13 Now if I have indeed found favor with you, please teach me your ways, and I will know you, so that I may find favor with you. Now consider that this nation is your people.”

14 And he replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

15 “If your presence does not go,” Moses responded to him, “don’t make us go up from here.

16 How will it be known that I and your people have found favor with you unless you go with us? I and your people will be distinguished by this from all the other people on the face of the earth.”

17 The Lord answered Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor with me, and I know you by name.”

18 Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.”

19 He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”.

20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.”

21 The Lord said, “Here is a place near me. You are to stand on the rock,

22 and when my glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

23 Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back, but my face will not be seen.”

Exodus 33:12-23 (CSB)

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Authenticity

Be authentic just as I AM. In My deepest excruciating moment at the Garden of Gethsemane, I cried out, “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42 BSB). I chose the cup and I know exactly where you are at in this moment.

Do not shy away from speaking your heart to Me. Come to Me! Trust Me and my resurrection power to heal and deliver you. When you deny your weaknesses and hidden sins, when you avoid exposing it to Me, then I cannot set you free.

Why do you fear coming into My arms? I AM waiting with My arms outstretched just for you. Come and feel the divine exchange of My embrace. That’s all you need, My little one.

The Lord answered Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor with me, and I know you by name.”

Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.”

He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘the Lord’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

Exodus 33:17-19 (CSB)

#lionbites

Friday Morning Scripture (Wk27/2022) – Isaiah 61

Exaltation of the Afflicted

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me to bring good news to the humble and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted, to proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives and freedom to prisoners,

2 To proclaim [1]the favorable year of the Lord, [2]And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

3 To grant to those who mourn in Zion the following: to give them a [3]turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning], the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit. So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up and restore the former desolations; and they will renew the ruined cities, the desolations (deserted settlements) of many generations.

5 Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.

6 But you shall be called the priests of the Lord; people will speak of you as the ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, and you will boast of their riches.

7 Instead of your [former] shame you will have a [4]double portion; and instead of humiliation your people will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore in their land they will possess double [what they had forfeited]; everlasting joy will be theirs.

8 For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery with [5]a burnt offering. And I will faithfully reward them, and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations, and their descendants among the peoples. All who see them [in their prosperity] will recognize and acknowledge them that they are the people whom the Lord has blessed.

10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has covered me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom puts on a [6]turban, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will [most certainly] cause righteousness and justice and praise to spring up before all the nations [through the power of His word].

Isaiah 61:1-11 (AMP)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 61:2 The same as a day of salvation(49:8), and the year of my redeemed(63:4).
  2. Isaiah 61:2 See note Ezek 34:28.
  3. Isaiah 61:3 In the Hebrew there is a kind of wordplay here as “turban” (Heb pe’er)and dust (epher) have the same consonants and similar vowels.
  4. Isaiah 61:7 I.e. abundant reward.
  5. Isaiah 61:8 Another reading is wrongdoing or malice, but by itself either would hardly be an improvement. Some prefer to read with as “and,” which requires the assumption of a scribal error that is possible though not found in existing manuscripts. It would also raise the question of why robbery is singled out among other kinds of wrongdoing. In the Talmud the verse is taken to refer literally to the theft of an animal which the thief intends to offer as a sacrifice. The point is that the offering is unacceptable even though everything actually belongs to God and the thief arguably is only returning to God what is His.
  6. Isaiah 61:10 Or head wrap.

Friday Morning Scripture (Wk27/2022) – Job 42

Job’s Confession

1 Then Job answered the Lord and said,

2 “I know that You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained.

3 “[You said to me] ‘Who is this that darkens and obscures counsel [by words] without knowledge?’ Therefore [I now see] I have [rashly] uttered that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

4 ‘Hear, please, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct [and answer] me.’

5 “I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear, but now my [spiritual] eye sees You.

6 “Therefore I retract [my words and hate myself] and I repent in dust and ashes.”

God Displeased with Job’s Friends

7 It came about that after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lordsaid to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

8 Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him [and his prayer] so that I may not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has.”

9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lordaccepted Job’s prayer.

God Restores Job’s Fortunes

10 The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lordgave Job twice as much as he had before.

11 Then all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him over all the [distressing] adversities that the Lordhad brought on him. And each one gave him a piece of money, and each a ring of gold.

12 And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

13 He had seven sons and three daughters.

14 And he called the name of the first [daughter] Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch.

15 In all the land there were found no women so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

16 After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations.

17 So Job died, an old man and full of days.

Job 42:1-17 (AMP)

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Restored

I am the God who will restore you. As I restored Job, I will restore you.
I am the God who sees and I am the God of wonders and miracles.
Your time of exile is over. Famine is over. Wilderness is over.
Now is the time where I will turn things around in your life.
I will bless you. I will pour out my oil of joy over you and I will give you double for your trouble.
Start to believe it.
Start to see it.
It is now.

Activation: Ask the Lord to dismantle any wilderness mindsets and patterns that are still attached to your mind and life. Get rid of them as Holy Spirit reveals those things to you.

Also ask Holy Spirit to show you if there is any unforgiveness in your heart about what happened in the last season of your life. Do you need to repent or forgive anybody? Do so as Holy Spirit leads you.
Declare the following Bible verses over yourself and receive the blessing from the Father. It is your time now. Step into the new.

And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Job 42:10 (ESV)

Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion.

Isaiah 61:7 (NIV)

#lionbites

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Prepare The Way

My beloved church, you cry out for a fresh harvest – an influx of souls – but are you ready to receive them? Have you made way in your hearts to receive who I send you? Will you raise a banner, signalling to the lost that you are ready and willing to welcome them?

Clear out the debris and make the path straight.

Prepare your hearts to receive the lost. Send out the signal alerting all – both near and far – that you are ready to receive the lost and the broken. An abundant harvest requires you to step out into the fullness of my kingdom, recognizing that there is room and purpose for all those who would seek Jesus.

I am asking you today to stand in the gap for the lost and the broken in your cities. My heart burns with passion for the ones tossed aside by the world. My love never gives up – even on the ones who have turned away – my eyes are fixed on them. I will not stop pursuing them.

Will you surrender your all and give me room to move? Will you rise up with me in the pursuit of the lost? Will you weep with me for the broken?

Prayer: Jesus, would you search the places of my heart today and show me any areas that need softening. Would you break my heart for what breaks yours? Would you show me today your plans for harvest and how I can partner with you in praying for the lost and broken in my city. Would you show me today how to prepare for the harvest; to be the watchman on the walls, awaiting their arrival.

Walk out of the gates. Get going!

Get the road ready for the people.

Build the highway. Get at it!

Clear the debris, hoist high a flag, a signal to all peoples!

Yes! God has broadcast to all the world: “Tell daughter Zion, ‘Look! Your saviour comes, ready to do what he said he’d do, prepared to complete what he promised.”

Isaiah 62:10-12 (MSG)

#lionbites

Wednesday Morning Scripture (Wk27/2022) – James 4

Warning Against Worldliness

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions[1] are at war within you?[2]

2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

4 You adulterous people![3] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.[4] The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—

14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4:1-17 (ESV)

Footnotes

  1. James 4:1 Greek pleasures; also verse 3
  2. James 4:1 Greek in your members
  3. James 4:4 Or You adulteresses!
  4. James 4:11 Or brothers and sisters

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Return To me

Remember this: The lips of a seductress seem sweet like honey, and her smooth words are like music in your ears.

Proverbs 5:3 (TPT)

Oh, my precious bride, many of you have skimmed over this verse, and others like it, failing to see any relevance to you, thinking it relates only to earthly relationships. But, my bride, you have been seduced off the paths of righteousness by tongues that drip poisoned honey. You have been seduced by flattery – by those who seek to manipulate and control – for the sake of position and platform. You have been seduced by the glitter of fool’s gold; by promises of instant gratification.

You have forgotten me, the one who who took you out of slavery, the one who rescued you, delivered you from the hands of the enemy and dressed you in robes fit for my queen. You have believed the seduction, the lies that have appealed to your desire for approval, affirmation, and significance. Oh, my bride, don’t you realise that you have all that and more at my side?

Do not sell yourself short or give up your birthright for a “mess of pottage.” Do not allow yourself to be seduced by lesser loves. Return to me, your first love. Return to the one who knows you, cherishes you, and prizes you as his bride. Don’t be fooled by those who will love you and toss you aside. Return to me, the one who has loved you with an everlasting love.

Activation: Hear the heart of Jesus for His bride as you ask yourself these questions and respond to his answer:
Jesus is there any place where I have compromised my relationship with you through spiritual adultery?
Jesus is there any place where I have been seduced by other “lovers” that have pulled my heart away from you?
Jesus, is there any place where I have “flirted with the world”?

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

Revelation 2:4 (NIV)

You adulteresses [disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

James 4:4 (AMP)

#lionbites

Tuesday Morning Scripture (Wk27/2022) – 1 Samuel 18

David and Johnathan’s Friendship

1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

2 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house.

3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.

4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.

5 And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

Saul’s Jealousy of David

6 As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.[1]

7 And the women sang to one another as they celebrated,

“Saul has struck down his thousands,

and David his ten thousands.”

8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 And Saul eyed David from that day on.

10 The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand.

11 And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.

12 Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.

13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people.

14 And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him.

15 And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him.

16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Michal

17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”

18 And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father’s clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?”

19 But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

20 Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.

21 Saul thought, “Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David a second time,[2] “You shall now be my son-in-law.”

22 And Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king’s son-in-law.’”

23 And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?”

24 And the servants of Saul told him, “Thus and so did David speak.”

25 Then Saul said, “Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king’s enemies.’” Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. Before the time had expired,

27 David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife.

28 But when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him,

29 Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.

30 Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.

1 Samuel 18:1-30 (ESV)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 18:6 Or triangles, or three-stringed instruments
  2. 1 Samuel 18:21 Hebrew by two

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Divine Relationships

I am bringing new people into your life.
New friendships.
New relationships.
Divine connections.

You have been longing for deep and real friendships for such a long time. Now is my time to bring those people into your life that you have been praying for. I heard all of your prayers!

No more loneliness.
No more isolation.

You will be connected with like-minded people and you will feel at home. You will flourish and grow together. This is a season of building healthy, strong, and divine relationships.

Activation: Ask Holy Spirit to reveal if there are any ungodly, unhealthy relationships in your life. Is it time to let go of some past relationships so God can add new people into your life?

Let the light of Jesus Christ shine upon your friendships, partnerships, and alliances. Pray in this season for the right people to come into your life.

1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

2 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house.

3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.

Samuel 18:1-3 (ESV)

A dear friend will love you no matter what, and a family sticks together through all kinds of trouble.

Proverbs 17:17 (TPT)

#lionbites