Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Let The Light In

Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Ephesians 5:7-14 (ESV)

You have cried out to me for purity. You have declared your longing to see me, asking me to give you a pure heart. You have sung songs asking me to set you on fire, to give you a pure heart, and to refine you with my love.

And yet, when I respond to your requests with my light that exposes the darkness, with my refiner’s fire, somehow you want it to be a process that feels like sunshine and flowers!

I love you with an everlasting love; with a love that knows no limits. I long for you to be free from the influence of the one who has brought dark influences into your life, who has lied to you, and deceived you. It is my kindness that brings you to that place of freedom and deliverance; it is my love that draws you into my light and fire. If you willingly trust yourself to a surgeon’s knife when you do not know them, how much more can you trust yourself to me, the one who loves you and knows you intimately?

It is my light that shines into the deepest, darkest, recesses of your life. Trust that I am good and am bringing good to you at all times. Trust that my exposing light is not about shame, punishment or discouragement, but about healing and freedom. It is about us defeating the darkness as we work together to expel it from your life.

My light is good. Will you let my light in?

Activation: This word is not to prompt you to dig under every rock in your life but to encourage you to allow Holy Spirit to shine his light and expose what he wants to deal with at this time. He is the one leading the process. Declare today: “Holy Spirit, I give you full permission to shine your light and expose anything that you would like to deal with today. I trust you to know what is a priority.”

“And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.”

Genesis 1:4 (ESV)

“He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light.”

Job 12:22 (NIV)

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12 (ESV)

“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realising that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”

Romans 2:4 (NIV)

#lionbites

Tuesday Morning Scripture (Wk12/2022) – Job 12:13-25

Job Speaks of the Power of God

“But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might; He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding.

14 “Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.

15 “Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; again, He sends the waters out, and they overwhelm and devastate the earth.

16 “With Him are might and sound wisdom, the misled and the misleader are His [and in His power].

17 “He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefoot and makes fools of judges.

18 “He loosens the bond of kings and binds their loins with a loincloth.

19 “He makes priests walk barefoot, and He overturns men firmly seated and secure.

20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speech and takes away the discernment and discretion of the aged.

21 “He pours contempt on princes and nobles and loosens the belt of the strong [disabling them].

22 “He uncovers mysteries [that are difficult to grasp and understand] out of the darkness and brings black gloom and the shadow of death into light.

23 “He makes nations great, and He destroys them; He enlarges nations, and leads them away [captive].

24 “He removes intelligence and understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth and makes them wander and move blindly in a pathless waste.

25 “They grope in darkness without light, and He makes them stagger like a drunken man.”

Job 12:13-25 (AMP)

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Preparation For More of His Glory

I am sanctifying and transforming you into my image. I am showing you more and more of my glory, my character, my goodness, and my truth. Remember when Moses asked to see my glory? I replied by wanting to reveal my goodness. I want to reveal my goodness to you. My goodness is Jesus.

Experience more of Jesus today and you will experience more of my glory.

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6 (NKJV)

And he said “Please, show me your glory.”

Then He said, “I will make all of my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.”

Exodus 33:18-19 (NKJV)

#lionbites

Monday Morning Scripture (Wk12/2022) – 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Paul’s Apostolic Ministry

1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as we received mercy [from God, granting us salvation, opportunities, and blessings], we do not get discouraged nor lose our motivation.

2 But we have renounced the disgraceful things hidden because of shame; not walking in trickery or adulterating the word of God, but by stating the truth [openly and plainly], we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

3 But even if our gospel is [in some sense] hidden [behind a veil], it is hidden [only] to those who are perishing;

4 among them the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves [merely] as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give us the Light of the knowledge of the glory and majesty of God [clearly revealed] in the face of Christ.

7 But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty], so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves.

8 We are pressured in every way [hedged in], but not crushed; perplexed [unsure of finding a way out], but not driven to despair;

9 hunted down and persecuted, but not deserted [to stand alone]; struck down, but never destroyed;

10 always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be shown in our body.

11 For we who live are constantly [experiencing the threat of] being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be evidenced in our mortal body [which is subject to death].

12 So physical death is [actively] at work in us, but [spiritual] life [is actively at work] in you.

13 Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had, who wrote in Scripture, “I believed, therefore I spoke.” We also believe, therefore we also speak,

14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and will present us [along] with you in His presence.

15 For all [these] things are for your sake, so that as [God’s remarkable, undeserved] grace reaches to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of [our great] God.

16 Therefore we do not become discouraged [spiritless, disappointed, or afraid]. Though our outer self is [progressively] wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day by day.

17 For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]!

18 So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.

2 Corinthians 4:1-18 (AMP)

Gospel Song of the Day – Make Me A Vessel

But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty], so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:7 (AMP)

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Draw Near

I hear the Lord say, “My dear people, I love you with an unending love. I desire what is best for you as individuals and also corporately. Work together in teams, in churches, in small groups, and family groups, in these ways choosing to follow my precepts. Seek me, in order to see me in the Spirit and to know more about me.

Draw near to me and I will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands and purify your heart. Be not a people of double mindedness. Mourn and weep for where my church has not taken on board my ways and my wisdom. Let your laughter turn to mourning and your joy to dejection where you do not listen to my plans and strategies for the kingdom. Humble yourself under my mighty hand and I will exalt you.

I do not promise that it will be easy, but my gifts for you are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Be willing to share these with others. I will not leave you bereft for that is not my way.”

Activation: Reflect on which characteristics of Holy Spirit He wants you to ask for and grow in this week.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

James 4:7 (ESV)

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

2 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

#lionbites

Friday Morning Scripture (Wk11/2022) – James 4:1-17

Things to Avoid

1 What leads to [the unending] [1]quarrels and conflicts among you? Do they not come from your [hedonistic] desires that wage war in your [bodily] members [fighting for control over you]?

2 You are jealous and covet [what others have] and [2]your lust goes unfulfilled; so you [3]murder. You are envious and cannot obtain [the object of your envy]; so you fight and battle. You do not have because you do not ask [it of God].

3 You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask [4]with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires.

4 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.

5 Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose [5]that the [human] spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy?

6 But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “God is opposed to the proud and haughty, but [continually] gives [the gift of] grace to the humble [who turn away from self-righteousness].”

7 So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.

8 Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people].

9 Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose].

11 Believers, do not speak against or slander one another. He who speaks [self-righteously] against a brother or [6]judges his brother [hypocritically], speaks against the Law and judges the Law. If you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge of it.

12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy [the one God who has the absolute power of life and death]; but who are you to [hypocritically or self-righteously] pass judgment on your neighbor?

13 Come now [and pay attention to this], you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and carry on our business and make a profit.”

14 [7]Yet you do not know [the least thing] [8]about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air].

15 Instead [9]you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.”

16 But as it is, you boast [vainly] in your pretension and arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17 So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.

James 4:1-17 (AMP)

Footnotes

  1. James 4:1 Lit wars.
  2. James 4:2 Lit you do not have.
  3. James 4:2 Possibly a reference to Christ’s statement in Matt 5:22, or to actually doing something that results in someone’s death in order to take what he has.
  4. James 4:3 Lit wrongly.
  5. James 4:5 This verse is difficult to translate, and it seems that James is paraphrasing or generalizing a scriptural concept rather than quoting directly from the Old Testament.
  6. James 4:11 This is not a prohibition of all judgment, nor is it a command to stop using godly wisdom, common sense, and moral courage together with God’s written word to discern right from wrong, to distinguish between morality and immorality, and to judge doctrinal truth. There are many judgments that are not only legitimate, but are commanded (cf John 7:24; 1 Cor 5:5, 12; Gal 1:8, 9; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 10); however, you cannot judge another if you are committing the same type of sin.
  7. James 4:14 Lit Who do not.
  8. James 4:14 Lit what sort your life will be.
  9. James 4:15 Lit of your saying.