Author: lisagreatenebeli

Who’s voice do you value? The voice we value will be the voice we submit our wills to. The voice we value will be the voice we obey. The voice we value will be the voice we let lead us. The voice we value is of utmost importance.

Some people value the voice of science, others the voice of the media, some the voice of influencers or Hollywood, still others the voice of politicians or religious leaders. Whose voice do you value?

Voices in the earth are not mono they are multiple. When the voices we value are conflicting which voice triumphs over all other voices? The voice of family is valuable, the voice of friends carry weight, the voice of leaders add value and the voice of God is in the mix as well.

The voice inside of us is not our own it is a culmination of voices. Culture is a voice that most of us hear and don’t realize how much we capitulate to that voice. Books we read, movies we watch, podcasts we hear, news reports we run across, all have a voice that seed us daily, known or unknown.

Psalm 29 says, “The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.”

I began to weep as I thought about how creation responds to the voice of God, while humanity stiffens its neck to Him. His voice is powerful, His leadership is enjoyable, His attitude is adventurous, His ways are identifiable, but to know all these things we must live with a yes to His voice.

The fear of the Lord is taking God seriously when He speaks. He doesn’t talk to just talk, He talks to lead us, guide us, counsel us, correct us, direct us, and promise us what He sees that we can’t yet. His voice is powerful, but it must be responded to.

We value so many voices, but do we value the voice of God? We each must answer this question. Creation responds to His voice, and Romans 8 says, Creation is eagerly awaiting for us to respond to it as well. Heaven and earth are waiting on us to respond to His voice, maybe today when you hear His voice, you will join creation in saying yes to the most valuable voice, the voice of God. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Jesus is the better One. Better than Moses. To Gentiles these words do not carry the impact or the gut punch that they would have to the Hebrew people. Moses was their deliverer, their savior, their redeemer. He is the one that brought them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, through the wilderness and pointed them to the promied land. Moses is a larger than life figure in history for the Hebrew people. 

When Hebrews 3:3 says, “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses”, these would have been fighting words. These words meant Jesus was the new king of the Hebrew hill, symbolically, and it might not have sat well with especially the religious leaders. 

How did Jesus speak a better word, bring a better covenant, do greater works than even Moses? Oh friends, if we can get this it will change the way we think, preach and operate as believers in Jesus the Christ. 

Exodus 7 says, “With the staff that is in my (Moses) hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.

The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.”

That was Moses, water to blood. This is Jesus, water to wine. John 2 says, “When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine. Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.” 

Moses water to blood was not drinkable, but Jesus’s water to wine was the best wine. One brought trouble, the other brought rejoicing. Our words are like water, when we speak them are they turning to blood or wine in the hearts of the hearer? Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org 

Walking with God is an adventure of the likes you cannot describe to people who want to do life on their own, rather than with the Lord. He is so much fun to be around, always sharing His thoughts, His desires, what He is doing with those who are wanting to hear. He loves His people more than we know and He loves to talk to us, if only we loved to listen.

I am reading the book of Exodus right now and the timing of this book is profound to me in what the Lord is saying. The truths in this ancient story are relevant in our current reality. What we read on the surface carries so much more truth, if only we knew how to mine it.

Exodus 6:2-3 says, “God also said to Moses, “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself fully known to them.”

Two names for God for two distinctly similar but different seasons in history. God Almighty or El Shaddai is who Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew. The God who makes promises. He promised Abraham land, Isaac descendants and Jacob national blessings. El Shaddai is the promise making God.

Hebrews 11:13 says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” El Shaddai the promise keeping God.

Now here is Moses and God says I am going to reveal myself to you as the LORD (YHWH – the finisher). What was promised to the patriarchs was experienced by the Israelites with Moses. They entered the promised land, they walked through the Red Sea, the saw the 10 plagues, they multiplied greatly with descendents, they experienced national blessing. All the works of YHWH, the LORD.

Friends, we are of the generation that knows YHWH – The LORD – The Finisher. We get to experiences His promises not just hear about them. He is fully known to us. Jesus said, “It is finished!” I pray you know the LORD, the one who finishes what He starts. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

We are made of unstoppable stock. Our bloodline is one of increase, multiplication, fruitfulness and it is unstoppable. This is not something you have to become, it is something you have to realize. If it were not true why would there be any attack on you?

If authority, power, greatness, increase was not inside of you, then what would the enemy need to harass you for? Why would anyone care what you are doing, if you were not doing something that was threatening them or the kingdom they represent?

We are of the seed of Abraham, which means we are of the bloodline of Israel. The Israelites were a people who increased, multiplied, became numerous, to the point where the enemy could not handle them so they had to oppress them.

Exodus 1 says, “The more [the Egyptians] oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, so that [the Egyptians] were vexed and alarmed because of the Israelites.”

Israel was unstoppable and this vexed and alarmed the Egyptians. You know what? The more you increase the more the enemy is afraid of you, which is why he seeks to steal from you, kill you, destroy you, but you are made of an incorruptible, indestructible seed that cannot be killed or stopped. The spirit of replenishing is inside of you.

I wanted to remind you today, that you come from unstoppable stock. Your bloodline is one of increase, growth, and multiplication. The seed of Christ is in you, nothing can stop the One who is in you, for greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. Just a reminder of who you are and whose you are. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Repping the Name!!!

Raising a son, I have learned that I want him to represent our family name well. With an African father and an American mother, born in Malaysia, he is tri-cultural. Representing where he came from, who he came from and what we stand for is important to us as his mom and dad.

One of the things I have taught him is how to represent our name well in the way he treats people, serves ministries, displays his work ethic on the job and in how he treats girls. Our family values are manifested in who he is as our son. And I am proud of how he represents our family name.

Psalm 23 says, “The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”

I used to read these verses as having to do with me, but this morning the Lord showed me, this is about His name. He does all He does for us, for His names sake. His name is very valuable to Him and He wants us His children to represent His name well.

Being in the family of God, being a member of the body of Christ is the highest honor we can be given. We have been given a new name, the name that is above every other name, we bear the name of Jesus Christ.

Two questions, one do you realize how valuable the name is that you have been given as a believer in Jesus Christ? Are you representing His name well? Is He proud of how you are representing the family name, by the way you carry yourself, the way you treat people, the way you serve, work and give?

It is time we start realizing who we are repping an make sure we are honorable representatives of the name we have been given. I believe representing His name is a stewardship we must steward well if we want to to do the works He did. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

The Christmas songs we sing are more scripture than most of us realize. O come let us adore Him; Joy to the World; Oh Holy Night; Silent Night; The First Noel; on and one the list goes.

The word of God is declared in song more than ever during this season. People in grocery stores, shopping malls and big box retailers are all declaring the word of God in song, whether they know it or not.

I love it all. The lights, the songs, the sweets, the gifts, the stories, the tables, the people, the events, the parties, the services and the serving. The whole nation joins in the celebration of the Word of God in a variety of ways.

Even the Grinch, the Scrooge and Bah Humbug speak of the gospel. For there is an enemy in every story, ours is an adversary who wants to steal joy, because they don’t want to enjoy it they don’t think other should either.

Psalm 22 says, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!”

Christmas miracles are happening on 34th Street and on my street and your street. Relationships are being restored, reports of clean bills of health are being given, finances are being replenished, lives are being given to Jesus. Oh the power of the season we are in.

I pray you reflect on the people in your life not the ones missing from it; I pray you enjoy the gifts you give not the ones you didn’t get; I pray you take time to reflect on the goodness of God to you, so you can join the Psalmist and say, “He has done it!!!!” Merry Christmas friends, we are blessed. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Just because God is not instant, does not mean He is not consistent!

We have entered the first day of the new Hebrew month named Tevet. This month is linked with the tribe of Israel named Dan. The tribe of Dan is known as the tribe of the judges and its symbol is that of scales of justice.

While reading Proverbs 21 this morning verse 15 jumped off the page at me, “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.” The past three days in my reading the word justice has been highlighted to me, so today I paused when I saw this verse.

Justice is tied to righteousness, for without justice we cannot be made righteous. Jesus died for our sins, His death was an act of justice that made us righteous.

If you are righteous, justice brings great rejoicing for you know the result is righteousness, order, joy, peace and safety. But if you are wicked and this justice is being employed on you, it can be a terrifying thought.

The phrase the wheels of justice move slowly is God’s mercy, not His ignorance or tolerance. Which is why the Lord spoke to me and said, “Just because I don’t act instantly, does not mean I do not act consistently.”

We want instant justice, instant results, instant healing, but God rarely acts instantly, but He always acts consistently. In this month of Tevet, tied to the tribe of Dan, which means God judges, we are going to see justice.

As justice is administered, some will rejoice, others are terrified, but the gift of justice is that it detours future evildoers and affirms those who have been harmed by those who have been treated unjustly. Justice is here and with God as judge, we can be assured it will be pinpoint accurate justice. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

One of the greatest enemies of the new is the old. Our old thought patters, our old behaviors, our old attitudes, our old ideas, our old memories. If we would shake off the old, we would see the new that is upon us.

Being dipped in an escapism, gloom and doom, things are going to get darker and darker theology has caused us to live defeated, discouraged, depressed and disappointed.

Thanks be to God, despite our misunderstanding His word; our neglecting His victory He won for us; our lack of gratitude for His telestai (it is finished); He never gives up on us and continues to remove the layers of man’s ways, to reveal who He truly is.

Everything is getting better, everything is becoming new! The old is gone and in God’s mind it is forgotten. Oh that we would have the mind of Christ, so we too could forget the past and step into this glorious now time reality.

Isaiah 65 says, “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create. I will take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.”

We have made verses like this for the sweet by and by, but they are for the here and now. How do I know, because Jesus said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It is happening now, not in the future. It is unfolding daily in the midst of us.

We need to forget the former things, not dwell on the past, see the Lord is doing a new thing, now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? (Isaiah 43) Don’t let what was get in the way of what is, for what is, is so amazing, you have to shut your eyes to miss what God is doing on earth right now. It is better than we even imagined. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

There is no community without humility.

Doing life with other people means you have to live a laid down life. This pertains to marriage (Ephesians 5:21 – submit yourselves to one another); to friendship (Proverbs 17:17 – a friend loves at all times); families, churches, companies, nations, cities, anywhere there is people the call is to humility if we want to have community.

People that want to remain standing while others are laying down their lives reveal they do not know how to live in community. John 15:12-14 says, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.”

Jesus commands us to lay down our lives for one another. It is what love looks like. Wounded people struggle to lay down their life, because they are afraid of getting hurt again, so they remain standing while the call is to lay down our life.

If we want to look like Jesus, live in community like the disciples and do the works of the kingdom on earth as they are in heaven, we must live a laid down life. This is the only command Jesus gave us, love one another and love looks like a laid down life.

Jesus is our model of a laid down life. All He is commanding us to do is what He did. He called His betrayer friend, He died for the sins of the world, He fed people who only followed Him for food and He did miracles for people who others considered not deserving of them.

We were created for community, but to live in community it takes humility. To love and to be loved, we must lay down our lives for one another. It is in our laying down we will find ourselves rising up together as a community. Love always lifts up but it also lays down. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Do you ever read a verse and wonder, what does that exactly mean? If we approach the word of God with wonder, seeking to know more, not thinking we know so much, we will find treasures that are not on the surface.

In the game Super Mario Bros, there are pipes you stand on and if you push down, some of them drop you into an unseen world of coins in which you just jump and grab coin after coin after coin. Not everyone knew those coins were in those pipes, but if you had a spirit of adventure, you pushed down and sometimes you dropped down into a place of delight.

This is what reading the Bible is like. If you push into verses just a little bit, they yield coins, gold coins of truth that bring great delight. Seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you. Oh that we would be seekers, for in our seeking we are finding.

This morning I pushed on Proverbs 17:13 which says, “Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good.” I pushed on this verse by doing some rabbinical research to understand what exactly is this proverb teaching us. Oh friends, the push produced gold coins.

Evil in this verse is betrayal of covenant loyalty. It is moral treachery. It teaches that loyalty is optional, gratitude is weakness and trust is foolish. All of this was fascinating as I would not have thought of these things when I heard the word evil. But what blew me away is this verse is revealing a lack of gratitude for the good one has received.

Gratitude is a spiritual gatekeeper. Once it is violated, evil no longer meets resistance. Our gratitude is our gatekeeper that resists evil. Oh friends, may we never lose gratitude for where we live, who is in our lives, where we go to church, how much God has done for us. Gratitude is our gatekeeper that resists evil. Coins, gold coins! Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org