Christmas and the sovereignty of God

Dear Friends,
I hope this letter finds you enjoying this season of celebrating the coming of Christ. My purpose in writing is to wish everyone a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas and a blessed New Year. I also would like to share a couple of thoughts the Lord has brought to mind again this year. I pray this will encourage you.

Christmas and the Sovereignty of God

It is not likely that Joseph and Mary, though devout in their faith, had pondered the need to go to Bethlehem for the baby Jesus to be born. For a young lady eight or nine months pregnant to make the journey of 70 plus miles would be difficult in the least. I am sure the decree from Caesar was not a cause for rejoicing, but caused some consternation considering the trip they must make at such an inconvenient time.
I'll get to the point: God used the decree of a pagan emperor to fulfill His purposes. He used Caesar to get Mary and Joseph where they needed to be in order that prophetic destiny would be fulfilled.
It is often the inconvenient detours of life that position us for the fulfilling of God's purposes in our lives.

Look at Joseph in the Old testament. The pit, Potiphar's house, and the prison all served to position Joseph for the fulfilling of his God given dreams. The detours of God will always bring us into alignment with His purposes.

For Joseph and Mary just walking out the chronos (regular time) in obedience to the emperor the chronos became the kairos (God's appointed time). And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us... John 1:14a

In Romans 8:28, 29 God has promised to bring redemptive purpose out of everything that comes into our lives. As many of you have heard me share before, it was because of an IRS office being closed when I was going there to deal with a tax issue, that I met a man who became a mentor and my life was changed.

I don't know what you may be going through this Christmas, but God has good plans and He is able to take the mundane, the inconvenient chronos and turn it into kairos. He is able to bring redemptive purpose out of everything that comes in our lives and He is very creative. Who would have thought the pagan emperor Caesar would be used of God for the Bread of Life to be born in the "house of bread"?

It is my prayer for you that you will have a wonderful Christmas and that you would experience an ever increasing awareness of His presence in your lives in the coming year. I appreciate you, so much. May God richly bless you.

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us......
In His love,
Herb Dean

No man can serve two masters

Dear friends,
I pray that you are well and growing in the knowledge of the Lord. We are living in a time when we must hear our Lord. As we look around us we see many who are suffering. There are few of us who have not been impacted some way by falling financial markets. We might ask, "What in the world is going on?". I'd like to share a few thoughts about what the Lord is doing. I hope this will minister to you wherever you find yourself.

No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13

Years ago I found myself in debt with more going out than coming in. I was using credit cards to make up for the shortfall which only exacerbated the problem. One day in the midst of a financial crisis, the Lord lead me to take out my credit card and look at it. I heard His voice so strongly in my Spirit that it could not have been clearer if it had been audible. He said, "Where is your trust? Is it in Me or in that little plastic card?" I was grieved and convicted. I cut the credit card up and repented that day. I was not set free immediately from debt; it was a gradual process. It says in Proverbs that the borrower is servant to the lender. It's like the enemy having a lien on God's property. Debt can be a cruel master. So what is the application for our present time? I believe God's asking His church, "Where is your trust? Is it in me or is it the stock market, your 401K, your bank account, your credit card, or the U.S. government?" Our government seems to think if they throw enough borrowed money at the problem, it will fix the economy. It never has, nor will it. In fact it kind of sounds like what I was doing.

Here are a few thoughts I think we need to consider:
1. It is time to set our priorities in order. I think in America we have tried to serve two masters and now
the debt is being called. It is time to examine our hearts. Have we allowed mammon to be our master?

2. It is time to develop a kingdom mindset. For years I have been talking about a shaking coming. the Lord gave me Hebrews 12:26-29 years ago and I believe there have been times of shaking in my personal life, but this might be the big one. We are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken. Only those things properly related to the kingdom will endure the shaking. We see the housing market shaking; we see the financial markets shaking; we see major manufacturers shaking. Some are enduring personal shaking. The church is undergoing a shaking. Everything that is not grounded in the kingdom will be shaken loose. Jesus was talking about our physical needs being met when He said "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." As I have written before there is no recession in the kingdom of God. There is no depression in the kingdom of God. This world economy is bankrupt. The economy of heaven is unshakeable. God's stock has never gone down.

3. The shaking is a time of transitioning into the kingdom. There is great hope as we come through this time of shaking. The apostles said that it was through much tribulation that we enter the kingdom of God. If we cross reference Hebrews 12:26-29 with Haggai 2 we see the glory of the latter house shall be greater than the former. The earth is going to be filled with experiential knowledge of the glory of God.

4. This is a time of the testing of the heart. Few things test the heart more than the possibility of losing everything. It is in those times that we see what is really important. Jesus calls riches ungodly mammon and contrasts that with true spiritual riches.

5. Finally the testing and the shaking is for the purification of our hearts. Something pure is something without alloy, without impurities. The shaking not only reveals our hearts, but shakes loose those things which can be shaken. God is calling for purity of heart in His people. Years ago I heard prophecies of a great revival which would have four stages of restoration:
a. Intimacy with God Trouble will either drive us to or from God.
b. Purity Hearts pure toward Him and one another
c. Unity
d. Power Unity is the place of the corporate anointing. Acts 4;24-31 and Psalms 133.

We can rebuke the devil all we want and place blame any number of places, but I truly believe this shaking is from the Lord and it will do us good if we get ourselves grounded in the reality of His kingdom. We pray that you will be encouraged and strengthened in this time of great transition. Be blessed.
In His love,
Herb Dean

Hi,
I haven't written anything for a long time. October was an extremely busy month and November has seemed almost as busy. I guess I needed to catch up. In October, I was head spiritual director for Central Georgia's Men's Tres Dias #36. God did some awesome things on the weekend. Several people were healed physically and there was much spiritual healing. I had a personal healing in October as well. I had a mole on the lash line of my lower eye lid of my left eye. It had been there as long as I can remember and two or three years ago it started getting irritated and sometimes it would even irritate my eye. About 6 weeks ago it really began to become nasty and I was very concerned. I thought maybe I needed to go to the doctor. Vain imaginations began to come to mind like "what if it's cancer and they take half my eyelid off?" I began to pray about it and didn't think anymore about it for a while. About four weeks ago, I got up and looked in the mirror a little more closely than I normally do and it was gone. This mole that had been there for probably 45 years was gone. That seems like such a small thing. but to me it was a great encouragement. I have prayed for several people of late that were healed and this greatly encourages me as well. Jesus told His disciples,"As you go preach the kingdom of heaven, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out the demons; freely you have received, freely give." One of the cries of my heart since I began preaching the kingdom is for God to validate His message.
Also, Danna, my wife was director for the Central Georgia Girl's Vida Nueva #20. It is labor intensive being the director. God blessed and the hearts of a number of young ladies were touched. I wasn't a whole lot of help, but I did pray and lend moral support. I did give a talk on the final day and it seemed to be well received. These two weekend retreats were a real blessing. They showed the body of Christ in action. Many of our people at our church served and it just brought home to me the fact that God's people are ministers. I believe with all my heart that there is a new wave coming. Recently when praying with a fellow elder the tide of the ocean came to mind and my thought was that the tide has been going out a long time, but in my spirit I sensed that the tide was about to turn. There is a time when the water has reached it lowest level, the marshes are dry, and then it begans to turn and to build and replenish the marshes and gradually move up the beach. I believe that is a spiritual picture of what is beginning to happen. The tide has turned, the leaven has been placed in the dough. God's kingdom is an ever advancing kingdom and we are about to see it in our Jerusalem. Commit your ways unto the Lord and He will bring it to pass. Be not weary in well-doing for in due season you will reap, if you do not faint. Be encouraged, God is on His throne.

The Fear of the Lord

Dear friends,
Grace and peace to you. Almost every night I pray that the Lord would speak to me in the night, Spirit to spirit, dreams, visions, or however He chooses to speak. It has not happen often, but from time to time I'll have a dream that I believe is from the Lord. Recently, I have awakened several mornings recently with a scripture passage on my mind. That happened this morning. I woke up this morning thinking about Ananias and Sapphira. I would like to share some of those thoughts with you.

So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. Acts 5:11

Ananias and Sapphira conspired together to hold back part of the price of their land. The issue was not the fact that they had kept part of the money for themselves. They did not have to sell the land in the first place. We are not to give under compulsion. They had chosen to sell the land and said they were giving the entire proceeds to the church. What was in their hearts? Peter said Satan had filled their hearts. It may be that they had sought the praise of men in their giving. There was obviously some greed because they were willing to lie to hold on to some of the money. Peter said that they had not lied to men, but had lied to God. Why was the judgement so swift? This was an unprecedented time of the presence and power of God being revealed to His children. How in this atmosphere could they have purposed in their hearts to sin? Sin cannot abide in the presence and glory of God. I believe that there was an absence of the fear of the Lord in their lives. How common is the absence of the fear of the Lord in the modern church. It is almost as if in this age of grace we live as if there are no consequences of sin to a Christian.

What is the fear of the Lord? We define it as a reverential awe. How does the Bible define it?
Come, you children listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. Psalms 34:11-13

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 8:13
If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then not fearing the Lord is the continuance of foolishness.

There are many verses concerning the fear of the Lord. Some would say that is an old testament concept, but I say God has not changed. Yes, if we have been born again we are not children of wrath. Jesus took the wrath of God for us. We have forgiveness, if we confess our sin. Where sin abounds grace does much more abound. It is the kindness of God that brings us to repentance. But having said all that, do we have license to sin? Absolutely not! The nature and consequences of sin have not changed. Sin when it is full-grown brings forth death.

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a certain fearful expectation of judgement, and fiery indignation which will devour our adversaries. Hebrews 10:26, 27

To willfully sin, we have taken lightly the finished work of the cross. We have insulted the Spirit of grace and we have allowed death to work in our lives. I know that this might seem negative today, but I believe the Lord is calling for the purity of His bride. Can we say that we fear the Lord when there are few real distinctives between the church and the world? We could look at just a few statistics and see the absence of the fear of the Lord. The divorce rate is the same for the church as it is for the world. There are just as many of our kids getting in trouble. What is missing? 56% of the evangelical church believes that Jesus is not the only way.
It is time for us to wake up. I am not calling for a puritanical, legalistic existence, but for a life that is different out of relationship with Him. I heard a minister who had been touched by God in revival say that he now understood the fear of the Lord. He said that he did not want anything in his life that would deprive him of the Lord's presence that he was now experiencing. If we have tasted His presence, we want that above anything else this world has to offer. If the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, then evil is anything that keeps me from His presence. David said in repentance: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Psalms 51:10,11.

I have talked about it before, but as Christians we have been bought with a price. Jesus paid the full price for our redemption. If we hold out any part of ourselves from Him Who gave Himself for us then we are not walking in the fear of the Lord and that which we hold on to is working death in us. We sing "I Surrender All" when we are willing only to surrender part. The part we hang on to is not submitted to God and therefore is submitted to the devil.

The scripture is full of promises to those who fear the Lord. I won't take time here, but just get your concordance and look. It will be an encouraging experience. Just a thought; what impact would it have for us to return to days of Ananias and Sapphira in our time?

I pray that you will be blessed today and that His love will encourage you. May you know and experience His presence in your life in ever increasing dimensions.
In His love,
Herb Dean

True Spiritual Riches

Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches? Luke 16:11

If I can't be trusted with the material possessions and money that I've been given, how can I be trusted with true riches. What are true riches? In my own experience when I began to order my priorities putting God first there was quite a change in my life. The first thing that experienced was spiritual revelation. The Lord began to reveal His word to me. Proverbs 8:10,11 Receive my instruction and not silve, and knowledge rather than choice gold; for wisdom is better than rubies and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her. Wisdom is true riches.

How much would a man pay for peace? The biblical word for peace has a much broader definition than just the absence of conflict. It is divine order, wellness, prosperity; things as they should be. Can you put a price on that?

What about His grace? His unmerited favor, His ability and the old acrostic: God's
Riches
At
Christ's
Expense
The riches of His grace includes redemption, forgiveness of sin, and empowering to live His life.
There are unsearchable riches to those who are in Christ and it is of eternal benefit to order our lives according to His purposes. Don't let unrighteous mammon keep you from God's best. All this can summed up in this verse.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Matthew 6:33.
True riches can never be measured by the measures of man. It does not consist of houses, lands, and bank accounts. It flows out of relationship and is an internal and eternal reality.
Be blessed,
Herb Dean

I would have despaired had I not believed..........

Dear friends,
Grace and peace to you. As I pondered on whether I should write anything today the verse above came to mind. I felt like there were some people out there who are in a life and death struggle. Some are going through difficult times, going through a crisis of belief and I felt in my heart to write a word of encouragement.
The object of our hope is faithful. The Lord is good and He will perfect that which concerns you. Don't give up.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalms 27:13.

The Psalmist is saying he would have given up had he not believed he would see the Lord's goodness. There are some in the body of Christ who feel like they have been forgotten. In their mind they ask,"Where is the Lord? " or "How long, O Lord, how long?" Some think that they are not going to make it. As we look at scripture we see many of God's choice servants endured great hardship. Oftentimes, the testing is directly proportionate to the level of authority God chooses to trust one with. Let's look at a few examples:
1. Abraham waited 25 years for the birth of the promised son.
2. Joseph waited at least 23 years for the fulfilling of his dreams and got there by way of the pit, Potiphar's house, and the prison. His family came down in the third year of the famine.
3. David fled for his life living in caves for a number of years (probably about 15 years between his anointing as king and his actual becoming a king). I shared this before, but sometimes we need to revisit these truths. David was probably at his lowest point ever in 1Samuel 30. They were returning to Ziklag because David was not trusted enough by the Philistines to fight the battle against the Israelites. When they got back to Ziklag they found it burned to the ground, their wives, children, and possessions stolen. David's men were so grieved they talked of stoning him. The scripture says that David encouraged himself in the Lord. It very well could have been that at the same time he was encouraging himself in the Lord that Saul was dying in the battle that David was not permitted to fight. The Lord told David to pursue the Amalekites and they would recover all. They did and they recovered all. It was at David's lowest point that events were taking place that would thrust David into his destiny. In a few days he would become king over a large portion of Israel.
4. Zacharias and Elizabeth prayed for years for a child and became parents in their old age to the forerunner of Jesus.

There were others both small and great who were in a life and death crisis who received a 12th hour deliverance.Let's remember a few of them:
1. The widow at Zarephath about to prepare her last meal.
2. Sharach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were delivered not from, but in the fiery furnace.
3. Daniel in the lion's den.
4. Peter in Herod's jail.
5. The Jews in the time of Esther.
There are so many other examples of God's faithfulness, but time will not permit. God was faithful then and He is faithful now. He was faithful to these folks and he'll be faithful to you. Just don't quit; don't give up.

Look at these scriptures:
And He spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. Luke 18:1
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance, character, and character, hope. Romans 5:3,4
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, for the testing of your faith worketh patience. James 1: 2,3
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6: 9

Friends, the worst thing we can do is give up. Even if deliverance does not come this side of heaven; it will come. God will deliver us. Believe that you will see the goodness of the Lord. Your deliverance may be close at hand. Encourage yourself in the Lord. It may be that the very moment you choose to praise the Lord in the crisis that events are taking place that will thrust you into your destiny. The difficulties that you face are developing character in you in order that you will be able to handle promotion.
A few years ago I was going through a difficult time. Our church was struggling. We had some very disappointing things happen. Money was tight. My wife had gone down to Atlanta to make connection with her family before coming back to church that morning. That was the plan anyway, but the car broke down in Atlanta. I came down after church with my son-in-law. We rolled the car out on the front lawn of Embassy Suites. He checked it out and determined it was the starter. All the things that were going on were weighing heavily on me and now this. As we stood under the drive up shelter of the hotel calling to find a parts store. A young man came be-bopping down the sidewalk. He looked like he could have been high. He looked directly at me and said, "Hold on brother, change is coming! Don't give up; hold on brother, change is coming." A few minutes later as we were riding down the road to the parts store, I began to think about what the young man had said and the joy of the Lord came on me and I began to laugh. My hope was restored and change did come a short time later. I believe there is someone who needs that word right now. Hold on brother, hold on sister; change is coming. Don't give up, change is coming, hold on!

I pray that this is an encouragement to you. If you have not heard I have entered the blogoshere. It will include these messages as well as short devotions and personal thoughts. The address is:
http://basiliea.blogspot.com
As always if I can be of help to you, let me know. May the Lord richly bless you.
Herb Dean

Life and death is in the power of the tongue

There has been the struggle for years between the culture of death and the advocates of life. I was studying recently about the angel Gabriel coming to Zacharias with the message concerning the future birth of John. Zacharias was struck mute until John was born, because he did not believe Gabriel's words. Is it just possible that he was struck mute because had he been able to speak he would have continued to speak doubt and unbelief which would have aborted the seed (the word of God)? How many times have we aborted the promises of God with the words of our mouth? Are we aware of the importance of the words we speak? We can speak life or we can speak death. Jesus said that with our words we are justified or condemned. Paul said, "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:10. It is great to have pro-life, anti-abortion convictions, but we need also be pro-life, anti-abortion with our tongues.

A Thought for Today

I was feeling kind of low as I got to the church this morning for the pastors' prayer meeting. Then before we could get started we found someone had stolen the copper from three of our air conditioners. Prayer went well, but my spirits weren't lifted like they have been. I went to another prayer meeting at a another church and just sat agreeing and praising the Lord as others prayed. At the end we held hands and I was asked to pray the final prayer. As I prayed and praised the Lord, my spirit was buoyed and I felt the Lord's peace return. Years ago in a place of desperation, I realized I had to make a choice. I could wallow in self-pity and despair or I could choose to praise the Lord. I made the right choice; I chose to praise Him. Peace returned and not only that He moved in the situation that had brought me low. I believe the Lord spoke to me as well. He impressed me with this thought, "If you want to escape the low places, enter into high praises." The snakes bit the murmurers, but they were healed when they looked upon the brazen serpent a picture of Jesus taking the sting of sin for them. God inhabits praise and murmuring is inhabited by snakes. Who would you rather have working on your problem?
Blessings,
Herb Dean

Hey, I finally entered the blogosphere.

After some encouragement from family and friends I have finally bitten the bullet. I am always somewhat nervous trying new things and I could be described as technologically challenged. I jokingly say that I just learned to cut and paste two years ago, but the truth is, it's the truth. I pray that this will be an opportunity to reach out to some folks I've not connected with before and to be an encouragement to them. Thanks for your encouragement.

If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain...

Dear friends,
Grace and peace to you. I woke up this morning with a song in my heart. The words , "He can move the mountains, our God is mighty to save", were going through my mind. When I thought about writing this morning, I felt like I was to talk about moving mountains. I wonder if there might be some of us who are facing mountains in our lives which are hindering our destinies or the destinies of those to whom we relate. I hope these thoughts may be of some encouragement to you.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, " Why could we not cast it out?" So Jesus said to them , "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing shall be impossible for you. However this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Matthew 17:19-21.

The disciples had unsuccessfully attempted to cast a demon out of a little boy. They were frustrated because they had known great success in casting out demons when Jesus had sent them out in Luke 10. They had come back rejoicing that the demons were subject to them in Jesus' name. Here they had addressed this demon and he had not moved. Jesus expressed His concern about their faithlessness and told them to bring the child to Him. He rebuked the demon and it left. Now they wanted to know why they couldn't cast it out. I don't know about you, but sometimes my problems are like that demon; I try to address them, but they don't go away. I believe there is an application for some of us today.

What was the problem? Jesus said it was their unbelief. If we do not believe it will go, it won't. Jesus did give them some comfort, though, in the fact that this was not a regular demon. He makes a distinction saying,"This kind does not go out but by prayer and fasting." One teacher that I greatly respect said that they were dealing with a prince here, a demon with a greater level of authority. Mountains in scripture often represents kingdoms or governments. The greater the mountain the greater authority, just as the mountain which filled the whole earth in the book of Daniel was the kingdom of God. This may have been a demon with ruling authority, but there was a greater authority here. Notice that Jesus did not say, "Bring the boy back in three days after I have fasted and prayed." Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 that all authority had been given unto Him. In every thing He did Jesus demonstrated the superiority of God's kingdom over the kingdom of darkness. Even so, He did not have go get prepared just because of Who He was, or where He was from, but because He lived a fasted lifestyle. He was in constant communion with the Father. His meat, His nourishment, was to do the will of the Father. He did not live by bread alone, but by every word (rhema) out of the mouth of God. Because of His kingdom lifestyle of walking in the Spirit, He was always prepared for what He might confront.

The context in which Jesus gave this statement was dealing with a demon. Many of the issues we confront on a regular basis have demonic roots. Satan does not want you to fulfill your destiny. He does not want you to know who you are. He has done everything he can to keep you from walking in the kingdom of God lifestyle. He wants you to believe the kingdom is all out there in the future somewhere.The mountain could represent demonic opposition, anything that hinders or keeps us from fulfilling our destiny and purpose here in this earth. What mountain stands before you today?

Jesus used the speaking to the mountain in another place as well. This time it was after the disciples noted that the fruitless fig tree Jesus had cursed had withered away. That passage is Mark 11:20-26. If we approach this from the context of being fruitful, then anything that stands in the way of our being fruitful in the kingdom, we can speak to in faith and expect it to move. Fruit glorifies the Father. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples." John 15:7-8. If we are abiding in Him and His word, what do you think we will really want? It is not the heaping of treasures unto ourselves; it is bearing fruit.

What mountains stand in your way today? Some are dealing with sickness in their bodies. Some may be dealing with government authorities natural or spiritual. Some are facing a financial mountain. Whatever that mountain is that is keeping you from your destiny speak to that mountain in faith and believe it has moved. Our God is able to move mountains; He is mighty to save. May the Lord release in us today the gift of faith that we might speak to that which has hindered and see it move to the glory of our God.