For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield. Psalm 5:12.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
I surround and encompass you and hedge you in on every side so that the evil one cannot touch you if you stay resting in Me. If you care to listen to Me attentively, the more attention you give to My Word the sooner you will reach faith’s goal, which is always Salvation.
Ask and you shall receive. I love to do good things in your life. I tell you that My desire is to give good things to those who ask Me. Matthew 7:11. I love to open the windows of Heaven and rain down showers of blessing. Ezekiel 34:26; Malachi 3:10. More than you can contain, until it overflows. David understood, he sang, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows!” Psalm 23:5. Let Me overflow your cup. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it with good things! Psalm 81:10.
If you have taken Jesus as your LORD you are living under an open Heaven. Matthew 3:16. You are righteous before Me. But not with your own righteousness, for no man is truly righteous before Me. It is not based on your behavior but on that of Jesus, the only truly righteous One—Jesus who is God and man. And when you take Him as your Lord and are clothed in Him, as He is so are you in this world. 1 John 4:17. I made Him who knew no sin to be sin so that in Him you become the righteousness of God. He has made you perfect before Me forever. Hebrews 10:14.
He took all your sins so that you now appear before Me as sinless. And blessings are on the head of the righteous. Proverbs 10:6. I surround the righteous man with favor as a shield. Psalm 5:12.
What does this mean to you all day every day and all night every night? It means that you are living under an open Heaven and unclouded favor. It means you can expect that all things are going to work together for your good. Romans 8:28. It means that I am NEVER angry with you. Isaiah 54:9. Your sins and offenses I remember NO MORE. Hebrews 10:17. You are not just forgiven, your sin is gone. You see, when Christ took all your sins and bore them in His own body you no longer had them. He emptied your account and put it in His. And He gave you what was in His account as yours. You have an account in Heaven. 1 Peter 1:4. And you can come with confidence to the throne of grace and take a withdrawal anytime. Hebrews 4:16.
You can expect favor. You can expect I will give you insights, wisdom and understanding. You can expect the best parking place. You can expect that your dreams will come true. You can expect that you no sooner think of something you desire and I will make it happen in your life. You can enter My rest when you are believing in My Son and trusting Him as your good Shepherd. When you really know that I require nothing more of you than that you take My Son as your LORD and fill your heart with My Word you can relax with Me. You can know that I will answer as soon as you call and that I am present as your Helper. I did not send My Son to judge you but to save you. And He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
But this is not automatic. Once you have taken Jesus as Lord you must renew your mind from a punishment mentality to a blessed mentality and walk that way. You are under grace and not the law. You must see yourself as beloved and favored by Me no matter what you do that day. Be like John and call yourself My beloved. See yourself not as a sinner who is under My anger but as righteous before Me in Christ and one to be welcomed. Love is not perfect in one who is afraid for fear as to do with punishment. Know that your sins have all been punished on Jesus, even the ones you have not done yet but will do in the future, and we are reconciled. I reconciled the world to Myself in Jesus not counting your sins against you. Never feel shame to come to Me. Just as you are. Because if you have taken Jesus as Lord there is no sin on you, it has all been imputed to His account and His righteousness has been imputed to yours. That is a divine exchange.
So do not worry about anything, but in everything give it over to Me. I take care of you and always will. For eternity. I am your forever Father. Relax, be patient and love. And when I tell you to do something, follow the advice of the mother of My Son: “Do whatever He tells you.” John 2:5. She knew that is what would give her the miracle. Follow Jesus, which means follow the Word. The Word became flesh and dwelt among you. And He is still with you always. And I show Him favor. And in Him I will show favor, grace on top of grace.
Just seek My Kingdom (which is one of righteousness, peace and you) and My righteousness (which is My gift to you in Christ Jesus) and I add everything else that you need each day. And you can know the blessing of Abraham.
Live each day expecting good things. Sing with David: “Bless the Lord my soul and all my being bless His holy Name; He pardons all my sins, heals all my ills, He rescues me from the pit, surrounds me with love and compassion, fills my days with good things, and renews my youth like the eagle’s,” and expect that will happen. Step out with confidence before Me and let Me open the way to you and shower you with blessings. Live like that. Look up at Me and smile. I am smiling on you.
Live your life for Me and you will not get upset with what other people do. You will be doing all you do unto Me—with and for Me—so you will no longer be concerned whether others recognize your efforts or not, whether they thank you and appreciate you, reward you, honor you, recognize what you did, or repay you in like kind. You will not get upset when people forget your birthday, your Christmas present (or give you a cheap one), exclude you, or just do not act nice to you or about you.
Why?
Because My grace is sufficient for you.
When I give you grace, I open My life to you. Grace is My life opened up and poured out to you, it is living in Me and receiving My power and authority. It is unmerited favor. Well, it is not unmerited. It was merited by Jesus and freely given to you in the gift of righteousness He won for you by taking all your sins upon Himself. He has made you a partaker of the Divine nature.
Grace is a free flowing exchange from Me to you whereby My very life renews, strengthens, empowers and enables you so that you can do things that would otherwise be impossible for you to do. It is living and acting in Me, through Me, and with Me.
Grace enables you to do My work on the earth—work that brings blessing and good to all. With My grace you can do mighty works that result in My Will being done on earth as it is in Heaven.
True grace comes to you through My Son Jesus. Jesus sacrificed His life to remove your sins. Sin blocks grace. My life cannot freely flow into a person whose spirit is dead in sin, who has blocked my pathway into his or her life.
To receive My grace you need to have a heart alive, cleansed and open to Me. This is done when you believe in My Son Jesus and are cleansed by His Blood– when you become a new creation in Christ. When your spirit is reborn.
Before Christ came I showed favor to men and this was the precursor of grace. But favor was then an outward blessing of riches, honor, and life. It was received through humility and fear of the Lord. Humility is knowing that you are not your own source but that I am your source of all that is good. It means you cast all your care upon Me and worry about it no further because you know and believe in My love and care for you. And it is also a willingness to serve others without seeking fame or reward from men.
Fear of the Lord is the desire to please Me no matter where you are above pleasing men. It means you would rather do what My Word says and lose favor with your peers and superiors than turn aside from Me to please them. It equates to living My Word by keeping it before your eyes and in your heart always. It means you take delight in Me. And then I give you the desires of your heart. All promotion actually comes from Me.
Humility and fear of the Lord made people open to receive My favor but My very life cannot flow deep into their spirits until their spirits are reborn.
Now you are in the age of grace. Jesus, your Passover lamb, has been sacrificed and we are reconciled. Your spirits are living and My Holy Spirit can again dwell in you and give you My divine life. My grace, My favor, is not only on you but now is in you. And in Christ I have seated you in heavenly places with Him, and He is at My right Hand on My throne with Me. And so are you. So come confidently to your place at My throne of grace to receive mercy and grace just when you need them.
Now, with My grace, there is no temptation you cannot overcome and there is no work for My Kingdom that you cannot do. My grace is sufficient for you. My grace will enable you to do My Will, which is My favorable plan for your life.
Grace and favor are closely tied together but they are not the same. When I show you favor all things work out well for you and you prosper in all you do. When you receive My grace it empowers you to do great and mighty works that cause My Will to be done on earth. Grace works from the inside while favor works from the outside in.
Favor opens doors to you while grace enables you to open the doors for others. Favor levels mountains before you while grace enables you to level the mountains. Why? Because when I show you favor I go before you and work on your behalf, but when I give you grace I work with you from within and clothe you in My authority so that you do My works as Jesus did.
Grace and favor work together in the lives of all believers. I go before you and I work with you from within you, making all things work out good for you when you love Me and work according to My purposes. And I know the purposes I am planning for you, purposes for your shalom and not for evil, for a future and a hope.
Grace makes things that seem impossible possible for you. So come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace just when you need it. Yes, grace in your life makes all things work out for good. It is a wonderful way to live. I want to give it to you. My grace, My very life, is there for you. Begin to enjoy it today.
You are now under grace, not the law, and sin no longer has any power over you. Take your authority. Believe in My love for you, be grounded in that love, and then you will be filled with all the fullness of the Godhead. My servant Paul prayed that you would come to know that love and then My power in you will do exceedingly above all you can ask or imagine.
I love you. Let Me give you grace and favor. It is a winning combination and both can be received by one whose spirit is born again. And that is what Christmas is all about—the LORD your righteousness! And His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God Hero, Father Forever, Prince of Peace! And I have given you His Name, Yeshuah, and there is no other Name given to men by which you are saved. And the Word became flesh and the Child was born, but the Son was given for His goings forth are from everlasting. Micah 5:1-5. You are living in the fullness of time. Galatians 4:1. Say “amen” to that. What is Christmas about? Redemption. Peace on earth, good will towards men, for He reconciled us by the Blood of His Cross. We are at peace forever. I have sworn never to be angry with you again. In Jesus I have made all things new. And all My promises find their “yes” to you in Him. How sweet to Me is the feast of Christmas when I gave you My Son on the dewfall in Bethlehem, the House of Bread, as your true manna from Heaven for you to eat and never die. You may strike the timbrels and jingle the bells but make sure you know why you are doing so. If you but knew My gift to you . . .
Let Me fill your life with My love. Expect it, live it, speak it, and love it. You are the apple of My eye. You have favor and grace in Jesus. Grace upon grace. Favor upon favor. But My banner over you is love.