This morning in my communion time with the Holy Spirit He pointed out to me that we need to stop walking at cross purposes with Him in matters of the Spirit. We always have a tendency to move situations to the future rather than deal with them in the now because that does not demand anything from us. We need to stop fleeing from taking the necessary uncomfortable step now which leads to the miracle.

The Holy Spirit however wants us to place a demand on the God of the now rather later which never seems to come once we choose to wait for later. In the scripture the Holy Spirit brought to my heart this morning to meditate on and expect to walk in today I will share some of the things the Holy Spirit revealed to me that should free you from putting off for later what God wants to do in the now of your life. The Lord really wants to meet our needs now and solve issues now if only we will let Him.

In John.11:21-26 we read this discourse between Jesus and Martha. Take note of how Martha answers Jesus 1 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”2Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will 3 rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Martha firstly uses the excuse of Jesus not arriving on time to have stopped the unfortunate incident of Lazarus dying and blames Jesus for not caring. She offers Jesus no sacrifice of praise with her lips but complains with her lips and does not contemplate what miracle would happen if she just submitted to Jesus’s plan for today.

Even though from experience with Jesus previously she knows better than this, she still blots out her mouth her annoyance at Jesus arriving late . But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You. ”She has the church trained voice to speak words of faith as a cover up for doubt. If you believe that fact Martha then why do you stagger at what Jesus wants to do to prove that fact in your life?

This needs to be a question we all need to ask ourselves when we are faced with a challenge that requires an act of God on our behalf that demands our action and participation in the now. This is because what we choose to believe and do at that moment will determine what happens. I am so happy that Jesus only takes the words of faith we speak and ignores our failures.

He is the High Priest over the confession of our mouths when they line up with His will. Jesus takes the words of faith and goes on to tell her His plan for today which is that your brother will rise again.

Martha again brings the future up by telling Jesus she knows her bible and what future events hold by saying I already know that in the last day we will all be raised up. Well Jesus was not dealing with the last day but with today so why was Martha not cooperating?

She had no faith for today and was about to fall prey to the word of caution to every follower of God: “today when you hear His voice do not harden your heart” as in the day of rebellion when your fathers tempted God. If you harden your heart God can do nothing for you so it is important that we open our hearts to what the Holy Spirit is saying for today and change to line up with Him so we can experience what God wants to do.

Jesus wants to nail her to today and change her expectancy for the now and goes on to tell her these words: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

You would have thought that after hearing these words Martha would just believe. Why did she not believe Jesus was the resurrection and the life? She was refusing to engage with the now moment of faith though Jesus kept pushing her to take a stand. I am resurrection now so expect to see resurrection manifested today.

Just look at her answer in verse 27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” Jesus was not talking about coming into the world because He was already in the world. Jesus only wanted to prove the reality to her that day that He is the resurrection and the life. However she just kept using her knowledge of future scripture to rob her of the present moment of faith to receive in the now.

I want you to think and ponder on this matter with Martha. Then take a good look at your life and ask yourself how many times have you done exactly what she did here. Evaluate how much you lost out on what God had planned for the day by excusing with scripture, based on future thoughts about what you could have experienced in the now.

Martha fortunately goes on to see the miracle happen because her sister Mary has a different approach to Jesus and Jesus can work with that and accomplish His will though she still butts in again when Jesus orders for the tomb of Lazarus to be opened. Again she opens her mouth and talks about the smell of a dead body. Jesus again has to rebuke her for her to remain in union with Him. Not a good place to be.

Well today the Holy Spirit wants you to look at what happened here with Martha and take care of those patterns in your life that rob you of God obeying in the now. You don’t have a sister who can cover for your faults and make up the hedge for you. So unlike Martha you have missed the opportunities and have gone on to blame the Lord for failing you.

When in fact it was you who stumbled during the process just as Martha did and could not submit to the Holy Spirit’s leading.

Today however is a new day and the Lord through these words wants to give you a fresh start again as you listen to them repent, turn and take fresh action of believing God to work in the now of life as grace is ministered to you to go beyond your doubts and fears to believing and receiving in the now.

May today mark the beginning of a new walk with the Holy Spirit of experiencing God working in the now of your life. Throw out all the excuses you have made to cover your doubts and embrace the faith for now. Your life will dramatically change as you surrender to thus saith the Holy Spirit in Jesus name. Amen.