- Foundations
Foundations, the beginning, the First Thing.
The uproar in our nation over the long overdue call for accountability of our government spending is indefensible. How many election promises by all candidates and all platforms have called for the end of wasteful spending and corruption? No one in Washington can cast the first stone. It is being shouted from the housetops. The light has come and the exposing of all representative parts of government and its bureaucracy must be transparent. As of February 7, 2025, the national debt of the United States is $36.22 trillion. This is the total amount of money the federal government owes, including debt held by the public and debt held by federal trust funds.
$36.22 trillion….and mounting interest.
This defies all financial reason or budget principles that anyone lives by. What economist or anyone who lives by their earnings can continue to exist without going bankrupt? The US government has violated, in a sense, counterfeiting laws. Printing money based on the tax-paying citizens and the working class tax revenues. Counterfeiting is against the law. How can our government make good on any loans? They have robbed one budget fund for another. The latest example is the FEMA funds for illegal immigrants. The American taxpayer has been reduced to a voter and a cash cow. We have become their honeyhole.
Let’s take the tax rate from 2013 – 2017. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 increased the highest income tax rate to 39.6 percent. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act added 3.8 percent to this making the maximum federal income tax rate 43.4 percent.
From 2018-2024 the highest income tax rate was lowered to 37 percent for tax years beginning in 2018. The additional 3.8 percent is still applicable, making the maximum federal income tax rate 40.8 percent. To think that anyone, or body, or entity could think that overseeing such a trillion dollars is the height of arrogance. To think that the USA is not on the verge of financial collapse is total denial.
In 2023 there were 418,724 bankruptcy filings in the United States, a 16.2% increase from 2022. It is time the cash cow, the golden calf, of Washington DC, is melted down. The god of mammon will never be satisfied and if we, as a people, do not repent from our neglect of holding all of our elected officials to their vow to the constitution and to God, we will fall. You cannot take an oath, a vow to God, and not uphold it.
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
The continued delay of our government to keep its promise to God and the people they represent warrants the solemn warning of this truth. If we, as a people, do not see the enemy of our national debt and do not put this nation first, the final consequences are inevitable. Perry’s words after a naval battle:
“We have met the enemy, and they are ours.”
The updated version was first used in the comic strip “Pogo,” by Walt Kelly in the 1960s and referred to the turmoil caused by the Vietnam War. Which will it be: the defeat of our enemy or the defeat of us?
My Lord and my God save us from this corrupt and wicked generation.
Respectfully submitted. This came to me after I heard an interview with Senator Tubberville this morning!
As was spoken years ago, the Authorship of God. In the beginning God!
Hallelujah!
-Keith Curlee
- Wider, longer, higher, deeper
Jesus releases us to the Holy Ghost. He has more to say:
As Jesus walked on the earth, He realized how vulnerable and helpless man is in his daily life. Often, He is taken aback by the disciples’ inability to see and hear the words of life from day to day.
“Have I not been with you this long, and you do not know what I am saying.”
So vulnerable to doubt and unbelief and, no matter how many times He told them about His death and that He had to leave, they were not able to comprehend. Just as the men of old, when the Holy Ghost came on them they ascended and did great exploits, but when the Holy Ghost lifted, they returned to their own ways.
In the book of Judges, Sampson is an example of the ups and downs of Israel. So often such victory was short-lived, and then came defeat.
Circumstances changed but not their ways.
Jesus, in His last days with them, spends time introducing them to the Holy Ghost, the third person of the Godhead. When He, the Holy Ghost, comes, the spirit of truth, He will lead you into all truth. Our lives are the laboratory where the Holy Ghost’s primary purpose is to lead us into, not about the truth, but a continual revelation of all truth: Jesus.
There was so much that Jesus had to say, but they were maxed out and could not bear any more. Without the Holy Ghost, everything was going to end with them. Oh, they would have lots to remember, and while He was with them their hearts burned within them, but they would be lost. To go back into the old system would not be possible. In their minds, it was over. It did not matter that He was so clear that He would send to them another Helper. They would not be without leading, they would not be without truth, and they would not be without knowing what is to come. It was to their advantage that Jesus should go. God the Holy Ghost would take up from where Jesus left off, and now they would know who Jesus was, is, and is to come.
Our lives are to be lived by the Holy Ghost leading us into the truth of knowing Him. We so often look for our circumstances changing rather than being led into the truth that is hidden in them. Jesus said He will take from Me and give to you. Not theology, not doctrine, but all things that pertain to life and godliness. He, the Holy Ghost, leads us INTO truth, which one could say is deeper into Jesus, who is the truth.
Paul writes,
May our comprehension take hold of and contain, to enlarge our capacity. This is what going wider, longer, higher, and deeper in Him means. He, the Holy Ghost comes, and will lead you into all truth! John prophesied, He, Jesus, will baptize you in the Holy Ghost and with fire, His truth is fire. Hallelujah to the Lamb!
-Keith Curlee
- Thawing
Good morning, Holy Ghost spoke a word in me. The nation has been in winter these last four years. The hard freeze these past couple of weeks is a sign that the hearts of this nation have grown cold. Hardened like frozen, and a thawing has begun. I will thaw out hearts and there will be a return to me. This will not be a warming, but my fire shall melt the hearts of many. The melting away will wash the hearts and those that are mine who have been cold and indifferent will return to me as their Lord again. Bring your fire that I have put in you near them, I will bring those to you and in your path. Now is the time, the cold heart I will thaw. Hallelujah!
-Keith Curlee
- 52 Years Ago
52 years ago we declared, before God, our love for one another, and believed it was His Will. Today I am even more certain she was and is the only one for me. I love you Elizabeth Jane Heard Curlee. You are God’s confirmation of His love for me. I love you now and forever. Thank you my Lord for your covenant promise to us, the two shall become one. Hallelujah!
-Keith Curlee
- The Water of the Word
“Washed by the water of the word” is an expression from the Bible describing one of the truths that godly marriage is built on as well as our first relationship with our God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The important place, responsibility, and function of husbanding. It appears in Ephesians 5:26. It refers to the truth that God’s word cleanses people’s souls, thoughts, motives, and consciences.
When a husband neglects God’s word and expects his wife to submit, it makes it difficult to endure. Paul says this is a picture of how the Bridegroom and His Bride function. We know there is no neglect in our Bridegroom for His Bride concerning His washing and cleansing of her. The letters to the seven churches in Revelation confirm this.
Marriage is designed from the beginning, before the fall of Adam and Eve, and their relationship becoming dysfunctional. Blame and accusations come from one source: the serpent: Marriage cannot survive this demonic onslaught. The picture in Ephesians of a husband washing His wife speaks of beautiful intimacy in the marriage covenant.
This is the Bride He is coming for, who will rule and reign with Him.
The promise of the Holy Ghost and His sanctifying truth comes only by His leading us into all truth. Jesus said,
It is the two, each one’s own desires, their flesh, that is detrimental and of no benefit. They are in juxtaposition to becoming one. They need the Word, to do so.
• The word is linked to water baptism, (washing) which calls a believer’s death to sin and new life in Christ and His word.
• The word emphasizes the power and authority of God’s word to change our soulish minds. Renewing us and our lives.
• The early Church believed that the word of God was central to spiritual growth and maturity. It is living and active.
• The word brings spirit and truth, God’s word brings cleansing power, renewing people’s minds, character, attitude, and conduct. It feeds the spiritual man in all of us.On Monday 1/13/2025, Betsy and I will celebrate 52 years of covenant. I am grateful to the Holy Ghost who was sent from heaven and led us together. He sealed us and has kept us and guided us all these years. Hearing His word to us and remembering our vows before Him has kept our covenant that cannot be broken. He is the messenger of the covenant,
It is He and only He who is able to keep covenant and two people, man and woman, husband and wife, God’s mystery, to walk together for a lifetime.
I thank you for Betsy, for finding her for me and I for her, according to Your unchanging will. I want to thank so many brothers and sisters over these 52 years who have been friends to our covenant, who prayed and stood with us and blessed us. So many to thank. Hallelujah!
-Keith Curlee
- This Revelation
As John records this revelation of who the ascended, victorious King Jesus is. So changed, transfigured, and transformed to the point He did not recognize Him.
He encourages us to read this book by declaring a blessing when we do. I would venture to say that if we don’t, I wonder if we really believe in His prophetic return.
There is so much to hear and keep and to stay ready, for the time is near. I would encourage us all during this time of prayer and fasting to read this wonderful revelation of Jesus our coming King and our Bridegroom, the Head of His Body.
Maranatha!
-Keith Curlee
- Birds: God’s Faithful Sign of Trust
This Christmas, my family gave me this new bird feeder. It not only feeds but videos them as they come to feed. How wonderful the tech world can be.
I have always been a bird watcher and my favorite urban bird is a cardinal. When I lived in Nashville for eight years, a male and female cardinal came to my office window every morning. Cardinals are generally monogamous and mate for life, reminding me of my covenant with Betsy.
When Jesus first appears and begins to teach and show us the Father, He speaks about two of the most delicate and vulnerable species in creation: The birds of the sky and the flowers of the plant kingdom. I want to share concerning the birds.
Some years ago, a very dear brother was led to get up very early, just before daybreak, and walk his dog. In our fellowship, he shared how at a specific time the birds would begin welcoming the morning. He was astounded by how loud they were and the silence of the night being broken with their singing.
At least once a week I am up at around 4:30 and the birds of our neighborhood begin their chorus of greeting the day. It is not just a few peeps, but every bird making its powerful sound filling the dawning of the day. Jesus reveals their complete freedom from worry. They are a sign to us of their total trust in the Heavenly Father. He says,
Webster’s 1828 definition of reason: “The cause, ground, principle or motive of any thing said or done; that which supports or justifies a determination, plan or measure.” All of creation declares and reveals the glory of God.
In Genesis 1:28, the first time God blesses, are the birds of the air and fish of the waters. Be fruitful and multiply is also His first command, as He later spoke to Adam and Eve. They are blessed and are a sign of the Father’s eternal power and divine nature given to every part of creation. Every morning, they faithfully declare and sing His praises for His faithful provision.
The Bible includes passages that describe creation praising God, such as Psalm 148, Psalm 69:34, and Luke 19:40. Psalm 148 records a list, including the winged fowl, of all of creation praising Him, declaring, “Praise The Lord!”
So, every morning the smallest of creation sing their chorus of praise and their message includes the reminder to not worry. For if He cares for the birds, how much more important are you than them. Oh you of little faith, see the birds praising the Father as the great provider.
Praise the name of the Lord! Hallelujah!
-Keith Curlee
- Five Freedoms: Let Go Of!
1. Don’t worry
At Jesus’ first public teaching, Matthew records,
Worry leads to doubt and doubt to unbelief and then the cares of this world spring up in us as weeds and thorns, choking out the word of God. As in the parable of the sower, the cares of this world.
Worry and anxiety are a constant pricking of thorns. They immobilize you and keep you from moving on, causing you to turn to the god of mammon, the deceitfulness of riches, the god of this world. Uproot the thorns of worry and anxiety in our mind in the name of Jesus!
2. Don’t live in the past
Seeing we are a new creation by being reconciled to God, old things have passed away: BEHOLD, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW. The old man has been put to death, our sin nature canceled, he has been buried, never again to live. We are not only raised to a new life, but we are now in Him, Jesus Christ, righteous, holy, living eternally now and forevermore. Father, cast off the chains of my past, who I was, I renounce in Jesus’ Name!
3. Don’t please man
Paul’s letter to the Galatians concerning our relationship with the Holy Ghost for our times is all the more vital. When the disciples asked Jesus what the sign, not signs, of His coming would be, His response was, “Let no man deceive you.” He did not refer to the devil, as before, but to man. Man-pleasing and living one’s life to do so is detestable to God.
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and love the Lord with all your heart and strength. Pleasing man is impossible to attain, Jesus proved this every day during His time on earth. How many times have we thought, “There is no pleasing him or her.”
Some years ago, the Holy Ghost spoke to my heart, “Go get your heart back.” Our hearts are made to belong completely to Him and Him alone. If that is not so, Jesus would have not commanded us to do so. Love God with all your heart! Besides, He never intended for anyone to get man’s love, but His love, Agape. He will love through us as shed about in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
Father, I take back my heart from any man or woman who I gave it to by trying to be a pleaser of them. In Jesus Name!
4. Don’t blame others
Blaming others is one of the clearest signs of immaturity, childish and adolescent. This was the first reaction of Adam and Eve’s fallen state in the garden. The denial of our accountability for our behavior and actions in our lives keeps us from maturing spiritually as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. We are His children, yes, but His intention in sending Jesus was to take many sons and daughters into glory.
Blaming is shaming someone else for your shame; hiding from our own shame. How this age-old spirit has continued in generation after generation. It was not me, but the……. Ultimately we are blaming God, which, as in the beginning, keeps us from Him and grieves the Holy Ghost who is the spirit of truth. Father, make me a lover of truth and when I am convicted help me quickly confess my sin. I renounce the spirits of blame and shame in Jesus’ Name.
5. Don’t try to be perfect
There is a vast difference between perfection and maturation. Even when a man came to Jesus and called Him Good Master, He deflected the praise,
As long as we are in these mortal bodies we are subject to our daily struggle of denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Him.
The true prize is to know God intimately and be His friend.
Father deliver me from self-righteousness and my own perfection. I renounce my zeal and works in Jesus’ Name!
May we cast off every encumbrance that so easily besets us and fix, focus, our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
Happiest Heavenly Blessings in the year to come.
-Keith Curlee
- The Importance of Remembering
It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the word ‘remember’ in the standard works. ‘Remember’ is used 352 times in the scriptures. When its variants are counted, that number jumps to more than 550. The root of ‘remember’ is to keep in mind or to be mindful. It has the sense of being “concerned about” and is related to the word “tradition.”
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘remember’ as “to retain in, or recall to, the memory; to bear in mind; to recollect.” ‘Remember’ also means “to think of or to recall the memory of something with some kind of feeling or intention.” ‘Remember’ can also mean “to have mind of and mention someone in prayer.” Importantly, ‘remember’ can mean to commemorate or “to preserve in memory by some solemnity or celebration.”
‘Remember’ is often used in connection with covenants between God and man. The word ‘remember’ is first used in the Bible in Genesis 8:1, when God remembers Noah and the passengers on the ark after the flood. God set a “bow in the cloud” as “a sign of a covenant” to not again destroy the earth by water and “that I may remember the everlasting covenant between me and every living creature” on the Earth.
We are to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy “as a perpetual covenant … between (God) and the children of Israel forever” (Exodus 31:16-17).
When Abraham entered the promised land of Canaan, he built an altar to commemorate the Lord’s appearance to him and the renewal of the covenant the Lord made with him (Genesis 12:6-8).
This could be one of the most overlooked commandments. All of us have made covenants, vows, promises, and commitments to God and one another and our greatest need is to remember.
‘Remember’ is the word.: “This do in remembrance of me.”
God has a perfect memory. It is so perfect He can even forget, as in our sins. Clearly remembering is a choice we can make, as well as forgetting.
Genesis 19:29 tells us that, “God remembered Abraham” and rescued his nephew Lot. “God remembered Rachel,” Isaac’s wife, and she conceived (Genesis 30:22). Psalm 9:12 tells us that God “remembers…the afflicted.” Many times God is said to remember His covenant or His promises.
This attribute is plainly seen in the Godhead. Jesus says this concerning the Holy Ghost:
Jesus told them there were many things He wanted to share with them, but they could not bear it now. Sometimes we lose perspective because we are thinking concerning tomorrow. This is detrimental to remembering and we forget all that He is and has done.
Communion has been reduced to a small part of our services. We read what Paul wrote, the blood and wine, pray, and move on. Little reflection, recollection, or giving the Holy Ghost time to move on our hearts. To take communion without introspection is most grievous. We are explicitly told not to take with unforgiveness in our hearts. There is a stern warning: many sleep because of not taking it in the fear of the Lord.
As we approach the New Year, take time to remember not just what was difficult, or trying, but what He did to bring us through.
He always leads us in triumph! Hallelujah!
-Keith Curlee
- December 25 – God Enlarges Heaven and His Family
Abba Father
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Paul, in just a few verses, sums up what both Luke and Matthew recorded. The great fulfillment of the prophets, the angelic announcements, Mary, Joseph, and the child born to us, Christ the Lord. Elizabeth, Zachariah, and the shepherds tending their flocks. Lastly, as the scripture says, Bethlehem of Judea, the city of David.
Paul marks the birth of Jesus, “in the fullness of time.” Since creation, there is nothing in previous time that has ever happened like this new creation. God, not just intervening in time, but now time has been fulfilled. Everything that has happened, the glorious storyline from Adam to now, has served and come to this moment in time. Born miraculously and perfect under the Law. He will not only redeem His people but all those who will believe in Him for generations to come.
He will show us the Heavenly Father and His desire to adopt sons and daughters into His heavenly family. They too will be born again, when the same Holy Ghost overshadows their hearts and convicts them, and they will cry out, “Abba Father.”
They will be born again.
We now have entered into the Eternal Family of God, our names written into His book of life. We now pray, “Our Father which art in Heaven.” Our Father is God, Jesus is our elder brother, and the Holy Ghost is with us and in us. Receiving a great inheritance, all of the promises of God:
This morning we celebrate the fullness of time and Jesus the fulfillment of all that God has promised, who is the fulfillment and filler of all things. Jesus, our Emmanuel, Glory to God in the Highest and Maranatha, to He who is coming again!
-Keith Curlee
- December 19 – Angelic Hosts Proclaim the Message From Heaven
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The traditional depiction of angels by humans contrasts sharply with Luke’s account. These are not fairies or Disney renditions. These angels carry all of the awe and awesomeness of God and His heaven.
- Angels are messengers, especially the Archangels Michael and Gabriel.
- The multitude of angels that attend upon God
The heavenly hosts are God’s servants who obey his commands and carry out his will. - An armed company or multitude of angels and men
The word host is derived from the Latin word hostis, which means “stranger” or “enemy”. In the Bible, it’s used to describe a troop or military force, the army of God is angelic. The angels of heaven have these three basic functions. We know by the teaching of scripture they are completely obedient to the will of God and they clearly know and obey whatever they are sent to say and do.
Contrary to how they are depicted by tradition and man, they are more militaristic in nature. Their many appearances in scripture came when Israel needed to be delivered from their enemies. They are God’s army, and I believe they are arrayed in this way. It is evident when they appear to man they have to say, “Fear not.” They are nothing like us, nor do they understand us. They only know obedience to God and His will.
Since Satan’s casting out of heaven along with a third of the angels who rebelled with him and the fall of man, there has been a war waged against the prince of the power of the air and God’s angelic hosts. War originated in heaven and it was cast out and will never get back there again, including its rebellious pride. The source of all wars is Satan’s vengeance and man’s own will to exalt himself above God.
We see in this angelic birth announcement to the shepherds God’s intention to offer peace to men, whose will desires to make peace with God.
A few comparative translations: NASB “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.” NIV “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” NKJV Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
The righteousness of God and His ways is to offer peace first, always before His judgments are carried out. He is compassionate, longsuffering, and would that none should perish. With His continual appeal to Pharaoh and so many demonstrations of His ways, Moses sings of Him, “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. “The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name.” – Exodus 15:2-3 NASB2020
We see in this passage the God of peace: - He is our strength
- He is our song
- He is our salvation
- He is our God
- He is our Father
- He is our Warrior
- He is Lord
When we are not at peace then it is not a stretch to say that we are at war. For the Spirit is against the flesh and there is no good thing in it. May we, like the shepherds, receive the message of God’s peace and His favor in His Son given to us.
Glory to God In the Highest!
-Keith Curlee
- December 15 – Swaddling Clothes, an Exact Sign
The Lamb of God wrapped in swaddling clothes, an exact sign.
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Once again, in this glorious account of this heavenly event we are given such wonderful truth. The prophetic picture of who this child is will be revealed.
She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes. Swaddling is not unusual, all babies were swaddled. Yet the real sign was what He was clothed with. It was not a blanket, not pajamas, nor a onesie. But strips of cloth that were taken from old priests’ garments and previously used on the sacrificial lambs for Passover. After birth, the male lambs would be bathed in a salt solution, dried, and swaddled to be kept clean and spotless. During that time, old priestly garments were cut up into small pieces to be used for wicks to light the Menorah in the temple and reused to wrap the sacrificial lambs at birth. Every morning, the Priest would change the wicks in the temple and replace them with a new one.
Here we see the word of the Lord in every way declaring who Jesus is. He is the light of the world and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. You might ask where she got these strips of priestly clothing. Just a thought: remember Zachariah, Elizabeth’s husband was a priest. She had stayed with Elizabeth for six months. These strips were used as wicks to light up the temple. Even the time of His birth, at night, in darkness, is the backdrop of the world’s condition.
Arise, shine for your light has come, the light of the world is Jesus. Behold God’s light and God’s sacrificial Lamb, slain before the foundation of the world:
God’s gift of salvation, all wrapped up and ready to be revealed as the greatest given, for and to anyone who will freely receive Him. Glory to God!
-Keith Curlee
- December 14 – O Little Town of Bethlehem, Beginnings
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We continue in the report and testimony of the documented birth of Jesus. The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, chose and moved primarily on Matthew and Luke. I am often reminded of how God sees the beginning of a thing and the value He places on it—the importance. Ern Baxter, a wonderful mentor, once told me this, “The beginning of a thing determines its end.” As in Genesis, “In the beginning GOD ….” We see Bethlehem in this prophecy and the truth concerning its value. It is not viewed as little or the least of the cities of Judah.
Man and his flesh want to start with grandeur and great importance in their own eyes. He makes of himself a reputation motivated by powerful ambition and self-gratification. Here we see God is not impressed nor does He need great fanfare when He moves in the beginning of something. He begins with one,
Starting with one angel, one virgin, one barren couple, one betrothed man, and one town. All, by no means the least, but His beginnings. He needs not many or few, nor an advantage or fleshly help, nor man’s thoughts or plans. He simply looks for a heart that is completely given to Him.
When I was a summer missionary in my youth, we did backyard Bible Clubs. A song we sang with the children was, “All your heart, All your heart, Jesus wants to live in all your heart.” The smallest of all His beginnings is the heart of man, where His utmost desire to is dwell and make His abode.
May our hearts be completely given to Him. May we see what beginnings He brings about and the great things He has done and is going to do.
Glory to God in the Highest!
-Keith Curlee
- December 13 – Joseph: Husband and Father
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How wonderful is this man who stood in the midst of misunderstandings and, I am sure of, accusations, and covered his betrothed with his heart? What kind of scrutiny he and Mary must have endured. As I meditate on this, I wonder whether I would have stood knowing such a situation. It is so easy to read and, because we know the whole story, not to judge.
We live in a society today where this is viewed as just a mistake and carries with it very little consequence. In fact, for a few dollars, it can be eliminated.
In the case of all the major players in the birth of Jesus, the Holy Ghost testifies of their righteous living before God. Joseph, a righteous man, looked to protect his betrothed, to send her away, and to secretly cover her.
It was only with the intervention of an angel and Joseph’s own faith-filled acceptance of the angel’s message that both Mary’s life and the life of her unborn baby were saved. The Incarnation of God.
Mary knew exactly what she would face in her home and community after she said her faith-filled, “Let it be done to me according to your word” to the visiting angel. And still, she said, “Yes.” She trusted that God would take care of her, and He did, through her holy husband Joseph. He was heaven’s intervention. Protecting the work of God from the satanic and self-righteousness of religious man. We can say that when Mary gave her account of how this was to come about, he believed her. The scripture gives insight into Joseph’s response and not reaction.
He was a man of thought. Setting his mind on what is above. How this would affect her, first, above himself. As we know from Ephesians 5, a husband’s love is manifested in giving himself up for her. We get a wonderful picture of the kind of family Jesus was to be born into. No matter how it came to be, He would have a mother and Father who loved God and one another. A righteous family where He would grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man.
Joseph was not fearful or did not feel inadequate. He stood in his place and did as the angel in his dream commanded. The confirmation of what the Holy Ghost had done in her was of God. The angel told him not to be afraid and, before His birth, to name the child Jesus.
The inclusion of Joseph is sometimes overlooked or minimized, but not by heaven. He is seen not as a stepfather, but as Jesus’ father. What faith and courage we can take from him. He awoke from his dream and did exactly what had been commanded of him. He took Mary as his wife and honored that which the Holy Ghost did in her and kept her as a virgin.
Righteous Joseph. Glory to God in the Highest.
-Keith Curlee
- December 12 – Jesus Is Born In Bethlehem
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Here we see Mary, as she endeavors to comprehend and wrap her mind around the angel’s word to her. The impossibility of such a supernatural and unbelievable thing happening. So many questions must have assaulted her thinking:
What would people think? Who would believe an angel appeared to her? Why would God choose me? What will my family say?
This is impossible. Yet she did not voice any one of these doubts and fears. Her response was one of the most powerful and clear answers in recorded scripture: “Behold The Lord’s servant, be it unto me according to your word.”
Many of God’s servants, when God called them, gave him excuses and why they could not say, “Yes” initially to him. They saw their limitations and failures and too great of a task. Mary shows us what our mindset should be when the Lord speaks to our hearts in her confession, “I am your servant, I am here for you no matter what you ask of me. I am yours. Be it unto me according to Your word.” She simply received and let the word of God have its perfect work.
For every believer, our place is to simply be a receiver. “Receive ye the Holy Ghost,” Peter declared.
When I think of Mary, I cannot but hear Jesus teaching us about our hearts being like soil. To the degree we receive the seed is to the degree it yields its intent. Some 30, some 60, some 100.
Her response as His servant was, “Be it unto me, according to Your word.”
May we become receivers of all He has for us and His promise of His good work He has begun and will finish according to His word.
Glory to God in the Highest!
-Keith Curlee
- December 11 – The Covenant Lineage of Jesus
Matthew records the covenant lineage of Jesus.
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Oh no, genealogies, more begats. Laborious to read but very important to trace. The redemptive line which runs through the lineage, carrying the promises of God and the prophetic hope of all the promises of God being fulfilled in Jesus.
Beginning with Adam and Eve in the garden after the fall, God curses Satan and He continues to resist and carry out His authority over the evil one, the serpent of old. He declares his fate, his end.
God reminds him that he is an enemy of heaven and all of creation and in every generation the war will continue. Through the descendents of Eve will come one who will bring his ultimate defeat.
Let’s start with the opening sentence of the book. Matthew tells us the two key people who are most important in this genealogy:
God recognizes the choosing of Abraham and His covenant to him and his descendants. From this opening statement, we expect this family tree to help us understand not only the ancestral past of Jesus, but also his identity and mission. Jesus is called the son of both David and Abraham. Starting with Father Abraham and his barren wife Sarah—does that sound familiar? By calling Jesus the “Son of Abraham,” the author is connecting Jesus to the father of the people of Israel. Abraham represents the moment when God selected and separated his family from the rest of the nations all the way back in the book of Genesis. It was through these Israelite people that God promised to bring blessing to all of humanity (Gen 12:1-3). Salvation and restoration of mankind.
Secondly, “Son of David,” is a term that the author of Matthew is very fond of. Verse one is the first of ten appearances of the phrase in the book and it draws our attention to the royal line of King David. Abraham’s name pointed to a belonging amongst the people of Israel. David’s name tells us that Jesus was royalty. He is called the son of David and of Abraham.
In Jewish culture, lineage was crucial for establishing identity and legitimacy, so presenting Jesus as a descendant of David held significant meaning. He is the Messiah, prophesied to come to Israel and the world. His sonship, legitimatized, as the Son of God sent into the earth also called the son of man.
Glory to God in the highest!
-Keith Curlee
- December 10 – Birth and Historical Account of Jesus Begins
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Luke is a physician, an early Christian as a follower of the Way, and a companion of Paul, who records an account of the life of Jesus by collecting historical accounts and eyewitnesses stories. Luke’s attention to detail and abundant eyewitness accounts serve him as a credible historian for the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Today I want to bring attention to the historical account of Luke’s choosing, by the Holy Ghost, the spirit of truth, to compile the things God accomplished among them. He first says that many have undertaken to account of these wondrous events. He has been chosen to begin at the beginning, to vet eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Those who had seen and heard, to gather these accounts, to set them in an orderly sequence.
It is amazing that Luke, a physician, is chosen to do so. In light of that He begins with Mary and the angel’s visitation, establishing her as a virgin to bring forth the son of God. For a physician to, who has seen many births, write of this impossible yet supernatural event, of conception, being a virgin is incredible.
He tells Theophilus, that he has taken the time to investigate fully and carefully—not leaving one stone unturned from the beginning. He has done this so he and we can know the exact truth from the beginning. Not just the facts, but what we have been taught concerning the things God had done. The insight into the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God, and what it means to them and those who shall believe in generations to come.
He begins in Luke 2, “In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabitants of the earth.” He documents the rulers of this time and the people were to register in their own city. Joseph’s city was Bethlehem as the prophet foretold of the city where the Messiah would be born.
Luke establishes the time by those who were ruling and the place where everyone was required to register for the census, where their origin took place. Joseph and his betrothed Mary, great with child, came to Bethlehem because Joseph was of the house and family of David. Even though he was not the father, the prophetic lineage of Jesus was, as prophesied, In the city of David. He would come forth to be ruler in Israel. What was prophesied long ago has now been confirmed historically. As Luke wrote: That we may know the exact truth.
Glory to God in the Highest.
-Keith Curlee
- December 9 – Mary’s Song Continued
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Mary’s supernatural encounter with the Holy Ghost who overshadowed her now has come upon her. The Lord begins to magnify Himself in her soul and her spirit is filled with rejoicing. When the Holy Ghost moves on anyone there is a manifestation and expression that cannot be contained. The revelation of God’s holiness and mercy—who He is—transitions to His great and mighty deeds, which His strong arm has done and will continue to do.
Once again, the song points to the juxtaposition of humility and pride. In the midst of God doing great things, she continues to see the need for humility. He scatters the proud in their thoughts and plans and negative unity cannot be upheld. We have a saying: they are “scattered brain,” unable to think straight.
He brings down rulers and their thrones, their place to govern. The lack of ruling from a place of humility which becomes void of mercy cannot remain. To the hungry and the poor, He provides good things, and those who are rich, who oppress or ignore them, are sent away empty-handed. They did not give, but withheld goodness from those in need.
Concerning Israel, He has and continues to keep His covenant word to Abraham and his descendants, and like Mary, He has not forgotten, for it endures forever.
In this time, may He be magnified and exalted in our hearts with great rejoicing in our spirits. Elizabeth and Mary are wonderful examples to us in receiving the Holy Ghost in place, as God, in our lives.
Glory to God in the Highest!
-Keith Curlee
- December 8 – Mary’s Song Continued
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For He has and is doing great things. God is great; it is who He is. His greatness is how He gives Himself and does not hold back in any way. He is great, of vast power and excellence; supreme, none greater.
She breaks forth and sings of the greatness of God, her God, the Mighty One has done great things for her.
He is Holy, and his Name is Holy. She has been taught all her life not to take the Lord’s Name in vain. His name was Holy. Although this command concerning His Name is classically interpreted as referring to a senseless oath using God’s name, the avoidance of saying God’s name extends to all expressions, except prayer and Torah study.
His name is Holy! There is no one like Him, yet for someone that seems so far above, He bridges this gap and yet He extends His mercy to all generations, to everyone.
His greatness and Holiness are extended to us through His mercy available to everyone, yet to partake of it fully is given to those who fear (in awe of) Him.
In these days, as we sing the wonderful songs of Jesus’ birth, may His secrets and His revelation fill our spirits and hearts.
Glory to God in the Highest!
-Keith Curlee
- December 7 – Mary’s Song Continued
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Mary has broken out in song under the unction of the Holy Ghost. As she sings she, by the Holy Ghost, reveals truth that has come to her.
God regards humility and her state is His bond servant. She sings of God’s regard for humility, in which she views her present state. This word means to stand, to be fixed. It is a constant place before God. Humility being the proper response to a Mighty and Holy God To Whom she proclaims.
I have heard people pray for the Lord to humble or make them humble. This is not what He does. That kind of humility is humiliation. Some 72 times in scripture it says to us, “humble yourselves.” It is our place and state to maintain. This is what God saw in Mary. Think of being overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, having an angelic visitation, and being chosen to birth the Son of God, the Messiah prophesied and long waited for. Yet she remained in her humble state.
The Satanic source, pride’s work in us, is to make us think more highly of ourselves rather than lowly, as in the state of humility. Satan’s justification and lies are his only objective.
So much of Jesus’ birth is set in the state of humility. Why is this? God resists the proud.
The Holy Ghost spoke this to my heart years ago: “Spiritual Pride did not start with man but in heaven, and there was a war fought with Satan and a third of heaven. God cast him out and it will never get back there again.” His only response to it is to resist, resist, and resist. Pride cannot be covered by grace. It is a blocker and a resister to God’s amazing grace.
God gives grace to the humble, He favors humility.
Mary’s song is a testimony to God’s regard, how He perceives, favors, or is partial to. Not gifts, callings, personalities, or talent. He holds humility in the highest regard. It is the righteous response to God’s holiness and is the center of the fear of the Lord. She knows without question that it is God who has done great things and Holy is His name.
Glory to God in the Highest!
-Keith Curlee