Free From Limitations
Feeling limited?
Free From Limitation
When I was a boy, my Dad said to me, "Son, you can be anything you want to be, the sky's the limit!" ...which made me sad....... because I wanted to be an astronaut.
Sometimes humor can point us to the truth. Have you ever felt limited? It can be possible for someone to have limitations they are unaware of, hindering them from taking advantage of everything Jesus died to give to them.
There once was an elephant who had spent its life tethered with a rope around its foot. The rope allowed it to walk in a circle of about 30 ft. Since that was all the elephant had ever known, as far as the elephant knew, it was really living. One day the owner decided to sell it. A kind man bought the elephant and took it to a beautiful vast open space where it could be released to roam as far as it wished. But the elephant walked in a restricted circle despite the open fields and tall grasses it had to explore. It could not break free from its lifelong tethered experience in its mind. There was no longer a rope, but the elephant did not know that.
Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. 6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.
It is possible to belong to Jesus and mistakenly think you need the tutoring of the law, the same as you did before coming to Christ. Such thinking runs contrary to the New Covenant and is very limiting. In a way, that is being like that elephant. Jesus came to set us free from the law. He came to break condemnation and death off our lives and establish us in the very righteousness of God so we might live by faith in Him. the Bible says,
Galatians 3:11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
It is not living the New Covenant life to think that righteousness can be obtained or maintained by being under the Law. A new way has been made for us.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
The rope of the Law, my friend, has been removed in Christ, and before you now are open fields of grace to adventure in with Him! You’ve been set free by His grace to enjoy a wide-open relationship with Him as His child based on the merit of Christ on your behalf. You have become the righteousness of God in Christ! Because of this, many glorious promises have been made available to you in Christ because all the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ.
I pray that today you will venture out with Him in faith into those open fields and discover how wonderful it is to be His and be free in Him! Your life is now hidden with Christ in God! What will you do today with the wonderful eternal life you received in Jesus?
Count It All Joy
Want to navigate difficulty well?
Joy can be like wetting yourself, everyone else can see it, but only you can feel its warmth.
The other day I donated my watch, phone, and $50 to a poor guy. You don’t know the joy I felt when he finally put his knife back in his pocket.
Never underestimate the power of laughter and deep-abiding joy. Both are like medicine.
The Scripture defines joy as cheerfulness, calm delight, and gladness. But how do you achieve the fruit of joy amid difficult situations?
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
As we see how James approached the idea of joy, it can be ours even in the midst of the trials of life. But for that to be our reality, we must know there is some benefit coming our way due to what we are going through right now. In this case, it is the testing of our faith.
Put another way, I believe James is telling us that our need for Jesus extends well beyond initially getting saved. We need Jesus every day of our existence here on earth. We need His life, love, help, and wisdom. I believe James is encouraging us to go deeper in our relationship with Jesus and that an opportunity to do just that is afforded to us during situations that try our faith.
To embrace the opportunity that the trials of our faith can offer, we will need to practice taking captive our thoughts about what we are going through and bring them into submission to the obedience of Christ. Jesus completed the work at the cross to secure a deep, abiding relationship with God so we could live by faith. The word of God counsels us and encourages us when it declares; the Just shall live by faith!
I am not the source of my help; God is. That is why it is good to get to know God! I am wisest when I am seeking wisdom from the wisest Being of all. But when I desire His wisdom, I have to ask for it believing He will give it to me. If I doubt His goodness, ability, and willingness to enable me with His wisdom generously, I will not obtain it. This reveals that I need to know Him well enough to trust Him.
Please allow me to encourage you today to look to Jesus, the author, and finisher of your faith, and be encouraged by His unfailing love for you. Let the love He demonstrated at the cross testify to His unfailing great love for you. Let it convince you of His good intentions toward you. Let it testify that He will never leave you, nor will He ever forsake you.
You may be having a difficult time right now, but He is with you in whatever storm or situation you are in, and He will lead you through it to the other side.
Victory is already prophetically yours, my friend. You are in Him, and He lives in you. This test of your faith will produce heaven-born patience according to His likeness in you. That is why growing in knowing Jesus is good news for you!
If a sparrow can’t fall to the ground without Him knowing it, and you are worth more than all the sparrows, then I am convinced you are not alone, and He is very aware and very much with you today! You are getting to know Him even better; that’s why you can count it all joy.
Loved Regardless
You are love regardless of anything you have done or will do.
I still fondly remember how I did something some might think a bit odd every time my wife became pregnant. Every day I would speak to her belly to tell the child inside her womb how much I loved them. For the first pregnancy, I didn’t know I was talking to two of them until two weeks before they came forth. But as a dad, even without seeing them or knowing whether they would be well-behaved or not, I loved them and wanted them to know it, simply because they were mine and they were wanted. To this day, nothing has changed for any of my children. I still love them and always will, not because they’ve earned my love but because they are my children. They didn’t earn my love from the start, so they could not lose it. Displays of undesired behavior on their part might have caused me some disappointment and led to corrective actions being taken on my part for their training and benefit, but it never changed my love for them. I never felt inclined to reward them for bad behavior. Nor could their bad behavior make me lose my love for them.
God, as a Father, loved us before we were born again. I’m not making this up; it says so in the Bible.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all Three in One, loved us in eternity past. You and I were loved in Christ before the world began. Nothing has changed. We were targeted for God's love before coming to know Jesus. He set His love on us before we came forth. Similar to how I loved my children before they came forth, except more so.
You know, I was never as excited about the birth of someone else’s child as I was about the birth of my children. I must also confess that although I love the children of others, my love for my children is much greater.
Not that God is like me in such matters, but think for a moment and imagine with me how much more loved by Him we are now that we are His.
Ephesians 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
Jesus did not die for you because you were morally good or were even trying hard to be good. I know I wasn't morally good, nor was I trying to be. I was a rebel without a cause, not even thinking about God. Yet the Bible tells me I was loved even then.
Jesus died for you because you were greatly loved by the Father and deemed worth rescuing before the foundation of the world. His love is an everlasting love, so it hasn’t diminished over time! His love cannot be diminished even when we blow it and sin in our flesh. Our disobedience cannot drive His love away. It might grieve His heart because He knows there are no benefits to sin, and it often leads to undesired consequences that make it more difficult for us. But His love never changes. His desire for us to live in such a way as to prosper in our souls and that cause us to thrive in our daily lives will also never change. He wants us to find our identity in Jesus and learn to live in faith according to the Spirit growing in our trust.
Just as Paul stated, the life I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God who gave Himself for me. The same holds true for every believer if they wish to please God. So go live that beautiful abundant eternal life you have received and rejoice in Jesus today! It’s your privilege to do so. You are a son now, a joint heir, and as Jesus is, so are you now in this earth! You, my friend, are greatly loved regardless!
Hidden Away
What makes you feel safe?
Like most boys, I had a vivid imagination when I was a small boy. I would watch monster movies with my older brothers and then go to bed and get scared in the dark. I imagined that if I covered myself with my blanket pulled over my head, whatever was in my room couldn’t see me. Being hidden beneath my trusty blanket gave me the peace I needed to go to sleep. I would almost bet you could relate to that experience in your own childhood story.
Believe it or not, the Bible calls for us as God’s children to use our faith and imagination to realize we have been safely covered and hidden. If we get hold of this revelation, it can help us in our times of anxiousness and fear. It can also help us in our times of temptation.
Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
The reality of being hidden with Christ in God is everything! What can see us in that place, and what could get past God to get to us?
Even better is the idea of what we can discover about God as our Father from being hidden with Christ in Him. There’s much we can find about His love in that place.
I remember playing an old outdoor game with my brothers and our friends. Hide and seek. One person was it and counted to a set number while everyone else went and hid. Then once the one who was it finished counting, the challenge began. Unless you were well hidden, you would likely be quickly caught. There was a real sense of security that came from being well hidden. I recall that while I was hidden, my mind would often wander off in its imagination, and I would lose track of time. I often had some of the most lovely thoughts in that place of hiding.
From our position of being hidden with Christ in God, we get to have lovely thoughts as we discover who He is, what He has done, whom He says we are, and what we are to be and do.
You know, without the security of my trusty blanket as a kid, I would have had many a restless nights, and it would have taken a toll on me physically and mentally. My grades in school would have suffered, my energy levels would have gone down, and my excitement to do anything would have diminished.
When it comes to spirit and soul, true rest belongs to those who have the revelation of what it means to be in Christ. Our heavenly identity is inalterably tied to our position in Christ.
Today we are victorious not because circumstances will end the way we want but because, despite circumstances and fearful challenges, our life is hidden with Christ in God!
Our security is in Jesus, and we are citizens of His kingdom, which is righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit—having a tough time? Try to remember that you are under a powerful covering today. I encourage you to train yourself to enjoy being hidden with Christ in God. In that place, your imagination will be captivated by Him! It is a joyful and glorious place to be.
Taught By Grace
Do you know the lessons grace teaches?
I used to be addicted to not showering. Luckily, I've been clean for five years.
You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windshield, it said ‘Parking Fine.
All joking aside, it’s not beneficial to go through life ignorant about things that matter. This is especially true when it comes to grace.
Grace is such a wonderful thing in life. It brings hope, blessing, and promise and is powerfully transformative. But I have encountered some who think of grace as something it is not. They morph it into being something they wish it were while ignoring what Scripture reveals it truly is. This happens when grace is made out to be about or to do something that it was never intended to be about or to do.
It can also happen if we ignore the passages that offer a different point of view on a subject we hold dear, but the point of view is not quite complete.
Such is the subject of grace. I’ve found it often is misunderstood regarding its full effect. It is either not viewed as having the depth of reach it is meant to have, or it is viewed as going so far in its reach that nothing we do matters anymore.
I believe in a grace that is so powerful that it can be seen as being scandalous while, at the same time, it is so powerful that it is transformative.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, 13. At the same time, we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Grace appeared when Jesus arrived on the scene and went to the cross to pay the penalty for the sin of the world. Your sin and my sin. That act of grace offers salvation to anyone who believes and receives it.
Interestingly though, that grace teaches us something. It is a tiny but powerful two-letter word, “No.” Grace empowers us with that word as it applies to a specific thing. We can now say no to ungodliness and worldly passions because of grace and what it teaches us.
But more than teaching us to say no to those things, grace teaches us how to live! We get to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. Grace reveals to us an even deeper purpose to the death of Christ on the cross than just saving us from the penalty of our sin.
Grace reveals that Jesus died to save us from all wickedness and purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good. New Creation DNA is designed in this way. Jesus did not go to the cross so that if someone wanted to continue in wicked behavior, they could do so without threat of consequence. The purpose of the cross was to redeem and transform. It is the gateway to becoming a New Creation in Christ filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered to live as a changed person who knows they are loved greatly.
This is what grace teaches us. It lets us know that as we seek to live as whom He says we are and we find we miss the mark, we haven’t lost His love, and we still have His favor, and we are not left in the spot where we fell. He is there with us to help us get back on our feet again and live as the person He says we are. It is essential to be taught by grace, not just be fascinated with it. I encourage you to allow the lessons of grace to be yours today and always.
Complete
What does it mean to be complete?
A Professor was traveling by boat. On his way he asked a sailor:
“Do you know Biology, Ecology, Zoology, Geography, or Physiology?
The sailor said, “no, never studied those subjects.”
The Professor exclaimed: “What? You don’t know any of these? Don’t you know you’ll probably die of illiteracy?”
After a while the boat they were on started sinking. The Sailor asked the Professor, do you know swimology, drownology, or sharkology?
The professor said. “no.”
The Sailor calmly but sarcastically said: “Well, your ignorance of swimology and sharkology is going to introduce you to dieology because your mouthology can’t save you.
Sometimes people can get caught up in knowing things they imagine to be necessary, when in fact, they do little if anything to equip them for what might be most needed in their daily life. This can be just as true when it comes to truly “spiritual” things that really matter. This was true when the apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians about the really important things that matter.
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Anytime someone is attempting to convince me that I need to rely on my own piety, natural strength, or will power to improve my standing spiritually with God, I already know I shouldn’t give heed. Such dialogue does not put Christ at the center as the Head. Jesus is the only One who completed the work needed for me to be in right standing with God.
The phrase “according to Christ” in this passage is of greatest importance to every believer. Everything that matters to me, or to any believer, is that which is according to Christ. What did Christ do? Who is Christ? What does Christ mean to me? What has Christ done for me? How does what Christ did apply to me? What about Christ should be important to me? Jesus, Jesus , Jesus!
If I were ordering in a restaurant I would say to the waiter or waitress, “I’ll have Christ, with a side of Christ, and for dessert I would like Christ!
Jesus is everything! In Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily and I am complete in Him. I cannot get more complete than I am, when I am in Him.
Colossians 3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
This is why it is impossible to make too much about Christ. Jesus really is everything! The way God sees it, when Jesus died, I died with Him. When Jesus rose from the dead, I rose with Him. Now I am hidden with Christ in God!
There’s no greater thing! This is not figurative language, or some empty metaphorical notion meant to merely make me feel better about myself. This is my spiritual reality! If you have come to Christ it is your spiritual reality as well. But for it to truly benefit, all those other “ologies” and empty traditions that seek to bring it into question must be set aside so we can focus on what is really true concerning us.
Christ in you! The hope of glory! You are complete in Him Who is the Head of all principalities and powers! This completeness is why you live hidden with Christ in God above the nonsense and the chaos occurring regularly in this world. I hope this brightens your outlook. I know it brightens mine. Be assured in Jesus alone and let the joy of the Holy Spirit fill you today and always.
The Freedom Of Contentment
Discontentment is a prison, find out how to be free
When I was younger, and without Jesus, I really struggled with longing after the wrong things in life. My appetites just could not be satisfied and led me down the wrong paths taking me further and further away from anything that was good.
It seemed the more a longed for something the harder I tried to take hold of it only to find that once I had what I thought I wanted it wasn’t enough.
My lack of contentment caused me great delay, hardship and disappointment for many years. It wasn’t until I met Jesus that I began to learn about contentment. Becoming a New Creation in Christ delivered me from the useless journeys down the wrong paths and set me on a right path with Him.
Without contentment in Jesus a person is relegated to always searching for something that is of this world to satisfy their soul only to learn that even if they had everything this world could offer they still would not feel content.
This can be experienced even for the saved. A believer in Jesus can get deceived and sidetracked by the enemy. The devil has no power or authority over a believer that he can just use at will to damage, or destroy their lives. Satans only tool is deception, so his uses cunning trickery to get a believer to think they’ve been short changed, or are being cheated from having something. He used this tactic in the garden of Eden with Eve. He used a lie with the aim of convincing her of lack, of having been short changed without knowing it. Because she believed the lie she ate and then gave the fruit to her husband who ate.
It was through this means of accepting a lie, that said what they already had was not enough, that led to sin and decay. Satan cannot destroy a believer, but if he can convince a believer in Jesus of a lie that something about Jesus is not enough, he can send that believer down a wrong path that will rob them of taking advantage of what they already possess in Christ.
The devil wants to blind every believer to the truth that Jesus is enough, and that He has freely given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Perhaps that is why Paul warned his son in the faith Timothy the way he did in,
1Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
Jesus will always be enough. This world has nothing that even comes close to comparing with Jesus. There’s no excitement that compares with the excitement of being filled with the Holy Spirit and seeing Him at work in and through our lives to touch others in Jesus name. Nothing can compare with the love Jesus has for us.
Part of the freedom Christ gives is the freedom of contentment. He releases us from the rat race of this world which involves a never ending quest for more only to find the more never truly satisfies. I want to always prefer the more of Him and all He has in mind for me. I want to always prefer the more of what He wants to do in and through my life. Being in fellowship with God and surrendered to His purposes is the greatest gain of all. I want to encourage you today to enjoy the freedom of contentment as you look to Jesus. You will find all you could ever need in Him.
Only Believe
The super power of simple
Have you ever wanted do something and had that one person who overcomplicated it with all the things that could go wrong, thus making it seem impossible to do?
Overcomplicating, no matter how well intentioned, can be a faith and joy killer. I get that there’s a time for attention to detail, but unwittingly overcomplicating something can derail the thing originally desired to start with.
Over complicating happens when someone gets too caught up in the how from a logical point of view. It leads to imagining all the things that may prevent the how, before the desire can even take root in the heart. Jesus witnessed this when He knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.
John 11:38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
Over the years I have witnessed many putting a strong emphasis on the glory of God in an effort to create a desire for it in others. Years ago I was one of the ones guilty of ignorantly doing such a thing. In an effort to see manifested glory, it’s possible to get too caught up in the how and over complicate it until it seems impossible to see it happen. Jesus, makes things simple, and thus doable.
The simple key to any experience of the glory of God is revealed by the Lord Himself. “If you believe.”
Jesus said, “these signs shall follow those who believe” He did not say those who do these signs will believe. Believing precedes any true experience that is real.
In the case with Lazarus’ sisters and friends Jesus did not say if you do certain things you will witness the glory of God. He said very clearly, “if you believe.” Lazarus was raised from the dead against the natural realities of being in the grave for four days and already decomposing. That is an exhibition of glory! One of the strongest exhibitions there is, and Jesus said it was available by just believing. When it comes to experiencing God in all His fullness the Holy Spirit reveals,
Ephesians 3:16 I pray that out of his glorious riches the Father may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Here we find Jesus dwells in our hearts, “by faith.” It also reveals that faith is the result of the Father strengthening us in our inner man. We also discover that by growing in our knowing the love of Christ we are filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. This is just so simple. It is encouraging us to pursue knowing the love of Christ which will result experiencing the measure of all the fullness of God.
This simplifies it so that it is attainable for every believer no matter who they are. It makes the glory of God accessible! Only believe! Everything in His kingdom is received and operates through faith. I encourage you today to look to Jesus and believe in His goodness that has promised you glorious encounters with God on the basis of what He has done on your behalf already. Only believe.
Good Works
Doing good works matter. So does the reason why we do them.
I remember when I was a young boy that there was one Christmas with my dad that really is locked in my memory. We had gotten some old bike parts, frames etc and stripped them down, painted them, then put them back together and added the things they needed to be safe reliable bicycles. Of course my dad did most all the work, I was just there handing him a tool here or there, or a part perhaps. I just remember enjoying doing this with my dad for the sole purpose of giving these bikes to some kids who could not afford a bike. Doing this with my dad to me was what made it a very special moment.
Good deeds have the power to make us feel good. They can make us feel good about ourselves, or they have the ability to make us feel good about who it is we are doing them with. Good deeds are very much a part of the New Covenant life we have in Christ.
The point of my sharing that experience I had with my dad is not as much about the good deed we did as it is the connection I felt with my dad in the context of doing that deed. To me it was the relationship moment that I treasure.
You see, if I had done the good deed on my own I am sure it would have felt good, but what made this particular deed so special was that I was invited by my dad to partner with him in doing it. It was special to me even though my contribution was very small.
In this sense, I feel it is not unlike what Jesus experienced during His earthly ministry. You see Jesus did what He saw His Father doing, and He spoke what He heard His Father speaking. Jesus partnered with His Father. So when we read something like:
John 10:32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
We begin to grasp what gave fuel to the works that Jesus did. The reason the people wanted to stone Jesus was because Jesus spoke so clearly and authoritatively about relationship with His Father and the authority the Father had given Him to give eternal life, the people wrongfully thought Jesus was speaking blasphemy.
When the beauty and profound nature of Jesus’ relationship to the Father was revealed the anger and religious jealousy of certain people was exposed. It was the relationship that set Jesus apart, and it was the doing of things based on that relationship that revealed what the Father was truly like.
Jesus offered this counsel to His disciples,
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
The phrase, “let your light so shine” is very key to understanding the actual nature of His counsel. Notice Jesus didn’t say, “let your light shine.” He said, “Let your light so shine.” That little two letter word is so important to a real revelation of what Jesus was getting at.
The word “so” means there is a specific manner in which the light is to shine. Jesus is not saying here that any and all good works automatically point others to giving glory to the Father. Jesus is indicating that the why and the way we engage in good works will be what moves others to give glory to the Father.
My good works are to be such that they clearly demonstrate my relationship to God the Father, and that relationship being the source of my good works to start with. The Father is happy to call them my good works, none the less, just as my dad was happy to let kids think I was a large part of them getting bicycles that Christmas. But those kids knew it was my dad who was at the core of that blessing and they were very grateful to him.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
The bicycles we gave to kids that Christmas was my dads idea and mostly his work, not mine. He allowed me to be included in it because he wanted me to share in the blessing of it. What good work is your Father in heaven up to through you today? He prepared it for you a long time ago with joyful eagerness to partner with you in it. I encourage you to partner with Him from that place of relationship made possible through Jesus and be a spring board for others to give Him glory. You’ll enjoy it like nothing else.
The Right Source
Self determination is limited. But there is a source that can produce far more
This morning, as it is every morning, I made my wife Sheila a special latte with a marshmallow like cream to top it and an espresso creme-foam heart shape on top of that in a special cup that says, “Forever Newlyweds.”
Do I feel I have to do it? Am I trying to earn something? The answer is NO!
I do it simply because I love her! It is a way for me make her feel special every morning. I enjoy doing something I know she likes and appreciates, simply because I love her. I do not do it out of fear that if I don’t she might fall out of love with me, be upset with me, or leave me. I am not afraid that if I missed a morning or stopped altogether that she would be angry and seek to find ways to make me pay for it throughout the day. Sheila is not manipulative. She loves me.
She doesn’t press me to do it, or even suggest it. In fact, she would be most willing to make her own latte, and she does so whenever I am traveling away from home and not available to do it for her. It is not a thing of expectation born out of entitlement in her. She would gladly get up and make her own and not think a thing about it. But, I enjoy doing this for her.
Funny, how things done from love are devoid of boredom. It is also interesting how things done from the motivation of love do not leave the person doing them feeling as though it was too hard, or too much. It makes difficult things easier. It also doesn’t make the person receiving feel as though they owe anything in return. Another interesting observation is that things done out of love also produce a greater consistency and longevity.
Now I will admit that if my wife carried on as though she hated me and only tolerated me, it might make put a damper on the desire to make her a latte each morning. If everyday I lived with a sense that she expected me to make that latte for her out of a thought of being entitled, that would make me feel more like a servant to her than a husband. If that were the case, I might not even have the creativity to think of making it for her. It would make doing it, if I did do it, a drudgery.
Why? Because when we feel we are having to do things for someone to earn something, or out of fear of being subjected to their anger or retribution, it feels like slavery to us.
Sadly, many professing believers in Jesus live everyday in a must do frame of mind as opposed to a get to do. This is because they are lacking in their revelation of Christ’ love and living under a sense of needing to earn it.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.
1Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Paul knew how horribly he had treated Christ by persecuting the church and thus Paul understood how great a mercy he had received and how great a love was his as well. Paul was motivated by love according to grace. Paul knew the love of Christ and as a result could believe in all that was available to him to accomplish all that he was called to do. Paul endured so many hardships and difficulties it is staggering to think about. But we see how he never waned, he never quit, he never gave up and he never attributed it to his own sense of faithfulness or endurance. He knew the source of it all! Jesus loved him and as a result of having such a great love Paul loved Jesus in return. His heart responded to knowing he was loved by Christ with the fruit of love in return.
Whenever I am in a place of struggle I seek to remind myself of the love of Christ because all my circumstances and situations are trying to tell me His love is no longer with me. I can never rely on those things to know His love for me. I must go to His word to settle that matter and then believe according to the revelation the Holy Spirit offers me in His word regarding His love that never fails. It is then that I can once again rise up and continue on the path He set for me. It is out of that place of being loved and loving in return that consistency and faithfulness are fueled in my life.
Jesus loves you! This I know. The Holy Spirit in the Bible has told me so. I believe it and am convinced that He will never leave you or I nor will He ever forsake us. I encourage you to allow that to be the source of your obedience and faithfulness.
A Very Present Help
You are never alone
2Thessalonians 2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
At eleven years of age I lost my dad to suicide. I really loved my dad too. I struggled to understand what happened, or why it happened. It rocked my world in a major way that took me some time to recover from.
Right after his death I dealt with intense fear of loss for a long time after that. It was so bad, it often interfered with my mom being able to go out of the house. I would panic. I felt that if she left she might get killed. I was terrified of losing her too. It was a prison and a torment to me and the ones who loved me. It took a while to overcome it to a level of being able function more normally, but it wasn’t till I came to know Jesus that it was truly broken in my life.
Loss is painful no doubt. I have had my share of loss over the years, and as well in 2020 like many others. I presided over too many memorial services for the loved ones of friends, and even my own family. I’ve noticed that someone passing is never at a convenient time in our lives and seems to always stir questions of some kind, or other. I also took note that through all these losses that were so final and felt so deeply, one thing stayed consistent. By the grace of God and the friendship of the Holy Spirit I was keenly aware of the constant presence of God. I was also keenly aware of the love He was showering upon me, and the family during those difficult times. It was in such abundance I was able to offer continual encouragement to those around me while handling tough situations of my own. I wasn’t refusing to grieve properly or be in denial of the loss. I was able to recognize and properly participate in the process but noticed I had a supernatural grace upon me through it all.
When the Scripture says that in my weakness Jesus is made strong it is not speaking tongue in cheek. That statement is not a platitude.
2Corinthians 13:4 For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.
I felt so strengthened by Him in the midst of my loss it seemed scandalous. His love is that way. It comes through the fog of our hardships and pain sometimes in the most scandalous of ways. Weeping may last for a night but joy comes in the morning.
An unexplainable joy in situations hard to understand or deal with is the beauty of relationship with Him that is real, raw and sometimes ugly on our part. He is okay with our honesty in the midst of such trials and He will wash us with His love so we can have joy and be comforted in the midst of pain and momentary confusion. Just be honest and open with Him and by all means ask Him for His help.
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
He takes our ashes and gives us His beauty. Oh how He loves us! His love is not conditional, and my friend today He loves you just as much as He has any other day, and He always will love you. Be encouraged today no matter what you may be facing and know that you are greatly loved.
Christ Crucified
Such a simple message
1Corinthians 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
This is a very interesting passage of Scripture that is loaded with wisdom and revelation. I love that God’s foolishness is even wiser than men and His weakness is stronger than men. In other words, God is very great indeed!
The apostle who wrote this was a very accomplished and intelligent man in his own right. The worldly minded would think he should be committed to a more astute subject matter. But here’s a brilliant and very learned man who has set aside what this world would likely treasure most and is staying the course with what this world and the church needs most.
Whenever you, or I, yield to what it is valued in this world over what is most needed, we do ourselves and this world no real good. Ignore what the world says is important because you already have what it takes!
1Corinthians 1:26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
So we see here that God has chosen a very simple message and delivers it through people such as us! We just need to commit to speaking very plainly about it from a place of real revelation. By sticking to a simple but plain message regarding the sacrifice of Jesus we reveal God’s wisdom. That way it is according to the anointing of the Holy Spirit that others become convinced and encouraged. It is neither our eloquence, or depth of educational achievement, that produces the fruit God is looking for.
Those anointed by God do not ignore the cross of Christ, and never become bored with it. They understand that the work of Jesus at that cross was, and will always be, the most important work there ever was. They understand that Jesus is the wisdom of God, and the power of God. Therefore they preach Him, and His work, knowing it is what is most needed both in the world, and in the church.
Based on these passages we are most qualified to be used by the Holy Spirit to bring a valid and powerful witness for Jesus. We just need to stick to what matters most. Declaring the work of the cross displays the wisdom of God over the wisdom of this world. The world would have chosen a different way, and a different kind of hero. But you, and I, know who the greatest hero that ever lived.
Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
Romans 6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
2Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Everything points back to that work on the cross where Jesus gave up His life for us. There’s no greater value that can be ascribed. There’s no greater wisdom that can be applied. His love is on full display at that cross! That’s where He took the sin of the world and freely gives His righteousness to as many as will receive it through faith in Him. There’s no better solution to the greatest problem mankind has ever, or will ever, face. Let the redeemed say so! All praise to Jesus who gave Himself out of love for us! Christ crucified testifies boldly that you are loved with an everlasting love!
Don’t Miss The Point
Want to see Jesus clearly?
Matthew 17:1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.”
I have discovered that there is an ability for us as human beings to miss the mark on a particular revelation, and yet act as though that one revelation is all that is needed. Ministries sometimes run on such a practice.
Peter was so moved by witnessing Jesus standing with Moses and Elijah, he sprung into action. But, what Peter, and the others, thought the moment was about wasn’t exactly on point.
The voice of God came from the cloud with great awe and authority. So much so, that it caused great fear to come upon and Peter, James and John, and they fell on their faces. Jesus had to touch them and tell them not to be afraid. Notice that it was Jesus who touched them, not Moses and Elijah. What was so significant about who touched them and what was spoken to them?
“This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
Now, if you ask me, that statement does not sound too threatening, unless. Unless you are off the mark with what you think you were supposed to get. That seemingly harmless statement made by the Father struck fear in them because they had also missed the real point of what just happened.
Jesus, the Initiator of a New and better Covenant, the One through Whom grace and truth came, the Very Righteousness of God was being revealed to the Law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah).
Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
The Mount of Transfiguration moment in history was a highly significant moment in the plan and purpose of God. It was intended to take the focus off that which was before, and now place it on His Beloved Son for all time.
Moses and Elijah did not appear so that the disciples would be amazed and distracted by them, or be led to think they should be on par with Jesus. Jesus stands alone glorified above all else, as it should be, and the Father wanted to make certain of that.
I want to make sure that what I believe concerning Jesus is what the Holy Spirit revealed to me and wanted me to get. I don’t want to rush into the wrong response or build a ministry based on a mistaken revelation.
I want continual New Covenant revelation concerning Jesus so that when each moment of manifest glory occurs all I see is Him.
I encourage you to join me in asking the Holy Spirit to bring fresh, accurate New Covenant revelation concerning Jesus to your heart and mind. I want to keep my eyes on Jesus without distraction.
Growing In Your Knowing
Want to know Jesus better?
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
As wonderful as that truth sounds, a deep level of trust isn’t produced by just hearing the truth through others. It is the fruit of getting to know Jesus and His love for you, personally for yourself.
I can’t have a healthy marriage based only on what others tell me about my wife Sheila. I have to know her for myself, and that leads me to invest myself in certain ways. It requires effort on my part to see her, hear her, and be with her in ways that advance my understanding of her. It is very purposeful and intentional on my end. It will also require me to get over myself at times so I can hear and see what is really going on, and what she is really trying to say, or do. It is not that she established some difficult condition in order for me to be able to know her. She is not making me earn it, it is just how things work. It’s how we as human beings experience growth. I am not trying to earn anything from her, I am simply enjoying the journey of continually getting to know her and grow together in life. That cannot happen as a one sided deal.
I believe this is the understanding Paul was speaking from when he penned what he did to the Philippians.
Philippians 3:7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
If I refuse to invest in a way that would lead me to greater discoveries of Jesus, I am being one sided towards Jesus. Then if He doesn’t meet my expectations, of what I want Him to do for me, I may go away offended and claim that others have misled me concerning Him. I know it sounds ridiculous but it is a common occurrence in the lives of many. Meanwhile, Scripture clearly testifies that God cannot lie. That means He is reliable, and that His promises are sure. But, to get to the level of trust that takes Him at His word based on knowing His character is not easy like snapping ones fingers. That kind of trust comes by knowing Him and becoming familiar with His character and nature.
Your faith cannot out pace your knowledge of Him! You will not have a faith that goes ahead of what you’ve come to know concerning Him. Growing in your knowledge of Him is not earning anything, it is simply how we grow! I encourage you to invest in getting to know Him more and more! Besides, it is a large part of where the excitement of being His comes into play. He is, after all, fascinating and very worth getting to know better. I encourage you today to be growing in your knowing Him.
In Step With The Gospel
New Covenant life is living according to the gospel
I have brothers, and sons who spent time in the military. I also have had quite a few friends who are veterans of the military. I’ve been to quite a few boot camp graduation ceremonies as a result.
At those graduations it is important that when a platoon, battalion or unit marches that they be in perfect step. Being in step is a show of unity of purpose.
When we use the term “In Step.” It is a way of indicating agreement with, and being on purpose with, a truth, a person, idea, or purpose.
Often it is not as much about what we say as it is what we do that determines whether or not we are “In Step.”
For instance: Were you keenly aware that it is possible to believe in the gospel but yet be out of step with it?
One the great apostles of Jesus experienced this. He had to be verbally challenged on it in front of everyone by another apostle of the gospel.
Galatians 2:11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? 15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. 17 “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Peter’s behavior was not in step with the gospel. It did not align with what the gospel decrees as being the way of righteousness and favor. It was out of step with how the gospel decrees no respect of persons, but rather, faith bringing all to Christ and setting them on equal footing.
I want my behavior to always align with the truth of the gospel. I do not want to be found allowing certain preferences or achievements to interfere with my ability to recognize the glory of another believer in Jesus who, according to faith in Christ, is just as righteous as I am. I do not want to be found trying to tell them what they received was insufficient and lacking. I do not want to be selective based on natural reasons such as race, gender, age, socio economic status, educational achievements, denominational affiliation, or any other reason. I want to know others according to the Spirit as opposed to the flesh.
Peter was in error because he yielded to a preference according to the flesh. Praise Jesus! Peter fixed it once he was made aware. He humbled himself and received the adjustment needed.
I encourage you to make it your aim to always be found In Step With The Gospel and see others according to the Spirit, as opposed to the flesh. I know that is my plan.
A Reliable Testimony
What God says about you is what you should run on
Psalm 119:138 Your testimonies, which You have commanded, are righteous and very faithful.
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Whenever anyone comes to Christ for salvation the Father speaks over them as His child. He identifies them as His own with the seal of approval which is the Holy Spirit.
Being born again is a work of the Spirit having nothing to do with ones flesh. It is very supernatural indeed. It is then that we are marked by the Father.
If a person believes the Father is marking them as coming up short, not being good enough, not being favored, or always subject to trouble, they have come short of fully believing the good news of the completed work of Jesus.
God does not choose us, bring us to Jesus, fill us with the Holy Spirit and then turn around and abandon us because He regrets His decision. His decision to rescue us and bring us to His Son for salvation was a confident one that wasn’t based on what we can or cannot do. It was based on what His Son could do.
Jesus said in, John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
No one came to Jesus on their own as though they possessed some superior wisdom above others. Anyone who comes to Jesus does so because the Father drew them. It is also important to notice that no one will raise themselves up on the last day. Jesus will do that!
That means none of us have any bragging rights regarding our standing in Christ as though we did anything to obtain or to merit the attention of the Father.
The way to know when a person is truly hearing from God is to pay attention to whether or not they are drawn to Christ and give the credit for being right with God the Father to Christ. God did not set things up for men to take the credit. The Father directs men to Jesus because only Jesus can make a person worthy to stand before the Father confidently.
The Father knows the only way for a person to truly be made righteous with the right kind of righteousness is to be born again through faith in Jesus. This has put everyone in the place of being equals in the family of God. It strips away the need for comparison and competition among His own. There is no one superior to another in the faith as though they are special due to something they bring or some birth right in the natural.
Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
God’s testimony regarding those who come to Christ is consistent and without respect of persons. His testimony of you is a reliable one indeed. It is not healthy for anyone to compare themselves with another in the body of Christ either to see if they are doing better than the other person, or doing worse. Both conditions of comparison are unhealthy and unsupported in the Scriptures.
I encourage you today to enjoy being His, rejoice in being born again and made a part of the family without prejudice. You are His, and He is yours! You are greatly loved by the Father simply because you came to Him through Jesus when He drew you to Jesus at the start.
Unable To Lie
If you knew you could absolutely trust someone how would it impact our relationship to them?
If you knew someone who knew everything, and you were convinced that they could not lie, how often would you seek their counsel? How would it impact your relationship with them?
In our nations history there is a story about our very first president George Washington that has served to endear people to him for generations. It is about when he was a boy. As a young boy, it is said that he cut down his mothers cherry tree. When asked if he did so, the story reports that he responded, “Mother I cannot tell a lie, I cut it down.” He spoke honestly at his own risk.
Recently, I was tasked with having to interact with customer service representatives and during the course of conversation I discovered several of them were either intentionally lying to me, or at least only using programmed responses they had been trained to use that could not apply to what I was asking. Either way, it led me to mistrust their ability to help me, and question their integrity to do so.
Honesty and integrity are extremely important to our ability to trust others, or for others to be able to trust us. That is why it is so important to understand the character of honesty and integrity that originates with God. After all He is called the God of truth and Jesus came to us in grace and truth. The Holy Spirit is known as the Spirit of truth.
In the Scriptures it says,
Titus 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, 3 but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior; 4 To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
It clearly reveals in this passage, God cannot lie. It doesn’t say He does not lie simply because He is against doing so. It says, He cannot lie. Now when you understand this accordingly it can feed your faith regarding what He speaks very powerfully.
Think about it. God, who cannot lie, has made certain promises to you, both in His word and in real time interaction with you. If He cannot lie that means you can count on what He promised you. God will be true to His word. The only thing you become responsible for is taking Him at His word, and of course, knowing what His word is.
I cannot tell you how refreshing it was when I finally spoke with a supervisor for customer service who was extremely honest with me even at the risk of losing my business. I thanked him for his honesty and he was the reason I remained with the service they offered.
Trust is not a given fruit in life, it is developed by knowing the character of the person you are expected to trust or at least having faith initially that they are good and trustworthy to start with. I am grateful to know that my God is the most trustworthy being who has ever existed. It has helped me immensely during strange and challenging times to stand firm on the promises He has made to me.
I encourage you today to take a good look into the fact of God’s inability to lie, and consider what He has spoken to you, both in His written word and when He has spoken to you as His own. That is something you can take to the bank and rely on, even when it appears it might not be able to come to pass. Be patient, stand strong, because God never disowns what He spoke, He upholds His word because He cannot lie!
Faith Talk
What kind of confession do you speak?
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Before there was anything God spoke and made something from nothing. His word had the power to make something out of nothing.
But, more than that is the thought of how the prophets of old spoke about what God was doing or would do for Israel at a time when anything other than what they spoke is what seemed most possible.
The prophetic words spoken by the prophets were not visible realities in that moment and time. Their words did not seem possible when they spoke them, and yet they spoke them none the less.
For this reason the prophets were considered the very odd ones among all the rest because they spoke of things not yet seen and seemingly impossible in the natural based on current circumstances.
As we read of their accounts in Scripture we get to see them according to hindsight. We know that the things they spoke actually did come to pass. So we do not think them strange. But had we lived in their moment and time and had we heard them speaking would we have believed their report?
When Jesus arrived on the scene preaching He spoke of things that sounded way to incredible for many to grasp, let alone believe. Yet, He spoke them anyway. Jesus called things that were not as though they were. Someone would be lying on their death bed and Jesus would say, “this sickness is not unto death.” Someone would be pronounced dead and Jesus would say, “he is not dead but only sleeps.” Jesus would tell His disciples they were going to see His friend Lazarus knowing Lazarus had already died. But Jesus spoke of Lazarus as though he were alive. Jesus spoke according to faith in what He knew God would do but was not yet seen.
This practice of speaking according to something not yet seen is all throughout the Scriptures, and yet, still today many struggle at the prospect of speaking in faith according to what cannot yet be seen as though it already is. Jesus said,
Luke 6:43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
If we use context to determine what Jesus is describing as fruit bearing in these passages it seems to me He speaking more about what is spoken by a person than He is their moral conduct. I’m not saying good conduct has no place, mind you, just that in this case Jesus is talking about speech. What we say about a situation comes from what we believe in our heart to be true.
Honest confession is always rooted in what a person believes to be true in their heart. A good confession is an honest confession in line with what God says about something because the heart is convinced of His undeniable faithfulness and integrity.
It might well be that a true test of being set free from the fear of man is to walk totally free of the opinion of others and speak as you believe without apology, or fear of rejection or reprisal. Being free to declare His promises in full assurance of faith even though it cannot yet be seen in the natural. I encourage you today to speak according to faith in Him, as opposed to your circumstances. It is good for the heart. Be blessed and encouraged in Him today!
Standing On The Integrity Of Jesus
What are you relying on?
What we see, hear, taste, smell and feel is so real to us. It is often more real to us than the truth we find in the word of God spoken concerning us.
So how can we overcome our five senses which we use to determine the facts so often?
Much of what we need to do begins and ends with faith in the integrity of God, the finished work of Jesus, and the promised faithfulness and power of the Holy Spirit. We start there because God upholds His word.
Psalm 89:34 My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
Psalm 119:25 My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your word.
Psalm 119:28 My soul melts from heaviness; Strengthen me according to Your word.
We often yield to what seems most real to us in the natural. We feel it, see it unfolding, and because of that we often very confidently make our confession for it. After all, we don’t want to be seen as being out of touch with “reality.”
But did you know there’s a way to acknowledge fact while giving greater weight to the truth God speaks so that it becomes our confession?
In Matthew 14 the disciples of Jesus had just witnessed a major miracle that transcended the facts of the circumstances they were facing. The disciples themselves were hungry, not have enough to eat, let alone feed a great multitude of people. The facts of the circumstances were that thousands of people were far from their homes, or any nearby town. Those people were also in need of food and it would be too far a journey for them to strike out hungry. The disciples witnessed and were part of a miracle where Jesus fed a multitude of over 5000 people with just five loaves and two fishes. After everyone had their fill the disciples collected twelve baskets of fragments that they could eat. No one was hungry any longer.
You’d think this miracle, and others they had witnessed, would be enough to convince the twelve of who Jesus truly was. That this would send them into a deeper revelation of Jesus and cause them to worship Jesus more authentically. But it didn’t.
Truth is they all needed the experience of a troubled sea, while being in a boat that would go no where due to contrary winds and waves, and then seeing Jesus in a very different way. When Jesus revealed Himself to them on that troubled sea they were first frightened but later they all worshipped Him saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”
Seeing the integrity of Jesus according to His word while in the midst of hard and fearful circumstances that challenge that word is where a deeper revelation of Him and His trustworthiness opens up. It is then that you cannot help but worship Him. Worship in Spirit and in truth is not what the next fad worship team of popularity does for us. It is what seeing Jesus in a way that defies the facts and fears of circumstances does for us when they position us to see Him revealed in a fresh way to our hearts. Seeing Him as He really is.
Standing on the integrity of Jesus and His word to you is a place of profound fresh revelation that produces the fruit of worship like nothing else can. I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit for a fresh revelation of Jesus today, especially as you face your next challenge. I promise you will not be disappointed.
Pressing On
In a rough patch?
Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Nostalgic glimpses of the past will never be on par with a fresh and glorious revelation of Jesus in your now. An active relationship quickened and made alive by the Holy Spirit at work in you is what will propel you into what lies ahead.
It can be too easy to get stuck in the middle of your journey where you say to yourself, I knew I should never had set out to do this, or you say it’s way to far to go back, but way too hard to go forward, I just give up. There’s no being stuck in this kind of scenario.
Giving up always results in going backwards because when you are rowing in your boat against the winds that are contrary to you, you may not be getting very far, but, at least you’re not going backwards. If you stop rowing you will drift backwards, and off course from where you should be.
Be assured that in that difficult place where circumstances are much more real to you than whatever it was God spoke to get you started, Jesus is going to be there for you.
Jesus came to His disciples in the middle of the sea where they were rowing hard against the wind and waves to go where He had commanded them to go. They had been at it a long time too, and no doubt feeling worn out.
He appeared to them walking on the water and they cried out for fear thinking it was a ghost. A person walking on water goes against all the known facts. Jesus said the equivalent of, “Stop it” When He said, “do not be afraid , it is I.” Only Peter got distracted enough to rise above the facts of the present circumstances to interact with Jesus and get out of that boat. Peter responded, “if it is you Lord bid me come to you.” Jesus simply replied, “Come.”
That boat represented the only safety there was on an angry sea and for Peter to step out in faith on a fresh word from Jesus saying, “come” was a big deal. Peter was walking on the water too! It wasn’t till Peter looked again to the facts of the circumstance that he began to sink. But he cried out and Jesus helped him back to the boat and the wind and the waves stopped and everyone then had the revelation of who Jesus really was. “Surely, You are the Son of God.”
Only then was progress made and the purpose they were given completed. You see it is when you are actively and very relationally stepping out of your boat to join Jesus on those troubled waters that you become a partner with Him to provide a revelation moment for yourself, and others, as to Who He really is. Press on my friend! Your journey may be tough at the moment but when Jesus puts you back into your boat you, and others, will be moved to worship Him in an accurate, fresh, and living way! You’re going to get to where He determined you should go.
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;