Tag Archives: Christ

by

I Will Let Your Spirit Guide Me

Quote-God-is-the-reason[1]

Dear Father, Thank You for this day! That Your Holy Spirit Guides me, and that I can go in Your love, joy, and strength. Thank You for peace and rest. The peace You give me is not like the peace of this world. Your rest is a calm assurance that You are for me and not against me. You never give me more than I can handle if I lean on Your strong arm, so whatever comes my way today, I will confidently stand on Your word and seek Your will in each situation. You are the one who will complete what You have begun in me. I will listen and obey, and if I need wisdom, I will ask You for it. I choose this day to live from Heaven and not from this earth cursed system. I will not fear anything that bombards my natural senses, but will instead rely and trust my spiritual eyes and ears. I will rely wholly on the Holy Spirit who speaks to me in many ways. Today will be a prosperous day, for me and for Your Kingdom.

by

I Won’t Be Moved!

House built on Rock[1]

Psalm 125:1 (NAS), “A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the LORD Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.”

We all go through stuff, from a “bad day,” to acute trauma. Its part of the human experience, part of the earth cursed system. We live in Satan’s domain, right in his territory. He doesn’t like us born-again-believers. He fights us tooth and nail, (that’s a metaphor, because Jesus has pulled his teeth, he can only roar). So, life can be hard. Loved ones pass away, jobs are lost, and sometimes we just make very bad choices with uncomfortable consequences. However, if we belong to God, if we name Jesus as Lord and Savior, we don’t have to let all that shaking dislodge us!

Proverbs 10:25 (NASB), “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.”

We all go through it, saved and unsaved. The difference, and it is a huge one, is that we don’t get blown away. Our foundation is everlasting. We are like the wise man who builds his house on the rocks.

Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV), “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

God doesn’t bring the storm. I have to make that clear. Storms aren’t a “punishment” from God. He doesn’t bring sickness, poverty, troubles, or trials. Jesus said being in this world we would have trouble, but to be of good cheer, He overcame the world. (John 16:33). This world fell, and is falling. If you haven’t noticed it gets darker and uglier by the day. People say all the time, “What’s this world coming to?” I think the answer is clear, “the end.” This time more than ever we need to stand on God’s word and His promises. Do what He says to do. I love the way the Amplified Bible says “the uncompromisingly righteous.” We can’t compromise. We can’t try to keep one foot in the world and one in Heaven. There is no dual citizenship for those who are Children of God. We can’t serve two masters.

The great news is that if we serve Him, without being double minded, those storms pass us by. Sure there may be a few broken branches, maybe a shingle in the yard, but our house will not be moved! We can’t be shaken. In these last days God said that He would shake everything.

Haggai 2:6 (NIV), “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

Joel 3:14-16 (NIV), “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is ear in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.”

This shaking will be for the unsaved, those trying to straddle the fence. Those who teeter on that dangerous high wire, they will fall on one side or the other. The final choice will be made.

I want to live on a firm foundation, not a slippery slope. I want to know and be confident that God’s ways are good and perfect. I want to stay rooted and grounded in His Love and remain steadfast, unmoving.

I may shake and tremble at times. I may stand afraid, but I will stand, and I will not be moved!

by

No Longer An Enemy

break1[1]

Titus 3:3-7 (NIV), “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

We look at the world and think, “Oh, my…,” but it wasn’t that long ago that we were just like them. In fact, not only were we deceived and foolish, disobedient and enslaved, God says we were His enemies.

Romans 5:10 (KJB), “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

The Good News, for us and them, is that while we were still His enemy, He loved us so much that He paid the price to reconcile us to Him. The New Living translation says we were “restored.” That’s a big deal. Our sin separated us from God. Nothing else can.

Romans 8:35-39 (NIV), “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus became sin, so that we could bridge that gap that our own sin put between us and our Father. Then God, in His love and mercy, went a step further. He made us brand new. That old us has passed away, if we have truly accepted Jesus as our Lord. Now instead of His enemies, we are His children. We are no longer slaves to sin, we are free in the family of God. We are heirs and joint heirs with Christ! We can do what He did while on this earth, and according to John 14:12, even greater things. At Christ’s death and resurrection, He ascended to Heaven and left us the Holy Spirit. Now with His help, the Holy Spirit’s, we can do even greater works.
We just have to believe. Most of us have no problem believing that Jesus did miracles. Our issue is not belief in His power, or ability, it is unbelief in who we really are. We think we are still His enemy, still a slave to sin, still captive in this world, but we are not. We are no longer an enemy to God. As His dearly loved children, He has given us authority! Miracles should be happening where ever God’s children are! We should be seeing salvations, (the greatest miracle of all), blind seeing, deaf hearing, lame walking, addicted delivered, and lives transformed.

It teaches and preaches easier than it is walked out. I know. However, even though I haven’t reached that place yet, I am walking in the right direction. My steps may be baby steps, but they are forward. I am not standing still. Truthfully, the only way to get confident in our place is to listen to what God has to say through His word, through preaching and teaching, and through His Holy Spirit speaking into our lives. Then we stand on it, step out in faith, sure our knees may knock and our stomach may contain a few butterflies, but we do it. One pastor said it this way, “So what if you are scared. You still have to do it. Do is scared!”

I have done so many things scared! It is even comical to think about some of the things. But, I am growing stronger in the things of the Lord. I used to be shy and introverted (unless I was under the influence of a mood altering substance). I hated new schools, moving, meeting new people or anything that took me out of my comfort zone. I hated all forms of confrontation, even the good, healthy kind. Now, I am not shy. I love meeting new people. I can talk to anyone with ease. I may still get a little shaky if I have to get up in front of a lot of people, but even then, after the initial few minutes, the ease comes. I know that I am doing what pleased God, how can we not be confident in that place?

Don’t you think the rest of the world should know that they don’t have to stay His enemy?

Jesus, thank You for reconciling, and restoring us to our Father. Whenever I feel small, unworthy, or lost, I will remember that I am His child, that He loves me dearly, and that You left me Your Spirit to guide me.

by

His Word is Settled

a_palavra_de_deus[1]

Matthew 24:35 (KJB), “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

I am so glad that I have the Written Word of God!

The more I read and study His word, the closer I get to Him, the more I find out about who He is and how He sees me. His word is a plum line for my life. If I hear any voice that doesn’t line up with His word, I ignore it, or rebuke it.

A good Pastor or Teacher uses His word, without watering it down, or changing it. They do not leave out parts and skip over others, never taking it out of context to make a point that is their own doctrine and not the doctrine of the Lord.

His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, (Psalm 119:105). It is sweet! (Psalm 119:103). His word is true and they stand forever, (Psalm 119:160).

One of the greatest aspects of His word is that it is settled in Heaven.

Psalm 119:89 (NAS), “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.”
(NIV), “Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.”
(International Standard Version), “Your word is forever, LORD; it is firmly established in heaven.”
(ESV), “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.”

No matter what translation of the Bible you read Psalm 119:89, it just gets clearer and more concrete. God’s word is fixed, stands firm, is firmly established, it is settled. Have you ever heard someone say, “That settles it!” What they mean is there is no more questioning, no more argument, no more reasoning, studying, putting up with something less. We can’t argue with His word, can’t change it, can’t shift or shake it. The only thing we can do is ignore it, but it is still there. Ignore the mosquitoes and see how well that works for you.

For me, this is a promise of God that I can stand on. No matter what the circumstances, no matter the situation, His word is firmly established. That’s why we can confidently stand on His word. That’s why at His word things change! They have to.

Jesus told us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”(Matthew 6:10)

Why? Because His word is His will. Nothing less than His will is done in Heaven. That’s the plan for earth as well. However, we ignore, pollute, and poison His word. Some so called Christians even use it for harm instead of good. They use it to beat people up instead of building them up. They in fact cause people to turn from God, instead of run into His loving arms. What we should be doing is looking to His Kingdom, into heaven and asking ourselves, “What is allowed in heaven?” If it isn’t allowed there, why would we ever allow it here? Stand on His word. Declare what He has to say.

It’s settled!

by

Why Make Them Wait?

romans8_19-creation-space[1]

Do you ever get that feeling like there is some great thing about to take place, kind of like that quiet moment right before the storm? You expect the flash of lighting and the sound of thunder. You expect the show of raw power. We are expectantly waiting for nature to let loose her authority. If you have ever lived somewhere hot, or humid, and you just feel like one nice cooling rain could alleviate the suffering, you know what it means to moan for nature to do her job.

Yet, God say that all of nature is waiting on us…

Romans 8:18-25 (NAS), “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.”

Verse 22, (NLT), “ the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.”

What exactly is nature waiting for? For us to take out rightful place as sons of God, for us to walk in our authority.

Matthew 28:19-20 (NAS), “ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,”

Luke 10:19 (NLT), “Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.”

The Father gave Jesus all authority. Then, through His death and resurrection, He passed that authority on to us. Why? To grow the family of God, to make disciples.

Mark 13:34, (KJB), “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.” (emphasis mine)

We need to stop letting the enemy distract us, stop being too busy to be about our duties. We need to be busy with the great commission while we are waiting for the bridegroom.

Luke 12:36 (KJB), “like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.”

We use our authority to cast out demons, heal the sick, change circumstances, call money in, stand in the gap for our loved ones, and the list goes on. Authority doesn’t ask, authority commands. We thank God, but we speak to the situation. Is your child sick? Command his or her body to line up with the word of God, that says by His stripes they are already healed. Command their body to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Is your bank account low, and your bills high? Pay your tithing, thank God for His provision, and then command the debt to leave and money to come. Find scriptures to stand on and speak them out, and over each need. It’s not some “abracadabra” magic words. It may take some time, don’t give up. God says that we will have what we say. His word is true, and He is not a man that He should lie. If He said it, then we can believe it. We just have to start believing what we say!

The world would be a different place if true followers of Christ walked in their God-given authority!

All of nature is groaning in expectation.

Why make them wait?

by

What is Love?

GodisLove_slide1x_365_y_273

I John 3:16 (NIV), “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”

Jesus showed us what love is.

So why do we try to settle for less? Why do we offer shallow, self-centered love to others? The love of God comes with no strings attached. Our love seems to have gargantuan ropes attached. We have a hard enough time sacrificing for our own flesh and blood families, what about those that are our brothers and sisters in Christ?

I John 4:10 (NAS), “Beloved if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. No one has beheld God at any time, if we love one another God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.”

How do we know God dwells, abides, in us? By our love for one another. It’s His love that is perfected in us. Not that shallow, self-centered, perverted love I spoke of before. His perfect, unrestrained, passionate love.

I John 4:16-17 (NAS), “And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us, God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him. By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as He is so are we in this world.”

It can’t get better than perfect. Perfect is complete, fully functional, lacking nothing.

If you think it is hard to love, then ponder on this for a while…

“We love because He first loved us.” John 4:19 (NIV)

by

Who Can Save Us?

633bdaab1c6c6470264889e1ca2d6846[1]

The world looks to all kinds of places, people, and possessions for their salvation. We all at one time realized that our lives weren’t the best. We tried to run and hide, we tried to find an escape, if only for a short time, we tried to cover up our mistakes, change our address, get a new job, or get a new spouse, only to have to face the hard truth, our lives were a mess. Some tried drugs, alcohol, relationships, immersed themselves in work, or in serving others, and still couldn’t find fulfillment. Others went to doctors, psychologists, counselors, palm readers, and fortune tellers, consulted our horoscopes, the stock exchange, googled, twittered, and tried to re-invent ourselves. But when we looked in the mirror, or looked at the condition of our soul, we were sorely disappointed, the change wasn’t there, was only skin deep, or wasn’t enough, or worse yet, we had changed so much that we weren’t even us anymore.

So where do we place our hope? Who can save us?

Psalm 62:1-2 (AMP), “For God alone my soul waits in silence, from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my defense and my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved.”

Romans 5:8-9 (NIV), “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”

We can’t fix us. We can’t even clean us. We end up being white washed graves, looking good on the outside, but full of death on the inside. A doctor, a psychic, a teacher, or a religious leader, can’t change us. A ten step process, a secret formula, or some new “spiritual” phenomenon, won’t change us, not fully, or completely. Bull dog tenacity, strong willed perseverance, nor stiff necked stubbornness, can’t get us what we need, what we so long for.

We need a Savior. Who can save us?

There is only One who can. In fact, He already did. Not two thousand years ago, but before the beginning of time! We just have to accept it. Apply what was purchased on the cross, by the very blood of the Son of God, to our lives. Then He doesn’t give us the “wash and wax” or just to a make-over, He makes us brand new, something never seen before, not put together out of old junk, no Frankensteins here, just a complete new edition. It’s a miracle, plain and simple. All the work, the time wasted, the pain and brokenness, all for nothing. We hurt ourselves and others trying to do it on our own, and it’s time to stop.

Maybe you are still living in the living hell of this fallen world. Just give up, surrender your heart to Him. He knows what you’ve been through, and He knows what you need. He sees your brokenness, your hurts, your faults, and frailties. Only He knows how. Nobody knows you like He does. You can trust Him with your life and with your heart. He is trustworthy. He is faithful.

Psalms 62:5-8 (ESV), “When we give Him our heart, truly and completely, then we can say with David, “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.”