Christ's Sacrifice Must Not Be in Vain

I have started creating these videos as a musical and visual ministry.  I pray you are blessed by the message here.  We need to take time to love those who seem unlovable.  To make the extra effort to act and live as Christ is in the room at all times, for He is if the Holy Spirit is in us, and treat others as we would want to be treated if we were in their position.  We must step down from the judgment seat of how people got where they are and step into humanity and walk among each other, as He did.  Only while among the throng can we show our love, devotion, and obedience to the Father and His commandment to love one another.

We Not Me

Revelation came today that it is not I, but we in all things in life now that I belong to the Lord.  The Holy Spirit lives in me, so I am no longer alone.  Therefore, I cannot take pride anything I do or do not do because it is "we" that do it, not "me". 

He also showed me that praise and pride cannot reside within my mouth at the same time.  I can either praise Him, or have pride in me.  When my focus is on Him, there is no room for me.  When I stay in the realm of "we" there is no longer room for "me".  When this is fully embraced, "I" am truly blessed by His presence working fully within me.

Thank you Jesus for this revelation, I pray that it touches your heart as it has touched mine.

May God bless your day and guide your way through His Holy Spirit.

Steal, Kill, and Destroy

Your belief system is the most important thing that you will ever hold on to.  It is your faith in things.  God, yourself, your family and friends, your job, your car starting in the morning are all things you can believe or can have “faith” in.  When you get up each morning, you have “faith” that when you walk out of your bedroom the rest of the house will be there.  You know you won’t open the door and suddenly be looking outside, why because you have “faith” that while you were sleeping nothing happened to the rest of your house, you believe it.

It is the same way when you go to work, when you come home you have “faith” that your home will be there when you get there, you believe it.  Yes, sometimes things do happen outside of our belief systems, like a fire, which require us to have a paradigm shift.  They cause us to change what we believe, that sometimes the seemingly unexplainable, improbable, or even impossible can happen to us.

This “faith” or belief system is what we use when we trust in God.  He gave us the ability to trust Him, to believe in Him, to have “faith” in His goodness and love for us, and in His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit that comes to live in us when we accept Him and invite Him in.  As Christians we know that all of this is a part of our new faithful life in Christ.  We also know that we must say goodbye to the old life, and kill our old ways.

In Colossians 3:6, Paul instructs us to “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”  He is telling us to kill that old part of ourselves, yet although he gives us this sage advice he admits that he struggles with his own sinful nature in Romans 7:15-20, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

What he is essentially saying is even though we “kill” or “put to death” the old sinful nature it is still within us.  What do you do with something that is dead?  You bury it, naturally.  Unfortunately, this part of us has a propensity to want to resurrect itself.  Occasionally, with a bit of encouragement from Satan and/or one of his companions.  It is called…temptation.

Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. This is what Jesus warned us about in John 10:10.  Not so much our possessions, our health, our family, he just distracts us with those things, but our faith in God and Jesus Christ.  He wants to steal it, kill it, and destroy it so that we no longer have it to use against him.  When we succumb to temptation and allow the old man to resurrect it gives the enemy a foothold, he slips in and starts whispering in our psychological ears about doing things according to our will and not God, about just doing it and not consulting God first, and/or other rebellious actions.  He encourages us to rebel and subsequently steals our connection with God.

He then starts killing our faith in Him.  We start relying on ourselves, much like Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. (See Genesis 3:1-5)  Once we do this, we let go of the thing that we see as dead, our faith in Him and Satan is standing by right there to steal it, and then destroy it.  Once this happens we are left in a worst state then when we started.  2 Peter 2:20, speaks to Satan’s goal in this, “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.” (emphasis mine)  That’s exactly what he wants, as the thief he will steal, kill, and destroy your faith and bring you to a place of being worst off than before you were saved.

The way to avoid this is to stay connected to the Father, by reading His word daily, meditating on His word day and night, praying without ceasing, fellowshipping with other believers, worshipping Him in all you do (not just singing, worship is how you work, talk to people, etc…), and waiting on Him.  When you do this you are drawing near to God.  According to James 4:7-8, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Your faith will stand any storm with God at your side, and the closer you are to God the farther Satan will be from you.  There will be times of suffering and trials on your path, but as James tells us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

I don’t know about you, but I want everything that God has promised me while I am here so I can fight the good fight of faith and help release more captives from the enemies P.O.W. camp.  He’s not going to steal, kill, or destroy my faith because my spiritual doors are locked against him, because I am staying focused on Christ and my Father in heaven and His will for my life not my own.  God made sure that we were forearmed by being forewarned throughout the bible.  So, with that in mind I’m staying geared up, how about you?

From Light for My Path – Prayers & Promises

I can’t imagine keeping Your law perfectly, Lord,.  But even if I could, it would not do me the ultimate good: It would not gain me heaven.  How thankful I am that You don’t require perfect obedience – just faith.

But I can’t even live by faith under my own steam.  Temptations come, and I quickly give in, despite my love for You.  Only Your Spirit makes the heart change that keeps me faithful to You in thought and deed.  Fill my heart with Your Spirit, Lord. Make me true to You, despite the temptations.  I want to live in faith, not doubt or fear.

In Jesus name,

Amen.

His Grace to Face…Me

Everyone who has ever had even a brief introduction to the story of Jesus’ last days knows, even if briefly the story of Peter and his “disgraceful” denial of Jesus. Not once, not twice, but three times.  Many shake their heads when they read or hear this story.  Peter was so adamant about how he would go to the death for Jesus, so sincere was his faith in Him, and his dedication to his devotion in Him.  Yet, Jesus told him point blank that before the rooster crowed in the morning he, Peter, would deny Him three times.

According to Luke, Peter was pretty adamant about how he would respond if anyone threatened Jesus, or if anything were to happen.  Jesus says to him pretty plainly, “Simon, listen to me! Satan has demanded the right to test each one of you, as a farmer does when he separates the wheat from the husks.” Luke 22:31 (CEV) 

Satan didn’t ask, he demanded.  Obviously, he still has some “rights” here to “test” us.  To try and “separate” us from our Father and Jesus, if he can. 

Jesus continues, “But Simon, I have prayed that your faith will be strong.  And when you have come back to me, help the others.”  Luke 22:32 (CEV)

Did you catch that?  “when you have come back to me…”  This is prior to Jesus’ statement about the rooster, that’s still to come.  He is leading up to the fact that Peter is going to turn his back on Him.  Why?  Because the devil made him do it?  Not at all, it will be because of something within Peter, that he was unaware of at this moment.  Something that the circumstances, the situation that will occur had to reveal to him that he still had inside him.  He would not have acknowledged or faced it any other way, or become the man of God that he became.  But, let’s not get ahead of the story.

Now, Peter at the Lord’s words is probably a bit incredulous.  Remember, Peter is a hot-head, emotional, the “let’s get out there and do it” one.  In verse 33 he answers Jesus, “Peter said, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to jail and even to die with you.”

Easy words when all is calm.  Many times it is not until we are going through the trial that we see the true flaws and cracks in our character.  This is why God allows us to go through them.  It is also why Jesus prayed for all of us, that our faith would stand to get us through these times, because it is only with the persecutions that we see our true nature and are able to purge that which does not glorify Him.

The next verse is the famous one from Jesus to Peter, “Peter, I tell you that before a rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Luke 22:34 (CEV, emphasis mine)

We are not told what Peter’s reaction to His words are.  Jesus goes on to give them further instructions about how to travel and spread the gospel.  I can only imagine the look of incredulous speculation on Peter’s face after Jesus’ statement.  He had just vowed that he would follow Jesus to the death, and His response was that he would deny him not once, not twice, but three times before the sun had cleared the horizon.

What’s interesting is that roosters crow all the time, not just in the morning as the sun comes up.  In fact, in Matthew and Mark, it says that Jesus told him before the rooster crows three times, and two times, tonight.  That is what makes the bible so wonderful, the same stories are related, but not exactly verbatim.  It is what helps us know that they are truly real.  No one sat around correlating their story before writing it down, they told it the way they remembered it. 

The bottom line is that Peter was told that he would deny Christ, by the Lord himself before the next day had really begun.  The bigger question is not if he did it but, why?

So, a little bit further on in the exact same chapter we see Peter, after Jesus has been taken into custody, sitting around a fire in the courtyard outside of where Jesus was being held.  He could see Jesus from where he sat.  He is questioned by a servant girl, not an authority figure, but a servant girl, someone that he although a fisherman, could have told to get lost.  His guilt did not allow for this though, what did he do? He denied it.  A little bit later someone else said the same thing, and got the same answer.  A third time, someone else and again the same answer only this time the rooster crowed as he was speaking.  Peter’s head came up and Jesus’ head turned and their eyes met.  Peter remembered what Jesus had said to him.  Peter jumps up, runs away and cries… 

This grown man of action, is now sobbing.  Not for what is about to happen to his Lord, but for the realization of the flaw that is still within himself.  Self-preservation.  It is because of this situation that Peter is able to face and purge that portion of himself.  If this had not happened, he may never have come to realize that he put himself, even before the Lord.  In that instant, looking into Christ’s eyes he saw his own selfishness, his pride, his ego and knew that if he was truly going to take up his cross and follow his Master he had to surrender it. 

This is a place we all must go to.  The Lord will bring us to a place where we must face the ugliness within ourselves, that part of ourselves that Satan would love to manipulate and use to turn us away from Him.  Remember, he demanded the right to test each one, and he did…  Of course, according to Acts, Peter past the test magnificently. 

However, it is the place where the enemy can get a foothold if we let him.  Only by facing it through His grace can we overcome the pain of letting that which He reveals to us go, and become who He designed us to be.

Simon was created to be Peter, the Rock.  You were created to be something as well.  God will show you what that is if you diligently seek Him, and only you can keep you from reaching it.  Pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you what stands in the way of your achieving it, and then prepare yourself to get there.  It will not be an easy road, there will be tears and pain, but His grace will give you the ability and strength to face whatever it is and overcome it.  Remember, the enemy is a liar.  With God all things ARE possible.

 From Light for My Path – Prayers & Promises

Like just about everyone, Lord, I don’t enjoy being corrected.  It seems more like adversity than love when You show me I’ve been wrong.  Help me to see that only Your love prompts You to ask me to change.  I can only have the good things You want for me by learning Your ways.  Sometimes adversity is the only way You can teach me the lessons I need to learn.

Help me to walk more perfectly in Your path, so that I can find rest from adversity.  Teach me Your way.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

A Proverbs 31 Woman's Life: Don’t Move

A Proverbs 31 Woman's Life: Don’t Move: "There is an instinct that all living beings have, it is called “fight or flight”. It is the thing we do when adrenalin kicks in. It can be..."

Don’t Move

There is an instinct that all living beings have, it is called “fight or flight”.  It is the thing we do when adrenalin kicks in.  It can be instigated by fear or pressure or stress.  It is a natural part of our make-up.  It is what we do without the leading of the Holy Spirit.  We either run or stand firm against the attack. 

However, if we are rooted in Christ we will always stand firm.  Let this scripture go down into your heart, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.  But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.  They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all he does, he prospers.”  Psalm 1:1-3 (NRS) (Emphasis mine)

Now, consider that you are that tree and the Holy Spirit is the river that your roots are drinking from as they are deeply rooted in the soil of Christ.  No matter what storm or disaster comes at you, you don’t budge.  You stand firm, as do the other trees around you creating a forest of security for those who enter into it.

Yes, you may lose some leaves, a bit of fruit or even a limb or two in the onslaughts of the in-climate weather, but your roots and trunk are still there, aren’t they?

There will even be seasons when you go dormant, your leaves and growth seemingly dead, but this is actually a time of refreshing and renewal.  When the Spring comes, you will have new leaves and fruit.  Each year more abundant than the last.

To truly be able to stand firm, you have to keep yourself from the ways of the world.  “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” 1 Thess. 4:11-12 (NIV) (Emphasis mine)  In the world everyone is always in everybody else’s business.  Judging and criticizing, this is a critical spirit and is not of Christ.  If you find yourself doing this….your moving…  “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Cor. 15:58 (NIV) (Emphasis mine)

How completely are you giving yourself to the work of the Lord?  Do you give Him the time leftover in your day, week, or even your month?  Psalm 1 states that we can stand firm if we meditate on His word day and night.  Not just when things are going poorly, or when we are at church.  Our pursuit of holiness must be consistent.  We have to inundate our lives with Him, as He inundates His thoughts with us.  If He didn’t we wouldn’t exist.  He never forgets about us for one nanosecond, can we say the same?  When we hear something are we praying to ask God how we should be responding to it, rather than just having a knee-jerk “old-mind” reaction?  If not, we are moving, not standing firm.

If you want to stand firm and not be moved you have to dig deep into His word and drink deeply of what the Holy Spirit has to give.  There is a reason Jesus used the metaphor of “living water” when He referred to Him.  (See the story of the woman at the well in John 4).

Would you like to live a life where the situations and circumstances of life do not move you.  Become like the tree in Psalm 1 by reading, meditating, praying, and communing with God day and night.  Walk as one with Him, and as He promised, “but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  John 4:14 (NIV)  This water allows us all to grow, bear fruit, and stand firm.  Because, we can’t bear fruit if we are always moving.  At the very least, it will fall off from the motion of our own movement.

From Light for My Path – Prayers & Promises

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.  1 John 5:5 (NIV)

When worldly temptations press in on me, I’m glad You gave me this promise, Jesus.  It’s hard to be in the world and not fall into its traps.  But as I believe in You, who have overcome the world, I overcome it, too.  I don’t have to settle for giving in to the world’s temptations and wickedness.  You’ve given me the ability to fight back, in You – and to win through You.

I want to enjoy Your blessings for this life without being trapped in wrong thoughts or actions.  Where You have overcome, I don’t need to be defeated.  Keep me faithful to You, Jesus, and my battle will be won.

In Jesus name,

Amen.

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