Your Best Best Friend
Are you aware of the high privilege that is yours now?
Growing up it seemed having the cool guy be your best friend was a really big deal. I remember in the 7th grade for me I thought it would be a really big deal to have one certain guy be my friend, after all everyone thought he was the coolest and toughest guy in school so to be able to say he was my friend would be awesome.
So after winning a fight with another boy one day after school I got my wish. The guy I wanted to recognize me and like me, did! We became friends. For that school year I felt so important! Others seeing him come up to me and say hey Tim and walk down a hallway together made them treat me differently as well. In a way, I guess one could say I was using that friendship totally to my advantage because I am not sure what, if anything, I brought to the table to his advantage.
I mean think about it, I wanted him to be my friend for what advantage it would bring to me. Kinda selfish when you really think about it. But he didn’t seem to mind it.
For much of modern Christianity, this is the kind of attitude that dominates the culture. Many, including myself at times, just want Jesus for what He can do to their advantage. Jesus is desired as a ticket to heaven, but not as much for being a close companion and someone to seek out just for the fellowship value it offers. Jesus is sought after for healing, or help in other areas, but not so much for the warmth of fellowship He could offer and bring.
You see it’s one thing to want Jesus for what He can do for me, but it’s a whole other thing to want Him for who He is, and the privilege it is to get to know Him. The older I get the more I realize that the goal of my salvation isn’t so much to attain heaven and all the things Jesus offers me by belonging to Him. The real goal of my salvation is the privilege of having Him as my best best friend ever! My older brother! My High Priest! My greatest confidant! Heaven will be great, but only because my best best friend will be there for all eternity. All the benefits He gives me in this life are wonderful but they are meant to point to the reality of His fellowship in my life.
It’s so true that Jesus has already healed me by His stripes, He has already provided me with everything promised in the word by God because all the promises are yes and amen in Christ!
But the most special thing of all is the fact that, Jesus truly wants to be my closest friend, my most reliable confidant, and He wants to include me in His fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit equally with the same access He has! It was His prayer in John 17!
I do not know of a greater privilege and purpose than being allowed to fellowship intimately with such greatness and perfection. To be invited into the inner circle of the Godhead! Can it get any better than that? That is what my salvation is about! It is what your salvation is about! I encourage you today to take advantage of your invitation, I know you received one too when you came to Jesus. Grow in the fellowship privilege your best best friend has provided you with. I promise you will not be disappointed.
You Are Greatly Loved
Do you know how much God loves you?
I remember 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 speaking to two of them until two weeks before they came forth. But as a dad, even without being able to see them, or to know whether they would be well behaved or not, I loved them and wanted them to know so simply because they were mine, and they were wanted.
God as a Father loved us before we were ever 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.
We were targeted for God's love before coming to know Jesus. How much more loved by Him are we 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.
If that were not enough Jesus prayed this,
John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Jesus’ desire is that the world know that God the Father loves you with the same love He has for Jesus!!
Jesus did not die for you because you were morally good, or because you were trying hard to be good. I know I wasn't morally good, and neither was I trying to be. I was a rebel without a cause. 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!
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. So go live that beautiful abundant eternal life you have received and rejoice in Jesus! It’s your privilege to do so. You are a son now, a joint heir with Jesus, and as Jesus is so are you now in this earth! You my friend are greatly loved! Go manifest that amazing love that is yours today!
Bountifully Blessed
In Christ you are blessed beyond your wildest imagination.
Psalms 103:1 My soul, bless the LORD, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 My soul, bless the LORD, and do not forget all his benefits. 3 He forgives all your iniquity; (Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.) He heals all your diseases. (Jeremiah 30:17 For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD,) 4 He redeems your life from the Pit; (Psalms 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me.) He crowns you with faithful love and compassion. (Psalms 5:12 For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.) 5 He satisfies you with good things; (Psalms 107:9 For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.) your youth is renewed like the eagle.
There is no doubt in my mind that God as a Father wishes to do good to His children. He wishes to bless His children. He desires to do things that enable you and I to live in the new identity we have received in His Son Jesus. It is in His heart to show us compassion and mercy. It is in His heart to be faithful towards us. It is in His heart to bless us with good things!
The challenge to this that we often face is that we can think our failures and unfaithfulness at times is greater than His desire and ability to do us good. We feel very strongly that we do not deserve such kindness because we have failed to measure up to being able to merit it. But that is the beauty of it all. It is not something to be merited by us, it is given to us as a gift from Him so that His grace is immeasurably manifested and given glory.
You have been made righteous by Jesus so that you can receive all that God has in mind for you. By being in relationship with Him you can now know His desires for you. This ability to hear His voice and know His heart empowers you to be bold and courageous about receiving whatever you need to follow Him. This comes with great benefits that are unearned. They just are because He is.
Remember, you are loved today and always by your faithful gracious Heavenly Father. By coming to His Son Jesus in faith to be forgiven and made alive you became His child supernaturally, and He is for you not against you. He can heal you just as easily as He forgave you and made you righteous. It is by the same means, it is a gift and it works on the basis of faith. He wants you ask Him for His help in everything because He loves you and desires to see you succeed. He has given you His favor! I encourage you to believe it, and walk with Him as one who has all that He has promised.
Joy No Matter What
You can have joy even in the midst of your trials in life if you know who to look to.
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.
Our need for Jesus extends well beyond just initially getting saved. We need Jesus every day of our existence here on earth. We need His life, His love, His help and His wisdom. But receiving it will require us to take captive our thoughts about what we are going through and bring them into submission to the obedience of Christ. Jesus completed the work so we can live by faith. 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.
Please allow me to encourage you today to look to Jesus who is the author and the finisher of your faith and be encouraged by His unfailing love for you. 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 is going to produce a heaven born patience after His own likeness in you. That is why growing in knowing Jesus is actually 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!
The Transformation Of A Supernatural Encounter With God
Have you ever had an encounter with God that changed you?
In the Bible a prophet named Isaiah had a genuine supernatural heavenly encounter with God?
For the first portions of the book of Isaiah we are shown a prophet who is rebuking those who are in rebellion and not living right with God. It is as though rebuking is all that Isaiah knows. His words are accurate and truthful regarding the actions of the people and how out of step with the law of God they are, but something happens when Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up.
Isaiah for the first time in his writing in chapter six says, “Woe is me.” All of a sudden Isaiah sees himself and everything else in a new light. A real God encounter has a way of shifting perspective like nothing else can. It turned Isaiah into one of the most prolific prophets of the coming Messiah in all the Old Testament. He became a prophet of real hope based on His encounter with God and a vision of the coming Messiah who would reconcile Israel to God in a way so complete and final there would never be a comparison to it. Isaiah never lost his wonder for God’s holiness but he gained a fresh perspective of His love and His intention to redeem.
I have discovered that true encounters with Jesus do not produce in me a woe is you mentality towards others, but rather it produces an attitude of, if someone like me can be loved by Him I know you can be too. It changes the way I see others.
True supernatural God encounters make me keenly aware of the amazing favor of God in accepting me and inviting me to be with Him. It lovingly exposes my own great need for Jesus and it strips away any sense of spiritual superiority I thought I might have possessed before the encounter occured. It equals the playing field so to speak. A supernatural encounter with God has the power to lovingly set me straight to such a degree I identify with others, as opposed to judging them. In other words, truly having a supernatural encounter with God humbles me and produces the fruit of the love of Christ for others in me.
So, I enjoy and expect to have many supernatural God encounters and I encourage you to have as many God encounters you can. I would only advise that you be discerning and know that authentic encounters do not produce spiritual critics.
True supernatural God encounters produce Christ like disciples of Jesus who know they are sons of God and are empowered to share His love with others freely.
So I encourage you to share His love with someone today! Tell them the good news of the love of Christ that took Him to a cross to fulfill the law, pay for their sin, and make available to them the ability to have Jesus come live within them by giving them a new life in Himself. Tell them of the offer of His abiding in them by being made the very righteousness of God in Jesus when they simply believe He came, He lived, He died, He rose again, He ascended and He is coming again soon to claim His own. Let them see your own confidence that is born of His love for you. Have a blessed day!
No Way To Lose
You are loved with an everlasting love!
There’s something powerful in knowing there’s no possible way you can lose or ever be completely defeated. Here is an undeniable truth full of promise and hope.
Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, He called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. 31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. 35 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? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You are loved by God no matter what might be happening right now in the world around you, or in your own personal life! You are loved with an everlasting love because Christ is in you, and you are in Christ, by grace through faith! It was supernaturally done by God!
Nothing, can separate you from His love! There’s absolutely nothing more powerful, permanent or present than His love for you! Even while you were still a sinner He loved you and Jesus gave Himself for you. So this amazing love of God is not yours based on anything you did to obtain it. It was there before you even put your faith in Christ. It is there now and it will always be there. He is for you, not against you! Take heart today in His love for you and be encouraged.
What if You Succeed?
What if instead of fearing failure you could boast in your weaknesses?
When I was a boy, despite having many physical abilities, there were many things I never even tried due to the fear of failure. Quietly in my mind I would have a conversation about how others may view me if I were to try and fail. I missed out on some great opportunities as a result of that way of thinking. There were a many things I might have enjoyed greatly had I not struggled with that issue.
What I wish I had been able to ask myself was, “what if I succeed?” Asking myself, “what if I fail” is a set up that is nothing short of a stealth soul robber of potential wonderful experiences.
What if I succeed sows something positive in the way of opportunity in my soul whereas the other sows negativity and reluctance, if not total hindrance.
I think one of the more beautiful aspects of the work of grace in the New Covenant is the idea of now getting to boast in weaknesses instead of being made powerless by them.
The great apostle Paul once said, I would rather boast in my weaknesses for in them Christ is made strong. It becomes most clear that Jesus is working on your behalf when you no longer stumble or are hindered by your inability to perform at the highest level according to the flesh.
God has set things up in a such a way that only Jesus can truly take the credit. Amazingly, Jesus is happy to share His credit with us! We are now joint heirs with Him in righteousness and relationship with the Father. I find it amazing that this glorious privilege of relationship was not because of anything we did to deserve or to even keep it, it is all based on what Jesus did and how through faith it is accredited to us even though we are weak.
This is why we are complete in Him and only in Him. We will never be complete in or of ourselves by giving our best effort to be good enough.
So today I hope you will find it possible to rejoice and to boast in your weaknesses so that Jesus may be clearly seen at work in you. My friend you cannot fail when you put your trust in Jesus!
Have a blessed day!
Complete in Him
You are complete in Christ
When I was young I had fast cars with chrome wheels and thought that was something special. During those years I would put a lot of time and energy into making sure my car was clean, polished and making a good presentation going down the road. Rust was never welcomed on a chrome wheel. I never once hoped rust would come along and improve on the appearance and performance of my car. I put all the work in already to make it what I wanted it to be, and it was pleasing to me and I did not want anyone or anything to come along and spoil what I had done.
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.
That is an amazing bit of factual and true information. The part of it that stands out to me is where it says, “you are complete in Him.”
By being placed in Christ His obedience becomes my obedience. It is the guarantee of my unhindered fellowship with God the Father. Jesus did everything that was needed for me to be able to have an unbroken relationship with God.
That thought makes the old song make much better sense, “Jesus paid it all.” He paid it all and I cannot do anything to improve on that. If I try to it is like putting rust on a beautifully polished chrome wheel. I am already what I am meant to be in Christ. I need to just identify with that more and more so it can come forth in the expression of my life. Jesus really did everything needed to complete you and me. We get to rest in Him. So today rejoice in the rest His completed work in you brings. Enjoy Him and the freedom that is yours in Him. This is your beautiful day to live in His joy.
A Loving Father
Do you know how loved you really are?
I’ve come to realize just how amazing my late mother really was. I respect her for surviving being a single mom to five boys. At times a memory of her will pop into my mind and it’s a like a little kiss of affection to my heart. Loving parents are a real gift.
When we were young my mom would make us take a dose of “Geritol.” It was wheat germ oil that was awful but supposed to be healthy for you. I thought she was mean for making us take it, but now I know that, she just wanted us to be healthy and hated the idea of us becoming sick.
I have never met a loving parent who wished their child would get sick, or prayed that their child would be stricken ill so they might learn a lesson. Loving parents are characterized as always desiring good health for their children. I personally believe that God is no exception as our Father. The Bible appears to agree.
Psalm 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
So that we understand that this proclamation of rejoicing isn’t just a sentimental moment of emotional overflow, God put a plan in place for our health and well being involving Jesus long before He ever arrived on the scene in history. God prophesied His desire for us to be healthy and this desire is revealed in,
Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Even the Apostle Peter acknowledged this prophetic unveiling of the character of God and the work of Jesus in 1Peter 2:23 where it says, “By His stripes you were healed.”
Before going to the cross Jesus was tied to a whipping post and given 39 lashes with a whip and many years long before that moment God spoke through the prophet and declared that the reason for it was our healing. So our Jesus was first tied to a whipping post and then nailed to a cross. The whipping post was for our healing and the cross was for us to be made righteous. To me that describes a loving Father who looks out for His children.
This to me reveals more than enough reason to stand in faith on the basis of His character as a loving Father. My encouragement is to remind you that you have a very loving Father who cares about you and loves you very much. He has made you righteous with His own righteousness and provided physical healing along with that righteousness. He has given Himself to you and now you have His life in you.
Safely Covered & Hidden
Do you know how secure you are in Christ?
When I was a small boy, like most boys, I had a vivid imagination. 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 that 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’d be able to relate to that experience in your own childhood story.
Believe it or not in the Bible there is call 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 is can really 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 possibly get past God to get to us?
Even better is the idea of what we can discover about our God as our Father from being hidden with Christ in Him. There’s a lot of love to discover in that place.
It is from our position of being hidden with Christ in God that we discover who He is, what He has done and who we truly are and what we are to be.
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.
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 your 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 hid with God in Christ!
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.
The Privilege and Opportunity of Asking
Do you know why asking matters?
Matthew 21:18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” 21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
I have heard this passage preached on so many times before and every time it seemed as though the take away the preacher wanted me to have was how I needed to bear fruit, or else I might be cursed to wither and die.
But that is not the objective Jesus sought to teach His disciples with.
Jesus was using this occurrence to teach His disciples about the power of asking in faith. He is revealing a caring, loving and willing Father.
This did not happen so we could spend countless hours speculating on what it means to speak to move mountains or command trees to wither. It is simply a lesson on how powerful asking in faith can be.
God is a very great God who loves us according to His greatness and according to the love He is. He is not insulted by our asking for His help and intervention into our many life situations.
In my belief, He can be insulted when I act as though I must look out for His well being. He is insulted when I treat Him as though He were aging, moody and becoming incapable and therefore should not be asked for certain things.
We have been invited to ask often, ask boldly and ask without shame or hesitation because we are asking in faith. Jesus said very clearly that whatever things we ask in prayer, believing, we will receive.
This believing is not rooted in a faith for the receiving alone, it is rooted in what we have come to know about our Father who hears us. It is why it is so important to know Him correctly as Jesus presented Him. Jesus is revealing the Father’s interest, His desire and His willingness in this moment.
The real question is, will we believe what Jesus is revealing is actually true concerning the Father, or will we look for ways to talk ourselves out of it?
Today I want to ask my Father for something bold and daring knowing that He loves me and cares for me and wants to bless me. He was already willing to give up His Son to save me and bring me into relationship with Him. So why should I imagine He would all of a sudden be taken back if I were to believe He was interested in some of the smaller matters of life I face?
I want to be bold in asking about everything, especially the matters pertaining to His kingdom. This is my take away from this teaching my Lord and Savior Jesus gave. I have some things I need Him to get involved with that is happening right now in my life.
May I encourage you to believe in His goodness and willingness, and to ask the Father for His help today? May I encourage you to ask boldly and specifically so it will be clear to you that He heard your prayer and answered it?
The Call To Believe
How deeply are you rooted in Christ?
When out and about sometimes I am approached by someone wanting money, and since I typically do not carry cash on me, it is simple for me to say “I’m sorry, but I do not have any cash to give you.”
You cannot give to another what you do not possess. If you are unaware of what you have been given, you can’t offer it to someone needing it. You have to know what you have in order to be able to give it to others.
In the Bible it tells how Peter and John were going up to the temple to pray. Daily a lame man was put there at the gate Beautiful. He was there to beg. On this day Peter looked at the man and said, look on us. Then he said something profound to that man.
Acts 3:6 “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
This is not a formula for making the lame walk. This reveals something far more important. Had Peter not known by faith what he possessed in in Christ, he would not have had anything to offer the lame man. Peter had no natural solution to offer. But in Christ Peter had something he could offer that man that was worth far more than silver or gold. Had Peter not known what he possessed in Christ, that man would have spent the rest of his life lame and begging.
If Peter were alive today and trained according to some of the popular ideas in Christianity, he would not say or do anything like what we read in Acts. Peter might still say, “silver and gold have I none.” But instead of saying, “what I do have I give to you” and taking the man’s hand to have him stand to his feet healed, Peter would wear himself and others out implementing natural solutions to at least do something for the man.
Many in churches today have been lulled to sleep by well meaning, but powerless speakers. As a result, many have, often times, been cheated out of a walk in the Spirit as the concern is more about whether or not they could pass a Bible quiz and live morally, than it is about Christ in them, and who Christ really is. Holy Spirit revelation concerning Jesus and His accomplishments produce faith and empowers me to live from the source of Life that Christ is, and by the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus baptizes with. Leaders who instruct according to the natural, more than the spiritual, can't empower you to manifest the you Christ says you are, or to tap into the power of Christ in you the hope of glory.
1Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The things of the Spirit is much more than morality. If the things of the Spirit are limited to morality then there’s no point to this Scripture at all.
Be advised, if a sermon to the church does more to expose the sin in a saint that it does to reveal the indwelling Son in the saint, it has departed from he gospel and is now appealing to the strength of pones flesh for solutions and freedom.
The fact is, confidence in my natural understanding or ability can hinder me where the kingdom of God, and who I am in Christ is concerned. Over-emphasis on my natural abilities, or the lack thereof, is a hindrance. Everything to do with Christ and His kingdom is received by faith in the word of God spoken to me by the Holy Spirit. That’s why I need the Holy Spirit always! Jesus said something of tremendous importance in,
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.”……….
Jesus is always looking to speak life into me. His desire is to wash me with the water of His word which establishes me, gives me confidence and activates my faith. He wants me to know and experience the fullness of God. He is always out for my good. I just need to believe it.
The Great Challenge
How deeply are you rooted in Christ?
Years ago, before I really became thoroughly invested in getting revelation on the New Covenant, Staying encouraged was a great challenge to me. My spiritual sense of well being relied heavily upon my own performance and thus it ebbed and flowed like a tide on the shore of the ocean.
But even now that I have spent years committed to the gospel of grace and New Covenant truth the great challenge to me is to keep my mind renewed in that truth daily as I find that Old Covenant thinking and talk is most prevalent in church culture at large.
It seems that talk is always on how I am doing according to my flesh first and foremost. How the church I am leading is doing according to some measure based on whoever is asking the question. Everything inquired is generally aimed at what kind of performance I am yielding in some area regarded as being spiritual.
But is this the way it really ought to be? Should the inquiry of others be about how they measure up spiritually or should it be about being encouraged and rejoicing in Jesus?
You see I am finding myself desiring more and more to be immersed in the truth of what Jesus has done and less and less immersed in examining so much what I have done. I am finding that I do that more and more I experience fruit in the Spirit.
Jesus said in John 15, “If you abide in me and I abide in you, you will bear much fruit because unless the branch abides in the vine it cannot bear fruit.”
The key to real fruit bearing in the kingdom is not found in the measuring evaluations of men who use fleshly methods for determine kingdom success. It is found through our relationship to Christ and allowing our fruitfulness to be governed by Him.
To encourage fruitfulness apart from a strong emphasis on being captivated by Him and fully immersed in a revelation of what He accomplished and how it is applied to us, the end result is encouragement to produce by the flesh what is only supposed to be done by the Spirit.
The system of Christianity in the west has leaned heavily upon a mixture of Old Covenant and some New Covenant methodology to produce results. This mixture is not what God is looking for.
It might appear impressive outwardly to those looking on, but God sees from the inside out everything with the clearest perspective of all. He wants our boast to be in His Son not ourselves. For that to be true I must take up the great challenge of looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of my faith as opposed to my own abilities and talents, or the lack thereof. I must ;learn everyday how to rely even more on the Holy Spirit’s help in abiding in Jesus so I might bear the kid of fruit the kingdom is best known for, and Jesus is delights in.
I encourage you to Jon me today in looking to Jesus for encouragement and strength and to lat go of looking at yourself to see if you measure up spiritually. Let His completed work be what you boast in today.
The Way God Works
By Christ Alone!
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. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”
2Corinthians 10:17 But “he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” 18 For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.
God is not as interested in my ability to boast of my devotion to Him as He is in what His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ has already accomplished.
It greatly pleases the Father when I boast about His beloved Son in every way. It delights Him to see me standing in faith towards Jesus, and living by faith in the reality of the completed work of Christ at the cross.
It is by faith that I please Him, and without faith I cannot please Him. You see God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. The faith that pleases Him is about Him it is not faith in faith, it is faith in Christ!
This is relational language being used with regard to faith. It is not the language of finding a new way to feel more accomplished spiritually so that I might boast in my own accomplishments above others. That leads to a life of comparisons.
God has not changed, He still does not welcome any boasting in the flesh. He still does not like His children living in comparison.
I am happy to confess to God and to others that Jesus has become my righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Jesus is my hope of glory. My hope of glory has nothing to do with the depth of my own devotion to God. It has everything to do with my having faith in who Jesus is, and what Jesus accomplished. I am convinced that Jesus did it out of love for me. Knowing His love is very important.
Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
This clearly shows me how to experience the fulness of God. It is not through the methods and tactics of men and flesh based ideas of what real spirituality should look. Flesh bound notions of devotion lead to boasting in myself and my own spiritual accomplishments.
The instruction of Ephesians is simple, clear and leads me to being able to boast only of Jesus in whom I am have found all that I need. Christ lives in me and I have found my life eternal in Christ alone. I encourage you my friend to join me in looking to Him, today and always!
The Upward Call of God
Jesus did everything needed to give relationship with the Father! This is a short encouragement along those lines of thought.
Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 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. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
Paul let go of any claim to his own goodness, his own devotion, his own zeal for God so that all he was left with was a boast in what Jesus had done to make Him righteous.
Paul let go of anything and everything he once would have known that would have given him an ability to boast according to the flesh spiritually speaking.
Paul wasn’t letting go of a wicked life of chasing after self pleasure in the way of sin. He was letting go of a devoted life to the law of God and being incredibly devoted to being very religiously zealous.
He was letting all that go and not looking back to it because He knew it would interfere with his pursuit of Christ.
Knowing Christ has nothing to do with what we have done or will do to gain access. It has everything to do with what Christ Himself did and how we are to walk in faith towards Him and have our confidence in Him.
Jesus paid it all! Jesus completed the work. Only Jesus was able to say, “It is Finished.” When we try to add to anything He already did to make us acceptable and right with God it is like saying the cross was not enough. I refuse to insult the Father or the Son by speaking or acting as though Jesus came up short in His effort to save me and bring into a full and flourishing relationship with the Father.
My confidence is in Jesus and what He accomplished at the cross when He took upon Himself the sin of the whole world, died, went to the grave with it but three days later came out of that grave without it bearing with Him the gift of God’s righteousness and eternal life for all who will believe. I believe and through that gift I have a very close relationship with God because of all that Jesus did and having nothing to do with anything I did to obtain it.
What Does God Say?
There’s no glory in going back under the law for your relationship to God. God no longer relates to people through that means. A New Covenant has come through His Son Jesus and that alone is how God is relating to His children now.
Luke 1:79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
When Jesus appeared on the scene the people were getting to hear God speak. Jesus declared He only did what He saw the Father doing and only spoke what He heard the Father speaking.
In other words, the people of that day were privileged to hear what God had to say to them about their moment, about their life as it was happening and about the plans He had for them if only they would believe and receive by faith what was being spoken.
God speaks to His children in real time. Whenever He speaks and a child listens it is as if they can see. Without the guidance of God through the work of the Holy Spirit we sit as it were in darkness. We do not know what to do or which way to go. We are left to our own devices, our own understanding and we have already been advised in Scripture by God not to lean in that direction.
The believer must always face what the view of public opinion has to say about them. What their peers say about them. What others say about them. They will always have to face what they themselves wrestle over in the secret corridors of their own soul about themselves. They carry their own opinion of themselves. But what does God say?
There’s only one opinion that truly matters and brings a person out the darkness and into the light. That opinion is God’s. This is why it is so important to hear what God has to say.
Maybe you recently heard something a doctor had to say, but what does God have to say?
Maybe you heard what the financial prognosticators and economic advisers of our day have to say, but what does God have to say?
Maybe you have recently heard what society thinks about the culture of Christianity of which you are part, but what does God have to say?
Maybe during a recent time of tension in a relationship someone said things about you in anger that stung and hurt you, but what does God say?
In troubled times, in good times, at all times it is the privilege of the child of God to hear God and find peace, receive wisdom, and be comforted with a solid sense of knowing what to do in any situation.
This privilege outweighs the privilege the Jewish priests thought they possessed after Jesus had come and completed His work at the cross. The writer to the scattered Hebrews said,
Hebrews 13:10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.
Quiet your soul, tell it to hush and to listen. Listen for the voice of your Father and never feel you cannot bring anything to Him in search of His wisdom on it. He is, after all, your Father and He loves you very much.
Don’t Go Backwards
There’s no glory in going back under the law for your relationship to God. God no longer relates to people through that means. A New Covenant has come through His Son Jesus and that alone is how God is relating to His children now.
A long time ago in a land called Galatia where some of the early Gentile churches existed a letter was being circulated because believers in Jesus were being tempted to go back under the law to maintain their righteousness. Not only that they were being told by some very persuasive men who seemed eloquent and polished and only appeared to have authority because they came out of Jerusalem, that unless they came under the law their salvation experience was not genuine. It was a subtle lie that was gaining ground.
Paul as an apostle of Jesus to the Gentiles took this lie on and wrote the letter that was circulated to the churches.
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. 16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.
You see returning to a place where you put your trust in keeping the law puts you back under cursing. The same type of cursing that was pronounced upon Israel at the giving of the law when Moses read it to them and then told them about blessing and cursing based on keeping, or not keeping it.
There’s no need to return to something that brings you under curses because Christ became a curse for us already. He took our punishment at the cross by taking on the sin of the whole world past, present and future and giving us His righteousness which was the Righteousness of God. We now get to live under the blessing of Abraham. The law could never make anyone righteous because it relied on the strength of the flesh and as Paul stated so well in Romans the flesh is weak. No one will never be able to comply with law in the flesh, it can only be satisfied in Christ by faith. Jesus kept the law perfectly for us and the only time we are made perfect is when we are in Christ.
You and I will never be more secure than we are, and can be, in Christ! This is why the reality of being in Christ is such a huge and important one. We are now hidden with God in Christ! It is in that promise and reality that our confidence needs to remain and to grow. Why then was the law given?
Galatians 3:19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made;
The Seed (Jesus) has come and if a person is born again they have that Seed living within them. We who believe are now the children of promise, because we have the Seed of promise! The law is no longer what we are subject to. We are now subject to life in the Spirit because the Holy Spirit of promise is ours through faith just as salvation is ours through faith.
This is the glorious work of Christ who gave Himself for us at the cross and made the way! Don’t go backwards to something that no longer is in effect as it pertains to you as a believer in Jesus. Jesus has set you free from that!
Don’t ever let eloquent preachers or teachers convince you that Jesus wasn’t enough and that you need to put your effort into complying with the law now, if you have truly been saved. That is a lie and it is error that does not line up with the true gospel. It is Old Covenant thinking and we are not under the Old Covenant. In Christ we have been brought into a New Covenant He established with His own blood.
God’s Righteousness
The Righteousness of God
Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
If there is any other way that you or I could be in right standing with God other than Jesus and only through Jesus, that means Jesus wasted His time going to the cross.
Think about that for just a moment.
You see when it comes to the kingdom of God the righteousness of God is the key to everything promised.
Romans 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Paul used some pretty assertive and direct language in Galatians to convey the importance of Christ’ death on the cross. The main point having to do with how the righteousness of God is required.
Romans 1:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
If Paul is praying that Israel would be saved doesn’t that mean they were not saved?
For all their efforts to keep the law they still had not acquired the righteousness of God. We are not dealing with just any old type of righteousness here. It is a specific brand of righteousness that is required. It is the “Righteousness of God.” The righteousness of God can only be received as a gift from God according to faith in Christ.
Think about it, even though Israel was still under the law of Moses and zealous about being devoted to God, they were not saved. Being devoutly religious and full of zeal because one thinks that by such a means they will please God and prove their devotion to Him, will not save them.
Being passionate about being a moral person does not save a person. In fact, Paul makes it clear that Israel was seeking to establish their own righteousness through the keeping of the law.
He equally establishes the fact, that in doing so they were rejecting the righteousness of God. He says clearly that by trying to establish their own righteousness they were not submitting themselves to the righteousness of God.
Even more scandalous is what Paul says next. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
So the idea that anyone could attain to the level of the Righteousness of God by any self effort diminishes the value, glory and preciousness of the Righteousness of God. It should be seen as an insult to God.
So how is the Righteousness of God obtained?
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.
This is what took place at the mount of transfiguration when Jesus was seen glorified and talking with Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the law and Elijah the prophets. The righteousness of God we must possess comes to us, apart from the law. It does not come by way of the law. Nor is it maintained by trusting in the law.
2Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Only by grace through faith in Christ can anyone possess the Righteousness of God required to be in relationship with God. Trusting in anything else to make us more acceptable to God in any way is an insult to both the Father and the Son because it testifies that Jesus was not enough.
I am thankful that Jesus is more than enough and I will put my confidence in His obedience and completed work above anything I could ever bring to God in my own effort.
The Unsearchable Riches of Christ - Part Three
There's something very profound and exciting about who Jesus is and what Jesus accomplished that many have yet to see. The eternal purpose is of such importance in our relationship with God it is well worth exploring. I invite you to journey with me as we do just that. This is the first part of that adventure. Enjoy!
The Unsearchable Riches of Christ - Part Two
There's something very profound and exciting about who Jesus is and what Jesus accomplished that many have yet to see. The eternal purpose is of such importance in our relationship with God it is well worth exploring. I invite you to journey with me as we do just that. This is the first part of that adventure. Enjoy!