To move forward in Christ, we must “own” our own sin. We don’t need to identify with it, to have a sin based identity, but we must own up to our own mistakes and failings.
When we fail, it is not God’s fault, it is not our parents’ fault, and it is not the church’s fault. It is just us and a holy God, and we must face him honestly.
When we “walk in the light, the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.”
The corollary truth is equally important. When God has cleansed us from our sins, and has us walking on water, the glory and the praise belong to him. Christ is doing the work; he is living through us; our part is only to yield to him.
These truths will yield a fruitful, joyful, and satisfying life, pleasing to God and helpful to man. We will have God’s praise and honor, and he will rejoice in us, his obedient children.
In addition, many will be saved, heaven will rejoice, and we will have many friends.
This is “abundant life;” this is “eternal life;” this is life in Christ, now and forever!
Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of Adonai. Which of you takes pleasure in living? Who wants a long life to see good things? [If you do,] keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceiving talk; turn from evil, and do good; seek peace, go after it! — Psalm 34:12-15 CJB
Romans 12:1 I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please him; it is the logical “Temple worship” for you.
Life… We know God sent His Son so we can have eternal LIFE. Most of you reading this know this and believe this. If you are reading this and are uncertain, I pray that you are able to KNOW His LOVE surrounding you today. I pray that HIS SPIRIT will speak to you and that you will KNOW HIS Peace by believing and taking the step of faith.
The verses above show us what we need to do in order to enjoy His LIFE while we wait for His return.
We must have a fear of Adonai. We must turn from evil and deceiving talk and do GOOD. We must seek peace.
Then, offer yourself. Set yourself apart for God. Be ALIVE and LIVING for Him.
We all desire to have LIFE and LIFE Abundant (John 10:10). The only way to get there is by TRUST and FAITH and listening to Him.
The days we are in are tough. The days we are in cause confusion. The days we are in bring heartache and pain.
We WILL make it through when we follow His teachings and His steps.
Take time to bring HIS Life to you. Seek peace. Give Him worship.
While in worship a few weekends ago, I suddenly felt like I was on a roller coaster. It was the most bizarre feeling that perhaps I have ever felt supernaturally during a worship service. When naturally odd things like this happen to me, I now know that it is the Father trying to get my attention to speak to me.
Not only could I feel the momentum and inertia of a ride like a roller coaster, but I also found that I could not move my head to either side! It was as if I was strapped in, with a head guard snugly fitting around my face, keeping my head in position.
My eye sight was also restricted as I found that I could only look up and not side-to-side or even straight ahead.
When I came out of the encounter, I heard the Lord speak very clearly regarding a new season of momentum coming to the Bride.
He reminded me that on a roller coaster, because of the speed and the gravity and inertia that pulls you forward, backward, upside-down, etc., a person’s eyes can never look to the side or even down.
When on a roller coaster, you usually have only two real choices: A person can either close their eyes, or they can look straight ahead on the ride. Looking up or down actually feels quite uncomfortable at that speed, and thus usually people choose to just close their eyes completely.
HOWEVER, I felt the Father say that He is realigning our sight to only ever look up. Especially amidst the momentum of where the Lord seems to be taking us in this season, the only healthy and safe place is for us to look UP.
Just like looking up on an actual roller coaster is not always the easiest or default thing to do, looking up when the world is spinning, tilting, rocking and speeding past may seem abnormal to those around you. But I want to remind you that as CHILDREN OF GOD, we are not called to a worldly normal. Our lives are SUPERNATURAL, thanks to Jesus and our faith in Who He is!
Jesus is our confidence and the lifter of your head (Psalm 3:3-4). Even if there are ups, downs, acceleration, even those turns that make a person feel sick because they are upside-down and shaking all over, our gaze can always be HIM. He’s locked into you and I, and invites us to lock into HIM.
We cannot afford for our gaze to not be locked into Him.
Before the encounter ended, I felt it go into a peaceful, gentle and restful slow motion once I actually looked up and kept my gaze there. I felt His longing for us to gaze upon Him and learn to be still while we gaze. I felt His desire for our full surrender to His gaze. In that moment, nothing else mattered but me and Him. I think He loves it when that’s all that matters to us.
Despite what seems like a roller coaster ride in the nations today, let us always stay surrendered to His gaze. May we continue to LOOK UP and surrender fully to the ups and downs and twists and turns. He is our confidence, the lifter of our heads, our protector and our Psalm 91 safety. The more we surrender, the more fun we have and the more joy will be manifested in us.
We don’t need to go in search of another great name. We already have Christ’s name. We are Christians. We are part of the royal family. However, we do need to cultivate a good name in order to reflect the greatness of our inherited name.
Our character and actions need to reflect the grace, beauty, power and love of our Savior. People should say of us: “You can tell that they are Christians by the way that they live.”
Kindness, mercy, graciousness, and magnanimity—these are our imperatives. Service, self-sacrifice, humility, and courage—these are our ambitions. People no longer have Jesus to observe; they only have us. We should show by our actions, what we say we believe.
It is written: “A good name is more desirable than great riches.” Even those that labor for riches are secretly hoping that their wealth will buy for them a good name. We, however, through faith, love, integrity, and uprightness will gain a name and reputation that wealth can’t even dream of acquiring.
Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 6:8, “And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living?” Solomon seems to be implying that the wise man as well as the fool will die, but, aside from this fact, knowing how to conduct oneself in this life is a great treasure both for now and for eternity.
The first letter of the apostle Peter reminds us that God judges our work impartially—that he does not show favoritism. That is both a comforting and a fearful thing.
However, we wouldn’t want it any other way, because if he showed favoritism to us, then he might show favoritism to our enemy as well.
Even when the angel came to Joshua in Joshua 5:13 in the Old Testament, and Joshua asked him if we was on their side or the enemy’s side, the angel responded only that he came representing the Lord of Hosts. God is on his own side; the question is: Whose side are we on?
Fortunately, we have a mediator in Jesus who is on our side. He represents us before God’s throne 24/7. He indwells us, directing our thoughts, words, and actions; and he fights our battles for us, if only we will let him. We only have to whisper his name and he stands ready to come to our defense.
Good thing, too, for our enemy, though thoroughly wicked, is able to inflict great harm upon those who don’t know how to resist him by calling on Jesus.
Impartial? Yes, our God is utterly fair and impartial. But he is also exquisitely compassionate and tender hearted toward our weaknesses and frailties. In this cold, dark world, we can lose sight of this fact and be deceived into thinking that maybe our Father is cold and aloof. Only when we call on him in faith will we realize the extent of his love.
He has already made the first move; it is up to us to respond and call out to him for his love and favor. He stands ready and waiting to run to us and shower upon us his comfort, courage, strength, and hope.
We are born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are cleansed from our sins by the power of the word. We are forgiven and given the hope of heaven by the power of the shed blood of Christ. We are now the beloved children of God by the powerful love of the Father.
Like the king in 2 Chronicles 26, we have been greatly helped and we have been greatly empowered to overcome all the power of the enemy and to bring Our Father great glory.
We can love deeply, pray fervently, and minister powerfully the works of God.
We can continue to do all these things, if only we will avoid King Asa’s mistake of becoming proud.
Let us always remember that the kingdom, the power, and the glory belong to God. Like Samson, the Old Testament judge of Israel, we can do mighty exploits as long as we remember that our power flows from our devotion to Christ and that it is Christ himself who does all things for us, in us, and through us for his greater glory, our greater good, and the Father’s holy, loving, and divine purposes. Amen.
Psalm 90:12 So teach us to count our days, so that we will become wise.
Esther 4:14 For if you fail to speak up now, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from a different direction; but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows whether you didn’t come into your royal position precisely for such a time as this.”
Romans 13:11 Besides all this, you know at what point of history we stand; so it is high time for you to rouse yourselves from sleep; for the final deliverance is nearer than when we first came to trust.
Time… We all know that time is “ticking.” Time is “short” so many people say. “Take advantage of today” because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
The first verse above does have the word, “time” in it, but it is about “teaching us to count our days.” Time… help us understand TODAY. We want to become wise, so help us know how to COUNT on HIM for ALL that we have.
Romans is clear: ROUSE yourselves from sleep. The final deliverance is nearer than when we first came to trust. TIME is short. High time to WAKE up.
The last is a very well known verse from the book of Esther. “Who knows whether you didn’t come into your royal position precisely for such a TIME as this.”
How have you prepared for the times we are living in?
Have you counted the days so you can become wise?
Have you understood the “point of history we stand in” so you are able to ROUSE yourself from sleep and be ready for His return?
Do you understand that you are like Esther and in a position of needing to be READY at ALL times so you can share HIS Words with those who need to hear it?
We are definitely in a time of truly needing to seek Him in Spirt and Truth. We are in a time of needing to KNOW Him in deep and intimate ways. If we are not GROUNDED in WHO He is, we won’t be ready to face Him when He does come.
Lord, give us ALL the insight and clarity we need to know the TIMES we are living in. PREPARE our hearts for what you have NEED of us to do. Give us the strength to TRUST you in Spirit and Truth.
Thank you, Father, for being our guide. Thank you, Spirit for lighting the path so we can walk where YOU want us to walk.
Friends, stay the course. LISTEN to HIM and know the signs of the times. Be prepared for ALL He wants you to do.
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12, NKJV
I have a serious compulsion to just keep buying Bibles. I purchase new Bibles, not even to give away, but because I just love buying myself new Bibles. Once upon a time as a younger believer, I struggled to even read my Bible, much less want to collect them. Somewhere along the way, I’ve actually fallen in love with the Word of God, and I honestly can’t live a day without meditating on even the smallest little verse.
Reading the Word is honestly like oxygen to me!
My husband bought me a new, ruby-red, hand-sewn premium Bible from the UK for Christmas this year. Of course, he gave it to me early, since he knows my love for this thing and how long I’ve wanted it. It’s a bit heavier than my usual thin-line styled Bibles, and it has the most beautiful gold along the pages. I really love it.
While driving to a women’s event at Church this weekend, I had my purse on the floor of the passenger side, and my new Bible on the seat. My Bible has some weight, but it’s not as heavy as even my purse, yet for some reason it kept setting off the special alarm that my little Mazda has built in to make sure that people are buckled up. No matter what I did, the alarm kept going off until I moved the Bible to the floor.
I felt the Lord speak to me in that moment and say that my Bible is “LIVING AND ACTIVE,” and that it is time that the Body of Christ begin to see – once again – the Word as our “best friend.” It’s time for us to have a “Bible revival!”
The enemy is sneaky, and we are not unaware of his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). He has been at work for a long time to discredit the Word. When some don’t fall for that, he throws distractions at them. When they learn to push past the distractions, he throws confusion, fogginess, sleepiness, crying babies, barking dogs, overflowing dishwashers, etc.! He will do whatever he can to keep you from going deep into the Bible because he knows the power that lays in the Word of God. And he is fully aware of how this living, active word empowers believers!
Friends, your Bible is more than just a sword to cut off the head of the giants that come at you (which it is). It’s more than just a way to find peace in your soul when things are tough (which it is). It’s also more than a book filled with truth and promises that you can declare over yourself (which it is). It is LIVING and it is ACTIVE. It is your friend, your power, your lifeblood, your oxygen. It keeps you grounded, it gives you fresh perspective, and it cuts through the lies.
I am so excited to see a generation arise who love the Word, are friends of the Word, and who know how to use the Word and not compromise it. It’s time for a Bible revival, y’all!
Restored People Community 