Most of us have asked God for wisdom and knowledge at one time or another. We have also been asked for them by someone needing help. Whatever the circumstances, God's wisdom & knowledge...never deviates from Christ's character and His actions when He was here on earth. Like anything else...anything...God wants our faith and gaze to always end up back on Christ Jesus. Why?
Col. 2:1I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other believers who have never met me personally. 2I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ Himself. 3In Him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments. 5For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I rejoice that you are living as you should and that your faith in Christ is strong.6And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him. 7Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
8Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powersa of this world, rather than from Christ. 9For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.b10So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the Head over every ruler and authority.
We want to obey God...to emulate Christ...yet, we'll fail...or we'll be trying and trying in our own flesh...unless we learn to do it a different way. Not too long ago in our recent history the WWJD movement began. However, it faded, but why? This article has an idea about that....
We cannot do anything 'God derived' in our flesh, so as to bear the kind of fruit that accomplishes His purposes. This is why it behooves us to stand back for a time and ask God to teach us to be fruit bearers, instead of 'trying' and exerting ourselves to bear fruit.
Then even when we do bear fruit by own efforts, what comes of it? Is it lasting fruit? This is the question that the believers before us perhaps did not understand...which is why the movement that had good intentions, sunk into near nothingness ~ like a house built on sand...or wine skin that burst ~ because it had old wine put into it.
Evil wars against the human body that is already weak, then fights to sway our mind away from Christ so it can't cooperate with the things of the Spirit. ~ Who will give us the victory over these things...so our body and mind can be used for God, instead of against Him?
1 John 5:4 For
everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome
the world, even our faith.
Faith in what or whom? In ourselves? In our own abilities? In our own actions? In our own common sense? In our own knowledge and wisdom? In our own feelings? In our own ways? In our own talents? In our own intellect? In our own interpersonal skills?
OR
Faith in Christ Jesus? In His abilities? In His actions? In His common sense? In His knowledge and wisdom? In His feelings? In His ways? In His talents? In His intellect? and In His interpersonal skills?
Which source do you have faith in so as to be a 'happy tree'? A fruit bearer who is living it's purpose and shares in the blessings??
You who have been born of God...so you have been planted IN Him...and your roots have complete access to the Source...to Christ Jesus. He has given you a new nature, He is inside and with and around you....as well as His written word is before you...He has hemed you in on everyside! Psalm 139:5 "You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand of blessing upon
me". Jesus is your everything...including your teacher.
John 13:12When he had finished
washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.
13“You call me ‘Teacher’
and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.
14Now that I, your Lord
and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s
feet. 15I have set you an
example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth,
no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one
who sent him. 17Now that you know
these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
He wants to be our example. He desires to teach us, and then His Holy Spirit remind us, how to live. Our spirit, which has been made new, is very willing, ready and able! However, our body is weak, and is used to doing things the old way. Jesus said inMatt. 26:41 "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.
The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Then Paul, who emulated Christ, is saying the same thing Jesus said here in Rom. 7: "21So I find this law at
work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For
in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law
at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and
making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What
a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to
God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
The disciples walked with Jesus and learned from Him...so we can also walk with Christ through the gospels and learn from Him there as well. John 2:20“What!” they exclaimed.
“It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in
three days?” 21But when Jesus said
“this temple,” he meant his own body. 22After he was raised
from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they believed both
the Scriptures and what Jesus had said.
Paul also learned from and emulated Jesus (1 Cor. 11:1), and so when we go there and read his letters and learn from him...this is also learning from Christ. Phil. 4:9 'Keep putting into practice all you learned and received
from me--everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace
will be with you."
We must remember as we are in this process, that God has not left us clueless at all!! He has shown us in His written word all the specifics...so you and I can become more familiar with what comes from His Spirit and what doesn't. Perhaps the WWJD movement didn't last because the fruit trees were expected to keep on growing and producing God's fruit even when the things not of God began coming out of the same trees?
James 3: 9-18 "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Light and dark can not exist together...and even a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Or perhaps Christ grew into a mere idea, instead of a real Person who was God in the flesh and Who's every word and every action represented God exactly.
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peaceable, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of impartiality and hypocrisy. 18Peacemakers who sow seeds of peace raise a harvest of righteousness."
Gal. 5:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Isaiah 56 : "9Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!"
Can you imagine a cow attacking a tiger? Well, then how about a sheep feasting on a bear? Or a pig about to eat a mountain lion? Of course not...however, in the Kingdom of God this is exactly how things are done. Metaphors and Opposites, and more.....all to give us clear pictures of God and how He does things!
Isaiah 55:8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. 9“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."
When God says His thoughts and ways are as high as the heavens are from the earth, He means it! Therefore, they are so much higher than we can even imagine! Yes?
When we think of the heavens, we think of the night sky that are filled with twinkly stars...but no, the heavens are way past what we can see. Therefore, the contrast here is immeasurable.
God is light...and He has no dimmer switch! He lives in "unapproachable light"(1 Tim. 6:16). In the following section of Exodus, God allows Moses to see just the back of Him after He passes by...because He is just too bright to look at - to the point where Moses would die.
So, think about the sun, it is millions of miles away, yet if we look at it for too long we can go blind. This gives us a perfect picture of God's brilliance...a brightness that darkness can not even look at, let alone be anywhere near! So, if we think we can willingly partake of the things that reside in darkness (as in Gal. 5: 19-21) and it would be OK with God...then we don't understand Him, His word or how different His ways are!
Meaning, if we do willingly partake, then in due time we'll be lovingly disciplined unless we decide to judge ourselves and do an about face in the opposite direction ~ and give our attentions back to God. 1 Cor. 11:31"If we were
judging ourselves correctly, we would not be judged. 32But when the
Lord judges us, he disciplines us so that we won't be condemned along with the
rest of the world."
Exodus 33: 17 "The LORD answered
Moses, 'I will do what you have asked, because I am pleased with you, and I know
you by name.' 18Then Moses said,
'Please let me see your glory." 19The LORD said, 'I
will let all my goodness pass in front of you, and there I will call out my name
'the LORD.' I will be kind to anyone I want to. I will be merciful to anyone I
want to.
20But you can't see my
face, because no one may see me and live." 21Then the LORD said,
'Look, there's a place near me. Stand by this rocky cliff. 22When my glory passes
by, I will put you in a crevice in the cliff and cover you with my hand until I
have passed by. 23Then I will take my
hand away, and you'll see my back, but my face must not be seen."
Something I find so wonderful about God, and what I read in His written word...and see in His Son Jesus, is that when He says something, anything...it is heavy with meaning. His words are weighty. He is thrifty and therefore packs a lot of meaning into each word. Weighty to the point where He clearly wants us to understand the reasons He makes these contrasts about Himself!
OK, so, what are the reasons? For one, that He is nothing like the human-fallen nature, and thinks nothing like our human nature thinks. In fact He is the opposite. Therefore, if the world is going south, then He is going north, for no better way to put it.
Take any given set of verses...and you will most likely see some of these contrasts and words heavy with meaning that God has made about Himself and His ways. The following section of scripture in 1 Timothy verse 11, there are many such verses in scripture like this one instructing us to 'flee from', or 'lay aside', or 'make no provision for', or 'turn from', and 'die to'...the ways of sin and the flesh.
Victory comes when things are done God's way. Man's way (and the reason we could not successfully keep the law) of dealing with sin is to set our minds on working hard at trying not to sin...but because of the weak human nature we have to try very hard over and over and over again to get even a little success! But then the law said that even one sin is too many! So, it is a hamsters wheel going no where!!
But our human nature still wants to give a lot of our attention to the sin we are struggling with....urgh!...to think and talk about it, muse over it, then try to discipline ourselves not to do it, then memorize scriptures pertaining to it, then pray and agonize over it and remind ourselves that it is sinning against God to do it, and it grieves Him to do it...and then on and on and on it goes.
But, as usual, God's way is opposed to human nature's way...typically the direct opposite! God's way is to put it to death! Not talk about it over and over again! No, but giving the sin NO attention, and instead giving your full attention to the things of God whereby starving the sinful nature! Gal. 5: 16 "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the
desires of the sinful nature."
The following verse in Romans is a good example. Romans 13:14 "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires."
It says to make no provision for the flesh's survival...so, I turn from it and give the sin none of my attention...I starve it! OK! Good! But now what do I do?? "Put on' the Lord Jesus! Yes, put Him on! Think about His great love, Talk about Him, talk to Him, serve Him, imitate Him, rest in Him, think about Him, enjoy Him, learn from Him, think about the things that come from Him, talk to others about Him...and love others as unto Him! The following verse is telling us to give these things our full attention (instead of giving it to sin).
Phil. 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is
honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things."
Can you name some other things of God to give your full attention to? How about what comes from the Holy Spirit?
Gal. 5: 22But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong
to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh (given no attention to the flesh - starved it!) with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by
the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (given full attention to the fruits of the Spirit!).
1 Tim. 6: "11But you, man of
God, (give no attention to)flee from all, and (give all your attention to)pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
endurance and gentleness. 12*Fight the good
fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when
you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
When God tells you and I not to do something, He is telling us to not give those things ANY of our attention ~~ then to turn and give your full attention to those things He wants you to do! Yes!? THIS is the primary way we deal with sin now, by not dealing with it! Please consider keeping this in mind when reading scripture. :)
17Command those who
are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in
wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides
us with everything for our enjoyment.
18Command them to do
good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they
will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so
that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."
I would encourage you to keep these things in mind when reading and deciphering scripture...so you will "take hold of the life that is truly life."
*Fighting the good fight is still not paying any attention to sin....but to God - because we are fighting a spiritual warfare, where all our attention is still on the things of God.
Do you overeat on a regular basis? Do you have a tendency to talk about other's oddities or faults? Then according to many Christians today you are a glutton or a gossip. Not a fallen person JUST like they are. No. You are the sin you do! Your besetting sin defines you.
But this is what we do, don't we? The homosexual is nothing else but a homosexual. Have we have put a big scarlet letter on them so everyone knows that they are seperate from others? That some sinners are less sinful then others? So, I wonder; does this make us feel more spiritual or something? Because one thing it does do...is it lessens the power of God's grace and wisdom ~ as it says that God is not capable of redeeming some people as much as others.
Please take a moment and read the following short article by J.S. Park~
When God saves someone...they are saved. They are not halfway saved...no, completely saved! It would take very specific and rare circumstances for someone to lose their salvation! Yes, rare. God invested so much into our salvation...so do you think He would change His mind or let someone go so easily?? NO! We get shaken by happenstance, He does not. We change our mind on a whim, He does not. His mercies are new every morning...and this was spoken even before the New Covenant!
Rom. 8: 1 Therefore, there is now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
2 Cor. 3:9 If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious,
how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!
Romans 3:21 But now
a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law
and the Prophets testify.
2 Corinthians
5:21 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we
might become the righteousness of God.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
New converts-
Some people however will either come forward at an alter call or pray a prayer to be saved under very emotional circumstances, and not truly receive Christ...not unlike someone who would say almost anything under feelings of compulsion or hopelessness. So, in the following verses, when he was giving instructions about choosing Overseers, this is what he had in mind concerning new converts.
As God knows if someone has truly accepted Him, but we do not, so it is important for us to take these precautions. Then the scriptures after that is the parable Jesus told about the same issue....that there will be some that have not received Christ even though they appeared to have done so at the beginning.
This is my personal belief -- since I believe God meets us where we are, I also think some people are still teetering when they pray...meaning they are still in the process of being saved...and any slight wind can cause them to be swept away.
1 Tim.3:6Must not be a new convert, so that he will not
become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7And he must have a good reputation with those
outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare
of the devil.
Luke 8:4While a large crowd was
gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this
parable: 5“A farmer went out to sow
his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was
trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.
6Some fell on rock, and
when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7Other
seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.
8Still other seed fell on
good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was
sown.”
11“This is the meaning of
the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12Those along the path
are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from
their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13Those
on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but
they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they
fall away.
14The seed that fell
among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are
choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
15But the seed on good
soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it,
and by persevering produce a crop.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The one unforgivable sin-
Luke 12:8"I tell you, everyone
who confesses me before men, him will the Son of Man also confess before the
angels of God; 9but he who denies me in
the presence of men will be denied in the presence of the angels of God.
10Everyone who speaks a
word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but those who blaspheme against
the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11When they bring you
before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, don't be anxious how or
what you will answer, or what you will say; 12for the Holy Spirit
will teach you in that same hour what you must say."
Against - eis (a preposition) – properly,
into (unto) – literally, "motion into which" implying
penetration ("unto," "union") to a particular purpose or
result.
God in the flesh died for us and therefore paid an extremely heavy price...therefore He does not take it lightly when His Holy Spirit makes His home inside our heart and life. It would be compared to setting something priceless and sacred inside the finest gold...therefore a union He never, ever planned would ever be touched or removed!! Can you picture it?!
We can get mad at God and even allow our human nature to run at the mouth or have temper tantrums! However, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is very different...it is essentially tampering with that one union that God deems as the most sacred....because it is that one thing...the union between God and man...that He died for!! It is deliberately takingaction against the Holy Spirit...like, trying to extract something highly sacred and priceless from pure and fine gold -- and in so doing causing irrepairable damage.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
We are saved, and God is faithful to keep us that way. If we ever get even close (which is still far) to being close to the edge of losing our salvation...God is more than faithful then too.
1 Cor. 11:32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being
disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
Hebrews 12:7
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not
disciplined by his father?
The top section of this post is re-blogged (with slight edits) from Simply Juliana http://simplyjuliana.com
God is vehemently against worry. It only produces stress, strain and death. Jesus preached against it. Paul preached against it. The whole Bible is against worry because Satan designed it.
Take Philippians 4:6-7 as a command. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The Amplified Bible says, “Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything.” I Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
Casting all your care upon him….” Not 75 percent of your care. Not everything but your kids or everything but your finances. Your confession every morning should be, “I do not have a care, because it has been cast over on my Lord.” Cast out every worried thought that would trample its way into your thinking. Roll it over onto Jesus.
If I tossed an item over to someone, and they took it with them...then I no longer have it. So if you asked me for it, I would have to say, sorry!
That’s what we need to do with our cares. We must cast them over on the Lord and not try to take them back! If Satan brings a worried thought to your mind, saying, What if…, you can tell him to talk to God about it. It is in His hands, not yours!
Many people want God to supernaturally remove their worry. But that’s not the way to get the peace of God. God’s peace comes by acting on His Word that says to cast all of your worry and anxiety over on Him. You must replace those thoughts with the Word. Philippians 4:8 says to think on “whatsoever things are true…honest…just…lovely…of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
You are the one who must control your mind. The Word says the peace of God will garrison and mount guard over your heart and mind (Philippians 4:7, The Amplified Bible). But you are going to have to do something. You must keep your thoughts under control.
II Corinthians 10:5 says, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” People have told me they can’t quit worrying. They can! Anyone can stop worrying. The verse before that says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but powerful through God to the pulling down of strongholds. The strongholds of Satan are in the mind. He makes suggestions like, It won’t work this time, and What if… and, But….
The power of God begins to operate when you cast your care over on Him. As long as you worry about it, you only hinder the flow of His power and tie His hands.
Meditate on these three scriptures: I Peter 5:6-7; II Corinthians 10:5 and Philippians 4:6. Joshua 1:8 says if you will meditate in the Word day and night, you will be able to see how to do it. Philippians 4:9 says, “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do….” As you give your attention to these scriptures, the Holy Spirit will reveal this truth to you and you will then be able to act on it!
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me.” You don’t have to worry again. The greater One dwells in you. Commit to it. You will never worry again. –Ken Copeland
************************
Spreading Peace
James 3:18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
It is NOT our job to spread conflict. Some who would disagree with this I've heard argue that Christ said that He did not come to bring peace, as in Matthew 10: 34 "Don't assume that I came to bring peace on the
earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword". However, this does not mean for you and I to spread conflict...as it was Christ speaking about Himself.
Moreover, we need to realize the sword He was talking about here is the natural conflict that truth causes...and the conflict He caused merely by being here amongst us. He did not mean that He came here swinging a sword. His words, His light, His truth, His power, His reaction to the Pharisees, His love of people over rules and His utter love of sinners ALL caused conflict and division just naturally...but, this division is one that is via the Spirit, as it separates truth from lie...light from darkness...and what is inside a persons heart. Where as the conflict humans produce is fleshly and just causes trouble for the reasons of opinion and self-interest.
Conflict that is from the carnal nature is produced from a human's coercion of some sort...to get other people to submit to their ways and opinions for that human's sake...even if they argue their opinions stem from truth.However, in the conflict that stems from truth, human's don't have to say a word or even be present, because it is totally a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the people for the people's sake.
1 Tim.6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and
destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw
yourself.
1 Cor. 3:3 For you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You
are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you
are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like people of the
world?
Heb. 4:12 God's word is living and active. It is sharper than any
two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the
place where joints and marrow meet. God's word judges a person's thoughts and
intentions.
.
He is the Prince of Peace Who's Spirit produces peace along with all the other luscious fruits. His Holy Spirit does NOT grow conflict! In fact if we have the Holy Spirit then any conflict that we would deliberately produce stems from self-interest and the old nature, and NOT from God. If we would be speaking the truth in love however. Truly - in love...then the truth is what will naturally cause the conflict.
Gal. 5:22 But the fruits of The Spirit are
love, joy, peace, patience, sweetness, goodness, faith,
Gal. 5:20 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious...idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealously,
outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions...
Let's say you are standing in the grocery line one day and because you kindly encouraged the women in back of you to go ahead of you, she starts a conversation with you. She is thankful and is obviously open to you and so you decide to say something about the Lord to her. However, when you do she automatically gets agitated and turns...then as she leaves after paying she turns around and gives you a sour look.
This is a natural conflict that occurred because of the truth she was faced with...like a clash of light with darkness...which can produce good things down the line in her life because she was confronted with the truth! It was not at all because you were negligent or trying to produce conflict...as you spoke the truth with love!
Now, how about if you were in line and the person behind you had only a couple of things and you had many more items then she had. She is obviously anxious, but you kind of ignore her, but then you figure you better get your witness in for the week, so you turn to her and try to push a track into her hand and tell her that she better get right with God because the end is near.
Then you turn and pay....and as you are on your way out you glance over and see her roll her eyes and shack her head while fumbling to get her items on the belt without dropping them. In this instance I can say that I doubt it was the truth that caused her discomfort.
Everything has been met in Christ. Every requirement. Yes. Above are just some of the scriptures that tell us how Christ has satisfied and met the demands of each of the important areas of the Christian's life...
Then because this is true, there is only one requirement...one thing God wants from Christians such as you and I. Because everything is already satisfied in Jesus, then wouldn't it make sense to begin following Him? Yes, I know that you have already accepted Christ as your Savior and even your Lord as far as trying to trust Him with the various areas of your life. But have you begun following Him in the true sense? Have you begun this journey of walking with Him?
Following and walking with Him, and then after time you're walking like Him...and then in time you begin feeling right at home and find that you are not 'doing' anymore...no, you are being! You begin growing again, and even in how you see God. He has not only made His home in you, but you have in Him.
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
He wants you to have an abundant life. He wants to teach you how to be a true "be-er" Christian...which is much much better than being a doer Christian.
1 John 2:6 Whoever claims to live in Him ought walk as Jesus did.
Ephesians 3:14-19
"14When I think of
all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15the Creator of
everything in heaven and on earth. 16I pray that from
His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength
through His Spirit. 17Then Christ will
make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into
God’s love and keep you strong. 18And may you have
the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how
high, and how deep his love is. 19May you experience
the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be
made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."
Can you understand how much God wants to be not just a part of your life...but to BE your life? Spiritually it has already happened if Christ is in you...but has it happened in how you live? You were created in His image, and this is why God wants you to mature in your walk...as you begin walking closely with Christ Who will help you to become much closer to who you were originally created to BE!!
1 Cor. 6:17 But the person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.
If you notice up in the picture, under Gifts...that scripture tells us that the gifts and callings He has given each person cannot be withdrawn...or your bible might say, "without repentance". The gifts He has bestowed on you, you can't walk away from and then later ask forgiveness for doing something else instead. Why?
Because, when God created you He had a specific plan for your life that would fulfill you and make you you and make you whole...so you feel good in your own skin, and are vital and productive! But you will not "be made complete with all the fullness of life and power" until you make it your goal to actually begin taking steps to follow...putting His yoke upon you...and begin walking with Christ in all you do.
When you decide to walk closely along side Him, Jesus said in Matt. 11:30 that His yoke will be easy and His burden is light.
Enjoy your relationship with Him as you spend time getting to know Him in a closer way...as you open up your heart to scripture and Christ's words in the gospels, and allow yourself unceasing communication (prayer throughout the day that should come more naturally then planned) and letting Christ guide your days...keeping in step with His Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-23)
1 Thess. 5:17-18 Pray without ceasing. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will
for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Col. 2:3
Christ, In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
He wants to spend time with you and teach you what it truly means to "be crucified with Christ and it is no longer you who live, but Christ that lives in you" (Gal. 2:20)...then in so doing you end up finding you!
Eph. 5:2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of
Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma
to God.
1 Peter 4:2 As a result you may spend the rest of your earthly
lives, governed not by human passions (Gal. 5:19-21), but by the will of God.
.jpg)
