Steadfast Love
Saint Augustine said, “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance, to seek Him the greatest adventure, and to find Him the greatest human achievement.”
The key to the kingdom is and always has been what God has told us through His word. Love Him and love others. To love God, you have to want to know Him. The Bible is full of illustrations and parables– the secrets of fulfilling our destinies. We often take scripture just as we see it, but it’s mystical in all ways.We can’t apply scripture to our earthly life without His presence. Like our Father, we too are spiritual and must learn to think spiritually, while applying it with a humanist point of view to the one in front of us.There is more depth in each verse than meets the human eye. When we long to fall in love with knowing the Lord in greater intensity, more is given to us. He is the Vinedresser and He is telling us to hold close to Him. Our eyes should never veer from Him.
Falling in love with the Father allows Christ to live through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we choose to know Him and live our life accordingly, Christ begins to flow from us, creating a mighty gush–flooding the one in front of us. As we pour out Christ, He refills our overall being. God wants to give us much more than we can physically see. We have to ask for our spiritual senses to be opened to recognize what He has to offer. Everything He gives us is to glorify Him, and in turn we begin walking out our destinies, carrying out the work of Jesus Christ on earth.
Jesus through us, is when we become a mere image of the Savior, losing all the worldly ways–surrendering, dying to the earthly self, and becoming what has been destined for us. When we learn this, we learn what love is. Love is being able to shed what the enemy says and continue with all eyes on the One who created us. We are living heaven on earth when we walk according to the design God intended for us. The love of the Father permeates our being, making us lights for the ones in front of us. This love and new way of life is contagious. When it is found, there’s no looking back because you will know that this is where you’re meant to be.
Fall in love with God by seeking Him out.
Igniting the Altar Within
Throughout scripture we see that the fire at the altar represented the presence of God. God started that fire (Leviticus 9:24). Today when we accept Jesus Christ, that fire at the altar begins to burn deep within our spirit. It represents the power and presence of God within us. God can calm down and consume our sacrifice, or we can offer Him a sacrifice as Abraham did with his son. Our sacrifice comes from the conviction of the altar within us. The altar is no longer physically seen by the world but becomes a part of us when we say yes to Jesus. We are no longer under the law of the Old Testament; the law is written in our hearts and the Holy Spirit is inside of us.
and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:24 NKJV
I believe this relationship–the altar–becomes a part of us when we fully surrender. We have direct access to the Father at all times. My interpretation of the altar at church is an outward expression of an inside job. When we take ownership of our inheritance in the kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit within us begins to go to work. The altar becomes a way to show others an expression that they too have the same opportunity to go directly to the Father for repentance, revival, guidance, mercy, grace and healing–whatever lies on the heart of the individual. The altar is alive and waiting for each one of us to be consumed. Fire falls in the heart of the believer and is released into the atmosphere when we say yes and begin to live out our destinies in obedience.
When we accept Jesus and the fire of God, the Holy Spirit settles in us and gets deeper as we seek Him first. When we choose to seek Him first, it becomes more of Him, less of us. All things that are not of the Father should not be of us, and we have the discernment to distinguish and extinguish these distractions out of our mind where the enemy tries to play. Our altar fire will never go out when we choose to accept what has been given to us and walk accordingly in submission to the Spirit, not the flesh. Only then will our altar flame prosper to glorify God.
When our flame within us is ignited, we start receiving many blessings from the Father. Spiritual gifts are given, to show who God is. We can’t get stuck in the gifts because if we do, we are missing the whole point of sonship. The gifts are given to show an outward expression of the Father to the lost. We are tasked as part of our destinies to help gather the harvest for the kingdom. We essentially become the vessel that the Holy Spirit works through to invite the ones in front of us into a relationship with the Father. We demonstrate sonship by rising above the earthly ways and grafting into our spiritual Father in heaven as sons and daughters, igniting the altar within us to move us forward in receiving upgrades from our King.
These rewards are for the kingdom. They are tools for our belt for our use on earth to shake off the ways of the enemy and to bring life to the lost. Ignite your altar fire today and choose to walk the ways of the spiritual realm by magnifying heaven on earth. We are vessels to be used for His glory. Come Holy Spirit!
Saying YES!
When we say YES to Jesus, we begin to walk according to our destiny God designed for us. Our new connection to the Father is a vine tended by the Vinedresser. Our lives are fulfilled by the pruning He accomplishes in us by removing the bad fruit and trimming the vine, to produce more fruit for His glory. We carry the splendor of the Lord within us and constantly need to check the fruit we produce.
The filling that God displays on our hearts forever changes as we begin our walk with the Father. It cannot be compared to anything that the world has to offer us because we are not of the world. We were created in the image of the Father. There is no going back when we are aligned in complete union with the Father. Of course, we have good days and bad days, but when we say YES to Jesus, we are connecting with the one and only Supreme God who begins to live and work in and through us.
I have always loved the Lord, but when I said YES and began to walk out what the Father had for me, my life changed drastically. I can’t imagine my life without being connected to the Vinedresser. Before the connection, life was meaningless and full of searching. Living my life for the Lord has filled the empty spots. He fuels my being each day and strengthens me from the inside out. I feel His presence with me and am never alone. I am comforted by Him and always looking for His “Godwinks” each day. Being connected to the Father has opened my spiritual senses to be able to experience what true kingdom living is about.
There is so much more when we say YES to Jesus. When I am connected to the vine, I feel alive. The Holy Spirit can work through me as a vessel having His way in me. As I believe and step out in obedience and faith, He prepares the way for me. My cup is in constant overflow since I surrendered my life to Him. He fills me up and I get to pour it all out. He strengthens me when I am weak and encourages me through His word.
I am a child of God and thankful that He has saved me from the world, offering me a new life in Him. There is no other place I would want to be than connected to the vine. Discipleship starts when we say YES!
Love is—Much More than Meets the Eye
He has told you, mortal one, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 NASB
Do we really know what love is? Love is mentioned in the Bible over 700 times. I would say that this four-letter word is important to God. I believe this word is much more than what we can comprehend. What does love mean to you? Some see it as that warm fuzzy feeling inside when you connect with another, while others may see it as a rush of uncontrollable/unexplainable feelings that overwhelm you and make your heart skip a beat. These are the physical traits of love. Have you ever heard of that expression of “being on cloud nine?” While all these things are great and feel great, I believe what God expresses through His written word about love has an even greater depth and goes beyond the call to love. He wants us to love for a purpose because love covers a multitude of things.
God knows our hearts and the core inner being of who we are. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). I love this scripture. You cannot love God if you cannot love the one in front of you. God tells us that if we love Him, we therefore must love our brother (1 John 4:20). He has always loved us. Even His commandments are all bound together by His love for us. God is always showing us how to love, to be love, to show love, to receive and to give love. In the New Testament there are over twenty five love commands. We are called to love but to also understand that this call is what transforms us from the inside out. When we learn what love is, what it does for us, and how to love, it is a game changer!
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:8 NKJV
God is love. When we have the love that God has, we will be full of love. We will worship Him in love. This type of love is not one that lies on the surface but is engrained within our total being. This is the kind of love that we strive for our whole lives. This love is not temporal, but it is eternal, and it radiates outward to the world. We can’t search for this love. It is by the grace of God that we inherit it—Gods saving grace, the grace that He gave by giving His Son to die for us so that we can receive eternal life and love (Hebrews 2). We must put all our faith in Him and learn to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. The Bible is full of hidden keys for us to find and as we hunger more, more is given. Hunger, I believe is a heart aligned with the will of God that craves more. It is getting a glimpse of something fantastic and needing more of it…except it is not temporary, it lasts forever. Love is opened to us throughout the scriptures, and it is the truth revealed for us to take hold of. Understanding this kind of love allows for truth to come in and open our hearts to complete understanding. We can’t understand truth until we understand love because truth has always been here waiting to be revealed through love. Love is what makes us one with God. We are called to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, becoming a mirror image. Jesus was love in human form on the earth.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 NKJV
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we get the Holy Spirit within us because God loved us so much that He gave His Son for us to live and have eternal life. This is how we know what love is. The Beatitudes express His love for us. They speak of how God works in and through us. We cannot fulfill our destinies—the assignments that God has for us or put them into practice—if we do not seek out what God has for us through these attitudes. These attitudes are love. I believe this is a greater depth of love, the kind that draws us in through hunger for more knowledge of who God is. This love is uncontainable. This is the kind of love that bursts forth from us. Even if we tried, we would not even want to hide it. It is a fiery-flame kind of love, meant for the world. I believe that this is the kind of love that is not experienced in this life, and I relate this to the oil of bliss. It is the joy that is meant for all of God’s sons and daughters. That’s you and me! We must dig deeper and hunger for more. You can’t measure this love because it is infinite. It surpasses earthly knowledge; it is engrained in us, our spirit. When we experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in our life, it becomes an involuntary hunger within us to continually feel the effects.
Father, I ask for increase now in the name of Jesus for all who are reading this blog. Give us more, Father. We want to know you at a greater depth. Pour Your love into us and make us hunger. Come Holy Spirit.
These effects are eternal and as we learn more about our Father, we learn how to keep, give and release love. We can essentially live in two worlds at once when we fully comprehend who we are. We become love because the Father is love and we are His. The stories of the evil in the world and what He called the prophets to do express His love for us and to turn back to Him. May God bless the prophets of old who had to deliver the not-so-good news to the ones who made God angry. I pray that we stop following in the steps of the wicked and turn our hearts back to our Father. He tells us over and over throughout scripture that we will know Him and turn back to Him with all our hearts. Turning from our ways, allows love to enter and go to work in us. If you have read about the prophets, then you know that they went through a lot. All these valiant men had one thing in common. They knew what love was; they loved the Lord and they had faith in the unseen next step they were taking. Their minds were open so that the truth of love could flow in. Do you want this kind of love? I know I do!
As we pass through all the ways of life, we pursue being right with God and in this all is love. The carnal nature sees love as physical traits, but God sees love as much more. Love is spiritual. It is the invisible cord that ties us to the Father. To know Christ is to know love. Christ is the healing balm we need to become eternally whole. Receiving the Holy Spirit is love at work in us. God created us to be in union with Him. The closer we get through our transformation process, the more we begin to become love, and our short comings dissipate. This is a process and does not occur overnight. We were placed in a world of sin, and we allowed sin to move in. God brought a Savior to help us unite with Him and start the purification process. This process is what makes us right with God. He is loving and patient with us. There is nothing greater than what God did for us through His Son, but we can choose to live our lives for the One who lost His for us! We must keep striving to follow our hearts in this quest. We don’t need to lie dormant—we can choose to hunger for this love that has been placed within us. It is time to move and take action. For we who belong to Christ are a light for the world and love lives inside us!
May God place a hunger within us to go deeper and to experience this higher love!
Carrying the Heart of God
Jesus carried the heart of God during His earthly ministry. We also have that same opportunity in life. When we are adopted into the Kingdom of God, part of our inheritance that is available to us is to be able to move and operate as the Father chooses. The key to accepting your inheritance is, believing. Do you believe?
There have been many ancient ones who have gone before us who have carried the heart of God. I can think of a few. In the Old Testament, it was Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Nehemiah, Hezekiah and in the New Testament, I am reminded of Cornelius, Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila, Stephen, Phillip, John the Baptist and let’s not forget Jesus! Each person’s assignments may have looked quite different but there was one common denominator amongst them all. They believed. Their hearts were in accordance with the will of God. The Holy Spirit played a huge role in guiding and leading them. They were far from stagnant, in fact just the opposite; they were active. Every step they took, God would provide what would come next. Part of believing is continuing to be led. We can’t be led unless we move. When our belief trumps our fears, great things happen. Didn’t God say that in faith we can tell the mountains to move? God also told us we only need the faith of a mustard seed. Have you ever seen how small a mustard seed is? What are we missing here? Why do you think this “scenario” is so hard to see? Could it possibly be because we are so grounded in the things of the world that are seen, that our spiritual being within us is blinded by physical sight? Father open our spiritual eyes to see the offerings you have for us. How can we learn to use our spiritual senses to access the kingdom of God? I pray today that if you are stuck, that the Holy Spirit purifies and cleanses you from the inside out awakening your spiritual senses to see new things and that you may begin to walk out your inheritance from the Father.
What obstacle could be hindering you from allowing the Holy Spirit to have full access? Are you scared, or maybe you are tired and worn out from life’s difficulties? Whatever it may be, the Holy Spirit will strengthen you just as the angel, in the garden of Gethsemane, strengthened Jesus (Luke 22:41-43NKJV). When we make the choice to say yes to Jesus, we leave our old self behind; being destined for greater. As sons and daughters of the Most High, we have an inheritance that allows us full entry into what has been waiting for us all along. Becoming united with the Father is just the beginning of believing. When you carry the heart of God you become heaven on earth for all the world to see. Your assignments will look different from others because you have been uniquely made for the purposes of God. You have been predestined. He knew you before you were in the womb. Your name is written on the palm of His hands. You’re his favorite! Wherever you go, God shines through you. This change within you is the activation, the light of the Holy Spirit. The light is turned on for all the world to see. Just believe!
Come Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit Moments
I believe the Holy Spirit comes alive and runs through us as we act on burdens placed within us. These things can be produced by an impartation or a singular Holy Spirit Moment. These “inside” moments of spiritual knowing, creates an outward expression of God at work through us when we make the feeling a reality. When we act on the burden that God has given us, out of compliance, we are blessed with the tools to carry out the assignment. These tools often come in the form of spiritual gifts. They have been given to us, not for our benefit, but to be equipped to love the one in front of us.
I was in the dental field for eighteen years and always had a love for World Missions. When I took my first dental trip to Honduras, little did I know that my whole world would soon be changed. I have always had a heart for missions and God allowed me to walk out this call in my field of expertise. I took the first step of fulfilling what was missing within me by stepping out to be sent. This act of obedience to the call, opened up a job opportunity in the outreach and global mission field. Had I not taken the step, I may not have found my calling. I knew nothing about the position but soon would rely solely on the Holy Spirit to guide me. I can honestly say when looking back while working in outreach, I experienced a Holy Spirit moment and I am sure that the volunteer’s aka, my friends who served alongside of me would say the same. This position was brand new at the church and I was the sole employee. I am going to be completely honest; I had no clue how to do it. All I had was my faith in the Lord to equip me for whatever He had planned. This was also a burden on my Pastors heart and new to him as well, so he suggested that I learn the “ropes” by visiting a church that was experienced and very successful in outreach. I knew that our outreach would look much different in the Midwest, but I needed a starting point to learn to gauge the temperature of our city. This is where my journey began.
As I began to come up with a strategy to reach the people in the city, I realized that one thing often led to another and then yet another. The Holy Spirit provided many avenues to reach people. As we opened new doors, more was needed and we were able to provide for the need. Before it was all over, we had pages of local outreach opportunities available for anyone to serve. There was something for everyone’s desire. The outreaches not only multiplied, but so did the number of volunteers that had an interest in loving on the city. It wasn’t enough to learn to love the city. The Lord soon burdened us with the need to know why we were doing it.
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1Peter 4:10 NKJV
Love starts in the heart and this is where outreach started for many of us. We learned the area and the needs, but what happened after is something that can be looked back on, seeing the Holy Spirit right in the middle of all of it. As for myself and many of the people who chose to be involved with outreach, we began to plan and conquer the city. We started to see a shift in the way that we opted to go about reaching people. We wanted real relationships that would change the lives of the ones in need. We also found our lives changing in the process by stepping-out in obedience. What started as a job, turned into a way of life. The impact was imprinted forever on our hearts, and the hearts of those who were touched. We chose to step out in faith, putting everything we had in hopes of helping another. Our hearts were transforming slowly as we hit the streets. Friendships were forming with local non-profit organizations, and also with the people who arrived in need. Outreach changed from a posture of what we needed to do to help the city or a community, to working together, forming bonds that would also help each other. Soon not only my friends who served alongside me were being changed along with me, but complete families were being changed, transformed into a new way of life. What started as an opportunity, soon became deep-rooted, established within the individual’s heart, to automatically love the one in front of us.
When hearts are aligned to see God at work, the impossible becomes possible. Whatever God wants to do through us can be accomplished when we are in accord and surrendered to the Lord. When the Holy Spirit is in you working, greater things can be done. Stepping out is the activation that the Holy Spirit needs to work. Also, when we step out, we activate Holy Spirit’s power to be able to get the job done. In doing so, we receive whatever gifts necessary to complete the task. God has many gifts He wants to give. The question is: Will we embrace what He has for us specifically? You have been uniquely made. Whatever the call is, God will equip the one who will say yes!
May God Bless you!
Giving Like You’ve Got
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:10 NIV
God said, “Test me with the tithe.” I was thinking about all the times that I have tested God to see if what His word said was truth. In all the trials, I can say that He always comes through. The question that often comes to mind is, “How can we repay God for all that He has done for us?” I think the answer is simple, learning to walk in obedience to the calling that the Father places upon our hearts. We all have different spiritual gifts given by the Father that help grow the kingdom of God. The stories below reflect the spiritual gift of giving.
What would happen if you sewed into the kingdom, believing you have already received the blessing? This reminds me of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. I like to think of this story of making “wise investments.” Take a look at the passage before you read any further. Let your thoughts ponder on this piece of scripture. What would you do with the talents? Which servant do you relate to? I think this question is bigger than meets the eye. How we walk depends on the season we are in. There are many seasons throughout our lives and as Christians we should be working towards obtaining a maturity and wisdom that sustains each season. Righteousness and obedience play a huge role in the decisions we make through all of life’s changes. At the same time, a non-Christian could be up for the test to see what happens, and end up getting saved when they see the outcome.
In the parable of the talents, two of the master’s servants doubled their talents and the other one buried it making nothing. The master rewarded the first two because they doubled their talents out of faithfulness. The one that buried the talent had no faith and was scared of losing what he had. The ones that doubled their talents gained favor from the master. He trusted them with more because they took a chance or you could say stepped out in faith. When it comes to the kingdom of God, maxing it all out brings great blessings to our lives.
Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” Matthew 12:41-44 NKJV
The widow had nothing but in faith, she sewed all she had into the kingdom of God. Her heart was right and she believed. For example, if you think about it, she may have given more than the rich people. When you give, they always say ten percent of your total income is a tithe. For example, Let’s say someone earning a million dollars a year at the ten percent tithe would give one hundred thousand dollars and someone earning ten thousand dollars a year would give one thousand dollars. Abundance is defined by the sacrifice of the gift. The million-dollar income earner would have more disposable income and not feel the loss of the investment. Comparing this example to Matthew 12:41-44, the widow gave the last coin she had. She did not give ten percent she gave 100 percent because she gave all she had. So, you can see that it’s not the size of the gift, but the size of the sacrifice. It is less about how much and more about faithfulness. It’s not the amount, it’s the level of our heart, the ability to trust and the magnitude of our faith. The widow stepped out in obedience believing that God would provide for her needs. When your heart is in it, trusting in Him and His word, anything is possible. He says, “Test me here.” This may be your biggest weakness but as you never remove this one thing, you’ll be blown away from the outcome! May you be up for the test and may your life be changed forever by the goodness of God!
God Bless you and may you prosper in all areas of your life!
Kingdom Dynamics
I was recently asked by a friend “Why is it so hard to accept the forgiveness that Jesus Christ offers through salvation?” As time passed, the Holy Spirit reminded me of that not-so-distant conversation. I decided that I wanted to create a blog to unpack my thoughts on this matter to help others who may be feeling this same way.
Here is an example: I was a sinner for 30 years so it should take more than asking for forgiveness and baptism to save me.
At times, people get stuck at salvation or after baptism because they don’t understand how to move forward, which makes it difficult to believe. There are many reasons for not understanding how to take the next step. It could be that the next steps were not provided, leaving the individual hanging onto the moment, or maybe they were too nervous or embarrassed to ask what comes next. I would think it is more common than not, to feel the latter way. When the one saying yes takes the step forward, choosing to commit themselves to Jesus and baptism, they may sabotage their transformation because of lack of knowledge of their new commitment, and often, they begin to doubt what has freely been given to them. The enemy comes in and makes them think that they don’t deserve a second chance. Because of lack of understanding, they can’t remove the negative thoughts therefore, they fester into an imagination that leads to strongholds, bringing them back to where they started. The lies of the enemy will keep us from our life destiny.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26 NKJV
Jesus has always been there since the beginning of time. In Genesis, when God said, “Let us make man in Our image”, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (the trinity), were all in heaven helping to bring creation into existence. Because the first Adam was unsuccessful, God had a plan for all of humanity. Jesus came to die for the sins of the world so that we could be redeemed. When we say yes to Jesus, He takes our sins from us, making us new again. In Baptism, our old self dies and we rise as new creations, starting the process of transformation. Jesus is the Door to the Father. When we accept Jesus, we also get the Father and the Holy Spirit as a bonus. Part of this transformation that takes place gives us direct access to the Father making it possible to go to Him at any time to ask for forgiveness and much more. Our adoption, this new relationship with the Father, occurs at the time of accepting Jesus Christ along with our inheritance being sons and daughters of the Most High. This birthright is how we can receive God’s grace and mercy when we mess up. When we understand this, we can move forward with the transformation process. There is so much more in store for us. Part of our advancement is to obtain justification through Christ, become righteous, and learn how to walk it all out in life. I recommend reading the book of Romans to better understand this.
Our lack of knowledge can set us back. When we do not understand what saying “Yes” to Jesus means, we essentially are living in a state of apprehension or confusion. In simpler words…lost. The attitude then becomes to look for a way out of what we have done, running from Jesus thinking that “If I do this,” everything will be back to what it was. Wrong answer. Things usually get worse. We may feel good for a bit but then soon realize we don’t feel any different. This is because the transformation did not occur outwardly but took place within. The outward change is something that you work on daily throughout your life. However, the lack of not understanding or not being equipped enough for the decision you made, can keep you from walking out your destiny and reverting to the old you. I want to also make the point that when we choose to say “Yes” to Jesus, things are not always peachy-keen. In fact, at times things may get rough but it is through our hope, faith, and belief in our Father, that we place our trust to get through. These times seem hard when we are experiencing them however, we must remember that He knew us before we were in the womb, and we will go through the fire at times to be made new. There are also many other times where the enemy will not want us to make breakthroughs and our lives may be difficult during those times. For today’s thought, we won’t get into the above-mentioned details.
When you become a new creation in Christ, it is your inner man; your spirit that begins to heal. Your way of thinking is followed by belief and faith that you have been forgiven hence your new life begins to move forward. The outward you still will see life as what it is, because life has not changed; you have changed. You will still have choices each day that you must make. The difference is knowing the choice of salvation that you made. The step that was taken to begin the journey of becoming whole should make us think twice about each decision we make. But if we do not have any understanding past the commitment of salvation that was made, we often fall short of what God has for us. The process of setting ourselves aside, making choices that bring goodness into our lives and joy to the Father, is called sanctification. It is a life process of how we walk out our lives becoming right with our Father. This is how we learn to carry the heart of God. Our hearts become aligned with His. We start doubting ourselves because we can’t “feel” the change. We start thinking that we have done so much wrong and that saying yes to Jesus is “just too easy.” We soon find ourselves back to our old ways. We have just taken Jesus back to the cross because of a lack of an understanding of the whole redemption process. It is easy to do if we lack the knowledge of what Jesus did for us. When we say yes to Jesus and with having the right heart in hopes and belief that He has much to give us and take from us, we too can prosper as His word states. Then all that is left is to believe that Jesus saved us by taking our sins away making us new.
God has so much in store for us. He wants to bless us with more than what we can imagine. We have to be willing to understand the process and believe in what the Lord has for us. We have to also pick up our Bible and start reading it. The Bible is living and has been manifested for us to learn to walk as new creations. We must learn to have a strong prayer life. Prayer surpasses asking for things. It is more about what you can do for the Father, not what He can do for you. When you feel the love of the Father you will want to share what you have received with the world. Wise counsel, friends who you can depend on for accountability is a necessity. These friends will listen to you, correct you and push you forward into your destiny. God will bring the ones you need. Before you know it, you will no longer be conformed but transformed into the image of the likeness of Jesus. For all of this to become a reality, we must understand the Good News of Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. We cannot go into saying yes to Jesus blindly. We often get lost in our ways when we do not have someone to shine the light for us. We need each other. When we make it to the Door, we must walk through with confidence that our life is about to take a 360 turn for the best. Will you hold for the ride?
You were made for more and You are greatly loved!
May God Bless you
Saying Yes in Unbelief
I was reading Mark 16:11-20 the other day and began to see how similar we are to the disciples of long ago. The questions that we have today about the wondrous ways of the Father, the signs and the miracles were also things these aged ones pondered. In fact, while reading Mark16, the Holy Spirit pointed out to me that the disciples doubted that Jesus could indeed come back from the dead.
Let’s take a look at Mark 16:11-20 After the Sabbath, a couple of Mary’s (Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Jacob and Salome) went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices to preserve it. On their way, they were talking about who would roll away the tomb. When they reached their destination, they saw that the stone was already removed from the entrance. Upon entering, not only was Jesus’ body gone but an angel was waiting for them. Can you imagine what they were thinking? Jesus was gone and the angel told them not to worry because Jesus had risen from the dead. The angel instructed them to tell the disciples what happened and that they would see Jesus again. Unfortunately, they did not believe it. Take a look at Mark 16 to see the beautiful ending.
Even in their unbelief the disciples continued to say Yes! The disciples just needed that injection of the Holy Spirit. They were normal average Joe’s, like us. I’m sure they had all kinds of talks about things they witnessed. The astounding thing is that they ALL chose to follow Jesus, even in their unbelief. With that being said, they had a “feeling” to step out in obedience. That feeling is what I call an “unction to function”. Even in their humanness, being of worldly thoughts and such, they chose to believe. They needed to receive the Holy Spirit to do more and to know God differently. Through the injection of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were able to be vessels spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. They were supernaturally equipped to do the unfinished work of the cross. When I think of the Mark 16 passage, I think of the magnificence of God: All- knowing all- powerful, and when the disciples said YES to follow Jesus, their work began.
When we accept Jesus Christ it is also the beginning for us. God has so much for us. We need to ignite our faith by engaging in biblical stories. They will help our belief to grow in abundance and in turn our faith will catch fire. Our relationship with God will grow deeper and the hunger will come alive within us. Reading the living word of God activates our Spirit to flourish! It’s one thing to receive Jesus and another to walk it out. The disciples started their walk in Acts 2 with gifts of signs wonders and miracles. When we say, “Yes” the gifts we receive speak into the lives of the lost. God’s timing is wonderful. He chose us when we didn’t think we could be chosen. Even in saying yes, we were still lost in our ways. He found us when we clung to Him. He became a part of us in our obedience. We are much like the disciples in our thoughts and actions. May you catch the fire through digging deeper into the word of God and find it in yourself to say, “Yes” even when your thoughts are wavering and your times are difficult. Let that tiny word show you the beauty and all that comes with it.
God Gives Good Gifts
I think the thing we most often forget is that everything we have been given by God is not actually for us but to be used through us. We are given spiritual gifts for the kingdom. These gifts given by God are for us to use and excel in them. I look at them as planting seeds for the kingdom of God to grow. These gifts are to build up the one in front of us. We are the church, not the building that houses us. Each has different giftings that are uniquely crafted for us. When we find and use these gifts, they produce a power to build us up and allow the Lord’s assignments to be carried out. Our obedience in walking out our calling reflects and magnifies our King. This is part of the kingdom’s dynamics.
We receive these gifts when we accept Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. For some, they begin to walk in them immediately while for others it takes time to find them, get to know them, and learn to use them. We are all different and God has a specified time for when they will come into operation Our timing is not God’s timing. He lives outside of time. When we choose Jesus, we are adopted into the family of God. God gives us these inherited gifts to walk out our callings as Sons and Daughters of the Lord. We are not called to hide our gifts, nor be proud of them and boast in them but we are called to use them for the good of all people by lifting, encouraging, and exhorting those on our journey.
We have been tasked to help the Father gather the harvest of people on the earth. He will leave no sheep behind and we have been called to carry on what Jesus started here. We are modern-day disciples carrying and releasing the word and spirit of God within us while mirror-imaging the Son of God. God has blessed us to carry these gifts that manifest through the Holy Spirit bringing people to the Father through Jesus. We are called to give hope, instill belief, and create a deeper faith. When we operate in the gifts of the Spirit, oftentimes we realize that the one in front of us makes an impact in our own life. These gifts produce agape love. This kind of love only comes from God. It is an unconditional love that flows through our being spiritually and touches the one in front of us.
God loves us so much that He purposed these gifts within us to reflect Him and to show the world who He is. These gifts are irrevocable. Part of finding our destiny is to find our gifts and learn to use them for the glory of the Lord. As we mature in our giftings, the love from within us hungers for more. The feeling it produces fills us and can’t be replaced by anything in the world. It’s the love of God and when we love the one in front of us it creates a desire in our heart for more. What Gifts of the Spirit has God given you?
God is delighted with our desires when we are walking in His ways. Psalm 37:4