Your Truest Ministry (Part 1)

As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children on of God.  The Apostle Paul 

What do you as a follower of Christ need to be doing, all day, everyday?

The answer to this question determines your effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, in God's purposes.

Look at the question again.

What key words do you see?
There should be two:

• Follower
• Doing

Followers follows. 
They do what their leaders command and empower them to do.

As a follower of Christ Jesus, you should follow the His Spirit

in using the spiritual gift He's given you. 

This is your truest ministry. 

 

These are the steps in fulfilling your ministry:

1. Know how the Spirit leads you.
2. Know how to use your spiritual gift.
3. Follow the Spirit's leading.
4. Use your spiritual gift.


Let's focus on number one.

KNOW HOW THE SPIRIT LEADS YOU.
The first level of the Spirit's leading is Spirit led conscience, or a sense of the peace of God as you are about to make a decision.  It's like a "red, yellow, or green light" that you sense when you think through what to do.  For example, you pray and ask God if you should or should not take a job offer.  You express your thoughts, feelings, and desires about the job offer.  You then wait to sense the Spirit's leading.  You feel a "red light," a sense that you should not take the job, even though it "makes sense for you to do so."  Or you sense a "green light" to take the job, even though it does not make sense to do so.  Or maybe you feel a "yellow light" to wait and pray more. 

In the beginning of following the Spirit, He will lead you with the peace of God, which is incomprehensible and perfect. It "surpasses all understanding," and it is a complete deep down sense of peace.  This is how the Spirit leads you in the beginning, and is a basic way to sense and know His direction in your life.  As you mature, the red/yellow/green lights will become more specific--you'll receive more specific intuitive revelations. You won't simply present things to the Spirit for Him to approve or disapprove through peace, or a lack of peace.  As you grow in your faithfulness in following your Spirit led conscience, He will initiate revelations and directions through your Spirit led intuition.  And the more faithful you are to Spirit lead intuition, the more specific the revelation, until it become a conversation--spiritual communion.  In other words, you will come to know the very voice of God. 

Know how the Spirit leads you by being faithful to your Spirit led conscience, to peace of God, to the red light/yellow light/green light.

(To be continued.)

Has God Ever Failed You?

Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.  Joshua 21:45

 

When? 

 

When has God failed you?

 

Make your case against God, and make your case for yourself.

 

After all, to make a case against the trustworthiness of God assumes that you have never failed Him, or anyone else.

 

When has God promised you something and then broke His promise?
Make your case.  Accuse the Almighty.  And show yourself trustworthy, one who has kept every promise, to God, and to people.

 

When has God told you He would do something, and then failed to do what He said?
Make your case.  Give evidence of God lying to you.  And show that you've never lied since you learned to talk.

 

The trustworthiness of God has been questioned since The Garden of Eden:

• “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
• "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

According to Satan, you can't REALLY know what God means. 
According to Satan, you can't trust God's words at all. 
He said, "You will surely die."  But Satan said, "You will not surely die."


Who do you believe?
Who can be trusted?


Has God ever lied to you?
Have you ever lied to God, or anyone else?


I look on my life and see God taking care of me faithfully.
He's never lied to me or deceived me.
He's always been straightforward with me, and with you.


I know this because it is impossible for God to lie.
When He speaks, He acts.
When He promises, He fulfills.


God has never failed you, and He never will.
Wherever you are in your life, and whatever you need from God right now, He will provide it.


If you agree, pray this prayer with me:


"Our Father in heaven, You are perfectly trustworthy.  I place my complete confidence in You to be who You claim to be, and to do what you promise to do.  In the name of Jesus, my life is yours. I will follow Your Spirit wherever He leads me to day, and every day.  Amen."

Your Only Goal. Your Single Purpose.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

If you believe in Jesus, you have one goal:  Obey the Holy Spirit.
If you believe in Jesus, you have one purpose:  Honor the Holy Spirit.

Nothing else matters.
Everything is encompassed in this.

If each of us who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, obeyed His Spirit to honor His Spirit, we would have everything God intended us to have on earth:

1. We would have The Perfect Unity Christ prayed for in John 17.
2. Non-Believers would experience conviction leading to salvation.
3. Believers would experience edification leading to sanctification.
4. Believers, individually and collectively, would understand the Bible as each read it alone, and through Spirit led Bible teachers and pastors.  The Spirit inspired the scriptures, so He, the author, would give us true and unifying revelation.
5.  We would bear the fruit of the Spirit and use the gifts of the Spirit, manifesting the Spirit to believers and non believers.
6. The gospel, empowered by the Spirit, would reach the entire world, and then the end would come.

If we would only obey the Spirit as our only goal, and honor the Spirit as our only purpose, the Name of Jesus would be glorified on earth, and the Father would send His Son for His church.

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come."

What about you?

What is your only goal and purpose as a follower of Jesus?

Right now, commit to one goal:  Obeying the Spirit of Christ.
Right now commit to one purpose:  Honoring the Spirit of Christ.

Jesus is alive.  Risen.  Ascended.
He is on earth by His Spirit.  Alive.  In you.

Obey Him.
Honor Him.

Read the prayer below, and if you agree, pray it with me.

"Our Father in Heaven, In the name of Jesus, I ask you to lead me by Your Spirit that I may honor the Presence of Your Spirit on earth.  From now on I have one goal:  To obey your Spirit.  From now on I have one purpose: To honor your Spirit.  In the name of Jesus, Amen."

How To Discover and Use Your Supernatural Power Today (Part 3)

DAVID'S SUCCESSES
Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.  1 Samuel 17:36

Compare a lion and a bear with Goliath.  As strong, big, and powerful as Goliath was, it's hard to believe that even he was a match for a lion or a bear.  So David knew that if God give him success, as a shepherd, to kill a lion and a bear, God could give him success in killing Goliath. 

Again, David was a shepherd, like Moses was.  But what was in David's hand was a slingshot.  A weapon he'd used before.  A weapon he was "used to."  Remember?  King Saul tried to give David his armor, but David refused Saul's armor because David wasn't "used to them."  David did what he was used to, using the weapons of his past successes from God.

Where have you been successful in the past?  What do you KNOW you are good at because you've succeeded in the past in doing it?  What are you "used to" in finding success or victory? 

This is the staff in your hand, like Moses' staff.
This is the strength that you have, like Gideon's strength.
This is your slingshot, what you are used to, like David's sling.

If you do what you KNOW has brought you success in the past, but do it now, in the present, for the glory of God, He will take your natural success and make it His supernatural success in your situation.

Learn from Moses.
Learn from Gideon.
Learn from David.

Click HERE for part 4.

How To Discover and Use Your Supernatural Power Today (Part 2)

GIDEON'S STRENGTH
The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"  Judges 6:14

God called Gideon a "mighty warrior."  God said that He was with Gideon, and was sending Gideon to save Israel from Midian, Israel's idol worshiping enemies.  But Gideon felt insecure, and was uncertain that he could defeat Midian.  So what did God say to Gideon?

"Go in the strength you have."

Not in the strength you WILL have.
Not in the strength God WILL give you.

Gideon was to go in the strength he already had at that moment. 

God assumed Gideon knew what that strength was and how to use it.
He assumes the same with you.

What is your strength right now? Your talent or skill?  Your sure and true ability?

The natural strength that you have, right now, will become supernatural ability from God, in whatever context you are in.

At your job, whatever your "staff" is, whatever your strength is, use it go honor God.  If you do this, the natural will become supernatural, the simple will become a miracle, the physical will become physical.  For example.

Lets say you're good at organizing things.  Bringing order.  That is your strength.  Your "instrument" is a planner.  Now the Apostle Paul said these words to the church in Corinth, "God is not the author of disorder, but of peace."  So you have an ability that resembles the ability of God:  The ability to bring order.  When you use this ability "naturally," the Spirit of God will manifest it supernaturally, so that His order and your order become one.  People will feel the order that is present in the kingdom of God, a spiritual and supernatural order in the atmosphere where you work, or even in your home.  They will comment on it. "It always feels so peaceful in your home/your office."  I know this because I've experienced it first hand.  I've brought order in my home or job, in the name of the Spirit of Christ, and people consistently comment on how it feels in my home or in my work space.

Whatever your strength is, that is all God requires you to use to do miracles, to perform the supernatural. 

Learn from Moses to use what is in your hand to do miracles.
Learn from Gideon to use the strength that you have to do miracles.
Learn from David use your past successes for present power to do miracles.
Click HERE for part 3.

How To Discover and Use Your Supernatural Power Today (Part 1)

You have supernatural power if you believe in the Lord Jesus.  He said it.  "You will receive (supernatural/miraculous) power when the Spirit comes upon you."  Now the question is, how do you discover and use your supernatural power?  By learning from Moses, Gideon, and David.

MOSES' STAFF
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”  Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”  “A staff,” he replied.  The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”  Exodus 4:1-3

When God called Moses as the deliverer of Israel, Moses was a shepherd.  A shepherd uses a staff to lead his sheep and protect them from predators.  There is nothing supernatural about a staff.  Every shepherd had and used them.  It was no different for Moses.  When Moses wanted assurance of God's presence and power with him, what did God say?  God focused Moses on what he already had and what he already knew:  his shepherd's staff.  He focused Moses on an ability that Moses already had: the ability to simply throw his staff on the ground.  Moses knew his staff, and he knew how to throw it down.  That was it. That was all it took to see a miracle, the supernatural connected to the natural, the spiritual united the physical--a staff becoming a snake.

The question I ask you with God's Spirit is this:  What is that in YOUR hand?

What is your job right now, and what instrument do you use to do your job?

A pencil or pen?
A hammer or wrench?

Right now a keyboard is under my finger tips as I type words from the Spirit of God.  But I learned how to type in high school.  Typing is natural.  But the words from the Spirit that I type are supernatural.  What is in my hand is a keyboard. Typing is easy.  Using the keyboard is something I know how to do.

Throwing down a staff was easy for Moses.  He'd been using his shepherd's staff for 40 years.  In the same way, whatever your job is right now, as you read, and whatever instrument you use to do your job, the job you know how to do, that is the very instrument of supernatural power that God has given you. 

Learn from Moses to use what is in your hand right now. And learn from Gideon to use the strength that you have.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2.

How To Discover and Use Your Supernatural Power Today (Part 4)

"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”  Luke 24:49


Jesus was talking to His 11 followers, those who were with Him for three years, who saw Him perform miracles, who performed miracles with Him.  They knew their mission:  Preach the gospel and make disciples.  They were to simply bear witness to what they had seen and heard for three years.  Who was more qualified to be a witness than the 11 apostles of Jesus Christ, the risen Savior, standing in front of them?


And yet, He told them to stay in in the city until they had been "clothed with power from on high."  Until they received power from the Spirit, they were not to go out and bear witness to what they had seen and heard.  The same principle is true for you and me.  We dare not attempt to be witnesses of Christ without the supernatural power of the Spirit. 


This supernatural power is not hard to experience or use.  You already know what is in your hand, the instrument of your natural or physical job. You already know the strength that you have, your talent or skill that you've already been using.  You already know where you have succeeded in the past, and how you are used to achieving success.


God will give you supernatural power by His Spirit when you use your natural gifts for His glory.  You will discover and use your supernatural power today when you present to him your "staff, when you "go in the strength that you have," and when you do "what you're used to" to succeed.


Please read the prayer below.  After you read it, if you agree with it, pray it with me.


"Our Father in heaven, You gave me abilities, strengths, talents, and past successes.  Now I offer these to You for Your glory.  I will use these today to honor you.  What I do in the natural, give me power in the supernatural, so that people will know that there is no way I could have done these things except by your Spirit and His power.  By faith, I expect supernatural power in my life today.  In the name of Jesus, amen."


Now, at your job, or in your home, focus on using what you know, what you have, what you are used to, and what you are good at, but this time, before you do, say, "Holy Spirit, I give this ability to you, in Jesus name, for the glory of God."  Then just do what you know how to do, doing whatever comes easiest for you.


Remember, it was easy for Moses to simply throw down his staff.  This power from God gives Him glory because you will know it doesn't come by you straining and struggling.  Moses just threw down the staff, but God made it a snake.  Gideon did what he knew how to do, going in the strength he had, and God gave Gideon victory. David used the sling shot he had been used to, and God gave Him victory over Goliath.


In the same way, use the ability that comes easy for God's glory, and you will perform a miracle today where you are.

Two Tips for Being Led By The Spirit (Part 1)

...if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  ...the fruit of the Spirit is...peace...and self-control.  Galatians 5:18, 22-23


How can you know without doubt you are being led by the Spirit of God?  After all, this is the essence of the life a disciple:  to follow the Spirit of Christ wherever He leads you.  You must know.  You can know.  By the end of my words, you will know.

The Lord Jesus affirmed the words of Moses when He said, "Let everything be established by two or three witnesses."  So let's establish the certainty of following the Spirit with two witnesses:

1. Peace

2. Self-Control.

You can know without a doubt you are being led by the Spirit of Christ if you experience perfect, incomprehensible peace and complete self-control. 

Let's explore both.

BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT RESULTS IN PEACE.

Not just any kind of peace, mind you, but what the Apostle Paul calls "the peace of God."  God's peace has two characteristics:

• It's perfect.
• It's incomprehensible, or "surpasses all understanding."

This means that it is complete and can't be explained any other way than being from God.  For example.  You pray about whether you should take a job offer or not.  The job doesn't seem quite right for you.  It's not in the location you wanted, and it doesn't pay what you think you need. But for some reason, you feel complete peace about the job, and the peace doesn't make any sense at all to you.  Yet deep inside, you have a deep sense of inner tranquility when you consider the job offer.  That peace is the peace of God, surpassing all understanding.  When you feel that, you can know that you are following the Spirit.

Now imagine you are in a different job situation.  You have a job opportunity that seems absolutely perfect in every way.  Perfect location. Perfect pay.  Perfect responsibilities.  You like the people, the boss, the office.  Yet for some reason, you just don't feel right about the job, and it makes no sense to you why you don't.  No matter how you try to rationalize your decision to take this perfect job, you feel deep inside you shouldn't, though there is no physical evidence against the job.  This is the Spirit leading you away from the job, if you will listen.  The Spirit will lead you by the Peace of God, one of the fruit of the Spirit.  He will also lead you through self-control.  Find out how.  Click here.

Two Tips for Being Led By The Spirit (Part 2)

BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT RESULTS IN SELF-CONTROL
The Apostle Paul also said that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."  The Holy Spirit is not a demon, so He doesn't "possess" people.  He doesn't make you do anything by force, coercision, manipulation, or domination.  You will have time to think and choose freely to be led by Him, or to refuse His leading.  You will be able to follow the peace of God, or to refuse to follow it.


Understand this.  Sometimes the peace of God will agree with "the perfect job scenario."  Sometimes it won't.  In other words, sometimes things will "make sense," and you will feel the peace of God.  The issue is not whether things make sense logically or not, but the perfect incomprehensible peace of God and the freedom to choose or refuse this peace as His guidance.


If you feel forced to decide, its not the Spirit of God leading you.
Even if the Spirit is urging you to act in a kind of emergency situation, you will still have strong sense of freedom and the incomprehensible peace God. 


In a word:  CERTAINTY.


If you feel uncertain as to whether the Spirit is leading, it's not the Spirit.


I'll say it again.


Whenever and however the Spirit of Jesus Christ leads you, YOU WILL BE CERTAIN IT IS HIM.


By peace and self-control, you can know without doubt the Spirit is leading you.


Of course, the Spirit will never contradict the Bible.  But we're talking about scenarios that aren't spelled out in the Bible, like which job to take. 

 

And of course, because self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, God doesn't need to lead you to brush your teeth or comb your hair.  There are some things you already know to do and have a responsibility to do.  You know to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself.  But how to love your specific neighbor is where the Spirit will lead you through peace and self-control.  How to love God with all your heart in your specific life will require the guidance of His Spirit.

 

Now you know.
Now you can tell if the Spirit is leading you.

 

• What is the Spirit leading you to do right now?
• Where do you sense the perfect incomprehensible peace of God that you are free to choose or refuse?

 

Right now, seek the Spirit's leading. 
Read the prayer below, and if you agree, pray it with me:

 

"Our Father in Heaven, in the name of Jesus, lead me by your Spirit right now."

 

Whatever the Spirit leads you to do, it will be with certainty.  You will be free.  You will feel perfect peace.  Do it without hesitation, and your faith will grow.  You will grow in knowing how it feels to be led by the Spirit. God bless you as you follow Him, step by step, moment my moment, today and everyday of your life, until Jesus returns. Amen.

The Reality of Bible Stories For Your Life

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you."  Genesis 12:1


What comes to your mind when you imagine the verse above?  Many times in church we read that verse, or verses like it, about "The Promised Land," and we start to symbolize and spiritualize it.  We start to think about our "promised land."  But we don't realize that for Abram, this was a literal historical event.  Abram had a real country, and he was part of a real people.  He had a real father, and was part of a real household.  And the real God told him to leave all of this and go to a land He would show Abram.  In other words, Abram had to really leave where he lived and go to a completely unknown land.


Now imagine the real God comes to you, to your real home, and tells you to leave and go somewhere that "He will show you."  I'll do it for you.  Now I'm supposed to give a months notice before I leave my apartment, but God is telling me to leave now.  I haven't packed or planned.  I haven't given my two weeks notice at my job.  I don't know where God is telling me to go yet, so I don't know how much gas I'm going to need.  All I know is that the Creator of heaven and earth is telling me to leave where I am and go where I don't know.  And this is real.  This isn't just a nice Sunday School lesson where I make up a symbolic or spiritualized application.  God is telling me to leave my real house.  And He could do the same thing with you.


In fact, He probably already has, or is about to.


Every new phase in your life is a very real time of God leading you into that new phase.  Sometimes He may lead you gradually and according to the natural scheme of things, like giving a two week notice to your job, or a month notice before you move out of your apartment or house.  But sometimes God by passes the natural order of things and tells you to simply follow Him, like Jesus did with His apostles.  Peter, Andrew, James, and John simply got up and left their fishing businesses.  No two weeks notices.  No plan.  They just left.  And this was not a Sunday School Story for them.


The reality of the Bible stories in your life is that God is still the same God who requires real acts of faith and obedience from us today. 


God may say to you what He said to Abram.  Jesus may simply say, "Follow Me," and if you hesitate, He will consider you unworthy to be called His disciple.  Commit right now to see Bible stories as real, historical, literal.  Don't symbolize or spiritualize them.  They really happened, and are still happening, because God is real in your life.


If you agree with the prayer below, pray it with me:


"God of Abram, Lord Jesus who calls me to follow You, I acknowledge you as real. All that has happened in the Bible is real.  Not just symbols.  You are my God just as You were Abram's God, and You have the authority to command me to leave where I am and go wherever You say.  Lord Jesus, You can command me to leave my job and life just as You did with the apostles. I give my life to You to literally do whatever You want me to, and to go wherever You want me to go.  Amen."


Now get ready! 
You may be leaving today.

Who Knows YOU?

So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.  Joshua 6:27


Wherever they are, God's people become famous.  Jesus called them the "light of the world;" The Lord said they were "a town built on a hill" that "could not be hidden."  They cannot be unknown.  You cannot be unknown if you are a child of God.  The Spirit of God is with you.  Your fame should spread throughout the land just as Joshua's fame spread throughout the land.  This was the case for all of God's people.


Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob became famous because God was with them.  The surrounding people always made this clear to them, saying things like, "We know God is with you.  Now please show us favor."


Potiphar saw and knew that God was with Joseph because Joseph succeeded in everything he did.


The surrounding nations were afraid of Moses and Israel, because Israel had become famous for having the Only True God in their midst.  Rahab the prostitute told the two spies sent by Joshua how Jericho melted in fear because of the fame of Israel.


This didn't stop in the Old Testament, or with Israel.  It was true of the church as well. John the Baptist became famous, so did Jesus, so did the apostles and the church, so that people highly regarded the apostles and the church, yet dared not take them lightly. 


What about you, child of God?



Is your fame spreading in your family, in your neighborhood, at your job?


Do people see and know that God is with you?
Do they identify you as a son or daughter of God?


If not, here are the two things you need to do to glorify God in this way:


1. Live in such a way that it is impossible to not know you follow Jesus. 
Your life must be so devoted to God, at home, in your neighborhood, and at your job or school, that when people think of you, they think of the Lord Jesus.  For a believer, this should not be hard or something you have to force.  You should be where you are because the Lord led you there.  When people ask how you came to be where you are, you have a testimony.  It's who you are.  It's your life.  They should see you thank God for your food, reading scripture during your breaks, saying things like "God willing," when you speak of your future plans.  Your life should bear witness to Christ in very natural ways.  And people should see and know that Jesus is your Lord.


2. Follow the Spirit of Jesus in everything you do.
When you follow the Spirit, people will experience the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit in your life.  You will manifest the supernatural presence and power of God in your life, just as Joshua did, just as Moses did.  We serve the same awesome God.


If you agree with the prayer below, pray it with me:


"Our Father in heaven, glorify your Son in my life by His Spirit, so that I may be known as your child, wherever I am.  Amen."


Now think of two things you can deliberately do today, or continue to do, that point people directly to God.  Find a way to naturally and genuinely honor God in your conversations at home, in your neighborhood, or at work.  It's easy to do.  If you're married, at some point you mention your spouse.  If you have children, at some point you mention them.  They are a significant part of your life, so you can't talk about your life without talking about, unless you are ashamed of them.  In the same way, you can't talk for long without honoring God, if you live to honor God as the very meaning of your life.  Do this deliberately and prayerfully, seeking every opportunity to acknowledge Him.

How To REALLY CHANGE TODAY (Part 5)

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"

REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS.
Jesus gave two commands.  Commands.  Things He told those who were listening to do.  Not things He expected to be done to them or for them.  Things they who were listening to Him were to do themselves.


1.  Repent, and
2.  believe the good news.


As I said earlier, to "repent" means to change one's mind and purpose, to change how you think, and your reason for living.  Change it.  Right now. Why?  Because, as Jesus said, "The time is now." Not in 21 days.  Now.  But WHAT time is now?  Not just any time.  The time of the Kingdom of God, because "The Kingdom of God has come near."  Because today, right now, the Kingdom of God has come near, change the way you are thinking about life, and why you are living your life.  That's what Jesus told those who were listening to Him 2000 years ago, and that's what He's telling you now, if you want to really change today.  That's the first thing He says, but this is connected to the second thing, taking us back to the way to change.


He said to believe the good news.  What good news?  That the time is now and the Kingdom of God has come near.  There is no more waiting, no need to wait 21 days, or another moment.  Why?  Because the Kingdom of God was not, and is not, coming in 21 days.  It has already come, because the King has already come.  He is the change, remember.  Your relationship with and to Him is the change of mind and purpose--the repentance, that He COMMANDS.


I've heard someone say, "Repentance is a gift," as though it is something that can't happen unless God makes it happen.  This is completely false.  The "gift of repentance" would be the opportunity to change, but not a passive thing that is done to you or for you.  Imagine it like this.  Say I'm over weight, and my best friend gives me a treadmill, because I've been wanting one but didn't have the money.  He just gave me "the gift of repentance," an opportunity to change.  But he can't lose weight for me, or run the treadmill for me.  But if I repent, if I change my mind and purpose, and believe the good news that the treadmill is now mine, then I will experience a new body.  What is the change of mind and purpose?  I would stop thinking and acting like someone who didn't have a treadmill, and start thinking and acting like someone who has a treadmill. Why?  Because I in fact DO have a treadmill, which is good news for me!


So what is the good news for you, the good news that if you believe it will enable you to really change today?  (Click HERE to find out.)

How to REALLY CHANGE TODAY (Part 4)

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Mark, interpreter of Peter, one of the original followers of Jesus, the Son of God.


Let's break down what Jesus said, piece by piece.  Because in his words lie the means to you really changing today, whoever you are, wherever you are.


THE TIME HAS COME.
To the original hearers, this meant the waiting was over.  The prophecies or expectations they had for a change in their lives were presently being realized.  Again, the waiting for a permanent change was over for them.  Now to them, the change was a change of a very real life situation:  Roman Oppression.  They wanted their King to overthrow the emperor of Rome.  They wanted their status to change from oppressed slaves to the free people of God.  The name of that change for them, the people of God, receiving the promised God King, was indeed the Kingdom of God, the state of God's rule on earth, and the exaltation of God's people as fellow rulers of earth. 


THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS COME NEAR.
Again, Jesus proclaimed a present tense reality, and He could do so for this reason:  The definition or essence of a kingdom is the presence of the king.  The king is the kingdom, because the kingdom is simply the extension of the kings dominion or rule.  Because the God King had come, the kingdom of God had come with him. 


According to Jesus, The God King, The kingdom of God was no longer a past tense prophecy awaiting fulfillment, because "the time has come."  How did they know?  Because the King had come.

According to Jesus, The God King, The kingdom of God was no longer a far away hope, because "The Kingdom of God has come near."  How did they know? Because the King was near.


Jesus was the real change they wanted in their day.
Jesus is the real change you want today.


There was a time when He was not there, when He was far from them.  The change they wanted and were waiting for was over.  The change from the past in which He was absent and far from them, to the here and now, in which to He is present and near to them. 


If you can accept this, then you are beginning to see how you are going to permanently change today.

If you can accept that Jesus is the change you are seeking, or more specifically, your relationship with Him and to Him, then you can accept the permanent change of all changes, the all encompassing change that will change everything in your life and about your life.
(click HERE for part 5)

How to REALLY CHANGE TODAY (Part 3)

About 2000 years ago, a Jewish man named Mark wrote an account of the things done by another Jewish man named Jesus, told to him by one of Jesus' lead followers, whose name was Peter.  Peter followed Jesus, and so did many others, because they saw Jesus perform miracles, and because he spoke with power and authority unlike anything they had ever experienced.  Before Jesus began speaking with power and doing miracles, a man name John announced Jesus as the one the Jewish people were waiting on at that time.  The Jews were waiting for a King, a promised King according to prophecies given to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Their ancestors were the chosen people of the one true God, and their promised King, or Messiah, was the one who would cause them to be a blessing to all the people on earth. This King would  rescue them from the Romans, who were now occupying Jerusalem.  This King would not only be a descendent of Abraham, but a descendent of one of the Kings of Israel, a man of God named David.  God promised David that one of His descendants would be The King of Kings. 


Yet he wasn't just going to be a descendent of David, but of divine origin.  In other words, He was going to be The Son of God, born of a virgin woman, who we come to know later by the name of Mary.  The man named John that we spoke of earlier was a prophet, and he announced that Jesus was this very King that the Jews were waiting on, the son of David, the son of God.  God in the flesh.  God having become a man.  The proof that Jesus was, and is, the son of God, is that said He would die and rise from the dead after three days, and He did.  Peter saw him risen from the dead, and so did 500 other people at once. 


What does all of this have do with really changing today?
Please stay with me.  I'm giving you background to the words we're going to focus on.  And here they are, the words written by Mark, which came from Peter, about Jesus.


After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.  “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”


The key word in Mark's quote of Jesus is the word "repent."  This word is the core of what I'm sharing with you, the word that will show you how to really change today.  In fact, the word "repent" means, "to change one's mind or purpose."  Isn't that what we are focused on doing?  That's exactly what Jesus, who is God in a body, commanded His people to do.  Remember, God is the only supreme authority on change.  Keep reading to understand what Jesus said and meant.
Click HERE.

How to REALLY CHANGE TODAY (Part 2)

Who is the authority on changing?  Who knows more about changing than anyone else?  To answer that we have to find the authority on what things are in the first place.  In other words, to change from one thing assumes that you are another thing already.  The one who knows the most about change must know the most about what things are, and what they are supposed to be in the first place.  If you need to change the way your car drives, you have to go to someone who knows how your car is supposed to drive in the first place.  Who knows the most about your car?  Wouldn't it be the manufacturer, the designer or builder of your car?


And who else knows everything about what things are, and what they are supposed to be, but the Creator of all things and all beings, the God who made all things, including you?


What if you don't believe in God the Creator?  Even so,  you must agree that for you to change, you have to understand what you are, and what you are supposed to be, and why you are supposed to be it.  So even if you don't believe in God the Creator, stay with me.  What I'm going to say will help you to change today, if you want to.


Alright.  Here we go. From the beginning.  How to really change today.  Because the highest authority on change must be the Creator, I have to start with His words about change. The good news is that God became a man, one of us, to connect with us.  He came to tell us how to really change today.


click here for part 3

How to REALLY CHANGE TODAY (Part 1)

Are you someone who knows you need to change, but can't seem to do it, no matter how hard you try?  Have you been talking about the things that need to change in your life, but feeling like people are tired of hearing it, because you still haven't changed?


Let's focus on the words, "the things that need to change in your life."  Things changing.  Your life changing.  You changing.  What does all of that really mean?  Do you change yourself, or do circumstances change you?  Is there supposed to be a climactic event in your life that is  so dramatic it forces a permanent change of mind and action?  An event you really have no control over, so that you have to wait for this change to change you?  So that until then, you're simply stuck in the rut of being what you don't want to be, and doing what you don't want to do?


Does it really take 21 days to break and make habits? 
Is change a real possibility?


So many questions.
Is there an answer.


Yes.  There is good news.
There is an answer.
Change is not only possible, but probable.
You can change today.
You can change right now.


click Here to find out how.

How to REALLY CHANGE TODAY (PART 6)

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"


Here is the good news for you that will enable you to really change today:

Whatever permanent change you are seeking comes from your permanently changing your relationship to King Jesus:

Change your thinking about Him.

Change your purpose in relationship to Him. 

In His day, the Jews had an agenda for Him, a way they thought He should be, a purpose they thought He should fulfill. They thought of Him as a military leader, and their purpose for Him was to overthrow the Roman Government and establish "The Kingdom of God."  Now in their minds, the "Kingdom of God," meant "exalted Israel," and the purpose of the Kingdom of God was for Israel to rule the world as "the chosen people of God."


But what did Jesus, their real Messiah say?
REPENT.


What did John, the herald of the King day?
REPENT.


They had to change the way they thought about Jesus and His purpose.  The real King was in front of them, and they needed to accept Him, and His purpose, for what they really were, and what they really are.


The very same thing is true for you.

All of your problems and solutions revolve around how you think about Jesus in your life, if you think of Him at all, and what you think His purpose is in your life, and for your life.


You thought you needed to change how you respond to circumstances and situations.  You think you need to be more patient or positive or proactive.  But these thoughts, if they don't revolve around Jesus, whom you should think of as your very real Lord and King and Master, then your thoughts need to change.  You need to repent.  And if your purpose in being more patient or positive or proactive is for any reason other than to please your Lord and King and Master, then your purpose needs to change.  You need to repent.


You also need to believe the good news.  Again, what is the good news?  Here it is, once again.  Don't miss it.  According to Jesus Himself:


The time is now.  The kingdom of God is near.


Now.  Not the past.  Not in 21 days.
Near.  Not far in the past or future.


Your Savior, the one and only one who can bring permanent change to your life, has already come.  He died and rose from the dead so that you may die with Him and rise from the dead, for you to be "born again," which means permanent change, for you to permanently change from

•  a child of Adam to a child of God.
• from a slave of sin/addiction/your body/your past to a free man or woman, self-controlled, following the Spirit of Christ, who is in those who repent and believe the good news about Jesus.

It's not your habits, or habitual responses to circumstances that needs to change.  It's what you believe about Jesus that needs to change.  You haven't been able to permanently change, and you won't be able to permanently change, until you believe that Jesus is who He says He is, Your Savior and Lord, and until you believe He did what He said He would do:  That He died for your past so that you would die to your past.  He rose to give you a new life, a permanently changed life, so that you may indeed permanently change.


Yet again, what is this permanent change of mind and purpose in your life?  It is the Kingdom of God in your life, summed up in "The Lord's Prayer,"


"Let your Kingdom come.  Let your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."


How is God's will done in heaven?
Absolutely.


There is one will in heaven, and one alone:  God's will.
The permanent change in your life is to live from now on, while you are on earth, exactly how the angels and God's people live in heaven.


How would this change your attitude, or whatever you're trying and failing to change about yourself?


If you aren't living for your will, but for God's alone, wouldn't that make you more patient, or positive, or proactive?  The truest definition of patience is to wait for God to show you His will.  Paul, a follower of Jesus, described Gods will as "good, acceptable, and perfect."  Is there anything more positive than that?  Thus, if you're focused only on God's will, won't you be patient and positive without even trying to be?


The issue is whether you really believe the good news or not.  Actions speak louder than words.  Or put another way, as Jesus' brother James said, "Faith without works is dead," or useless. 


If you really believe, or act based on the truth, that Jesus is not only the King of Kings, but your King and Master, then this will change how you think about your life, and the purpose of your life.  The patience of a self centered person will always run out, like the strength of your muscles always run out.  There's only so long patience that is focused on self-centered desires can last, because the selfish person is never satisfied.  He can't be.  He's trying to find eternal satisfaction in a temporal source: his selfish desires, whatever they are.


But if you stop focusing on your self (change your mind) and stop living to fulfill your own self centered desires (change your purpose), you will find that satisfying Jesus is easier than satisfying yourself.  Being patient with Jesus is easier than being patient with yourself or circumstances.  Being positive about Jesus is easier than being positive about your circumstances.  Jesus never wants you to wait longer than you can bear to wait.  And He never falls short of your expectations.


This is how you are to really change today:
Change the way you think about Jesus.
Change your purpose in relationship to Jesus.


Read the prayer below.
If you agree, pray it with me:


"Jesus, I used to live for myself, with no thought of God or you as God.  I didn't use to think about you or focus on your will alone.  Now I choose to change my focus, from myself to you, from my desires to yours alone.  I used to live for myself, for whatever I wanted to happen at the time, leading me most of the time to frustration and dissatisfaction, because I tried to find happiness in things other than you.  My purpose was happiness, but without you as my happiness.  I now change my purpose: to find my happiness in you alone.  I choose to do this in obedience to your commands to repent and believe the good news.  You command me to do this, so neither you nor anyone else can or will do it for me.  I must do it, and I choose to do it right now.  I choose to repent and believe the good news."


If you have any more questions or comments about really changing today, leave a comment.
God bless you  as you do.

What You and Every Believer Should Be Doing

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.  Romans 12:6-8

 

Do you go to a car mechanic when you have a toothache? 
Do you go to a dentist when your car won't start?

 

Then why do we go to those in the body of Christ who are not spiritually gifted in an area of our spiritual need?

 

Every member of the Body of Christ has at least one spiritual gift, at least one ability to supernaturally meet each other's need to grow in the knowledge and likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

What you and every believer in Christ should be doing is this:

Only use your spiritual gift. 

Only do what you are spiritually gifted to do.

You do this in two ways:
1.  According to the grace given to you.
2. In accordance with your faith.

 

The grace given to you means the limitations of the gift God gave you.  You are not all powerful, so you can't do everything.  Even in the context of your spiritual gift, you have certain God given limitations.  For example, if God gave you the gift of teaching, you won't be able to teach everything and everybody, no matter the subject or context.  You will have a specific subject or topic, and a specific type of students that you are gifted and called to teach. So the first thing is to know the limit of your gift.

 

Next, know the limit of your ability to use your gift, what is "in accordance with your faith."  Go back to the teacher.  Say a teacher knows he is gifted in teaching science, and he knows he's gifted in teaching high school students.  He's not gifted in teaching English at all.  He's not gifted in teaching kindergarten students at all.  This is "according to the grace given him."  This is the limit of his teaching gift. 

 

Now what is "accordance with his faith" is his knowledge of how he approaches teaching, his own unique abilities and capabilities.  He's gifted in visual presentations of science, very good at painting mental images of his lessons.  His students, and fellow teachers recognize how gifted he is in putting scientific pictures in his students head that are unforgettable.

 

Apply this to spiritual gifts.

 

• You have a spiritual or supernatural ability from God, a spiritual gift. 
• This gift will have a limited jurisdiction or authority,
• It will fit your passion and imagination. 

-You know you have at least one spiritual gift because Paul the Apostle says so.  In his letters to the believers in Corinth, the Rome, and the Ephesus, Paul makes it clear that Christ by the Spirit has given every member of the Body of Christ at least one spiritual gift.
-You know that your gift is limited to a specific area because you're not God, you can't do everything.
-You know that your gift is connected to your faith, what you believe or what you can imagine according to your God given burden.


Do you know what your spiritual gift is?  Let's help you find out right now.  click HERE

What You and Every Believer Should Be Doing (Part 2)

Since you began to believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, how have you been most consistently helpful to believers?  Do believers ask your advice and thank you for your wisdom?  Perhaps your gift is "words of wisdom," as listed in the spiritual gifts list in First Corinthians 12.  Do believers ask you to pray for them consistently, and do they tell you that when you pray for them your prayers are consistently and undeniably answered?  Perhaps you have the gift of faith. 

• Whatever you do for believers that you consistently and successfully help them with, that is your spiritual gift.
• Whatever you do that believers confirm as consistently helpful to them spiritually, that is your spiritual gift. 

It will come as effortlessly as breathing.  It will be a passion or burden. It will be something you can imagine yourself doing successfully, and something you do without really thinking about it.  It's who you are in Christ.


Now, if you know what your gift is after reading the previous paragraph, what is your "measure of grace," and your "measure of faith?"  Who are you called to serve, and how are you called to serve them?

• Know the limits of your authority and ability.

If you are only  called to children ages 5-6, then stay focused on them and them only.
If you are called teach these children praise songs, then don't try to teach them bible verses.


AND


When you go to believers for help and strength, go them based on their gifts!  Only go those who are spiritually gifted in your area of spiritual need.
You don't go to car mechanics when you have a toothache.
You don't go to the dentist when your care won't start.


Do you have any comments or questions about your spiritual gift, what it is or how to use it?


Please comment or ask me questions in the comments section.


I look forward to connecting with you, and being strengthened by your spiritual gift.

The Evil One in Your Life

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  First Peter 5:8


If you believe in Jesus, you have a very real and personal enemy, one who opposes your faith in Christ and does everything in his power to destroy it.  You need not fear him, but you must be aware of him to effectively resist him.  You can't resist an enemy you give no thought to. 


Some say foolish things like, "Don't look for a demon behind every rock."  They assume a passive role in our warfare, as if we can act without knowledge of the invisible forces against us.  But we don't do this in the natural realms of our lives.  We don't do this when we go to the airport security lines.  The reason we don't is because of what we learned on September 11, 2001.


Our country was on high alert on that day, and the days after.  We realized we had invisible enemies.  We didn't know where they were or where they would strike.  So we were on high alert.  No one said, "Don't look for a terrorist behind every wall."  We did look, because we were at war.


In the same way, believer, you are at war. A war that has been won, but a war that still exists.  Jesus, our Lord and Savior, conquered Satan and sin and death once and for all and forever.  But Peter still warned Christians to be self controlled and watchful because of our adversary.  Peter saw Jesus risen and ascended, and yet he still knew that we must resist our enemy, being aware of our enemy's intent to devour us.  Our enemy prowls like a lion looking for us as his prey.


How do we remain aware of him?
How do we resist him?
(click HERE for to find out.)

The Evil One in Your Life (Part 2)

Do these three things to be aware of and resist the enemy in your life:


1.  Realize it's not an option.  Remember, Peter is giving a command.  We don't have an option in war if we expect to make it out alive.  Make a decision right now to take your enemy into account.  Jesus taught his followers what we have come to know as the Lord's prayer.  In that prayer, Jesus takes our enemy into account with these words:


"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."


So in the model prayer Jesus taught us, our enemy is acknowledged.  Not worshipped or feared or focused on, but recognized as someone with whom we have to deal with until Jesus returns.  Jesus taught his followers to pray against our enemy.  Thus, Jesus himself makes it clear that we are to take him into account.


2.  Realize the devil is actively aware of you.  If you believe what Peter is saying, then you won't go a day without actively watching for and resisting your personal enemy.  If the police put out a bulletin saying there is serial killer in your neighborhood who is looking for people who match your description, how would this affect your awareness?  To know that a killer is actively looking for you would make you actively look for him. Not worship him.  Not focus your life on him.  But make you aware that you need to not put yourself in a position where he can harm you.  The same is true with the devil, "the murderer." 


3.  Actively submit to God's word to you.  When you are in active submission to God, you will know the devil when he comes.  He will try to get you to do the opposite of God's will in all things.  God told Adam and Eve that the day they ate the forbidden fruit, they would surely die.  The serpent told Eve the opposite, that she "would not surely die."  So by knowing what God said, Eve should have known to resist anything that contradicts what God said.  The same is true for you.  You are responsible to know what God is saying to you, and to resist anything that contradicts what God is saying to you.


First read the prayer below that I've written in bold print.


(Always read prayers before praying them.  Never just pray a prayer until you read it and see if it agrees with the scriptures, and if the Spirit wants you to pray it.)


If you agree with my prayer, then pray this prayer to resist the evil one in your life:


"Our Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus, and by Your Spirit, in agreement with Your word, I submit to you and resist the devil that he may flee from me and my family.  I draw near to You so that You may draw near to me.  Help me to be aware of and to resist my enemy, today and always.  I choose to believe Your words, and I refuse to accept anything that contradicts Your words, for anything that contradicts Your words is a lie from the father of lies, Satan himself. In Jesus name I pray.  Amen."

Your God Given Commission

The Lord said to Moses, “Now the day of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, where I will commission him.” So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the tent of meeting.  Deuteronomy 31:14

God has a commission for you just as He had one for Joshua, just as real, just as powerful.  But how do you know it and live it?  Where is your Moses and your tent of meeting?  How has God called you, and how do you present yourself to His call? 

Here are two glimpses of your God given commission that you can look for in your life.

1. A Significant Transition
Moses' death was near.  But God's mission for Israel wasn't complete.  Moses needed a replacement.  Joshua had proven strong and faithful throughout Israel's journeys.  He and Caleb alone believed God could take them to the land of promise.  If you have been faithful in following the Lord in spite of obstacles, and you are witnessing a significant transition, seek the Lord's commission.

2.  A Significant Affirmation
Moses himself, a man clearly called and empowered by God, received the word of the Lord concerning Joshua's commission.  Moses took Joshua to the tent of meeting and gave Joshua words from God, and from himself.  In a time of significant transition, seek a significant affirmation.  Be sensitive to leaders in your life and especially to what they say to you and about you in relation to the transition.  These are glimpses into your God given commission.

Take your God given commission seriously, reverently seeking it until you find it.  Seek it through obedience to what you already know, and through prayer.

Pray this prayer with me,

"Our Father in heaven, we seek your God given commission.  If there are significant transitions and affirmations you have for me, show them to me.  I only want to do what You've commissioned me to do.  In Jesus name, Amen."

Now seek your God given commission with all you heart, continuing this prayer.
Let me know that the Lord shows you.  Leave a comment. God bless you.

How To Know God Will Reveal His Will To You

"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"  Matthew 7:11

If my son Matthias wanted to know my will for him, I'd gladly tell him.  The same is true for God your heavenly Father and you.

Let's say Matthias made a mistake in hearing or following my instructions, but I know he wants to do what I said.  All he wants is my will and pleasure.  What would I do about his mistake?  I'd redirect him.  If I wanted him to go left, but he went right, I'd say, "No Matthias, stop where you are and turn in the other direction." 

What if Matthias deliberately disobeyed my clear instructions?  What if I told him to empty the trash before going outside to play, but he went outside anyway, leaving an overflowing trash can in the kitchen?  My will for Matthias hasn't changed.  I would go outside and get Matthias, discipline him, and redirect him to do what I said in the first place.

Either way, as a father who is serious about my will being done, I would make this clear to Matthias if he wanted to know it.  I would redirect him if he made a mistake.  I would discipline and redirect him if he deliberately disobeyed.  But my will wouldn't change, and my revelation of my will to him would be clear, no matter what.  I love my son, and I want him to know what he's supposed to be doing.

If Matthias said, "Dad, all I want to do is your will, please tell me what it is,"  would I let him just "figure it out?"  Of course not.  I'd be very happy and humbled by my son's desire to please me, and I'd make my will as clear and easy to follow for him as possible. I'd help him do what I want him to do.  I'd be with him and give him what he needed to do it. 







You can know the will of God in the same way Matthias can know my will.  Ask your heavenly perfect Father right now what He wants you to do.  Be sincere.  If you really want His will more than anything else, it will touch His heart, just as it touches me to see my son trying to please me and do what I say.

Pray this prayer,

"Father God, all I want to do is Your will.  All I want is to be what You made me to be, and to do what You made me to do, where You made me to do it, how You made me to do it, and why You made me to do it.  I live to be what You made me to be.  Please show Your will to me, and provide for me to do it.  In Jesus name, and by your Spirit, and for you glory, Amen."

Until He reveals His unknown will to you, do His known will for you right now.  You know it's God's will for you to love your neighbor as yourself, for example. So love your nearest neighbor as yourself by treating him or her like you want to be treated.  Go ahead.  Whoever is near you, do something for him or her that you want him or her to do for you in the same situation.  Genuinely greet him.  Sincerely ask her how she's doing. If you are treating him like you want to be treated, you are doing God's known will in your life right now.  You can't know His unknown will unless you are doing His known will right now.

Know that if you prayed that prayer and meant it, you just touched the heart of God, and He will gladly and clearly show you His will:  what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and why to do it.  He will help you do His will, giving you everything you need to accomplish it.

 

The Very Next Step You Take In Your Life

Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide, in the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side; some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight, and the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.~James R. Lowell

 

Today, at this moment, while you are reading, you are in a state of decision. 

• You just made a decision. 
• You are making a decision. 
• You are about to make a decision.

It is a decision, for truth or falsehood.

It is a decision, for good or evil.

It is a decision, for God's will or yours.

"Or maybe I just decided which cereal I would eat. Maybe my 'decision' wasn't that big of a deal."

You know what I mean.

You know the decisions I'm talking about.

I'm talking about the very next step you take in your life.

God once asked a woman named Hagar,

"Where have you come from, and where are you going?"

Hagar made a decision to leave one situation and to seek out another.  God approached her at the very next step in her life.  So He is approaching me.  And He is also approaching you.

Ask yourself the question right now,

"Where have I come from, and where am I going?"

What is the very next step in your life?

The answer to this question should reveal the will of our God for you.

If it doesn't, then don't take another step.

Pray this prayer:

"God, show me where I've come from, where I am trying to go, and where you want me to go"

God gave us this promise in scripture:

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you."  Psalms 32:8

God will instruct you, teach you, and counsel you in the very next step you take in your life.  But it's your decision.  Your choice.  You may choose or refuse to follow His instructions.  This is your moment to decide.



How God Sees MEN and WOMEN (CONCLUSION)

What difference does all of this really make?  Really? 
Beards.
Long hair.
Short hair.

How is any of this relevant or useful for life, now or ever?

There is a war going on in this country that we are all aware of .

A war over the image of God.

That's what we are dealing with.

Something as simple as a beard makes a difference in the expression of God's image.
Something as simple as how long or short a woman's hair is may be the difference between the mystery of how Christian unity is known.

God meant it when He said man and woman are the image and likeness of God.
How we look and express this has eternal ramifications.

Seeing as God sees is seeing clearly.
Being what He made us to be is why we are here.

How God Sees MEN and WOMEN (Part 3)

"A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man." 
1 Corinthians 11:7

"Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering." 
First Corinthians 11:14-15

There are many ways to look masculine or feminine.  It depends on specific men and women and their expression of the masculine and feminine.  But one thing is certain, God wants men to look like men and women to look like women.  Undeniably.  Irresistibly.  Irrefutably.  Clear masculinity and femininity. 

Here are some ways to emphasize your God given gender distinction.  For this discussion, my focus is on the face of men and women.  It's our faces/heads, after all, by which we are primarily identified or known.  And from what the word of God says above, God gave us as men and women the hair on our heads to express His glory, and the glory of His glory.

FOR MEN
I mentioned in Part 2 your facial hair as distinctly masculine.  But what if you're not a "hairy man?"  What if you don't grow facial hair?  All is not lost.  In the Bible, Isaac's son Esau was very hairy, but his other son Jacob was smooth skinned.  Both were men; both were masculine.  So if your masculinity is expressed in being hairy, then be hairy. Yet if you're smooth skinned, you know how to express that in the masculine.  You may cut all of your hair off and display a chiseled face and powerful skull.  Or your masculinity may be expressed in the fierceness of your eyes.  You know what is distinctly masculine about your face.  So does your wife or girlfriend or friends.  Display for God's glory your unique physical masculinity, because God sees this as His glory. (click HERE for part 4)

How God Sees MEN and WOMEN (Part 4)

FOR WOMEN
At least in American Culture, it still seems traditional that women have long hair, or longer hair than men.  Yet even if or when a woman has short hair, she can still look very feminine.  I've noticed a difference between how women wear their hair, short or long, and how men wear their hair, short or long.  Usually, with men, there is much less "flourish," if you will.  When women have long or short hair, it's usually more elaborate, or flowery, or "polished."  You know what I mean.  Whereas when men have short or long hair, it's rougher, less "time taken."  Not unkempt or uncared for or unclean, but less..."pretty." Again, you know it when you see it.

As a woman, you already know what I'm talking about and how to do it.  You know how to bring out the femininity of your face. You've probably already read articles about different hair styles and lengths that accentuate your specific facial features or head. 

God has already put in men and women an intuition for the innate masculine and feminine in them. Go with what you already know.

If you are a man, and if you grow ANY facial hair AT ALL, I urge you to grow it.  If you're a very hairy man, let it show in your face.  If you don't grow much facial hair, however much you DO grow, let it grow.  Facial hair is THE distinguishing physical feature of men, the one thing men have that is distinctly theirs, given to them by God. Yet if you are smooth skinned, you already know what unique masculine trait God gave your face.  I think of men as either "lions/hairy," "eagles/smooth skinned," or "goats--i.e. goatees/some facial hair." You know what you are and how God made you.  Display His glory, which is your masculinity.

If you are woman, you know how to do your hair in such a way that it brings out your femininity.  You know the length and style.  You know what to do.  Display your femininity.  You are the glory of God's glory.

How God Sees MEN and WOMEN (Part 2)

GOD DETESTS THE NEGATION OF MASCULINE AND FEMININE DISTINCTIONS.

Detest is a strong word.  But it expresses how God genuinely feels when he sees a man dressing like a woman or a woman dressing like a man, whatever that means in whatever cultural context it is applied. Why does God feel such strong displeasure towards this?

Imagine something you immediately detest when you see it, like feces. 

Now imagine a picture or photo of one of the best events in your life, like when you graduated from high school, or college, or grad school.  Or any picture that captures you or a moment in your life that you deeply cherish.  It could be a wedding picture, or a picture of one of your children when he or she was born. It could be a picture of you and your parents, your siblings, your best friend.  Whatever the picture, it  captures your heart and soul.  It's beauty is not just the skill of photography, but it's one of those pictures that actually captures the moment, that really reflects the day or feeling.

Now imagine you come home, or wherever this picture is, and find it displayed in a way that you know the one who did it meant for you to see it...and it has feces smeared all over it.

How would you feel?

"Is it really that bad Olatunde?  Is cross dressing as disgusting as that?"

The word of God says the LORD "detests" when men dress like women and women dress like men.  The Hebrew word for "detest" is "toebah," which means an abomination, and object of loathing. 

Abomination is a strong word.
Loathing is a strong word.

So yes, it is as bad as I'm making it, or perhaps worse in God's eyes.

What should you do then?
Three things:

1.  Choose to see the distinction of masculine and feminine as God sees them.
2.  Choose to feel what God feels about these distinctions.
3.  Choose to act on this by expressing that distinction in your own life. 

If you are man embrace something that distinguishes your masculinity, like your facial hair.  Let it grow from this point on.  Whatever style or length, let it grow. 

If you are a woman express what you know is distinctly feminine about you in how you wear your hair or clothes. 

Again, God assumed in Deuteronomy 22:5 that we all know what this means.  These are not hard and fast rules or laws, but what we know intuitively, like the girl who dressed like a boy that I talked about earlier.

Right now, choose to express your distinction as a man or woman to honor God's image and likeness in you.  You already know how to do this. 

Share with me in the comments how you chose to honor God by expressing your God given gender distinction.

How God Sees MEN and WOMEN (Part 1)

A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.  Deuteronomy 22:5

God sees your distinction as a man or woman.  He loves this distinction and detests it's negation.  You should embrace and emphasize your distinction as a man or woman to honor your Creator, whose image you reflect.

GOD SEES THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN.

In Deuteronomy 22:5, God assumes the Israelites knew what He meant.  No matter what country or culture you are from, you know as God knows that men and women express themselves differently in  how they dress.  I know a girl who deliberately dresses like a boy.  I also know a mother who deliberately dresses her boy in girlish clothes. Even in our American culture that blurs gender specific clothing, we know that the blurring is happening.  We see and know the distinction between masculine and feminine. So does God, the one who made the distinction.

GOD LOVES THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN.

It is written,

So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them. 

Genesis 1:27

The masculine and feminine in creation are a picture of Christ and the His Bride, the church...the mystery of the heavenly and eternal intimacy that will exist between the one true God and those who believe in Him. (See Ephesians 5:32)   This is a sacred picture of what God is like.  The distinction between men and women should be honored because it honors the image of God.


click HERE for part 2



True Disciples of Christ

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth."  John 14:15-17

• True disciples of Christ don't follow a doctrine, they follow A Person.
• They follow the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as the apostles followed Jesus when He walked on earth.

Jesus Himself said He would send "another advocate."  Notice the word "another."  This means they had an advocate while He spoke to them:  He Himself was their advocate while He was on earth.  Jesus, their first Advocate, was about to leave; He was about to die, rise, and ascend into heaven. So He was going to send them another advocate "to help them and be with them forever."  His Spirit is the other advocate:  A Person, not a doctrine.

When Jesus called His followers, He didn't say, "Follow My doctrine."  He said, "Follow Me."

The Spirit of Christ says the same thing to you and me:
"Follow Me."

If we allow follow the Spirit of Christ, our risen Savior and Lord, we will all agree on The Lord's doctrine, and there would be no need for "denominations."  Our petty disagreements show that we are not following a Person, who knows His own doctrines in every situation.  Jesus is alive!  His Spirit in us and with us give undeniable proof, if we would only follow Him.

• As true disciples of Christ, we don't follow a doctrine, we follow A Person.
• We follow the Spirit of Christ, just as the apostles followed Christ when He walked the earth.

2 Ways to Find and Do God's Will for You

There is nothing better or greater than the will of God for your life.  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  It's God's will for you to do His will, so any and every attempt or prayer towards that end will get and keep God's attention, guaranteeing a response from Him on your behalf, for today and for your future.  Here are 2 scriptural ways to find and do God's will for your life.

1. Set yourself apart to God.
"For this is the will of God, your sanctification..."
First Thessalonians 4:3a

If you know nothing else, you know God wants you to be set apart for Him alone.  This has been the case for all of God's people from Noah.  Abraham, Isaac, and Israel were set apart for God, a holy nation.  And believers in Christ are called to be saints, according to Paul.  If you believe in the Lord, you know already that God's will is for you to be set apart.  You are to "present your body to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,"  according to Paul.  In doing this, you know without doubt you are doing God's will right now, and you have the promise of Paul that you will be able to "prove what the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God" is.  (See Romans 12:1-2)

If you set yourself apart to God, you will be doing God's will, and God will reveal His will.

2. Always rejoice, pray, or give thanks.
Rejoice always,  pray continually,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
First Thessalonians 5:15-18

It is always God's will for you to do one of these three things, depending on your situation. Of course, you rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, according to Paul's words to the Corinthians.  And James said those who are happy should sing psalms, while those who suffer should pray.  Paul said if you are anxious, pray, giving thanks to God, and making your requests known.  In other words, depending on what is happening with you or to you, you can know that it's God's will for you to do one of three things:  rejoice, pray, or give thanks.  In doing one of these three things, you are doing God's will, and God will reveal His will.

In other words, you cannot know God's will for your immediate or distant future if you are not doing God's will at the present moment.

• Set yourself apart.
• Rejoice, pray, and or give thanks.

These things are always God's will for you.
If you do them, you will always know God's will.

What REALLY Happens When You Go to Heaven (Part 1)

The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.  In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 
Luke 16:22-23

If you died right now and stood before God, you will be exactly who you are right now, or who you were the moment before you died.  But some Christians are deceived about their deaths in one of two ways:

1. They think that they will be "transformed" into some kind of angelically sinless being.  That some how their spirits transcend their natural lives on earth, and all that they were on earth.  Because Jesus died for their sins, and because they have a new spirit or new nature, what they did on earth makes no difference when they die or meet Jesus in the sky.  But look at what the scriptures say:


For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.  2 Corinthians 5:10

So what we do on earth, "while in the body," right before we die, will be remembered and judged in heaven.  Some Christians are deceived and think this will not be the case.

2.  Others think that it really doesn't matter because as Christians, we're all "ok" in God's sight, no matter what we do.  We're saved after all, and "once saved, always saved," so even if we "fall short," so what.  We're saved.  We're in heaven.  That's all that matters.  Again, look at the scriptures:

Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.  Revelation 2:23b  (Remember who is speaking, and to whom He is speaking.  The Lord Jesus is speaking to the church, to Christians, in Thyatira.)

The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.  Revelation 3:5.  (Remember who is speaking these words, and to whom He is speaking!  The Lord Jesus is speaking to the church in Sardis--to Christians.  Whose names are written in the book of life?  And thus whose names can be blotted out of the book of life?) [click HERE for part 2.]