It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

Archive for March, 2017

To Know Him!

When we are born again the Holy Spirit of God comes and lives within us and we become a living spirit again. When God made mankind, He blew His breath into mankind and they became a living image of the love of God on the earth. God is love and mankind was now God’s image of love on the earth. His purpose was to fill the whole earth with this love and image of God. Mankind had a relationship with God and communion one in spirit with Him. Just as God spoke words of life and created this world and the universe, mankind, acting in one spirit with God, spoke creative life giving words in naming all the animals.

When mankind obeyed Satan, mankind not only sinned, they also lost their identity, their purpose and their relationship with God. They then took on the image and likeness of Satan. Mankind no longer spoke words of life and love but words of self-preservation, accusations and destruction. The first words of Adam after the fall were, “the woman you gave me…” God recognized the impact of mankind obeying Satan and becoming like Satan in the very beginning, but God would not leave us in that depraved state. There were consequences for their actions, but God promised to redeem mankind through the seed of the woman.

Genesis 3: 15               And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. NIV

God spoke of Jesus coming through the woman and crushing Satan’s head, his rule and authority over mankind and that there would be hostility and hatred between the people of Satan and those who trust in Jesus. God saw our need for redemption and provided a plan, His Son at the very beginning. He would not leave us in that corrupt and wicked state. Everyone born of as seed of a man is born into a fallen, sinful world and they hate the things of God. It is only after being born again with the Spirit of God in us that we can begin to transform the old nature and habits into the new nature of being in the family of God. Studying the word of God allows the word God to transform us into the likeness of our heavenly Father by giving us a new way of thinking and a new way of acting.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. KJV

So many people are born again but do not change the way they think or their actions so they end up living in a hostile world of hate. They do not have the knowledge or the power to overcome the pressures of this world. Many are like the child that is born and left to fend for himself, like the boy left in the jungle, though he survived, he was raised by wolves and lived like an animal. He did not reach his full potential until he was brought into the culture of his people and was taught the ways of his people. So it is for those who are born into the kingdom of God. We were raised in a different culture, living beneath all the plans God has for His family. We must be taught who we are in the family of God and trained to operate in the kingdom of God or we will live as outcasts far below our potential.

God’s original plan for mankind was to have a close relationship. We are to be God’s people, ambassadors on the earth changing this world to represent heaven on earth. Instead, the world reflected the kingdom of darkness ruled by Satan until Jesus. Jesus came and redeemed what mankind lost in the Garden, his godlike identity, the nature of God, and fellowship in the family of God. All this is restored to those who trust Jesus as their Savior and King. Now there are two kingdoms trying to advance its culture and lifestyle in the earth.

This is why we are told to renew our minds and study to show ourselves approved unto God; that we may develop a relationship with our Father and know His heart. Many people are excited about the good news of the Gospel and yet never take time to get to know the One Who loves them. Satan tries to keep people in a place of darkness and hurt. Satan tries to develop a culture that teaches and says things that may sound right but are lies. Things like, if God is love why did He let this happen? God gave authority to mankind and mankind gave it to Satan.

It is Satan who kills, steals and destroys and then blames it on God and so many people accept it as truth. Death and destruction are the consequences of sin. God is just. He could not go back on His word, He gave dominion to mankind and they gave it to Satan and it would take a man to restore dominion. This is why Jesus had to become a man to legally have authority on the earth. Jesus humbled Himself to become a man for all eternity so that He may save those who trusted in Him.

When we take time to read the New Testament, God’s letters of love to us, then we will get to know His heart and His love for us. People who know they are loved are not easily persuaded by the falsehoods of others, because they know the one who loves them and believes in them

Just as the woman at the well, we too must listen to Jesus for ourselves that we may know Him personally based on a close relationship with God. We are adopted into the family of God as His children, because of the completed work of Jesus. We may hear about Jesus through our mothers, family or friends and we believe what they say, but it is when we hear Jesus speak to us personally through His word that we can know Him. Then we too may say “this man really is the Savior of the world.” That is knowing Jesus.

John 4: 42  They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” NIV

John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

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Born Again, Then What?

Most people are taught that being born again is the climatic end to becoming a believer. The term itself indicates it is the beginning of a new life. When a child is born into this world it is the end of one process, being carried by the mother, but just the beginning of another. If we allow the birth of the child to be the crowning end then the child would not learn how to live successfully in this life.

No child is born and then thrown out into the world to fend for himself. A new born baby is born with a natural dependence on his parents and without their nurturing the child’s chance for survival is slim. A child must be taught how to navigate this life, to walk and talk and to accomplish success in the society it was born. So it is spiritually and those who are not connected and in a close relationship with their Heavenly Father. They may be born again but the chances for their success and survival are slim without a true relationship with their Father. We are told we need the milk of the word to grow.

1Peter 2:2   Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

As the Spirit of God gave life to Jesus, this same Spirit, when we are born again, enters into our lives. We become a living spirit born in the family of God by Christ Jesus. Most people who are born again do not realize their purpose or why they were born again. The enemy tries to keep God’s people in darkness as to their purpose. Being born again is a means to an end. We are to learn how to operate in God’s authority and cultivate His kingdom on earth. The end is being part of a royal family; we have a new culture, and are citizens of a new kingdom. This is eternal life that we should know the true and living God and reflect the glory of God in the earth by doing His will.

John 17:2-4    For you granted him (Jesus) authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

Religion has reduced being born again down to an empty shell of doing things. Religion want us to stay busy, to do many dutiful acts to perform, or show how many immoral things we can refrain from. The enemy wants us to stay busy doing things so we will not take time to develop a relationship with God or know Him. Jesus said this is eternal life, knowing the only true God and Jesus the One He sent. Jesus brought glory to God on the earth by finishing the work God gave Him. We are to be like Jesus and bring glory to God when we walk in the calling He has for us. The work we are all given is to be ambassadors of God’s heavenly kingdom in this fallen world, to be ministers of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:18-20   All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

We are to represent God by showing His love and by being champions of reconciliation to a lost and hurting world. This can only be done when we change the way we think by renewing our minds with the word of God. When we change the way we think, we can change the way we act. This is why we are called to become a living sacrifice, separated from the world’s way of thinking and to live in a way that honors God. We are told to live holy and acceptable unto God, so it must be possible. But the world will try and tell us, it cannot be done. We will continue to conform to the pressures of the world until we transform our minds with the word of God. His Spirit will renew our minds and enable our bodies to live pleasing to God. Practice makes better, while we may never be perfect, we can be better. We can develop our minds and hearts to live a mature life in Christ that is pleasing to God our Father.

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will

We have been marred by the fall of mankind and we have let our failures and faults dictate our thoughts and actions and even define who we are. Satan has lied to us from the beginning and he is still lying to those who do not know the truth about themselves and who they are under God’s authority. We are to change the way we think about ourselves and others. Until we get to know God and His heart of love for us, we cannot see ourselves clearly or show His love to the others.

Proverbs 23:7a           For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

The more we read God’s word the more His word is planted into our hearts. This is how we learn and cultivate His new culture and kingdom in our daily lives. What we believe in our hearts dictates our actions. Most of us have been defined by life experiences, our families and culture. We let the world and society speak louder in our lives than the word of God. Only God can truly tell us who we are because He is the One who created us.

It takes discipline of mind, body and character to obtain any prize in life. So it is in obtaining the prize of God’s high calling in Jesus. We choose and decide whether we will be spiritually strong in the word or spiritually lazy, when we refuse to put in the effort that is needed to cultivate a relationship with God, to know Him and His ways. The same as in disciplining our minds as it is our bodies, we must choose to control and restraint to cultivate our minds and hearts to grow strong in our relationship with God.

Philippians 3:14         I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Remember when we are born again it is into a royal family. As it is with any family; it is about developing close relationships with parents and siblings. We are born into the household of God so we would know God as our Father and so we may become like our Father and display His love on the earth.

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Born Again

Every person who is born on this earth is born after the fallen nature of Adam which is in the likeness of Satan living in a fallen world. This is why we must die to this life and be re-born or born again into the family and kingdom of God.  In the natural birthing process the baby must transition from one state, from the mother’s womb, to another state, alive in this world. We are born with a fallen nature, prideful, quick tempered, unforgiving, hateful and these things are manifested in all the cruel and shameful things we do.

To hate and to be selfish is what we have been taught by life, so we say it is just the way we are. Then we will blame God and say He made us this way. No! God made us in His image and yet we rebelled against God in the fall and became like Satan, the one whom we obeyed. God would not leave us in that fallen state. He loved us too much to let us stay in that depraved condition.

John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. NIV

As it is in the natural birthing process, so it is in the spiritual birthing process of being born again. The Spirit of God that was in mankind died the very day he sinned in the garden. Man’s soul and body began to rule his life. Fallen mankind started reflecting Satan’s image. In order to become a child of God we must die to our fallen nature and transition into a new life with God. A new life can only begin when the old life dies; this is how we are born again in the Spirit of God.

If there is no death there cannot be another birth. Many people want to have two natures – where they continue to live and enjoy the world’s way, yet they say they are born again in the spirit and kingdom of God. This cannot be so. The whole process of a birth is coming from one realm of life into another. When a child is born it is an act of bringing forth an offspring, a person that is a descendent, lineage and heritage from his parents. A born again person has God’s Spirit in them.

John 12:24-26 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

The body has not changed. It is still accustomed to the same habits and self-indulgences, but the Spirit of God living in us desires a new way of life. A false teaching from Satan wants to keep people blind to the truth of God’s word and that they are a new creation. The old way of life now may be a habit but it is not what we want or enjoy because we are now in Christ. The spirit has been born again but the body and mind must be transformed into the new life. A baby once it is born can no longer eat or breath the same way as it did while living within the mother. They must learn and be taught a new way of living, in this new world. So must we be taught how to operate and living in God’s kingdom.

Romans 12:2  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV

People who are born again into the kingdom and family of God are told to renew their minds or to change the way they think. Some people get confused and do not understand that their spiritual nature has changed even when they continue in old habits. They no longer enjoy these old addictions or habits. They are no longer part of the old world system. They are adopted into a royal family but need to be taught and trained how to operate in this new life, new family and this new kingdom.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

God tells us His Word is spirit and life and we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice and be transformed from the old way of living by the washing of the word. This is why the enemy attacks the Bible and discourages the reading of the word of God, to keep the children of God in darkness. So they will be blind and not know or understand their authority as a child of God.

Many people have been born again into the kingdom of God but fail to appropriate their ability and influence in the world. They do not know or understand who they are or how to operate in His kingdom. This is why so many people live far beneath their potential and calling because of a lack of knowledge. Many do not know the word of God, and act out of ignorance. It is not a willful rebellion but need to learn how to act better

Hosea 4:6a  my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.

A repentant heart no longer wants or enjoys living in sin but is looking for a way out. Repentance is a change in heart; we no longer set out to sin. Our hearts long for right living but may not know how to obtain it. It is the truth that one knows, understands, comprehends and appropriates that will set us free. Thanks to Jesus who came to set us free from the curse of sin and death and lived His life as an example. It is God the Father Who is transforming us into the image of His dear Son and our job is to submit our will.

John 8:32  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Remember, every born again person is to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. This is done by beholding who He is in the word of God. The word is spirit and it gives life and power to us, who were once dead and in bondage.

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

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Image of God

Mankind was created in the image of God, to be God’s love on earth. God is Spirit and He created mankind as an earth-being with a spirit to live on earth and have a soul to show His love to all creation. Love is what we were created to be; an expression of God’s love. Most people are in desperate need for someone to love them. Love is every person’s calling. The essence of our purpose is to love God and to love others. We bear the image of God and when we show the love of God that is in us, His glory is multiplied on earth. We were commanded to fill the whole earth with His glory, His love.

Love does not seek its own best interest but gives itself for others. God gave His only Son to come and put us back into the right relationship, as children and restore our image, to reflect His love.

John 17:3-5   Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. NIV

When mankind fell, his image was marred and took on the likeness of Satan- prideful, full of hate and destruction. Mankind had become like the one they obeyed. The love and the glory of God were no longer displayed through mankind; he had become, fearful, full of hate, pride and a murderer.

Sin is what caused mankind to fall but what mankind lost was his identity and relationship with their Father. Jesus came to restore us back into fellowship and into the family of God. He took the punishment of sin for us so that we may receive His righteousness. We can now come boldly unto the throne of God and fellowship with God as our Father.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21   We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The reason Jesus came was to tell us the truth about who we are and that we are loved by God. God loves us so much He was willing to pay a great price to bring us back into a relationship with Him.  We were originally created to fellowship with God and receive His love while we showed God’s love throughout the whole earth.

Jesus came to show us the truth about the Father. Satan has lied about God to mankind and has distorted their view of God. God hates sin but loves mankind. He is holy and a just Judge but He loved us and would not leave us in our fallen state. We could not save ourselves and it pleased God to give Himself for the penalty of sin and thereby being able to judge sin and to justify the sinner.

John 18:37 You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” NIV

Romans 3:24-26   and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. NIV

Satan lied to us and taught us his ways of lies, hate, pride and destruction from the beginning. Jesus had to come in the likeness of man to become sin and pay the price for that sin that we may become children of God. He did not die just to save us from sin but to restore us as children of God so we may show the love of God on earth, which is our created purpose. Though we may not remember who we were created to be, God did not forget us nor leave us in that fallen state.

God continues to woo us, court us and encourage us to turn to Him that He may give us His new life filled with His love. It is when the world sees in us the love of God; they can see our Father that is in heaven. The purpose of a transformed life is for the world to know God’s love as a Father as we reflect the true image of God.

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