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

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Father God, Abba Daddy

Every life is important to God because every life is part of God and comes from God. Every living soul is so important that God Himself came to die to redeem and place us into His family. God gave us family so in a small way, we could understand His love by knowing the love of family. God demonstrated His love for us in while we were enemies of God, He gave His Son to die for us and He brought us into fellowship with our Heavenly Father.

The love of God is displayed in the life of Jesus who took our punishment and paid for sin so we may take His Righteousness and become God’s family. God created us to have a relationship with us so His glory will be seen in this natural world, as it is seen in the spiritual realm. We were created in the likeness of God and we have three parts that make us a whole person. We have a body, soul and a spirit and in all areas we are to be in fellowship with God. This brings Him glory and magnifies Him so He is respected in the earth.

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. NIV

When we see God as family we will begin to understand our purpose and relationship with Him. This world has painted God as being some far off distant dictator who only waits for us to mess up and then punishes us. This is the original lie from the enemy that God is holding back on us and does not want to see us happy. This is a lie from the father of lies. God created all that is in this world, the waters, trees, mountains, food and animals for us to enjoy. God gave us the ability to love and be loved, with emotions that can be expressed with happiness, joy and excitement as well as freedom of choice. God has given us a will and the ability to make right or wrong choices independent of Him. This is love in the greatest form to love someone enough to let them be true to whom they are, even if their choice is to be with us or leave us. This is the love God has shown toward us.

Family is about relationship, an association, connection, affiliation or a bond with another person. We see it in our own family relationships. Because we are part of the same family we are connected and affiliated with our family members. When we get together to fellowship at reunions or family events and we bond because of years of associated with one another and a lifetime of companionship. Personal knowledge of the family member’s character and integrity are seen and known through constant interaction and through good and hard times. This is the relationship God, our Father wants and seeks with His children. That His children will know Him, trust Him and have great fellowship with Him, one that will rise above all outside voices.

Ephesians 2:19, 22 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,… And in him(Jesus) you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. NIV

The Bible says those who know their God will do exploits, feats and achievements and this is will be because they understand and know the character and attributes of their God. When we know a person and know that they are true and faithful we can trust them to fulfill their word to us no matter the circumstances. This is how we display faith and trust in our God, when situations and life comes at us with a hard blow we can stand firm and by doing this, it brings glory to God. When people see us navigate life with peace and a joy that the world cannot understand they will see the power of our God in our lives. God is revealed through His children, just as likenesses of parents are seen in their children, we will display God’s character and faithfulness through our actions. This is done only by knowing the character of God and being in a relationship with Him as our Father.

Daniel 11: 32b … but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits NKJV

Many of us may not have known our parents and others may have had negligent or even abusive parents and still we want to know and long to have a close loving relationship with our parents. Not in the sense of the neglected or abusive relationships but, if possible, in a perfect world that was right and just, we all long to have unspoiled relationships with our parents. This is the relationship God our Father longs to have with us and was willing to send His beloved Son, Jesus to die in our place that we may have a close relationship with Him.

Abba in the Bible was an Aramaic word for father; it was a term of tender endearment by a beloved child. We can now call God our Father, Abba, Daddy-God. We no longer have to wait or long for the negligent or abusive parent, we have been born into the family of God where we can say Abba, Daddy-God. I am no longer an orphan but a child of the King.

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Reborn Into The Family of God

Adam and Eve were the highest of God’s creation, made in God’s image. They were the chief of all the created creatures of God and they were to rule and reign on the earth. Many people see Satan’s attack on mankind as an ultimate failure of man and of God. Man for disobeying God and God for not stopping Satan and allowing mankind to be doomed as long as they remained on the earth. This is a lie most have swallowed hook line and sinker! God’s ways are not man’s ways. What the enemy meant for our destruction God used for our greater good.

God sent His Son not only to redeem us from the fall but He elevated us to an even greater position, that of children! Just think of the power and authority we should be walking in knowing that we are now even greater than before the fall. But many are destroyed for we lack the knowledge of who we are in the family of God, His ways and His kingdom. Satan is a defeated foe by the power of Jesus Christ. We too have the same choice Adam had; we can believe God or listen to the enemy’s lie. We can choose Jesus’ saving grace or believe the lies of the enemy and trust our own thoughts and ways.

It is much like the story of Pinocchio who was a carved created puppet boy of Jeptoo and he was loved by his creator. What joy it brought Geppetto to have Pinocchio transformed into a living soul to be part of his family, his son. What joy God has for those who believe in Jesus and become His children, joint heirs with Christ. What the enemy meant for evil God turned to our greater good.

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. NIV

The very act of sin that caused mankind to fall, God used as the reason to send Jesus to redeem us and place us into an even greater state, children of God, again we are joint heirs with Christ! God is awesome. Satan has no power of God’s people but there are schemes set up to convince people that God does not love us because He did not stop us from sinning. Truth is God loves us so much He sent Jesus to redeem and deliver us from eternal death while remaining true to His integrity.

God is not a man and He cannot lie. He must to stay true to His word and at the same time He must be a just judge while showing loving kindness and mercy to His creation. God gave dominion and rule to mankind and He could not usurp that authority even though mankind was not making wise choices. God loved us too much to leave us in eternal damnation so Jesus became a man. He limited Himself to become as one He created so that He would be able to save those who believe in God through Christ.

1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” NIV

Acts 13:38-39 Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.  Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. NIV

Being born again is being placed into a different family, culture and country. Being born again is becoming a totally different person from the one we were raised to be by our parents and life experiences. To be born again is to die to ourselves, our rights, and our culture even our race. We become a new creation in a new kingdom and this is where some people lose sight of the meaning of being born again. Many people want to hold on to their old ways of doing things, their thoughts and priorities and their prejudices. To be reborn into God’s family means our old life; race and culture should no longer take priority or first position over us. God’s kingdom and culture is our new way of living, He is preeminent over all.

We are now part of a new family, citizens of a new country and our allegiance is to our Sovereign King, Jesus. Many get stuck in their own ideas about their rights and ethnicity in the flesh that they fail to be transformed in their minds into the image of Christ and to make Jesus the Lord over all. There is so much division in the church, in the body of Christ because many refuse to let go of the old nature, old life and its priorities. When Jesus is King over our lives He will reign in every area of our life regardless of our past.

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Those who come to God through faith in Jesus as their Lord are like the jungle boy when he was taken out of the jungle. He still had the life experiences of the wolf influencing his nature though he was saved from the jungle. He then began living in a new world with humans but he had no concept or understanding of how to operate in this culture. At the same time he was being influenced by the only life he knew, with the wolves, however debased and deprived it may have been. This could be a child of God who was born again but whose mind has not been renewed to think and to act like a child of God. This is why God tells us to renew our minds, so to change the way we think and change the way we act. Then we will not be easily persuaded by the lies of this world.

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.

Again, we have been reborn into the family of God. Our life as a child of God is about a relationship with our Father. We were separated from God in the fall but were redeemed and reborn into the family of God through Jesus Christ. God’s desires are to fellowship and have a close relationship with His children. This may be why God gives us family; whether they are parents, siblings, children, cousins or close friends we have a desire to know and be in close fellowship with those we love. God has the same desire to be in fellowship and close relationship with His children.

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Seven Areas of Redemption from the Shed Blood of Jesus Part 2

The crown of thorns was placed on Jesus’ head and His Blood was shed. We are given peace of mind and freedom from mental torment because of this redemptive work of Jesus. Sin can torment our minds with the things we have done in the past. Satan wants us to stay condemned in our thoughts so we would fall into depression but God said there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin and once we ask God to forgive us it is as though we have never sinned.

Matthew 27:29            When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

Romans 8:1-5 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

 

Jesus’ Blood was shed when they pierced His hands while dividing His garments. Jesus was stripped of His worldly possessions so He could redeem our ability to prosper and succeed in God’s kingdom. Man was stripped of his glory and his created image in the likeness of God. Jesus’ hands paid the price for those who betrayed God the Father so that we may once again be about our Father’s work. God wants us to prosper and be in good health so that we may be a blessing to the nations around us.

We all have heard people say our God took our loved ones or God did not heal them. We cannot find that anywhere in the Bible. That is a lie from the pit of hell. Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy, but Jesus came so that we may have life abundantly. What a trick of Satan to kill, steal and destroy mankind and then blame it on God, the One who loves us. God tells us His people are destroyed because they do not know the truth or seek the truth. The enemy will tell lies and we do not know the truth to defend and defeat the lie. When our soul and mind know the truth of God’s word, it will be able to defend against the lies and prosper in the truth of God.

Matt 27:35a    Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots…

John 10:10     The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

3 John 1:2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

 

Jesus’ feet were pierced and His blood shed so that where ever our feet trod, we may have dominion and authority. Jesus redeemed our God- given dominion and authority over the earth. God created this earth to be a place where His people would rule with authority and bring glory to His name. Mankind lost that ability and turned over the authority to Satan. Jesus came and redeemed us from the curse and put us back into right standing with our Lord and King. Those who are born again into His kingdom have authority over their enemy and have dominion over their circumstances. Jesus returned the Kingdom of God back to the earth and those who are born again and now has the ability and authority to rule and reign. So many believers are still living below their God- given dominion over their circumstances because they do not know the truth of God’s word. Jesus paid a costly price in order that we may reign with His authority.

Psalm 22:16b-18 They pierced My hands and My feet;  I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.  They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.

Joshua 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.

 

Jesus was pierced in His side so that from our bellies may run rivers of living waters. Jesus redeemed our joy and our heart for God. Mankind had a heart of stone but God promised to give us a new heart of flesh that we may love God and love others. Sin and the hardness of this world can make people’s hearts grow hard and cold. It is sin that is causing havoc over the nations and causing people to turn their backs on all mankind because of the pain they have suffered. Jesus came that we may have a new spirit, a new heart. We will no longer be intimidated by the world or the lies of Satan. We will trust God. Our lives are not our own they have been bought with a price so that we may be about our Father’s business in this world.

John 19:34   But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out

Ezekiel 36:26-27  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

 

One of the authentic witnesses of a truly born again person, is the God-given love they have for all people, lost and saved.  The joy of the Lord is inside of the born again person and though hard situations and circumstances may come, they will not stay down, for joy comes in the morning. Jesus rose with healing in His wings now our hearts, soul and bodies are also, healed as we rest in His joy.

Malachi 4:2a But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings…

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Seven Areas of Redemption from the Shed Blood of Jesus Part 1

Whether we know it or not the blood speaks! So much can be determined and known with a sample of blood. Doctors can identify illness, hereditary tendencies and family genetics just by studying the blood. This generation has been so inundated with bloodshed and death that the loss of a life to murder is no longer seen as an unusually horrible tragedy. To see bloodshed is not abnormal or strange to this generation. But God takes the death of any human being very seriously. Abel was the first man to be killed. He was killed by his brother Cain. God said, Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground. Every wrongful death cries out to God for vengeance. God has declared vengeance is His and He will repay. It was not a light thing to shed innocent blood; God Himself would recompense the guilty.

Ester reminds us of Jesus, a greater one than Abel, Who came and shed His blood. This shed blood enables us to receive salvation and redemption, for all who will receive Jesus. Jesus came to shed His blood as an anointing sacrifice to God for all mankind. The wages of sin is death and there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood. All have sinned and come short of God’s perfect will. Everyone has sinned and will be required to pay the debt and the wages of sin which is eternal death. For those who refuse Jesus and His completed work, they will stand before God for themselves to pay their debt. Jesus paid every debt and took every penalty for the sin of mankind. Jesus became the ransom for all who will believe in Him. His death is the atoning power for everyone who trusts in Him and His completed work on the cross.

Genesis 4:10               And he (God) said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

Hebrews 9: 22b, 26b-28                     …and without shedding of blood is no remission.                                                        …but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The blood of Jesus was shed in seven areas which redeemed mankind back in every area that he had fallen. Precious is the blood of Jesus and it speaks louder than our sins and our sickness. Jesus’ dying was not a random unimportant spilling of blood; it was a deliberate plan of God. This plan was set in place before the foundation of the world to save and deliver mankind from a fallen state of sin.

The first place Jesus shed His blood was in the Garden of Gethsemane where He was in great travail and internal struggle. His plea to God was so intense that blood seeped from His body and was mingled with His sweat. It is at this place Jesus submitted His will to God and where Jesus’ blood was shed to redeem our will. Jesus was not afraid to die, He came for that purpose. Jesus did not want to be separated from His Father at the cross, but to bring mankind back into a relationship with God, Jesus had to experience total separation from God as the Son of man. He prayed three times that this thing be taken away but each time submitting His will to God’s final authority. We no longer have to live in a state of unrighteousness separated from God because Jesus blood was shed to bring us back into relationship with God, our Father. The blood of Jesus was shed that we too can now choose to submit our mind and will to God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can live this life victoriously.

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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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Love God by Loving Others

Respect- to esteem or regard favorably, to give a sense of worth or value to a person- to hold in honor- to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with…

We are to respect God, to think highly and favorably of Him. We honor God because He is worthy as the Creator of the universe. We value God and honor God when we honor and respect those who are created in His image. Respect by definition comes from a place of love and value for a person. This is why we cannot be disrespectful to a person and then say we love them.

We are to respect people because they were formed by God for the express purpose of carrying Him image. To disrespect people who are created in the image of God is to disrespect God! People may say they respect or love a person but hate their children or family, this cannot be. Either they will love them and their children or hate them, but they cannot do both in truth. They may need that person or want them, but they love themselves more. Some may speak words of love and respect, but in their heart there is animosity. Some may even deceive themselves into believing they can love God while hating and disrespecting their brothers, but God’s word says this cannot be so.

How can we say we love God whom we have not seen and hate our brother whom we have seen? The answer is we cannot. Someone who has hatred in their heart for anyone, no matter the reason, the love for God is not in them.

1 john 4:20-21    If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

This is not to say we have not been wronged. It is these painful and cruel things that Satan would use to tempt us with the thought that we have every right to hate. People are blinded by Satan to the truth of God’s word and many even live in self-deception. Sometimes we deceive ourselves into believing we are either justified in our hate or God understands what we have been through and He would not require us to forgive these people. This too is a tactic of the enemy, to get the people of God to deny God’s truth and live a lie that is rooted in Satan’s hatred of God.

2 Corinthians 4: 3-4   But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

Those who decide to go their own way and refuse to love they refuse the truth of God’s word and are perishing. They may not realize their minds are being blinded by Satan, the prince of this world system, and their life is headed for destruction. Self-deception is one of the hardest lies to overcome, because we have trained our minds to believe we are right and therefore close our minds to the truth. The only way to come out of this darkness is to let the light of God’s word shine into our hearts and minds.

 1 John 3: 10-11                     In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

We must practice the righteousness of God which is faith in Jesus’ completed work for our salvation. This is not our works of attending church, visiting the sick or just reading our Bibles. It is a relationship with God through the life of Jesus. It is accepting God’s love for us through faith in Jesus and the understanding of His Word. True faith gives us the love we need for others by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is not a thing that can be done by the natural man. This love for others is how the children of God will be known. Because they show love they are distinguished from the children of the devil and people of this world.   The love we show to the undeserving displays the God in us.

1 John 3: 14-17          We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

It is when we show love to all those who are created in the image of God we give witness to the love of God that is in us. If we hate others, Jesus says we have committed murder. This is a hard but powerful statement and it is the truth of God’s word. Jesus came and saved us out of our sinful state, while we were looking and acting like Satan. Jesus died the death on the cross to redeem us back as children of God. As children of God we are to lay down the hurt, pain and injustices we have received from others just as Jesus did for us.

Jesus did not want to die. He even asked the Father to take that cup away from Him and yet He submitted Himself to God’s will. We too, in our flesh do not want go through the process of forgiving others who misuse and abuse us.   We also, must submit our will to God just as Jesus did and ask Him to give us the love we need for those who have wronged us. In this God will be glorified in that situation.

1 John 3: 18    My little children let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth

We are told to show the love of God in our actions not just in words. Many can talk a good game, saying all manner of lovely things, but God tells us to demonstrate this love by our actions. Love gives of itself. God so loved the world He gave His only Son. When we see someone with a need we are to take from our abundance and help those who are without.

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Resting in God – Waiting on God

In a society that is filled with seeking better and faster ways of getting things done, it is difficult to quiet our hearts, minds and spirit to rest in God’s perfect wisdom, plan and timing for our lives. Especially in a country that expects everything to be done in an instant. We have been taught and cultivated to react and to respond to every situation immediately. Waiting is perceived by many as doing nothing, a waste of time, being weak because nothing ever happens when you wait, but this is not so.

Psalm 27: 13-14         I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! NKJV

God’s kingdom way tells us to not lose heart but believe we will see the goodness of the Lord while we are still on this earth. God’s blessing is not just for when we get to heaven in the sweet by and by. God tells us to decide to be in good spirits, to be determined and steadfast in our trust in God to strengthen our hearts. We are to be persistent with resolve because God will settle the matter. He will give power and strength to those who are looked on as weak, because they trust and wait on God to direct their steps.

Isaiah 40:28-31          Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31 but those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.   NKJV

Habakkuk 2:2 I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint NLT

 

The world will tell us to take action to do something or we will look pathetic. This is where we display the principles and power of the kingdom of God in the earth. When we respond according to God’s word we reflect God’s kingdom principles and not this world’s system. It is difficult for most people to understand or commit to God’s ways because they have been taught the lie of the enemy and have lived this lie all their lives. It takes a change in heart and mind to stand on the word of God. This only comes through renewing our minds to think as God thinks by reading His word, and then our hearts will follow.

Meekness is strength under control. Most people when they see meekness they think the person is feeble in not reacting in the way the world expects them to react. True meekness is to make a deliberate decision to take a different action or no action at all because of our faith in the word of God. We can only display the kingdom of God if we know how it operates. Most people who call themselves Christians or believers of Christ do not know Jesus or what He has said about the kingdom they now live in on this earth. They think they must wait until they go to heaven before they will have the peace and favour of God in their lives.

Psalm 37:7- 11           Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. NKJV

To be an overcomer is not necessarily getting what we have been praying for, asking and seeking God for. Neither is it seeing vengeance on those who have wronged us. It is having the peace in knowing God is faithful and He is directing our steps for His glory in the earth. It is a mindset that is at peace in whatever situation it may find itself in. Christ on the cross brought glory to God in the earth. His glory and how we reflect His love may not always look like what we want or expect. It is knowing the love God has for us and that He chose us to show His mercy and grace to this world. This love gives us the tenacity to rest and patiently wait for God to do His perfect work in us. It is the love of God in us that keeps us at peace with ourselves and others. This is when we rest in God and wait on His direction.

Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. NKJV

It is when we reflect the character and attributes of God in the earth that we reflect God’s glory. It is a sad testimony when those who call themselves children of God act like the children of the world. Those who know their God will do exploits and great things that the ordinary person may not understand or comprehend because it displays the power of God in us. The peace God gives to us surpasses natural understanding, as we wait with full assurance that God will settle the matter.

Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me. NKJV

Psalm 39:7  “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. NKJV

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