Now abides …

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Faith, Hope, Love

                                          … the greatest!

      And now abide faith, hope, love, these three;
      but the greatest of these is love.
      1 Corinthians 13:13

Why is love the greatest?
Well, what is hope all about?

      Hope is what is stirred up in you,
      through something that you see as an answer
      … a something that you can believe in
      a word or a promise from God’s Word
      … that you can see happen for you!

So, what then is faith?

      Basically faith is a step or an action on your part
      … an action in response to a word from God
      … that you believe God can and will do for YOU!

OK, so now, what about love?

      Why is love the greatest?
      I thought that God is the greatest?
      Exactly, for God is LOVE.

Hope is seeing something real – in God!
Faith is being convinced – God can and will do it!
LOVE is God – God Himself in action!

      And we have known and believed
      the love that God has for us.
      God is love,
      and he who abides in love abides in God,
      and God in him.
      1 John 4 16

And that is how faith and hope work!
 

Good things take …

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Covenant, Trust

                                               … a little longer!

God created the heavens and the earth.

      So God created man in His own image; in the image of God
      He created him; male and female He created them.
      Then God blessed them, and God said to them,
      ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it;
      have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air,
      and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’
      Gen 1 27-28

and afterwards He looked at all that He had done.

      God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.
      Gen 1 31
      Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because
      in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
      Gen 2 3

However it seems – good things take time
… to become all that they were created and meant to be,

      For whom He foreknew,
      He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,
      Rom 8 29
      For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
      for good works, which God prepared beforehand
      that we should walk in them.
      Eph 2 10

Allowing creation to grow, develop and receive
… the fullness of His plans and purposes for it
through LOVE.

      Love has been perfected among us in this:
      that we may have boldness in the day of judgment;
      because as He is, so are we in this world.
      1 John 4 17
 

Do you know

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Grace, Potential

                                                         … who you are?

Do you know who you are,
… and where you are going?

      Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
      he is a new creation;
      old things have passed away;
      behold, all things have become new.
      2 Corinthians 5 17

Before you will know where you should be going
… you have to know that you are a NEW creation.
If not, then your future is insecure,
… for you’re building your future on an old foundation.
As God so clearly said to us …

      For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.
      They are plans for good and not for disaster,
      to give you a future and a hope.
      Jeremiah 29 11

However this means that
I must first start living who He made me to be,
… that new creation that I am in Him.
Then His plans for my life become real,
… because I have the right foundation to build on,
and that is when I will also be able to say …

      And we know that all things work together
      for good to those who love God,
      for those who are the called according to His purpose.
      Romans 8 28

… because I am a NEW creation in Him!
 

Spiritual Weapons

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Faith, Trust

                                          … of our Warfare!

      For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal
      but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
      2 Cor 10 48

What is the essence or reality of spiritual warfare?

      Put on the whole armor of God, that you may
      be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
      Eph 6 11

What are the WILES of the devil?

The wiles of the devil are his trickery, his lies and deceit,
because he knows that the only way he can stop us,
… is to mess with what we believe,
… and so hinder our faith walk.
The devil cannot stop what God is doing,
but he can try stop us believing in what God can do!

Therefore God says to us (Eph.6 13-18)
… take the whole armour of God.

Girded with the truth … What God says!
The breastplate of righteousness … Your right standing!
The gospel of peace … knowing what is yours in Christ!
Shield of faith … knowing how and where you are going!
Helmet of salvation … protecting and directing your thinking!
The sword of the Spirit … His Word for you and in you!
Praying in the Spirit … hearing and depending on Him!

So…
      seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
      and all these things shall be added to you.
      Matt 6 33
 

A living relationship

Posted on jan5 CommentsPosted in Covenant, Relationship

                                                … with Him!

      I have come that they may have life,
      and that they may have it more abundantly.
      John 10 10

A life changing statement,
but how do I get to live this life,
… and to live that abundance Jesus spoke of?

In explaining to us what this life is that we have in Him,
Jesus said …

      I am the way, the truth, and the life.
      No one comes to the Father except through Me.
      John 14 6

Telling us that it is only through a living relationship with Him
… that the way becomes accessible,
… that the truth becomes clear,
and that LIFE becomes real!

      for in Him we live and move and have our being,
      Acts 17 28

For it is out of this life in Him,
… out of a living relationship with Love Himself,
that life becomes a life in abundance!

      A life in abundance in which,
      … whatever comes towards me
      … or whatever comes against me,
      will be turned into a victory for me!
 

Sowing …

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Expectations, Potential

                                                  … or just giving?

The Bible tells us quite plainly that

      Give, and it will be given to you: good measure,
      pressed down, shaken together, and running over
      will be put into your bosom.
      For with the same measure that you use,
      it will be measured back to you.
      Luke 6 38

No the Bible does NOT say
.. that all you need do is give so that you will receive.
But what it does say is that,
with the same measure and intent with which you give,
… is the same measure, intent or standard
with which you will receive!

      If you give with the intent to receive
      … because of your giving,
      what you have actually done
      … is to have made an investment.
      Which simply means that
      … you are also responsible for the outcome.

On the other hand,
… if you are sowing a seed
… with the intent that others will be blessed,
the natural law of seedtime and harvest
… based on the super-natural law of increase,
is activated …
… and the law of seed time and harvest
… becomes responsible for your giving
and thus also for your receiving –
… good measure, pressed down,
… shaken together and running over!
 

Eat the good

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Love, Promises

                                                 … of the land!

The Bible tells us quite plainly that

      If you are willing and obedient,
      You shall eat the good of the land;
      Isaiah 1 19

However, many will tell you
… that they are obedient to God’s Word,
… and willing to do what it says,
yet they don’t seem to be eating the good of the land.
Why not?
We always want to do something to deserve God’s goodness
… but all that doing brings us nothing.

      Come now, and let us reason together, Says the Lord,
      Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
      Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
      Isa 1 18

So what is God telling us and what are we supposed to do?

Simply receive what God has already done through Jesus,
… and live that life that expresses what He has done.

      You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
      with all your soul, and with all your mind.
      This is the first and great commandment.
      And the second is like it:
      You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
      Matt 22 37-40

If you are willing to receive God’s love through Jesus,
… and live love as Jesus taught us …

      You WILL eat the good of the land!
 

The reality…

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Faith, Trust

                                                … of faith!

In the Bible we read about God,
… about the love He has for us,
… about His goodness and His promises to us.
Promises that the Bible also tells us
… are ours by faith.

But what is the reality of this ‘faith’?
When do these promises become REAL in our lives?
Obviously not just by accepting, reading or confessing
… as we have all tried that with little or no success.

Jesus made this statement…
      I have come that they may have life,
      and that they may have it more abundantly.
      John 10 10

Clearly telling us that through Him we can receive life,
… a life that has the potential of abundance
… as we actively live that potential with Him!

How do we do that?
Simply by doing what the apostle James said,

      Thus faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
      James 2 17

In other words,
… only as we live what we say we have received,
what we confess as being ours,
… only then does what we believe become real.
That is when our step of faith becomes real,
… and when God’s promises become a reality
because we are truly living life,
… that life Jesus came that we may have,
that abundant life that is ours in Him!
 

I heard God …

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Relationship, Trust

                                                                   or did I?

When praying for direction from God,
… or simply praying in my heavenly language,
and something comes to my mind,
how can I be sure that it is God speaking to me?

      That is actually not so difficult.
      If what you hear is in line with Scripture
      … then it was most probably God.
      If there is no scripture that confirms that thought,
      … then keep on praying and listening.

Having found a scripture, study it
… and listen for a next step from God.
Until you have a clear step,
… keep praying, expecting and listening for His direction.

      In all your ways acknowledge Him,
      And He shall direct your paths.
      Prov 3 6

How will I know when it is NOT God?
      When there is pressure or fear.
      God gave you a free will so He wants you to decide,
      … and will always allow you to make your own decision!
      Then when you choose to go His way,
      … there is peace and not pressure or fear.

Remember, God is a GOD of love,
… whose only desire is to bless us.

      Therefore submit to God.
      Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
      Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
      James 4 7-8
 

The Royal Law

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Challenge, Love

                                                … of love!

There are many great promises in the Bible,
… that seem to be conditional to observing certain laws.

      My son, do not forget my law,
      but let your heart keep my commands;
      For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.
      Proverbs 3 1-8

Everyone wants to live a long healthy life,
… but how do you live God’s law?
And since we are no longer under the Old Covenant
… are we not free from the LAW and living under grace?
Yes we are…
So what law can there possibly be in the covenant of grace?
Jesus summed it up in one word …
LOVE.

      If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture,
      ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well;
      James 2 8

      The Royal Law as the apostle James tells us … is love!
      And how do you live this love?
      By valuing others, by reaching out to others,
      … by being there for others
      in the same way as God has been and still is there for us!

God loves us and gave us His best through the Lord Jesus,
… demonstrating the royal law of love to us.
As we start living our lives for others,
… we will be fulfilling that law,
and God will fulfill His Word, His promises to us!