Righteous

Posted on jan2 CommentsPosted in Faith, Grace, Promises

                                                        … or not?

 
Much too often the reality of righteousness,
… and what it means to be righteous,
is linked with sin and made subject to being sinless,
… when in fact, righteousness has nothing to do with sin.

      The reality of becoming righteous
      … lies not in what you do or do not do,
      but in the reality of what Jesus did!

Jesus did not become sin by sinning
… but as a sinless offering took our sin on Himself,
In the same way therefore,
… we do not become righteous by trying to do righteous deeds,
BUT…
because of Jesus’ righteous act on the cross,
… we become righteous by receiving His righteousness.

Sure …
      we need to do something about sin,
      … but it is not trying to stop sinning,
      for that is not possible for man!
So also …
      we need to do something about righteousness,
      … and that is not by trying to stop sinning,
      neither is it about trying to live right,
      … but simply by receiving what Jesus has already done for us.

      For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
      that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
      2 Corinthians 5:21
 

Calling things that be not

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Faith, Life, Potential

                                            … as though they are!

 
      God, who gives life to the dead and
      calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
      Rom 4:17

Calling things that be not as though they are,
.. is what God did,
and those things became what He called them!

We also should be practising the same,
… but how does that work?
How did it work when God did it?

      Everything that God believes and speaks happens,
      … because God speaks what He has decided should be,
      not according to any need or want,
      … but according to His will and His purposes.

In our lives many things need to change,
… but how can we get those things to change?
By finding God’s will for that situation, in His Word,
… then getting to that place where God and His Word,
become His will for that situation.
As Jesus said …

      If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
      you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
      John 15:7

Remember, God’s Word is not going to manifest
… because you have a need, or
… because you have a want,
but because you believe Him,
… and His will, for you, for now!

      Then what you call, according to His Rhema word to you,
      … WILL BE what He willed for it to be!
 

Not in my strength

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Commitment, Relationship, Trust

                                                                … but in His!

 
God is serious about blessing us and being the strength in our lives,
… but He is also as serious about how He will do it.

      Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man
      who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,’
      Jeremiah 17:5

That God wants to be our strength,
… is not a suggestion, it’s a command,
and He is expecting us to not rely on our own strength or abilities,
… but to fully rely on Him.

      But without faith it is impossible to please Him,
      for he who comes to God must believe that He is
      and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
      Hebrews 11:6

Jesus is our example and He told us how He lived that life on earth.

      Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you,
      the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do;
      for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
      John 5:19

Jesus fully relied on the Father, on that personal relationship with the Father,
… and therefore could do those mighty works (that we also should do),
and Jesus even taught us to pray the same kind of prayer He prayed,

      Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.
      Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
      …
      for Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
      Matthew 6:9-13

Not telling God what you want Him to do for you,
… but making Him your source, your strength,
and He WILL be your rewarder, as you diligently seek Him.
 

That I may…

Posted on jan2 CommentsPosted in Character, Love, Value

                                               inherit eternal life!

 
A rich young ruler came to Jesus asking,

      Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
      Mark 10:17

When Jesus told him what the Law required,
… the young ruler told Him that he had kept the law since his youth,
… which however could not procure eternal life for him,
because as we know, there is nothing we can do to inherit eternal life,
… and is why Jesus came to do it for us!
Yet Jesus said to him …

      Go your way, sell whatever you have …
      Mark 10:21

Was Jesus telling the young ruler that he had to go do something?
Although it may sound that way, He wasn’t!
But what Jesus was telling him was
… to get rid of what represented his own efforts,
… efforts that were hindering him from inheriting eternal life!
Then Jesus continued and said to him,

      and give to the poor,
      Mark 10:21

Why?
Because it is about your heart, to love, to give,
… that allows the kingdom of God to become real to you!

      It was not about the young ruler’s money or riches,
      … it was about his heart.
      You can’t change your position
      … by what you do for yourself to obtain things.
      Your position only changes through what you do for others,
      LOVE … that is the kingdom of God!

      For God so loved the world that He gave …
      John 3:16
 

Believing faith

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Expectations, Faith, Potential

                                           … moves mountains!

 
      So Jesus answered and said to them,
      Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you,
      whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed
      and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart,
      but believes that those things he says will be done,
      he will have whatever he says.
      Mark 11:22-24

Jesus was teaching us
… not just what faith can do,
… and not just what we need to say,
but also what we need to do for faith to work.

      Faith is not the confession of God’s promises,
      … is not the confession of what you believe God can do,
      … nor the confession of what you want God to do for you.
      But…
      Faith is the confession of what you believe,
      … of what you know God has prepared for you,
      … of what you know God has already done,
      and is doing for you.

Jesus very specifically said …

      If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes
      Mark 9:23

But what is believing?

Simply this, that
… what God said is what you expect!

      … without faith it is impossible to please Him,
      for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
      and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
      Hebrews 11:6
 

For …

Posted on jan3 CommentsPosted in Faith, Promises, Relationship

                                                           God was with Him

 
What was the secret to Jesus’ ministry on earth?

      God was not doing things for Jesus or in His ministry,
      … just because of who He was,
      but because Jesus was walking with Him,
      …God could do things in Jesus’ life.

What God did in Jesus’ life,
… was not because God promised to do it,
but because Jesus was where God sent Him,
… Jesus was doing what God told Him to do.
And, because Jesus was abiding in the Father,
… what the Father did was evident in Jesus’ life.

      Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you,
      the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do;
      for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
      John 5:19

The same applies in our lives.
If things are not happening as they should,
… it is probably because God is not there,
… to do what He promised to do.

But how then does this work in our lives?
Simply by doing what Jesus said to do …

      If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
      you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
      John 15:7

And what happened in Jesus’ life will happen in our lives …

      how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit
      and with power, who went about doing good and healing all
      who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
      Acts 10:38
 

The Law

Posted on jan3 CommentsPosted in Grace, Love, Value

                                      … of Love!

 
What has the Law to do with Love?

The Law shows up sin by telling us
… what not to do!
Now all these don’ts won’t save you,
… but what they are pointing to is
the royal law!

      ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’
      James 2:8

To truly love someone,
… you need to respect, honour and value them,
and that is what the law is wanting to show you.
In fact Jesus put it this way,

      Jesus said to him, ‘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.’
      On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.
      Matthew 22:37-40

Love, the God kind of love, may not seem to be physical,
… however love only becomes real in our lives
when it physically manifests or is physically expressed,
as Jesus showed us in His life on earth.

What does this have to do with the law?
The Law very graphically describes what love is NOT,
… those physical actions and things we do
that hinder or negate the Law of love!

      You shall have no other god than Elohim.
      You shall not kill, steal, destroy others or their things
      … but by valuing others, you love others,
      … and by loving others, you love God!

By simply valuing others, the Law is no longer an issue,
… because you are living the God kind of love!
 

All things are possible

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Expectations, Faith, Potential

                                                                              to … !

 
Jesus told us
      If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.
      Mark 9:23

Then in explaining this,
      Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have faith in God.
      For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,
      ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart,
      but believes that those things he says will be done,
      he will have whatever he says.’
      Mark 11:22-23

Yet so often it seems that it isn’t all that simple.
We say, we speak, we tell the mountain to move,
… but it just doesn’t happen that way!
Why is God not making this happen?
Simply because it is up to us to make it happen!

      Jesus did not say,
      … if you believe all things are possible to God,
      No, He said, all things are possible to him who believes… YOU!
      So if you are waiting for God to make it happen, wait on.

If you believe God’s Word that says, ‘what you say you will have,’
… then you also have to believe
… that what God said would happen, HAS happened.
This simply means that for it to manifest depends on you, not God!
In other words,

      You have to believe that what YOU said according to God’s Word,
      … will happen the way YOU said it, because God’s Word is His bond.
      Then you WILL have what you say!

      And even if it takes a little while, if you believe,
      … what you have said is NOT going to change!
 

Fight the good fight

Posted on jan2 CommentsPosted in Challenge, Faith, Potential

                                                            … of faith!

 
      For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.
      And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
      1 John 5:4

Having made Jesus your Lord,
… enables you to be an overcomer.
However, something more is needed,
… for you to be that overcomer and to have that victory!
Faith…!
But it is not just about having faith.
James warned us,

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

John told us that there is going to be a struggle,
James told us that it is up to us to enforce the victory,
and therefore Paul told Timothy …

      Fight the good fight of faith,
      1 Timothy 6:12

Because …

      But without faith it is impossible to please Him,
      Hebrews 11:6

So how do we do all of that?

      For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith;
      as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’
      Romans 1:17

In other words,
      Live what the Word says.
      Don’t just confess God’s Word,
      … stand by what you confess,
      live what you say you believe.
 

No doubt

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Faith, Life, Potential

                                                      … in your heart!

 
      So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have faith in God.
      For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,
      ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’
      and does not doubt in his heart,
      but believes that those things he says will be done,
      he will have whatever he says.’
      Mark 11:22-23

Jesus said, if we have faith, and say to the mountain to be removed,
… then whatever that mountain or problem is, will be moved,
IF … we do not doubt in our heart, but believe!

Why did Jesus not just say that we must believe,
… but added, ‘and do not doubt in your heart?’
It is easy to say you believe God’s Word and God’s promises,
… but too often that is only mental assent,
and means that there is doubt in your heart.

Peter is a good example of having believed what Jesus said,
… but when it came to walking on what he believed, Peter sank.

      And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him,
      and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’
      Matt 14:31

Being of little faith or doubting in your heart,
… is when you tell the mountain to move,
and then think it is now up to God to make it work!
Unless you’re sure in your heart that God’s promise is yours,
… you will be doubting in your heart, and sink just like Peter.

You have to believe in YOUR heart that what God said IS done!

      … this is the confidence that we have in Him,
      that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
      And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask,
      we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
      1 John 5:14-15