Breastplate of Righteousness

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Covenant, Grace, Relationship

                                                   … that place in Him!

      Stand therefore … having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
      Eph 6:14

Righteousness is not about what you have or what you can do,
… but is a position, the place in which you are, because of Him,

      that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
      2 Cor 5:21

If you don’ step into that place of Righteousness,
… that place where God, in the Holy Spirit, is strong in you,
then the Holy Spirit cannot be your strength,
… and God cannot do for you what He planned and purposed,

      He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
      shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
      I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
      My God, in Him I will trust.”
      Ps 91:1-2

It is not about where God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit are,
… God is omnipresent, He is everywhere!
The question is, where are you?
You have to step into that place,
… where you put on the breastplate of Righteousness,
… where He can be all you need and ensure your success
and victory in every attack, battle or situation you may face!

      Righteousness will go before Him,
      And shall make His footsteps our pathway.
      Ps 85:13

Put on all that God has prepared for you,
and you will live that victorious life He intended for you!

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

The belt of Truth

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Character, Covenant, Trust

                          … and the truth will make you free!

      For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal
      but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
      2 Cor 10:4
      Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth,
      Eph 6:14

God starts with the belt of truth,
… because truth holds our lives and relationship with Him together!

What is the truth?

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

Jesus came to restore us to the Father – spirit, soul & body.
… He shed His blood to wash our sins away,
and in His body suffered the stripes that made us whole!

      Therefore we should be living as conquerors, however
      … just having some weapons does not make us victorious!
      To walk in that glorious truth, we need His wisdom,
      … and all the spiritual help that we can get!

For that very reason Jesus asked the Father to send us a Helper…

      However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,
      He will guide you into all truth;
      … and He will tell you things to come.
      John 16:13

      The Spirit of truth, will guide us into all truth,
      … but only if we accept Him as our guide,
      … and only if we let Him help us!

Let the Holy Spirit into your life as your guide and strength…

      And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
      John 8:32

 

The weapons of our warfare

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Covenant, Potential, Trust

                                         … are mighty in God!

      For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal
      but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
      2 Cor 10:4

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal,
… and you aren’t going to win because you have God’s weapons,
but you are winning because God is fighting for you,
… so get yourself out of the way!

      He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
      Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
      I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
      My God, in Him I will trust.”
      Ps 91:1-2

You are not in His secret place because you know God,
… you are allowed in there because God knows you!

      It is not about what you can do because of Him,
      … it is about what He can do through you, if you let Him.
      God is looking for vessels He can depend on in these times,
      … vessels of Honour in His hands.

      Connection & dependence on the One who is able,
      … become more and more important as the pressure increases.

Start listening for instructions from headquarters.
Start doing what headquarters says …

      For then you will make your way prosperous,
      and then you will have good success.
      Joshua 1:8
 

In Him we live

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Grace, Relationship, Trust

                               … that special place, in Grace!!

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

This tells us that where Christ is, is where we live,
… where we spend (or should spend) our days!
… in Him and in His presence!
It is kind of like being a page in a book,
… where the book goes, the pages go!

      In other words, where Jesus goes, we go,
      … what He does we do with Him,
      … and whatever He experiences, we experience.
      A life filled with the potential of God almighty!

There is however an additional benefit of being in Christ,
… living and experiencing what He does!

      When we are truly in Him,
      … we are not directly exposed to what is happening around us,
      and therefore when there is an attack,
      … we are not in the front line,
      for although we are at the front line,
      … we are protected by the One we are in!

Like a page in a book that falls to the ground,
… the book is exposed to the impact,
… but we the pages, are inside, protected and unharmed.

Praise God that we can be in Him!
 

Why Faith?

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Faith, Grace, Trust

                                      … for the just shall live by faith!

      My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
      knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
      James 1:2-3

Why is our faith tested, and why does God allow it?

      It is by faith that we believe and receive from God,
      … therefore satan wants to hinder our faith,
      … to stop us from believing and receiving from God!
      And it is for that very same reason that God allows it,
      because as we resist satan’s attacks,
      … and patiently resist his negative testing,
      … our faith is strengthened and built up!

But how do you resist satan and his lies?
By believing and standing on what God said,
… what God tells us in His Word.

      But that no one is justified by the law
      in the sight of God is evident,
      for “the just shall live by faith.”
      Gal.3:11

Standing and living what you believe!
In other words,
… living by believing God and His Word!
a lifestyle that brings you into grace,
… that place in Him where you live because of Him
… and by what He has done.

      The way of grace is the way of faith!
      You live by believing (by faith).

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

Follow Him

Posted on jan4 CommentsPosted in Character, Life, Relationship

                                      Abide in Me and My words in you!

Jesus said the following well known words to us …

      Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself,
      and take up his cross, and follow Me.
      Mark 8:34

Of course we all desire to follow Jesus,
… but what did Jesus mean and how do we do that?
He explained it by also saying this to us …

      My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
      John 10:27
      Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
      Matt 4:19

Jesus wants us to have a personal relationship with Him,
… in which He can speak into our lives as we hear Him,
… in which He can show us His will for our lives!
In other words, He wants to be our ‘good’ shepherd,
… and therefore also said to us,

      If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask
      what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
      By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit;
      so you will be My disciples.
      John 15:7-8

But how will I know that I am hearing and doing His will?
      If you are aware of His love for you,
      … that He wants you healed, strong and living a full life, in Him,
      and you expect to receive all that He did for you on the cross,
      … then life, health, healing, joy, peace will truly be yours,
      and you are indeed following him!

      Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
      And lean not on your own understanding;
      In all your ways acknowledge Him,
      And He shall direct your paths.
      Prov 3:5-6

Ask in faith

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Faith, Life, Relationship

                                      … without doubting!

When we talk about faith,
… we normally mean that we believe God,
… and that we are believing God for something!
Yet, the apostle James in talking about life and how faith develops,
… tells us that our faith will be tested,
and gives us this instruction,

      If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,
      who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
      and it will be given to him.
      James 1:5
Then continues by saying,
      But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,
      James 1:6

Why does James first tell us that our faith will be tested,
… then tells us that if we lack wisdom,
we should ask God without doubting …
How does this all influence our faith and receiving from God?

James in talking about how to build and live by faith,
… is telling us that wisdom is the key,
that God is ready to liberally share His wisdom with us,
… and all we need is to ask without doubting!
Without doubting what?
… that He will give us an answer to our request!

James was saying,
      if you want your faith to grow,
      God and His wisdom are all that is important,
      … not your need, your knowledge or your actions!

In other words …
Ask God for wisdom, for what to do (in everything)!
We need His wisdom to know His will, for and in our lives!
We need to ask for that wisdom in faith,
… without doubting that God will give us the wisdom we asked for!

      Faith is not just about God’s promises and our needs,
      … and faith is not just about God meeting our needs,
      But …
      Faith is about a relationship with God (in whom we trust),
      A relationship in which God Himself is real in our lives,
      … and not just His promises to us!
      A relationship in which we expect God Himself to answer,
      … in which we expect to hear God Himself for our lives!

Therefore James was saying to us,
You are not going to hear God, even if He shouts at you,
unless you ask without doubting that you will hear the answer,
which simply means,
… you have to EXPECT that He will actually answer you!

      Call to Me, and I will answer you,
      and show you great and mighty things,
      which you do not know.
      Jer.33:3

Value Life

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Love, Relationship, Value

                                 Is someone on your mind, today?

 
Having others uppermost on your mind,
… is not just about birthdays, anniversaries or Christmas,
… but they should daily be on our minds.
Others should be special to us,
… not just because of what they are having,
… but because of who they are!

But how is it possible to live that kind of life?
Well there is a biblical principle that tells us how…

      ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and,
      ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”
      Matt 19:19

So how is this helping us know what to do?
It is simply telling us that it all starts with how we see ourselves.

      Start by seeing yourself as special, as special to God,
      … as someone who God loves and who God wants to bless
      As you do that, seeing a value in yourself,
      … not because of what you have achieved,
      … but simply because God sees you as valuable.
      Once that becomes real to you,
      … it becomes easier and easier to see others as special,
      … as it is not in response to their actions or words
      but simply because you have decided to see them as valuable!

This is the love that passes understanding,
… which supersedes words or circumstances,
and responds to a value which you see in yourself,
… enabling you to see it in others!

      This valuing of life,
      … which sees a value in life
      is what reveals and releases the ability to love, in you.

 

Be what you are …

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Character, Life


 
Is what you say of yourself,
… a title or a reality?

      If you say you are a ‘Christ’ian,
      … then you’re saying that you’re a Jesus person!

If you are a Jesus person,
… then you should be living as He is!

      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

Jesus in John 10:10 specifically said,
… I have come that you may have life!
For that life to be real in my life,
… I have to be living love the way He did,
and I should be doing what He did and still does,
… living for others!

How will I do that?
Again, do it the way Jesus did …

      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

And you will be living,
… what and who you are (in Him)!
 

If there’s no real choice

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Character, Life, Responsibility

                                           … there’s no real life!

The need to choose … Life or Existence?

          If you don’t have a choice,
          … then there will be no real life,
          … no real faith and no real future,
          but merely a pointless existence!

Sure you can accept the Big Bang theory,
… then your future is as sure as,
here today, gone tomorrow.

God said …
          For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,
          says the Lord,
          thoughts of peace and not of evil,
          to give you a future and a hope.
          Jer 29:11

Yes, there is a choice, there is a future,
… and the choice is yours.
You are responsible to choose your future,
… to choose what your life is going to be.

          I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you,
          that I have set before you life and death,
          blessing and cursing; therefore choose life,
          that both you and your descendants may live;
          Deut 30:19

A choice you will never regret …

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