In a relationship …

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Faith, Relationship

                                                             … with Him!

      It is not our relationship with Jesus
      … as our Healer,
      … as our Saviour,

      but it is our relationship with Jesus as our Lord
      … that manifests His presence in our lives,
      … that manifests His salvation in our lives,
      … that dispels our needs and manifests His answers!

Yes Jesus died for us.
He has already acted on our behalf,
… and therefore healing and salvation belong to us!

      who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree,
      that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness
      – by whose stripes you were healed.
      1 Peter 2 24 / Isa 53 5

But how do I walk in His fullness?
Not just by receiving Him as Saviour,
… but by also developing a personal relationship with Him!

      A relationship with Him because of who He is
      … the One we want to be with,
      regardless of our state or our need!

It is that relationship with Him
… that takes us into His presence,
… where we receive all that He has done!
That is our part, what we need to do
… as the apostle James said,

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

The choice

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Choice, Trust

                                                                … is yours!

      That Tree ‘O’ me
      … what’s my choice going to be?

When Adam and Eve faced that tree,
… they had to make a choice.
The result we know!

      We all have ‘a tree’ in our lives,
      … situations that confront us,
      and choices to make that affect our future.

      What is your choice?
      But even more importantly,
      … what are you basing your choice on?

Jesus had to make a choice
… when He was tempted by satan in the wilderness,
about His future and what He was going to do in life!
What was His choice?

      But He answered and said, “It is written,
      ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but
      by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.‘”
      Matt 4 4

Jesus’ choice was not to react to what confronted Him,
… nor to make a decision according to His need,
But He made His choice based on God’s Word,
… trusting in God’s provision,
accepting what God said of Himself …

      So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
      It shall not return to Me void,
      But it shall accomplish what I please,
      And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
      Isa 55 11
 

The goal of faith

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Faith, Potential

                                                  … pleasing the Father!

As with everything in life,
… if you are going to succeed,
… you need to have a clear goal.
In other words, not just WHAT but also WHY!

      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

The goal is to please God.

How do you do that?
… by making Him the goal of your life.
How do you do that?
… by believing that He is.
That He is what?
… that He is who He says He is!
and …
… that He is a rewarder.
What kind of reward is that?
… God wanting to bless you with all that He has.
How does He do that?
… by responding to your act of faith in Him.
What is that act of faith in Him?
… your actions of seeking Him
and
… walking in what He promised you.

      God’s presence is the goal.
      Seeking Him is the way.
      Faith is the seed.
      His blessing is the harvest.
 

Making Him the center

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Challenge, Potential

                                                          … of your life!

Walking in His promises …
Sounds easy, but seems so difficult to do.
Yet God says He wants to bless us …

      And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you,
      because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
      Deut 28 2

And Jesus went even further, telling us it WILL work.

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

But how is it possible for this to happen in our lives?

Well what do those two scriptures have in common?
… Hearing and abiding in what He has said!
And how do I do that?

When we make Jesus the center of our lives,
… and as we hear what He has to say to us,
… His rhema (His words) for our lives,
It SHALL be done for us!

But what is His rhema?
His word that He reveals to me (to us) personally,
… which will always be confirmed in Scripture!
And, He is not a liar,
… therefore, what He says, His words to us, He will do!

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

Make Him your Source, He knows and has what you need!
 

Seed to the sower

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Challenge, Potential

                                                   … and bread to eat!

      Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food,
      2 Cor 9 10

Why does God give seed to the sower?
Because God can trust the sower to put the seed to work,
… not just for himself but for the benefit of others.
On the other hand however,
… the eater sees no potential in the seed,
… except for feeding himself,
and will therefore only use the seed for his own benefit.

      The reality of life, and of benefitting from life,
      … is summed up for us by God in Gen. 8 22

      While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest,
      Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night shall not cease.

      Unless you put something in,
      … there will be no fruit, no harvest,
      … and certainly no possibility of increase.

But what about the bread, who is that for?

      The bread is also for the sower!
      God knows that from planting to harvesting takes time,
      … and because God can trust the sower with the seed,
      … that he will not eat the seed,
      The sower therefore can also trust God to look after him,
      … whilst he waits for the harvest!

      Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food,
      supply and multiply the seed you have sown,
      and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
      2 Cor 9 10

What are you doing with what you have,
… so that God can increase what is in your hands?
 

Succeeding by …

Posted on jan4 CommentsPosted in Commitment, Responsibility

                                     … renewing your mind!

As with everything in life, if you are going to succeed,
… you need to have a clear goal.

      And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
      by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
      what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
      Romans 12 2

No, the goal is NOT renewing your mind,
… that is the path.
Living that good and acceptable and perfect will of God,
… that is the goal.
And to reach that goal depends on the decisions you make.

      What happens in your life is determined by your decisions,
      … and that is what the renewing of the mind is all about.
      What you think and what you decide.

Having set the goal, to live God’s perfect will,
the way there is obvious …
… find out exactly what His will is, through His Word,
… which will give you a clear vision.

So how do you renew your mind?

      bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
      2 Corinthians 10 5

We are thinking ALL the time,
… which means we are making decisions all the time.
Since the devil’s playground is the mind,
… it is imperative that we
… compare every thought with what God says about it.
And in that way,
… as we continue to decide on every thought according to God’s will,
… our minds are being renewed to His way of thinking,
and our lives are being transformed into His perfect will.
 

Why God…

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Love, Potential

                                                       because He loves us!

God, who is Love, wants to express His love for us,
… and do in our lives what only He can do.
However, He will not do anything in our lives,
… unless we take the first step.
Jesus said to us…

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

Seeking God Himself and His ways,
… is what puts us in the place where His life becomes our life,

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

It is what opens the door for God to do things in our lives,
… where

      His divine power has given to us all things that pertain
      to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us…
      2 Peter 1 3

It is there that His love for us can manifest in our lives,
… and where His love can become alive in us

      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

Where God can express His love for us,
… in us and through us,
because we are where Love is.
 

Have FAITH

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Faith, Promises

                                                             … in GOD!

What does it mean to have faith in God?
It does not only mean that you believe there is a God,
… but that you believe that God is Who He says He is,
… that God also can do what He says,
and that He does do what He says.

      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

Now you may say …
‘I believe I receive, but nothing is happening!’

      Having faith in God is not about what you believe,
      … but it is about WHO you believe,
      and believing that He is a rewarder
      … of those who put their trust in Him!

The psalmist put it this way…

      You will show me the path of life;
      In Your presence is fullness of joy;
      at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
      Psalms 16 11

For it is in His presence
… that His fullness is,
and
… where what He has for you will manifest!
 

What matters is…

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Potential, Relationship

                                                     … what you say!

Jesus once asked His disciples who the people say He is,
… not because He did not know,
but because He wanted them to answer His next question …

      He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’
      Mark 8 29

Jesus wanted His disciples to understand,
… it is not what others say about Him,
… or about anything else,
but that what matters is what they say.

What others say is merely an opinion, their opinion,
but what you say about something or about someone,
… is what is real to you.
In other words, what you call Jesus,
… is what He can be in your life.
What someone else calls Jesus or anything else,
… is simply information,
but what I call Him is what is real to me.

      Peter answered and said to Him, ‘You are the Christ.’
      Mark 8 29

That is what was real to Peter, never mind what anyone else said.
And it is exactly for this reason that Jesus continued…

      Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.
      Mark 8 30

We need to decide for ourselves, who Jesus is in our lives,
as Paul had to do on the way to Damascus …

      And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’

      Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’
      Proverbs 11 30

Paul was persecuting people because of a name,
… not actually knowing who Jesus really was.

      Who do you say that Jesus is?
 

Value …

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Trust, Value

                                                             … in your life!

When Jesus said …

      ‘You shall love the Lord your God
      with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
      Matt 22 37

He was talking about our relationship with God,
… and how much value God has in our lives.

Is it important that we value God?
Yes because if you don’t value Him,
… you will not value what He has done for you!

      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

In other words …
      Do you really value what God has done for you?
      Is what Jesus has done, real to you?

For example, what about healing?

      who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree,
      that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness
      -by whose stripes you were healed
      1 Peter 2 24

You were valuable enough to Jesus,
… for Him to give His life for you!
Therefore value Him,
… and receive all that He has done for you!

      God values us, His creation, so much,
      … and made it all available to us through Jesus.
      Value Him and all He has done …