Mercy Trumps Justice
God's word says, do justly, seek mercy, and walk humbly with God, Micah 6:8. Amen, amen, amen. I love this verse. What I love more is the grace given to us thru the blood of Christ and to quote a friend of mine, Jodi Z., mercy trumps justice. God, being omniscient, knew we couldn't follow his way, so he had mercy on us putting our punishment on his son and this redeemed us to him. Now, he is able to have a relationship with us without having to look on sin and he doesn't look on sin.
We should try to do justly, not sinning should be a way of life, if we do it's covered, but don't take advantage of his grace.
Always love mercy, share it with everyone. Forgive people, regardless of what they've done to us or what they owe us.
Walk humbly with God. Spend more time before his throne; eager to hear him, to find out what he wants of us. To who we should minister, how to show love and mercy and who to.
Father, you are beautiful. Your ways are beautiful, your mercy is beautiful, and we love you for this. We are able to tell you we love you, because thru Jesus we can have a face to face relationship with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Jesus Is Beautiful
Why do we desire you Jesus? Why do we spend so much time in wonder of you; what you're like, what you desire from us and why, why you endured so much pain for us? Jesus your word says you're not one to be desired, yet we desire you. Right now, I know because I know in my knower, that you're beautiful. I've never seen you, but I know that you are beautiful. I desire your beauty; to dance in, to share, and to be covered in. I want people to see me, my actions, and know that the goodness they see, is you. The beauty you bring, isn't what we think of as beautiful. The beauty you bring, that you are, is true and it's more than anything we know. Jesus, you are a mystery and we thank you for loving us. You love us, you pray for us, you defend us. What you do for us isn't the norm in this world. We are by nature, selfish. You are by nature, selfless. Our first thought is of us and your first thought is your Father's will, which is redeeming us.
Too often, I think of myself and not you. I like to think of myself as being spiritually intelligent, because I've been blessed with some knowledge and understanding. But without you and your Spirit, I'm nothing and I know nothing. Jesus, thank you for the attacks of the enemy, these tests and trials will ultimately bring me closer to you and will, in fact, change me into you. I eagerly await this day, but I thank you for the journey, on which I grow.
Jesus, in the midst of our trials, we are blessed. You see our calamities and you love us the same. You show us your love through teaching us to be like you, which is to forgive and to love, you open our eyes to your spiritual truth. We are to look to you and not our problems. You are delivering us. We can see victory, when we trust you and not our circumstances. The enemy lies to us and tells us to look at the problems. He doesn't want us to know that our victory is in you, thank you for this revelation. It's easy to trust you when all is well. All isn't well right now, we are in need and we can't see the victory, but we trust that you are taking care of us. In our frustration we reject you. Father, forgive us and let us learn to trust you, I mean, let us understand how to trust you with more than just words. We want to choose you over fear. Jesus, you are beautiful and you love us. We rebuke the attacks of the enemy, his defeat is fact. Jesus, you are the victor and you being in us makes us the victor. Thank you Father for letting us exist in your beauty.
What Path Are You On?
There's a famous poem titled "Footprints in the sand". This poem describes a person's daily walk with the Lord. Sometimes there are two sets of footprints and other times there is only one set of footprints. This simulates how Christ is carrying us at the hardest times in our lives.
When we're walking in obedience, it's not us, it's Christ in us. We can't do it on our own, we don't have the power. It's not our call, to walk in righteousness on our own, we're called to emulate Christ, to do as he did. Jesus said if you want to come after me you must deny ourselves, take up your cross, and follow me. We are to follow him, not walk beside him.
Though we are joint heirs with Christ and though he calls us friend, we will always follow him. He's our savior, he's our example. he's our mediator, he's our lord, he's our king, he's our everything. And we will always follow him. The facts is, we are followers of Christ. And if we're walking in obedience, you won't see two sets of footprints, because we'll be walking in his. Also, lets not forget this, we're all covered by his blood. We all have the same opportunities because of what he did. We can do nothing right on our own, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
One thing we're told to do, actually, the greatest thing there is, is to love. We are to love as Jesus loved. We have the word love in our lives, but without allowance of the Holy Spirit, we don't really know what love is. The true love that Father loves us with is a selfless love, agape love. So I guess the thing we need to learn to do and do like Christ is to love. And I don't mean to love your family or friends or people you go to church with, though they're important too. What I mean is to love the homeless, the haters, the gangsters, the lost. In my mind this is a tall order, one I can't do. But, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I had a thought and wanted to share it.
Psalm 119:105 says, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. At first thought, this means spend time in the word; reading and meditating. No doubt, that's very important, but I think this verse refers to Jesus. He is the word made flesh and every step he takes is in righteousness. So, as we walk in his steps and keep our eyes on him, our eyes are opened up to the path of righteousness, because his steps light up the path for us to follow.
God bless.
Become As Little Children
Jesus said we are to become as little children by humbling ourselves. He wants our trust, for us to trust him the way children trust their parents. It's easy to say we trust God, though it's difficult to do. Believing that he's taking care of everything and not allowing fear to cause doubt or making us look away from him. I consider myself very blessed to have my eyes opened to spiritual truth. Though, I believe the enemy has used this against me, causing me to think I'm more than I am. I've exalted myself above others, above God. I don't ever want to think that I'm better than anyone. I just want to see God as my father and trust him that way, the way a child trusts his father. I want to love the way God loves, selflessly. I don't like the thoughts that have been in my mind, the ones I've allowed. God is my father and I choose to see him that way. I don't know what this will change, but God does. I don't know if this will bring me closer to him, I hope it will. I do know that God loves me, he loves all of us and if we look to him as our father, then that's a good beginning. We need to do what he says, as much as we can, then trust him to bring us into a closer relationship, knowing that he's gonna take care of everything.
Matt 18:1-6 (AKJV)
1 At the same time came the disciples to Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child to him, and set him in the middle of them,
3 And said, Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoever shall receive one such little child in my name receives me.
6 But whoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
In my thinking, to want to be the greatest, even in God's kingdom, borders on arrogance.Is that thought an attack from the enemy. I don't know, Jesus did say we have to humble ourselves as a child. This is an issue to me, I trust our Father to bring over it by his power and in Jesus' name. I know Jesus said if we want to come after him, then we must to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. That's another battle and lesson altogether.
A Light To My Path
I was driving down the road one day and the sun was in my face. This brought to mind the relationship we have, or should have, with Jesus. He is ever before our face, but whether or not we look to him or seek him, is up to us. It's a moment by moment choice we make everyday. Know that every thought we have is either from the Lord, from the enemy, or from our carnal mind. Our carnal mind is what we inherited from Adam and isn't surrendered to Christ.
2 Cor tells us of the weapons we have and how to use them. We're to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Simply put, any thought that justifies sin, isn't of God and should be rebuked. These thoughts cause us to look away from God. Through salvation, we have authority over the enemy and are called to walk in it, rebuking every evil thought and casting down every evil spirit.
2Cor 10:3-5 (AKJV)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
We need the sun's light to see, but when it's in our eyes, we consider it a nuisance. We want the light, but we don't want to have give up anything or be made uncomfortable. It's the same with Jesus. He is the word made flesh and the word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. To receive his blessings, we must follow him, and to follow him, we are told to deny ourselves and take up our cross. This causes us pain which we don't want. We want his blessings, but we don't want to experience any discomfort or have to give up our worldly pleasures.
Fortunately, our heavenly Father knew this, so in his wisdom, he made a way for us. He made the ultimate sacrifice, the life of his son, redeeming us to him. The blood of Christ gives us grace, so our sins are forgiven. Please understand, grace isn't merely a get out of hell free card. Grace is given, so we can seek God and not be condemned every time we sin. God does not look on sin. We are covered with the blood of Christ, so when he looks at us, he sees Christ and not our sin, so he can develop a relationship with us.
Rom 5:20 - 6:2 AKJV
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin has reigned to death, even so might grace reign through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
That's it, where there is sin, there is grace. Please understand, grace isn't given, so we can continue sinning. Matt 7:14 says, The gate is narrow and the way is hard, and few will find it.
God knew our flesh was be weak and we wouldn't obey his commandments, this is because of our carnal nature, which we inherited from Adam. When we're following our carnal nature, we're feeding from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God gave us grace, so that in our weakness, we could be redeemed to Him. God wants is a relationship with us.
The Love of Christ
I'm reading "Tortured for Christ" by Richard Wurmbrand, he endured fourteen years in communist prisons for his faith in Jesus Christ. In this book he tells of the pain and suffering inflicted on them by the communists, many of which they led to Christ. He also talks about the underground church, that exists within communist prisons and without.
Reading this book has caused me to question my faith, do I truly believe? I've realized that I'm not going to any foreign country to preach the word. My call is here, so here I'll stay, and I'll be as good a witness as I can, surrendering to the will of God and trusting Him to direct my paths.
I've also realized that I need to spend more time and energy learning to love and worship Jesus. In this book, Richard doesn't talk about scripture and doctrine, they weren't allowed Bibles in prison. He talks of loving the ones who beat and tortured them, and this is done with the love of God. In our human mind, this is inconceivable, even maddening. When we stop looking at ourselves and start looking at Christ and Christ only, our character changes. We begin to hurt for the people we see who don't have faith in Jesus Christ. They don't know the love of God nor the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding. To know this love gives us the ability to love those who hate us. We are to love the sinner and not the sin, as Christ did.
How can you watch, as men rape and brutalize your wife and then be expected to love them. I don't know, I can't imagine it, but I'm learning to look to Jesus for comfort and direction and not myself. I want to know this love, the love that Jesus spoke of and that Richard spoke of in "Tortured for Christ". I want to love people, not because of their outward appearance or action or my personal gain, I want to love them, because it's our call, to love as Christ loved, unconditionally. This is the journey I'm on, actually, all who want to know God's heart, are on this journey. I feel like I'm still at lesson one, learning to trust God. I trust Him to bring me to the end of this journey, which will actually be the beginning of eternity.
Is He Enough?
Is Yeshua enough for us, is His sacrifice enough for us? Can we live with nothing, stripped of everything and just depend of what He's already done?
What has He done? In our eyes, what has He done? Are we aware, do we know, do we see? What is the value of His sacrifice, to us? How is it visible in our lives? We have knowledge, in our minds of what He's done, but we don't have experiential knowledge, we're not walking like we know what He's done.
Our spirits have been reborn by His Spirit, we are saved. Through salvation we have redemption to the Father, who is now our Father. We have healing, we are freed from oppression and every wicked thing, but is it obvious by our fruit? We have physical healing, but where's the fruit of that? Why are we still walking around sick or crippled or afflicted, in so many ways. Don't we trust Him? Don't we trust His Word?
He said through His Word that we are to preach the gospel to all, to disciple nations. We are to speak His Word with boldness, followed by signs and wonders. Why isn't this happening. Though we are saved, we are still feeding from the fruit of the wrong tree, the tree of knowledge. The OT is the law and we see this, we say we are saved by grace and this is true. We say we are led by the Spirit and this is true in a measure, but we're still trying to conform to the law. We still measure ourselves to the law and this leads to death.
We must quit doing what we think we should do. We must quit trying to do anything. Yeshua said, deny yourselves, pick up your cross, and follow Him. These are simple instructions, but we aren't doing it. Maybe we should quit trying to force things to happen, maybe we should learn to rest in Him. Too many times, in church or around others, our egos take control and we have to put on a show to one degree or another. Why? Because we are so bound by fear and competetiveness that we can't just follow.
We've learned many wrong things, from so many people, just by example. Just by watching, these are things we've picked up with our subconcious. We need to quit what we're doing that's wrong and just rest in the Lord.
We are seated with the Messiah, at the right Hand of the God. Why don't we start by learning to be where we already are. Let's sit with and rest in Yeshua for awhile. He'll tell us what to do next.
So, how do we rest in the Messiah? To begin with, we must learn to trust Him. We need to believe that what's He's done is enough, that we are in Him and above every evil thing that exists. This is a good place to start.
What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
God Bless
Corrections to the Second Man
So whether we're “in Christ” or “in Adam” is a moment by moment decision. I pray our choices put us in Christ.
The above sentence was written in my last article and it is wrong.
I should've written, whether you're walking after the Spirit or after the flesh is a moment by moment choice.
Because once you're saved, you're no longer in Adam, you're covered by the Blood of Christ.
Now, to be in Christ, you must be walking after the Spirit. Christ, our example, did not walk after the flesh. He was always, obedient and did what His Father told Him to do, through the Holy Spirit. This is how we must be to walk like Him.
God bless
We are of the Second Man
When Jesus went to the cross, His reason was to atone for our sins.
Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: KJV
Jesus is known as the Last Adam. In that, He took all that was of Adam, our fallen nature, to judgment and death on the cross. “What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh.” Adam's flesh was weak, he succumbed to the voice of the enemy. And when we walk after the flesh, we are weak because we aren't doing what our Father has commanded us, but we do as we like, following the voice of the enemy.
So the law could not succeed because we are weak. We are weak when we walk after the flesh, because our attention is easily captured by the pretty things of the world and we are led astray. But when we walk after the Spirit, we are mighty by the Power of God through the Holy Spirit. There was a time for the law and it served it's purpose, but now, when we walk after the Spirit, we live in the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
Let me use myself as an example;
When I smoke a cigarette, I'm walking after the flesh. Smoking, in no way, glorifies God. Smoking is one of the pretty things of the world and the only glory is mine and self glory is pride and God resists the proud. When I look at a pretty girl or express my anger through curses, God is not glorified, but I am. Again, God resists the proud.
James 3:10b My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
But when I'm speaking Spiritual Truth with a brother or sister, God totally digs that, then, He is Glorified. Or when I speak truth to someone at work, God is Glorified, because I'm doing what I, we, were commanded to do. I'm sharing the Gospel.
So whether we're “in Christ” or “in Adam” is a moment by moment decision. I pray our choices put us in Christ.
Christ died as the last Adam, but was arisen as the Second Man. We are born in Adam, but we are reborn in Christ, the Second Man, Who is the Head of a new race.
We died in Him as the last Adam, we also, live in Him as the Second Man.
God bless
From Adam to Christ
I'm reading a book called “A Normal Christian Life” by Watchman Nee. This book is a study on the book of Romans and there's a important point I'd like to share with you. And I'm only on page 45. This is a really good book and I'm really excited to see what's next.
To begin with, I want to talk about who we are, as opposed to what we do.
We are sinners because we are “in Adam.” We are his descendants. Adam sinned and so our nature, our fallen nature, is sinful. We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. When Adam chose to follow his own will, when he chose to do what satan said, instead of what God said, he sinned. Because we were born in Adam, in his lineage, we were born into his sin. When Adam sinned, we all sinned with him. So, we are sinners from birth, not by anything we did, but by what Adam did. We are his descendants, so our heritage is sin.
Romans 5:19 For as by one man's (Adam) disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One (Christ) shall many be made righteous. KJV (emphasis added)
Father, forgive us for we know not what we do. So, we are born sinners, what can we do about this?
Well, our Father, has already taken care of this. Jesus, being obedient to His Father's Will, sacrificed His Life, taking our sins to the cross. And, on the third day was raised by God, His Father, our Father. So, if you are saved, you died with Jesus on the cross and you were raised with Him on the third day. Jesus was speaking about this when He said in
Matthew 16:24, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. KJV
I believe this is what salvation is, but to continue in Christ we must do this everyday. This is what the Bible says, and the Bible is the Word of God written to us. Also, Jesus is our example, so everything He did, we should do.
So, we are now “in Jesus”. We are His descendants. This means everything He did or went through, we did or went through with Him. Here's the thing, reading the Words and getting excited isn't enough. We've got to start doing what we're told. The main thing Jesus preaches during His 3 1/2 years of ministry, is to seek first the Kingdom of God. This seems like a tall order, but it can be done, if we ask God for direction and guidance and follow His Lead. We can do all things by the power of Christ Who strengthens us.
Do you believe;
In God?
That the Bible is the Word of God spoken to us by His Holy prophets?
That Jesus His Son or do you believe He's just a prophet or neither?
That the Holy Spirit is an active Part of the Trinity?
That the Gifts of the Spirit are real and for today?
In the fivefold ministry and that they are for today? (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers)
That the baptism in the Holy Spirit is real, or do you believe it was just for the people in Bible times or is that for now, too?
If you believe in God and you believe the Bible is His Word, how can you only believe in part of the Bible?
If you only believe in part of the Bible, God's Word, does that make you half of a Christian? Does this mean only half of you will be saved? Will only half of you go to Heaven? How do you choose which parts of the Bible are true and which are false? Wouldn't that be man's religion instead of God's Truth?
If you read the Bible, you can see where everything that has happened and is happening now was prophesied by Jesus and the prophets of God. God actually said He wouldn't do anything without telling us through His holy prophets. But, if you don't believe He talks to us, then you don't believe the Bible, His Word.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. KJV
God bless
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