John 14:25 I have told you these things while I am still with you. 26 But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you. AMPC
When Jesus was preparing to leave He told the disciples as He is telling us today that the Holy Spirit is assigned to take His place. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be all we needed Him to be.
He is our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby. The Holy Spirit is undoubtedly all we need. He will teach us all things; He will remind us of everything Jesus said.
So why do we fail to ask for His help? Is it because we don’t trust in, or actually believe all that He was promised to us? I think it is, I think because we haven’t enough experience with Him, we don’t really believe He can be all He promises He can be for us.
So how do we fix it, how do we start trusting Him? We just start, we start relying on Him by taking Him at His Word. We start asking Him to be all He promises to be.
What if instead of calling a friend or even your Pastor you inquired of the Holy Spirit Who is actually standing by (not busy) and let Him counsel you? What if instead of sending out a zillion prayer requests you asked the Intercessor to intercede for you and get an immediate response? What if you asked Him to be your Teacher?
I think then life would be so different for us. I think then we could actually do the greater works, our given assignments. In my opinion we are too reliant on each other, kind of like the blind leading the blind, and if we were reliant on Him, then we could be the light we were called to be.
April 3, 2018
James 1:11 For the sun comes up with a scorching heat and parches the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away. Even so will the rich man wither and die in the midst of his pursuits.
This makes me think of how it will be when Jesus comes. We will be doing our thing, running in circles trying to provide for ourselves. In the midst of seeking riches and right in the middle of it— just like in the day of Noah, a storm will hit. Suddenly all those things that ruled our lives are not important anymore, in fact instantly vanish from our minds.
I can see it now, people running to find shelter, to find their loved ones, dropping their purses, their shopping bags, falling to their knees in repentance!
I also think of how cozy our lives can be now, but what good does that do if we spend our lives in hell when we leave here? From a warm cozy bed, a cup of hot chocolate by a warm fire to hell where there is no escape, no turning back.
Forget the stuff and pursue Jesus Now before it’s too late!
Believe
John 3: 16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. AMPC
Believing in Jesus is more than just a prayer saying we believe. Believing in Jesus is agreeing with Him by living His way in His Kingdom right here and now on the earth.
When we make it our quest to know Jesus, to believe, trust and rely on Him now, then on that day when we leave here we will move in with that One we believe, the One we know.
God said to me one day. Many think they want to move in with Me one day, but right here and now they don’t agree with Me, or even have time for Me, yet still they think they want to move in with Me when they leave here.
So you see it isn’t just a prayer but a commitment to know Him and be in agreement with Him.
March 23, 2018
John 3: 16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. AMPC
Believing in Jesus is more than just a prayer saying we believe. Believing in Jesus is agreeing with Him by living His way in His Kingdom right here and now on the earth.
When we make it our quest to know Jesus, to believe, trust and rely on Him now, then on that day when we leave here we will move in with that One we believe, the One we know.
God said to me one day. Many think they want to move in with Me one day, but right here and now they don’t agree with Me, or even have time for Me, yet still they think they want to move in with Me when they leave here.
So you see it isn’t just a prayer but a commitment to know Him and be in agreement with Him.
March 21, 2018
Jesus said ask whatever you will and it will be done for you. What are the conditions?
That you come into agreement with Him, that you not only submit to Him, but that you cling to Him, and consent to Him getting rid of the dead branches in your life. Then you can ask of Him and receive, giving honor and glory to the Father showing to be true followers of His.
15:1 I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. 2 Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away (trims off, takes away); and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit. 3 You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you]. 4 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. 6 If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine. AMPC
March 21, 2018
John 10:4 When he has brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will never [on any account] follow a stranger, but will run away from him because they do not know the voice of strangers or recognize their call. AMPC
Our life should be about letting Jesus walk in front of us, following Him so we can know His voice and let Him lead us in the good life He intends for us. When we are willing to follow Him we will know His voice and we won’t follow a strange voice, a voice we’re unfamiliar with, in fact we’ll recognize it as the thief right away, and reject it!
So many times though we listen to that stranger’s voice, even though it is not familiar to us and it doesn’t represent God’s character, we take it anyway. The reason we do is because the thief makes his suggestions look more attractive than God’s direction.
That is how the enemy kills, steals, and destroys in our lives— by getting us to heed his voice, trying to make his way seem better than following the Voice that cares for us.
But as we make it our quest to follow the Shepherd and run from the thief knowing he is a fraud trying to sell us a fake temporary life— then we can live that real abundant life Jesus is talking about.
John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). AMPC
March 19, 2018
John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). AMPC
Jesus in this verse is clearly clarifying that He is the One who cares for us, He came to show us the good, abundant life we can life when we follow Him.
On the other hand if we follow the enemy we will allow him to kill, steal and destroy in our lives.
Our part then is to follow Jesus and there we will find rest. In rest we find peace not confusion, faith not fear, relation not worry, because we are following Him and we hear His voice and He in speaking His truth to us, will cause our hearts not to be troubled.
John 10:9 I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture. AMPC
March 19, 2018
Have you prepared for the rain? Are you ready for the storm ahead?
Matthew 7:24 So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a [sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. 25 And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a stupid (foolish) man who built his house upon the sand. 27 And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great and complete was the fall of it. AMPC
Jesus has given us plenty of warning that His return is soon, He is coming and when He does its over, our time to prepare for the new heaven and the new earth is at end and our actions here and now will determine our destination.
Think with me a minute. What sin do you allow in your life that you tell yourself is okay and it is okay with God? Or, which sin is the one you keep telling yourself you will work on quitting. Or what about the one that you think isn’t that bad and you’re a good person, others have worse sin in their lives than you do?
Sin is sin and sin is what separates us from God now, and will keep us from living with Him when we leave here. Therefore doing what you know to do what is right, is what you want to do without compromise. If you let compromise have its way with you, you haven’t prepared for the storm that is about to hit and complete will be your fall!
March 19, 2018
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves. 16 You will fully recognize them by their fruits. Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? AMPC
Jesus just finished talking about staying on the narrow path when He said to beware of false prophets who come dressed as sheep, but actually inside they are devouring wolves. Jesus is warning us that not all are who they claim to be and if we are following a false prophet we are likely to be on the wrong path leading to the gate that leads to destruction.
If we know Jesus we will recognize a false prophet. If we know Jesus we will know things we can’t know without Him. He will reveal to us a false prophet and warn us just as He has to those in the text we just read.
Jesus is revealing truth to us that we are only to follow Him and to obey Him. He said another time, many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many in error (Matthew 24:11).
It is a scary thing to not know Jesus and put your trust in a man. Jesus is plainly telling us to believe in Him, follow Him and no other.
Look at these truths Jesus reveals to us further in this chapter.
Matthew 21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty works in Your name? 23 And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you; depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands]. AMPC
Looks to me like Jesus is talking to the ones who were dressed like sheep, but inside were devouring wolves.
We have to make sure we know Jesus ourselves and that we too don’t become a false prophet, claiming to know something we don’t, following our flesh or another man instead of Jesus! We have to be sure we are NOT, at any cost disregarding His commands and we cant do that if we don’t know Him and allow Him to correct us.
March 14, 2018
The Narrow Gate— Few Are Those Who Find It! Matthew 7:13 Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it. 14 But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it. AMPC Jesus said to take the gate, enter through the gate that has pressure on it, the gate you can’t seem to get open. Get that gate open because it is a matter of heaven or hell. But the gate is wide that leads to destruction and many are entering through it. Many are on the wide path that leads to that wide gate that has easy access. The enemy knows just how to get to us and that is with what is easy and comfortable. He makes things a little rough (for the Words sake Mark 4:17), just to get us off that narrow path that leads to the narrow gate, that leads to eternal life, and presto— his ploy worked! Anything good is worth fighting for, in fact Jesus said the Kingdom of God is taken by force, yet we don’t fight. He said the Kingdom of God is as a precious pearl we will have to sell out for, but we don’t, we compromise instead. If the summation of who we say we are does not match up with who the Word tells us we should be, then we really are not who we say we are. If when it comes to standing up for Jesus proving His will is good and perfect,yet we quit and give up, then who are we? Instead of taking the counsel of the Holy Spirit, it is well know for many who call themselves Christians to compromise, to do what feels good in the moment instead of press in and do what represents Jesus. What if you knew that your compromise would lead you to hell, or should I say what if you actually believed it does? Wouldn’t that start a fire in you? If you believed hell was a real place, if you believed in it and that you were making a choice right now, each and every moment to enter into heaven or hell when you leave here, would that effect the choices you are making now? What if it is more than a prayer that leads to salvation? What if there was more to the prayer you prayed you weren’t aware of? What if you thought you were fine, but you are in a real place of compromise and on the path that leads to destruction? Wouldn’t you want to know? What if you believed you might be wrong and examined yourself for the possibility of being off of the narrow path? Life is exactly what Jesus said it is. It is a journey down a path that leads to a gate. The narrow path leads to a gate that is hard to get open, there is pressure on it. There is someone trying his hardest to keep you from getting to that gate and through it. The way to get through that gate is to fight your way through it. You will have to fight by doing what is right without compromise. Doing what is not always comfortable, or easy or even popular. You will have to get on your knees every morning and ask the Holy Spirit to correct you and teach you in order to stay on that path that leads to that gate that opens the door to eternal life! The narrow path leads to eternal life, starting now with the choices you make now. The wide path leads to destruction, starting now— with the choices you make now.
March 14, 2018
Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man who [habitually] clothed himself in purple and fine linen and reveled and feasted and made merry in splendor every day.20 And at his gate there was [carelessly] dropped down and left a certain utterly destitute man named Lazarus, [reduced to begging alms and] covered with [ulcerated] sores. 21 He [eagerly] desired to be satisfied with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover, the dogs even came and licked his sores. 22 And it occurred that the man [reduced to] begging died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.24 And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have pity and mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Child, remember that you in your lifetime fully received [what is due you in] comforts and delights, and Lazarus in like manner the discomforts and distresses; but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. I have to ask myself after reading this, am I like this rich man? Do I only think of myself and not the needs of others? I need to ask myself, am only concerned with my comfort and not the comfort of others? Do I continually tend to my comfort and considered not the comfort of those suffering around me? We don’t have to have a mansion to be rich, in fact having Jesus is being truly rich, and especially not sharing Him with those without comfort is selfish and not who we are called to be when we wear that Name! God spoke this to me one day, “ I need you to care about what I care about, My people -not just your family.” I had to ask God to help me with that because He was right I had a love only for my family. I couldn’t see my error as He does. The reason God asked me to care is because I needed that correction to live in His Kingdom. I gave God permission a long time ago to correct me, to keep me right with Him and He is faithful to do that. I don’t want to be like this rich man oblivious to the needs of others because I am self-centered, only concerned with me and my family. Therefore I have to ask God to help me get my mind off of myself and on the needs of others, to serve in love as He does. I hear Him constantly tell me you take care of My stuff, and I will take care of yours. Meaning you do My greater work of love, your assignment, you care about what I care about, and I will be there for you! God does that you know, when you forget about yourself and care more about others then He can actually take care of you! That’s how Love works!
March 12, 2018
Romans 2:11 For God shows no partiality [undue favor or unfairness; with Him one man is not different from another].
God does not look at anyone of us as different, therefore it is not His will to do favors for one person and not another, but the difference in those who have God’s favor is their faith in Him.
If you look throughout Jesus’ ministry on the earth, He said over and over, Your faith has made you well, your faith has made you whole. He also said according to your faith be it done unto you. To a centurion He said I haven’t seen this much faith in all of Israel!
Jesus said to Jairus, only believe when some messengers came to tell him his daughter was dead. He said often, oh you of little faith how long should I put up with you?
Jesus came to show us the Father, His love for us, and how we can trust Him. But what does it take to get that trust? How do we get that faith we need in Him to have the same favor those who received from Jesus had?
They all had one thing in common - faith. How did they get that faith? They followed Jesus around. They heard His teachings and believed what He said. Only those who made the decision to believe followed Him, and those who followed Him grew in their knowledge of Him and began to know Him enough to have trust in Him and then receive from Him.
You can do the same, follow Him, get to know Him, and then you too can receive from Him.
Romans 10:17 So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself). AMPC
March 11, 2018
Having what someone else needs and not giving it is a lack of our faith in God.
James 2:16 And one of you says to him, Good-bye! Keep [yourself] warm and well fed, without giving him the necessities for the body, what good does that do?
How often do we see a need, but because we are afraid of being without we don’t give to that need? If we see someone in need of a coat and we even have four or five coats ourselves, do we reason why we need our coats and then not give one of our coats to that need?
Do we reason with judgment, like the guy on the highway with a sign asking for food instead of getting a job?
Can I suggest to you today that, that guy may be unable to work, unable to maybe even get through a day because of his emotional state, his lack of not having Jesus? What if you gave to him and salvation came through the gift you gave?
The Word tells us that if we give it will be given back to us and more besides (Luke 6:38), thus that allows us to give to those in need, freely knowing that your heavenly Father knows what you have done. Know that giving to the poor, is lending to the Lord and He will reward you (Proverbs 19:17) for giving to one of His children in need!
If we would stop looking at the speck in our brother’s eye and be a doer of the Word, then we would be pleasing the Father. Then we would be living by faith and living by faith is the way to be Christ-like.
If we say we believe in God then we have to also believe and agree with what He said!
James 2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).
March 10, 2018
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]
Why does God say that it is impossible to please Him without faith? Because faith is trust in Him and if we don’t have faith in Him we are really saying we don’t believe Him or trust Him.
So what’s the answer? He said in this same sentence that He rewards those who earnestly (seriously), diligently seek Him out. I would say that seeking Him would be the same as taking the time to know Him. How do we trust someone we don’t know, how can you trust or have faith in a God whom you are not sure what He is thinking?
If you know God, you can know what He is thinking (1 Corinthians 2:16). If you know God you know the things that are to come (John 16:13). If you know God He will share His mysteries with you (Mark 4:11), thus if you know God and you know what He is doing, you will also have peace and that peace is your rest (Hebrews 4:11), your faith in knowing Him.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]
