Month: April 2012

Good morning to you! I trust everyone is reigning in life today, and not stuck in the wilderness.
Today let us look at how people arrive at the wilderness in their lives.

It always starts out with the way we may incorrectly view ourselves, then we begin to think that everyone sees us the way we see ourselves, even though it is deception, accepting the lie of the enemy. The promised land was theirs to possess, but here is what they said in Numbers 13:33, NKJV “there we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers (mere insects) in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Proverbs says “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” What do you think about yourself?

In Joshua 2:9-14, we see the inhabitants of the promised land happened to fear the Israelis, (just mere little insects as they described themselves). The wilderness was never meant to be mans destiny! Israel was trapped there for 40 years all because they believed a lie about themselves. Wow, they were delayed 40 years, from their promised land, (which also means their rest, as Hebrews puts it) just for believing a lie about themselves! What lies have you believed about yourself? Do you feel trapped in the wilderness? Even as you believe the lie, the enemy is utterly afraid of you, because he knows what happened to him at the cross. Just like the giants had heard about Israel and “their hearts melted, neither was there any more courage in them!” Joshua 2:11 NKJV.

The enemy knows, because Jesus disarmed him and made a spectacle of him openly, defeating and triumphing over him. Colossians 2:15.

Hosea 4:6 says “my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” lacking knowledge of what Jesus did for you at the cross, and the fact that He gave you that victory, will cause you to believe a lie such as; your guilty, your unworthy, you can’t be forgiven without sincere proper confession of your sins. The list goes on and on. Religion can be so helpful in propagating these lies. When you believe the lie you WILL condemn yourself, and the self condemnation causes you to doubt God–what he said about you. Do you feel like you are in the wilderness? You can exit today, you don’t have to delay the promised land any longer. You can step over into His rest (promised land) right now!

Learning the gospel of His grace, and believing it will forever change your life, and bring you into His powerful rest. Praise the Lord, He loves you so much!

In order to step out of the wilderness into His rest, you need to believe what God says about you, such as; you are unconditionally loved, you are always forgiven through the blood of Jesus, you are righteous; you are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

A sin consciousness (more conscious of your sins and shortcomings) is believing the lie, and placing you in the wilderness. Whereas righteousness consciousness, is being conscious, and believing who you are in Christ! Romans 4:25 Mirror Translation; Our sins resulted in His death; our righteousness resulted in His resurrection. Romans 5:1 & 18; Righteousness by faith realized means unlimited friendship with God; this is the ultimate conclusion of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is the legal authority of our testimony. Verse 18; The conclusion is clear: it took just one offense to condemn mankind; one act of righteousness declares the same mankind innocent.

You are righteous all the time, so stop being conscious of sin, and become conscious of your righteousness! This my friend is where the promised land, His rest is found! Romans 4:7 Mirror; Oh what happy progress one makes with the weight of sin and guilt removed and one’s slate wiped clean! Jesus wiped your slate forever clean, through His love and by His grace! Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you have to jump through hoops to qualify, or you must confess every sin to be forgiven. You are now and always forgiven as a believer!

In conclusion let’s look at Romans 1:17 Mirror; The secret of the Gospel is this: God did it right in Christ; the righteousness of God means that what happened in Christ, happened to us. His faith ignites ours. (From faith to faith) He is convinced about mankind and now persuades us to believe what he knows to be true about us. The prophets wrote in advance about this life of righteousness which would be based on faith and not on personal performance. Righteousness by faith is your life! (Hab.2:4 In it (this gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith to faith. He is the Author and finisher of faith. Heb.12:1. The gospel is the revelation of the righteousness of God; it declares how God succeeded to put mankind right with him. It is about what God did right, not what Adam did wrong.

Believe what God says about you, enter His rest, and let’s reign in life together!

Good morning everyone, this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

This morning as I was resting and meditating on a scripture, a refreshing rain began to slowly and gently come down. What a refreshing and cleansing sound. As I was enjoying the sound of the gentle rain, and thinking about the intense love God has for us, He brought this scripture to mind; Luke 4:19 Amplified Version “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].

As the rain began to intensify from a gentle rain, to heavy pouring rain, and as I was meditating that verse, I heard the Lord say to me, “that is the sound of the free favors (grace) of mine profusely abounding.”

His grace is so rich and plentiful that it is like a heavy rain coming down, and you can’t help but get soaked in His abundant favor.

In order to receive this wonderful grace of God, you need to believe what Jesus has done for you at the cross of Calvary.
Many Christians think that this world is too terrible a place to be, let’s hurry this up so we can get out of this wicked old place to the other side, heaven, then everything will be OK. This mentality usually has God as the one who kills people in the prime of their life because He needed them in heaven. That is a twisted and erroneous mentality, which sorely misrepresents the gospel (GOOD news). That way of thinking puts everything into the sweet by and by, someday it will all be better. John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” When you think of stealing, killing, and destroying, then you know the thief is behind it. Hosea 4:6 says my people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. They lack knowledge of the perfect redemption Jesus paid for with His blood. Don’t blame God cause He didn’t do it. Jesus came to give you life and He wants you to have it more abundantly! That is the Zoe (God kind and quality) life of God. The sooner we realize the perfection of God’s redemption plan, the sooner we will receive And experience the profusely abounding favors of God in our life, and walk in the overwhelming victory that Jesus paid for with His blood!

The more that Jesus is unveiled to us in the perfection of His redemption plan, the more of His grace is multiplied in our lives. But as long as we have a twisted view of our savior, then we will want to hurry and “get to the other side,” into the sweet by and by. 2nd Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be ‘multiplied’ to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.

It multiplies in the unveiling of what Jesus has already done for you at the cross, giving you victory in Life! He has made us over comer’s in life, so that we can reign as Kings in life! Let’s reign today!

You can expect good today, not because you are good, but because God is good. You can expect to get what Jesus deserves! That is what His grace (undeserved favor) does. Jesus took what you deserved upon Himself at the cross, so that you could have what He deserves! He took our sin, and gave us His righteousness! He took our sickness, and gave us health! He took our confusion, and gave us His peace! He died, so that you could have zoe (the God kind and quality) life!

It is not about your right doing, or good behavior. Right believing always leads to right living. If you believe right, you will live right.

Charles Spurgeon a respected preacher from the early 1900’s said “A lying doctrine will soon beget a lying practice. A man cannot have an erroneous belief without by-and-by having an erroneous life”. What Spurgeon was saying that if your behavior is wrong, it is because there is something wrong with your beliefs.

The more righteousness conscious you are, the more of God’s unmerited favor you will experience. Reign in life today!

Good morning everyone! You are very much loved by God, and you are innocent!

As you know, I have been teaching a lot about our innocence recently, and I have discovered that this subject is a real sore spot for the enemy. Would you like to know why? Ok I will tell you.

Once we realize how unconditionally loved and forgiven we are, and just how completely innocent we are, then guilt and condemnation will no longer have the destructive hold in our lives; as it once did.

With sin came death, with righteousness came restored innocence and life. Zoe life, the God kind and quality of life. Romans 4:25 Mirror Translation; our sins resulted in death; our righteousness resulted in His resurrection. (His resurrection is the receipt to our acquittal. This is one of the most important statements in the entire Bible. Why was Jesus handed over to die? Because of our sins. Why was He raised from the dead? Because we were justified! His resurrection reveals our righteousness! His cross = our sins; His resurrection = our innocence)!

Sin produces guilt and condemnation, which in turn produces death. When people are sin conscious all the time, (always thinking about their sin, and how they have missed it, disappointed God, I’m so unworthy etc.), then they have missed the reality of the cross, allowing their sin consciousness to continue to produce death in their lives. This consciousness clearly reveals that they are attempting to live by the law, the ministry of death according to 1 Cor 3:7, and the ministry of condemnation, 1 Cor 3:9. Their consciousness is constantly condemning them.

When a Christian is righteousness conscious, then they are actually beholding Jesus and His finished work in their consciousness. They are always keenly aware that Jesus was our propitiation (satisfying sacrifice) for our sins. Jesus dealt with sins once and for all, and the righteousness conscious believer knows this, and this produces life, zoe life, the God kind and quality of life in them. They understand that it is a gift, a precious GIFT, which was unearned, undeserved, and unmerited, because of what Jesus finished for us at the cross. They live by His grace, what Jesus has done for them, not what we must do. We did not deserve to be forever forgiven, innocent, and righteous, but thank God we are by His grace! The word propitiation means satisfying sacrifice, Jesus is the sacrifice that satisfied God, and God poured out His grace. Behold Jesus, set your gaze on Him and His finished work for you at the cross! You have been declared innocent! Now be conscious of it and enjoy life (zoe life). Receive His abundance of grace, and free gift of righteousness, and reign in life today!

Good morning everyone! You are the focus of His love!

What drives people to try to be accepted? Rejection, and guilt. Usually those striving to be accepted were told they were not good enough, or that they missed the mark to qualify for their acceptance. To “miss the mark” is actually the bible definition of sin.

We see this a lot with children towards parents who have rejected them. Some children will spend their entire life in the futile pursuit of their parents acceptance. Trying to prove that they are good enough to be accepted. What is the end result of every failed attempt at acceptance? Massive endless guilt and self condemnation!

Here is some good news for you, God accepts you, and He has qualified you through Jesus. When we know we have been accepted by God, the rest becomes unimportant. You can only recognize your full acceptance with God when you know that you have been fully forgiven by Him. If you are still carrying guilt and condemnation, then you will not see yourself fully accepted.

Unfortunately many people not only grew up being rejected by parents and friends, they learned very well how to reject others. They also learned how to use guilt and condemnation to control and manipulate others around them. This has also spilled over into the pulpit. When preachers don’t understand the wealth of Gods love and grace, and just how forgiven and accepted they are, then they begin to use the law to attempt to control the people. They use the ministry of death, (2 Cor 3:7) and the ministry of condemnation (2 Cor 3:9) to produce death and condemnation in the lives of the congregation. I recently had heard a minister tell his congregation that God’s forgiveness was conditional upon the sincere confession of every single sin, and you must mean it too or you won’t be forgiven. He also stated that if you fail to perfectly forgive another person who has offended you, then you “cannot” be forgiven. What an insult to the blood of Jesus. With this mentality you could never really have peace, and know your accepted, because your not sure if you remembered all your sin, and maybe you weren’t really sincere enough. This kind of mentality does not have a clue concerning the finished work of the cross, and they continue to live in their own guilt and condemnation! This reminds me of the Pharisee’s rage every time Jesus said “your sins are forgiven”. They are training up slaves! Romans 8:15 mirror translation, Slavery is such a poor substitute for sonship! They are opposites; the one leads forcefully through fear; sonship responds fondly to Abba Father.

The very centerpiece of the gospel of grace is our forgiveness. In order to have peace with God and KNOW that we are accepted by Him we must know that our sin debt was paid ONCE AND FOR ALL by Jesus at the cross. Romans 5:18 Mirror Translation: The conclusion is clear: it took just one offense to condemn mankind; one act of righteousness declares the same mankind innocent.

Don’t let any man turn you back to the slavery of sin, by telling you, you have to “perform” (confession of every sin), in order to be forgiven and accepted by God! Your freedom in Christ is far to precious, so don’t return to slavery of guilt and condemnation. When you know that you have forever been forgiven, and thus forever accepted, you will never struggle with acceptance again, cause knowing He has accepted you is all that matters! Ephesians 1:4-6 NKJV: 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Yep, you have been accepted, and you are innocent, just receive it, and go reign in life as a King today!

Good morning! Your future is bright in Christ!

Have you ever heard a parent say, “I just want to give my children a better future”. We all want what is best for our children, how much more our heavenly father. Matthew 7:11 says; “if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”

God wants what is best for us, and Jesus has paid the price for us to enjoy the good life. Eph 2:4-10 amplified; 4  But God–so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, 5  Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation). 6  And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One). 7  He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus. 8  For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; 9  Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.] 10  For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

He has prepared the good life, all you have to do is effortlessly walk in it by His grace. Your own self efforts will only frustrate the grace of God, they will get you no where. Knowing what Jesus completed for you at the cross, and resting in His finished work, will effortlessly propel you into His future for you, and it is a bright future abundantly filled with good things. Don’t worry He has you covered, cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you! Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I have toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Praise the Lord, He has a great future for you and your hope is a confident expectation of good in your future. Stir your faith today, dwell on what Jesus has done for you, because faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the finished work of Jesus. Reign in life as a King today!