Tag: prayer

Thrive or Escape

Recently, I have seen some Christian friends concerned over some man-made statue in front of the UN and others worried about things going on in this world. And I am repeatedly reminded that we were not given a Spirit of fear and that is not what God intended for us, to live in fear. It says in the Bible:

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

What is a sound mind? Using good judgment. I’m reminded of the disciples, who had Jesus in the boat, still feared the storm! Would you still fear the storms of life if Jesus was right beside you? Well, he is! He told us he would never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) If you know him well, you can feel his presence. He’s looking for real and a strong faith. We should rebuke the storms of life and have faith to know he will save us from them. Also he gave us power to calm them. That through his resurrection; he has empowered us through the Holy Spirit. This should make us realize nothing man can do or build will harm us.

Matthew 8:26 TPT “But Jesus reprimanded them. “Why are you gripped with fear? Where is your faith?” Then he stood and rebuked the storm, saying, “Be still!” And instantly it became perfectly calm.”

John. 14:12 NLT “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”

And last but certainly not least is if we have this bold faith to declare our faith in Jesus, why are we looking to escape? The Bible disproves escapism. Most of that “let’s leave” teaching was fulfilled in 70 AD and escapism has only been taught for the last two hundred years in the church. Why else would God tell us the righteous shall never be removed from the earth and that his home will be among his people? Why would he say he would never destroy the earth after the flood and that he would never leave or forsake us? If you want to be in the presence of Jesus, you simply must enter in, because he gave us the key. He tore the veil and we have the right to enter the throne room, by our inheritance. It’s time to claim it, by being all he’s called us to be.

Isaiah 45:18 NLT For the Lord is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the Lord,” he says, “and there is no other.

Proverbs 10:30 NLT “The godly will never be disturbed, but the wicked will be removed from the land.”

Revelation 21:1-3 NLT “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.”

If Gods home is among his people, why would anyone want to escape? Where will they escape to? Don’t they think that would be disclosed in the Bible? God tells us everything, why would he leave these details out? He says he reveals the hidden and secret things. I want to know my destiny which is a return to God’s original purpose, heaven on earth. God by my side!! Let’s not destroy what God has made or escape his gift to us.

Mirror Image

If we are created in the image of God, then when he looks at us, what he sees is incorruptible. He sees us as whole. So those who believe on Jesus and look in the mirror and see the corruptible or a sinner, are not seeing Christ within them, and need to adjust their perspective. God does not see us as sinners, he sees us as redeemed. 

“So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1:27 

“…being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever;” – 1 Peter 1:23 

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17 

“My old identity has been co-crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me— we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, dispensing his life into mine ! So that is why I don’t view God’s grace as something peripheral. For if keeping the law could release God’s righteousness to us, then Christ would have died for nothing.” – Galatians 2:20-21 

So if we have been crucified with Christ when we are saved, are we not persecuting him when we call ourselves sinners and in effect rejecting his Grace, amazing Mercy, and our own salvation? Are we not saying his sacrifice was not good enough? If we cannot see him when we look in the mirror, it is only because our perspective is off, not because anything he has done. It is like a person who goes through a body transformation of some kind. If you get a haircut after years of long hair or dye your hair another color, you may not recognize yourself at first. It takes a while to accept your new image, but the image Christ gives us is a Holy one. If we have the the mindset that we aren’t worthy, then we need to reread the Bible and look up where it says we are a ‘royal priesthood’ and ‘a chosen generation!’ We are God’s heirs! We are his and nothing can separate us from his Love! (Romans 8:31-38) We need to remind ourselves that the person we were before is gone. For some people, it is easier to accept than for others. We each grow in different increments, but the more we understand the Word, the quicker we grow. So if you’re having trouble seeing yourself as redeemed, or if you’ve strayed from your faith, talk to Jesus just like you talk to a friend and read the word. If we immerse ourselves in the word, we easily recollect it and it becomes our sword, our companion, and our daily reminder of who we are.

“But you are God’s chosen treasure —priests who are kings, a spiritual “nation” set apart as God’s devoted ones. He called you out of darkness to experience his marvelous light, and now he claims you as his very own. He did this so that you would broadcast his glorious wonders throughout the world. For at one time you were not God’s people, but now you are. At one time you knew nothing of God’s mercy, because you hadn’t received it yet, but now you are drenched with it!” – 1 Peter 2:9-10 

Wow! I want to be drenched with the Word of God! What a blessing. But first we must study it and capture its meaning. If we know that we have freedom from the law because Christ fulfilled it and gave us a perfect law – one of liberty or freedom, which frees us from seeing ourselves as sinners. Yet, we still must guard our hearts to not sin in the future. We do this by renewing our minds with the word, loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And by loving others, even our enemies.

“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” – James 1:23-25 

Prayer. Father, help me see  Christ when I look in the mirror. Help me to follow Jesus’ example Help me to love others.  

The Light of Godliness

How much do we truly identify with our new nature as Christians vs the natural conditions we face on this Earth? Jesus said we would face trials and tribulations. There’s no getting around them, but do we identify with them more than we identify with who we are in Christ? Do we allow them to be our excuse or our cop-out for bad behavior when we should use restraint or allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into better behavior?

John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Matthew 5:47-48 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Downstream

Jesus is our best example of how to treat others, think of him when he was being beaten and scourged, he didn’t lash out. Not that we should take illness as our lot, we shouldn’t, because he paid the price for us, but while we are enduring, we should remain humble. He is our refuge and healer.

I know Christians who face serious illnesses with Grace and mercy. If you were to meet them for the first time, you would never know how ill they are. I’ve even known friends who were dying of cancer and never uttered a word to others about their condition, except when they were in horrific pain. Otherwise, they kept a cheerful attitude facing the world with dignity and never complained. Then I’ve known others who cry over the smallest paper cut as if they needed great attention and care, leading others to think they were the ones dying with their dramatization. And some who scream or are short fused with their family when they feel the slightest twinges of problems, or scream at them when they did nothing wrong. Who in these instances are allowing the light of godliness to shine through?

2 Peter 1:5-9 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

I’m not saying we should hide our feelings, but we shouldn’t use our conditions for ill behavior. For instance, if you’ve had a bad day at work or driving home in traffic, do you take it out on your family when you get home? That isn’t godliness. It’s allowing your circumstances to control your outlook and ruin other people’s days, when they weren’t the cause of your situation. If you feel ill, should you snap at those around you? Should you bark orders and expect others to wait on you hand and foot? No, and they shouldn’t feel obligated to do so either. They may feel sorry for your condition, but it isn’t their fault that you have the medical or emotional condition you have. I’ve known families that cater to one person with an illness because they play a guilt trip on others for their lot in life, making everyone in the family wait on them hand and foot. By the same token, I’ve known family members who ignore family members who seem to have one illness or problem after another. Neither attitude is right. There should be a balance; a give and take. The one who seems to keep having medical issues certainly never asked for them and needs understanding and compassion. They need acknowledgement from their family, not a ‘sweep it under the rug’ as if it doesn’t exist. Certainly, we have a hope that any illness or calamity will be healed by the blood of Jesus, but in the meantime, show them you care without making their condition a reason for them to act out. Obviously, some conditions may limit them from physical abilities they’ve had before, but it shouldn’t limit the one suffering the ability to show kindness, mercy, and grace. In fact, if anything, it should do the opposite and make them more compassionate and tenderhearted towards others. Sadly, that isn’t always the case and many lash out in anger.

James 1:26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

When I see this in Christian brothers and sisters I want to say, “Get over yourself! Who is your source?! What are you drawing on? What makes you entitled to special favors and treating others poorly?!” I’m not saying I’ve never been grouchy when I feel ill, I have and normally I catch it and apologize quickly to anyone I’ve said any harsh words to, but I don’t live there. I’m talking about people who live in that state and wear it like a badge. You are not defined by whatever “fill in the blank” condition you have, you are defined by God and who he created you to be! You are his righteousness and his holy ones, act like it and treat others how you want to be treated. You are not this disease, this condition, this illness, this whatever. You were created in the image of God…. Think about that… Created in the Image of God…

Ultimately, if we are Christians, we will grow and have the fruit of the Spirit, which does not burden others or put upon them or put forth angry words or speak harshly. What are the fruits of the Spirit?

Galatians 5:22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.