TRUST GOD, DON’T FEAR

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Fear is a spirit that does not originate from your Father, so do not entertain it even for a second. Fear seeks to rob you of your peace, fear seeks you throw you into a frenzy, fear seeks to paralyze you and render you ineffective; bottom line, fear seeks to kill, steal and destroy everything in your life and if possible eliminate you too. The Apostle Paul writing to Timothy and by extension to each one of us today, had this to say concerning fear:

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

You see, we have no reason to tolerate any form of fear in our lives. Let me hasten to add that the fear of the Lord is different, it is worshipful reverence of the Father, it is not this demonically inspired stuff that seeks to terrorize and enslave people who have been made in the image and likeness of God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the fear of the Lord brings understanding, the fear of the Lord has a positive outcome and effect in one’s life. It should both be cultivated and maintained, and that is done by spending time with the Lord in the Word and prayer and fellowship with the Holy Spirit as well as with other saints.

We have the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind in us, and He is constantly reminding us of what Jesus has done for us and who we are in Him. Jesus has already conquered and thoroughly routed the enemy and He’s already made a public spectacle of the devil. Someone counted 365 instance in the Bible where the phrase “do not fear” appears. You see, God is constantly reminding us not to fear but instead, to trust Him. He knows how destructive fear can be if we allow it into our lives.

After His resurrection, Our Lord made this declaration before issuing the great commission:

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. – Matthew 28:18 NIV

He didn't just declare that He had been given ALL AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth, He went on to delegate it to us so that we can boldly go and make disciples of all nations knowing that we have heaven’s backing. We have His Word and His Word is sure, it is forever settled in Heaven. You see, Jesus as the last Adam, didn't just recover the authority that Adam had lost to the Satan, No, He did that and more. Adam did not have ALL authority in heaven and on earth, he only had authority on earth, so the last Adam, Jesus Christ, accomplished infinitely much much more for us, than just recovering what Adam had lost. Meditate on that and watch all fear dissipate!  

When we succumb to the fear inducing deceptive tactics of the enemy, we are essentially stepping over into unbelief; fear is simply a display of one’s lack of trust in God and His Word. Fear is that evil wicked spirit that seeks to cast God in as negative a light as possible; fear sends the message that God is not who He says He is and He won’t do for You what He promised in His Word. Fear is an expression of the enemy’s native tongue - Lies, and must be immediately countered with the truth of the Word of God.

Notice, the enemy won’t dispute Biblical accounts of God doing what He did for those who trusted Him back then, but through fear he will seek to convince you that God won’t come through for you and he’ll be quick to list a number of accusations against you. That’s why it is important to fix your eyes on Jesus at all times, He is our High Priest, He is our advocate with the Father, He is our righteousness; our trust in His perfect sacrifice of Himself for us is what qualifies us to receive and walk in all of His blessings.

Once you take your eyes off of Jesus, that is once you stop focusing on Jesus, you’ll start focusing on yourself and the enemy will be more than happy to point out all your shortcomings all the while whispering to you how you don’t

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qualify for anything from God and how you shouldn't waste your time telling others of the goodness and grace of God, he’ll even try to convince you that everyone will laugh at you and ridicule you. Big deal! They did the same to Jesus, don’t let that faze you. Don’t fall for that old serpent’s antics, don’t allow the fear of man into your heart, for fear ensnares and paralyses.

²⁵ Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
        but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. – Proverbs 29:25 NIV

Your protection, provision, strength and empowerment is in trusting in the Lord. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father and fear is neither good, nor is it perfect, so reject it! Live from a place of power, love and a sound mind in the Holy Spirit, that’s your inheritance in Christ. 

LESSONS FROM THE MASTER’S LIFE: Your Destiny Awaits, Embrace It!

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⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. – Luke 2:52 KJV

Here we see Jesus growing both physically and mentally and also in favor with God and with people. We get the idea that He was well liked by those who came into contact with him as He was growing up into being a fine young carpenter. Before long it would be time for Him to start fulfilling the purpose for which He came, which if I may give you a hint, wasn't to be the best carpenter that ever lived, but you already knew that, didn't you?! 

Lesson #1

Child of God you, as you grow in grace you will go through times of transition, expect them knowing you are being molded into a vessel fit for the Master’s use. By His Spirit, like the Apostle Paul, endeavor to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of you. He’s got everything figured out, He knows the future, He is there already. Trust Him and pursue Him with everything you've got, and we actually do that by responding to the Holy Spirit who’s constantly tugging at our hearts and drawing us to Himself.    

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After His baptism and routing of the enemy, Jesus came back in the power of the Spirit, ministered powerfully in Capernaum then went to His hometown of Nazareth where He had grown up. And as was His custom, on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, was handed the book of Isaiah; He opened it and found Isaiah 61 and basically declared who He was and what He came to do:

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¹⁸ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, ¹⁹ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

²⁰ And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.²¹ And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. – Luke 4:18-21 KJV

As soon as He says, today this Scripture is fulfilled in your ears, to say the people of Nazareth, the familiar faces He’d grown up among, were not amused is an understatement. They were like, we know this guy, isn't this the carpenter’s son? Aren't His brothers and sisters here with us? Where did He get all this wisdom and power (Matthew 13:55-58)? Their attitude in essence was, who does He think He is? Coming here and claiming to be the messiah…He fell out of favor with them very quickly. These were the very people who should’ve been the first to support Him. We know that even His own family did not believe in Him, at least not right away (John 7:5), they eventually did.

        

Even in the face of such sudden hostility Jesus didn't back down, He stuck to His guns, as it were, saying “a prophet has no honor in his own town”. That went over well...NOT!

²⁸ And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,²⁹ And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. ³⁰ But he passing through the midst of them went his way. – Luke 4: 28-30 KJV

Lesson # 2:

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The moment you step out to fulfill your destiny in God, don’t expect everyone to support you. Those closest to you may not understand you. Others may think they've got you figured out and know what you ought to be doing and now they are shocked and outraged that you are not toeing the proverbial line as expected. Don’t fret, don’t back down, don’t try to defend yourself, like the apostles of old remind yourself, the enemy and everyone else that: ...We ought to obey God rather than men. – Acts 5:29 KJV

You are better off obeying God and being in the center of His will than living miserably in disobedience (and I'm being extra nice here..it's actually living in pride and idolatry) just because you are afraid of offending people. Doesn't the Word say the fear of man will prove to be a snare (Proverbs 29:25)? If you are still on the fence, I urge you to consciously choose to pursue your destiny in God today. Do not let anything or anyone deter you from fulfilling the ministry that God has entrusted to you. When faced with opposition, consider Jesus and know that He is with you and in you. You have Heaven’s backing.

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There is an infinitely lot more we can glean from the Master’s life, this is but a tiny snapshot, a momentary flash, a sneak preview, if you will! Much blessings to you!

CONSIDER JESUS!

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¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, - 2 Timothy 3:12 NIV

Because of our faith in Jesus, we will face opposition and ridicule from the enemy and those he has under his grip. Understand this, as a follower of Christ, your very presence on this planet spells doom to the enemy, he will stop at nothing to discourage you, he will not pass up an opportunity to weigh you down with anything he can. You are a threat to him, his biggest threat actually, if you weren't he wouldn't bother with you. Jesus already told us what to expect:

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. – John 15:18 NKJV

The enemy wants to distract you from running the race that your Father has set before you because as you pursue your destiny in God, the enemy’s domain keeps on shrinking, every step you take in agreement with and obedience to God results in God being glorified, and as God is glorified, the enemy continues to suffer loss and humiliation again and again as those he’s held captive are being freed when we walk in sync with Heaven.  

Know this, the devil’s favorite weapon of choice is religion, through it he will try to make you feel like you don’t measure up, you are not holy enough, you are not even saved; the enemy has effectively used religion to make people feel like God is mad at them and is out to get them, the devil will stop at nothing in his quest to pile guilt, shame and condemnation on you. The good news is, you don’t have to accept anything he throws your way, resist him by steadfastly looking unto Jesus.

If he can wear you down to the point of giving up, then he’s accomplished his purpose of rendering you ineffective in dismantling his kingdom and freeing his captives. The enemy’s strategy is to get you to take your eyes off Jesus and to look at yourself instead. He knows that as long as you have your eyes fixed on Jesus, his wiles and schemes against you are toast. Whenever feelings of giving up, discouragements or disappoints assail your mind, consider Jesus. Make the deliberate decision to think about Jesus and all that He victoriously went through for you.

³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. – Hebrews 12:3 NIV

Remember the account of Peter walking on the water? With his eyes fixed on Jesus he walked on the water just fine but the moment he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the waves he started drowning – lesson – every time we take our focus off of Christ, we end up drowning in what we were once walking on. Every time we take our eyes off Jesus, we end up being overwhelmed by situations and circumstances. The Word admonishes us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2)

When the enemy tries to get you to look at yourself, don’t fall for his trap. He will first try to get you to look at all your accomplishments and the moment you start feeling good about what you've done, he’ll quickly switch channels and bring up all your past shortcomings, failures, mistakes and sins while whispering and screaming all kinds of accusations at you. Don’t be fooled, pay him no attention, never take your focus off of Jesus. His perfect sacrifice is the basis of your acceptance before the Father, it is also your guarantee of victory in this life. The apostle Paul knew this firsthand, no wonder he said he was forgetting the past and moving on forward (Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV)

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We should not allow the devil to dangle our performance of lack thereof before us. We are not ignorant of his devices and because of that we should not give him a foothold in our lives. The Lord has already told us that in this world we will have tribulations, but we should be of good cheer because He has overcome and since we are in Him, we are already victorious.

Are you enjoying good times? Consider Jesus! Are you facing tough times? Consider Jesus! Always, consider Jesus!  

PAY ATTENTION AND SPEAK OUT IN FAITH

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²⁰ In the morning as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.²¹ Then Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” ²² Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. ²³ Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. ²⁴ So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. – Mark 11:20-24 NRSV   

The disciples heard Jesus curse the fig tree after not finding fruit on it (Mark 11:12-14). The next day as they were passing by, they all saw the fig tree had withered but no one said a thing, well no one except for Peter. He was amazed and obviously impressed as he excitedly recounted to Jesus what had happened to the fig tree. In his excitement he revealed that he actually didn't think Jesus' words would have the effect they did on the tree, he simply didn't believe it would happen, after all it wasn't even fig season yet, you know... It was more like an “AHA” moment for Peter, he was like “what you said actually happened”.

Now, notice it wasn't Jesus who drew His disciples’ attention to the withered fig tree; He wasn't like “check this out guys remember I cursed this fig tree yesterday, it’s now all dried up, see”. Jesus wasn't one bit surprised that His words had come true, He knew it had to happen because that is exactly what He said. He knew life and death is in the power of the tongue, He knew He could have whatever He said because He didn't entertain doubt and unbelief in His heart. His response was simply “have faith IN God” or as another version puts it “have the faith OF God”. He was simply saying have my faith and have faith in me, remember He is God and He now lives in you by His Spirit, so you have His faith, it is now your responsibility to release it.

If Peter hadn't remarked the way he did, they would've probably walked right along past the withered fig tree and we probably wouldn't have gotten the promises of vs. 23 and 24, at least not there and then. Today, we may go through life without recognizing, let alone acknowledging what God is doing in and around us. Many times we are oblivious to the manifestation of His power in our lives; we just take things for granted and move right on with our set agendas, missing out on opportunities for experiencing growth and intimacy with the Lord. We are not unlike the disciples of the Lord in that regard. 

We will do well to echo the psalmist's reminder to his soul:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits: - Psalms 103:2 NKJV

I wonder how many times before and after this incident were the disciples oblivious to all the signs, wonders and miracles Jesus did and therefore missed some insights which would've been helpful to them and to us today? I believe there were many many such instances, no wonder John ends his gospel this way:

²⁵ And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen. – John 21:25 NKJV

The Lord took that fig tree incident discussion a step further. He showed us how to deal with setbacks. He went on to lay out simple, clear and very practical instructions on how to deal with mountains in our lives: We are to speak to the mountain - not to grovel and complain and beg God to do something about the mountain. In Christ, you have the authority, so you now get to tell the mountain exactly where to go. We are to speak in faith, that is, not doubting whether what we are saying will come to pass or not, we are to speak confidently believing that what we say must happen and it shall be done! 

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Jesus promised it, we have His word, we have His Spirit, we have His faith, what else are we waiting for, beloved?! Don’t let that mountain that is in front of you block your view, deny you access or hinder your progress, it’s time you spoke to it in your God given faith-filled authoritative voice and watch it give way in obedience to your words. Blessings! 

CHRIST: Front And Center, ALWAYS!

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Whenever the perfect sacrifice of Christ is eclipsed by some grandiose testimony, whenever the complete and perfect redeeming work of our Savior Jesus Christ is supplemented or discounted by some super human will and ingenuity, whenever the cross of Christ is sidestepped or ignored, however well meaning the minister, rest assured, they are not inspired by the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul, with all the revelations and supernatural encounters he had, not once did he elevate his experiences above or at the expense of t

he cross of Christ, not once. He knew everything he ever got to experience came about as a result of Christ’s sacrifice of Himself on that rugged cross. No wonder he kept the cross of Christ front and center in his life and epistles. He knew it was all by God’s grace.

¹⁴ But I will never brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ... – Galatians 6:14 CEV  

Anytime you hear lofty sounding, often "christianese"-laced, teachings on curses, prosperity, success or whatever the trending fad of the day is, with Christ and His Cross being but a footnote, be very very aware! Do not submit to any teaching that purports to give you some extra spiritual insight into stuff that isn't Christ centered, to do so is to open yourself up to deception and heartache. Everything you need is in Christ and Christ is in you by His Spirit, remember you are His temple and He has promised to be with you always, even when you don’t feel like it. Do not fall for the enemy’s lies that you are inadequate, that you are not complete in Christ.

The spirit of religion will always want to make you feel like you lack something, like your are not complete without a certain “anointing” and then the same spirit of religion will cause you to look to the “man of God” as the one with the answer to your need, after all he’s anointed, right? Right he may be anointed but…wrong, you are to look to Christ in you, the hope of glory, not to the man of God of the hour! If you've succumbed to such a notion, you've just joined the ranks of idol worshipers – you've just made the minister your very own special idol – anyone or anything that takes the place of God in your life becomes your idol, it’s that simple, really.

Now, don’t get me wrong, God anoints people for ministry but He doesn't want you to look to man for anything, look to Him alone. Yes God will use others to minister to you and built you up in your faith, He has ordained different ministries for that but they are not to be your spiritual crutch or ATM. Any minister who encourages such unhealthy co-dependency is either insecure or immature or both and has no business ministering, seriously. Ministers worth their weight in gold should be constantly teaching and reminding the saints of who they are and what they have IN CHRIST. They should constantly be pointing saints to the cross of Christ and His finished work reminding them that that is the reason they too have full access into God’s presence as His beloved children.

Yes, God uses others to call out what’s already on the inside of us, and that’s mostly for confirmational purposes. You have the Spirit of God in you with all His gifts already, what the laying on of hands and prophecy does, is to call forth and activate the specific gifts and graces that are already in you that are required for your specific situation and after that it is your responsibility to stir them up as you fulfill your destiny in Christ.      

One very basic thing to remember is this: When you got born again, you became a new creation in Christ. That means you became a brand new

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species, spiritually speaking. Born of the Spirit of God Himself, your Spirit is made alive again towards Him and joined as one to His Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). God is no longer just your God, He is now your Father – you share His very own Spiritual DNA as it were, you have become one with Deity. You now have in you everything you will ever need for life and godliness in this world (2 Peter 1:3). Now you begin an exciting journey of discovering what you already have in and because of Christ.  Christ now becomes the starting point, the finish point and every point in between – He has truly become your very life. We will then be able to echo the Apostle Paul: “for me to live is Christ…” (Philippians 1:21).

He who has an ear to hear…

         

    

RENEW YOUR MIND, LET YOUR SPIRIT LEAD

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We do not do good deeds so that we may be accepted by God, no we do good deeds because we have already been accepted by God. He has already declared us righteous in Christ. Jesus’ perfect sacrifice of Himself for us is the only basis upon which God freely and unreservedly accepts us and makes us brand new creations. All we need to do is to repent from our sins and dead works of trying to earn God’s acceptance through our own efforts and believe in Jesus and in what He has done for us.

Once you are in Christ then good deeds are to be the norm, for God has already prepared them for us, we just manifest them as we go about our lives every day.

¹⁰ For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. – Ephesians 2:10 NRSV

Yes, in Christ, good works are our way of life! Our recreated spirits which have become one with God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17) take charge in our lives, our souls and bodies follow suit. Now since our soul is the seat of all our decisions and we are spirit, soul and body, it becomes a numbers game. If the soul follows the spirit then we do what our spirits want and if the soul follows our bodies, we end up doing what our bodies want. Now since you are in Christ, you have a new recreated spirit and it has the power to influence your soul, unlike someone who is not a believer, their spirit is not alive to God, so naturally it is their flesh that leads and influences their soul.

This is the reason why the Word of God consistently urges us not to be conformed to the pattern of this world but to be renewed in our souls. As our minds, which are in our souls, are renewed to what the Word of God says, we then begin to act according to our newly recreated spirits and we find ourselves living godly and fruitful lives. If our minds are not renewed by the Word, we end up being led by our fleshly carnal desires. This would explain why some believers live shoddy and shady lives even though they are born again. Like I said, it’s a numbers game. It is always 2  against 1.

God knew all of this and that is why He gave us the Scriptures, as the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:

¹⁶ All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NRSV 

There you have it! Even though in Christ good works have already been prepared for us, we can know them and effectively walk in them, that is carry them out, as we learn of them in the Scriptures. It is important to point out that the Word of God teaches us, reproves us, corrects us and trains us in

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righteousness not for righteousness. We are being trained by God’s Word how to conduct ourselves in this righteousness in which we stand –that is,  in His very own righteousness and as that happens we are being equipped to effectively do every good work that He has already prepared beforehand for us.

Put a premium on spending time in the Word and let it renew your mind to the point where your soul submits to your brand new recreated spirit, there will arise in you an eagerness to do good works (Titus 2:14) which will in turn result in much fruit and that glorifies your Father who loves you eternally and unconditionally and desires only the best for you.

Much blessings to you beloved!   

HEAR, HEAR!

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The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. ² Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. ³ They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. ⁴ For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. – 1Timothy 4:1-5 NIV

Any revelation, any teaching, any message that leaves you, a Blood bought Spirit-filled saint of the Most High, with feelings of guilt, condemnation, fear, insecurity or inadequacy is not from God. Such messages only seek to intimidate, manipulate and control believers; their origin is both fleshly and demonic.

Any corrective or warning message from the Holy Spirit will affirm you as His and  then point you to your Savior – Jesus who gave His life for you to present you holy and blameless to Himself. The Lord’s rebuke to His children is that of a loving Father to His kids.

Remember what happened on the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter suggested they build three huts, one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah, essentially putting the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) on the same level with Jesus (Grace and Truth, the Father’s Express Image), the Father swiftly rebuked Him. While Peter was still speaking, the Father interrupted him.

⁵ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” – Matthew 17:5 NRSV    

When the Lord corrects you, when He disciplines you, He is maturing you as a Son, it is a sign that more responsibility is headed your way, so be zealous and repent quickly, change your thinking and your actions will follow suit. As a branch in the Vine, pruning is inevitable, otherwise you will not bear much fruit. Remember, His love for you is perfect and eternal, even when He is "pruning" you.

 ⁶ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. – Revelation 3:6 NIV   

IT IS ALL BY HIS GRACE

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We are saved by grace, we grow in grace, we are taught by grace, it is by grace that we are enabled to do what we have been called to do. God has given to each one of us different giftings and graces to go with them. God's grace is with us all the way and as the old song so beautifully sums it up, “‘Tis grace that’s brought me thus far and grace will lead me home”! Grace is God’s unearned, unmerited favor.  

The Word of God declares that there is no one righteous, no not one. Our own righteousness, however well packaged, is like filthy rags before God. The bottom line is we cannot save ourselves from the penalty of sin which is death – an extremely torturous eternal separation from God in a place called hell. The Good News is, hell doesn't have to be your destiny; God loves you and has made a way for you to eternally live in His presence.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16 NKJV

That’s the very reason why Jesus came – to SAVE US and we receive this salvation and eternal life by BELIEVING IN HIM and in WHAT HE HAS DONE. We are saved by God’s grace, through faith, as the Word declares:

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV       

There you have it, our salvation is by grace alone, we cannot contribute any of our efforts to it, we cannot earn it; it is a GIFT from God to be received by faith, period! And that offends the flesh, that offends the religious mindset which would rather have us feeling like we are contributing towards our own salvation, but nothing could be further from the truth. We cannot add to the perfect, finished work of Christ, try as we may, to try to do so is an insult to the Spirit of Grace.

All we can do is receive this wonderful gift of Salvation by faith, as we believe and confess Jesus according to Romans 10:8-10. Jesus took the sins of the whole world (John 1:29) Salvation is available for the entire human race but it is NOT automatic, everyone has to make that all important decision to believe in Jesus, God loves you so much but He will not violate your right to choose. He didn't do it in the garden, He’s not going to start now, God is consistent. Repent and believe in Jesus today!

Now, chances are, someone might conclude that grace results in believers doing nothing, since anything one does will be “works”, but such a view is incompatible with what the grace of God produces in the lives of the saints. A cursory look at the life of the Apostle Paul, the greatest grace preacher of the early church, will attest to this truth. The Apostle Paul wasn't bashful about what the grace of God had accomplished in and through him. This is what He said:

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. – 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 NKJV

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God’s grace in the life of a believer results in supernatural effectiveness. As you rest in God’s grace, you will find yourself growing in Christlikeness and being much more effective than if you tried following a set of man-made rules. You will have fresh appreciate for what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “it is no longer I that liveth but Christ…” and your life will glorify God.

Receive the grace of God today and let it empower you to be effective in the Kingdom. His grace is sufficient and He is extending it to you today, receive it!

JESUS IS MORE THAN WILLING – Ask, Believe And Receive

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Our heavenly Father is more than willing to fully supply us with everything that we need and everything that proceeds from Him is good and perfect. God doesn't give imperfect or shoddy gifts to His children, only the best – the good and perfect kind! And God doesn't change His mind when it comes to the gifts that He gives, they are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). 

James, the Lord’s half-brother was privileged to have this revelation and later inspired by the Holy Spirit to share it with the saints.

¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. – James 1:17 NKJV

Jesus is ready to meet all your needs, come to Him by faith, bring all your needs before Him. He wants you to be specific so you will know that He has met your needs. He encourages you to ask that you may receive and your joy may be full. Jesus loves you with an everlasting love and wants to establish fellowship with you personally. He wants you to share your heart with Him and He wants to do the same with you, and to that end He isn't satisfied with being your generic one-size-fits-all provider. He desires to specifically and relevantly supply your needs.

²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. – John 16:24 NKJV

Remember when Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding at Cana? (John 3) They went and took part in the festivities, who said Jesus wasn't social?! He went to a wedding not on a mission to preach the Gospel there but just to take part in the celebrations. When they ran out of wine, His mother Mary, came and asked Him to help out, now look at what Jesus did? He didn't start preaching on the evils of being drunk on wine and all such stuff that probably many modern-day believers would've gladly done thinking they are not compromising with the “world”.

Jesus didn't tell the people there to repent even though it is more than likely that they were good candidates for repentance. Instead He went ahead and made them the best wine they had ever tasted and lots of it too, isn't that just like our Father – to provide exceedingly abundantly, above and beyond – and the celebrations ensued. The guests even began to blame the MC for keeping the best wine up to that moment! That’s Jesus providing what was needed right there and then, how relevant, how merciful! Contrary to what many think today, Jesus isn't out to put a damper on your party, invite Him to get involved in your daily undertakings and see His abundant supply brighten your day.     

When Jesus asked Bartimaeus the blind beggar (Mark 10:46-52), “what do you want me to do for you?”, it wasn't because Jesus didn't see that he was blind, that was obvious to everyone around but I submit to you Jesus saw all the needs of that blind beggar and granted him the opportunity to articulate which ones he wanted taken care of.  You will recall his cry was for the Lord to have mercy on him, now that’s quite general a prayer. Jesus gave him the opportunity to make it more specific. If the man had mentioned more than just his eyesight, I believe he would have received more than just his eyesight.

Source: Google Images

As children of God, we have numerous promises of provision from our Father. He has promised us of His endless abundant supply; the Bible is replete with promises and reassurances of His ability, His desire and His willingness to meet all our needs. As a loving and responsible Father, God wants you to know He’s always there for you, He’s promised to never leave you nor forsake you. Rest assured, He is right there with you this very moment by His Holy Spirit who lives in you. 

Jesus is always more than willing to meet all of your needs; ask Him, believe in Him and receive from His hand today. He loves you with an everlasting love. Blessings!