Who are YOU?

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Today, I'm sharing this word of comfort and encouragement that I received from the Spirit of God a little while ago. 

I believe everyone, everywhere, at one point or another, regardless of whether you are going through a rough patch or having a mountaintop experience, you need to hear this, or at least, to be reminded of this truth. I call you blessed! 



Your identity comes from Me and no one else. 
In Christ you are my child and I am pleased with you. 

You are not what your circumstances say you are, 

you are not what people say you are, 

you are not what you do or don't do, 

you are who I say you are.

Learn to accept and value My opinion of you, 

value it  more than anyone else's opinion of you, 

man's opinion of you can and will change, but Mine will never, 

It has been established from eternity. 

And now you get to walk in the revelation of it. 

In Christ Jesus and through faith in Him alone, 

You are My child, My son, My heir

Stand strong in Me, 

Stand firm in who you are in and to Me. 

You are My beloved, 

that's your true identity, 

live in it and live from it, 

and experience My joy, My rest and My peace, 

regardless of what's going on around you.

Again, I call you blessed!

Stay the Course!

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I'm sensing the Spirit of God is impressing upon my spirit to release the following words of  ENCOURAGEMENT, EXHORTATION AND COMFORT to all ministers going through some rough patches right now!
You can count on the Lord's steadfast love and faithfulness towards you.
STAY THE COURSE!
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Beloved, when all is said and done,
the trying situation you are facing right now will pale in comparison to the glory that awaits.
Just as all things shall pass...yes all things... the Father's Word is the only exception, for it is forever settled in Heaven...
you will outlast whatever you're up against.
You are not alone, you have your Father's Spirit in you, 
Through Christ you can do all things, yes ALL things. 

Refuse to doubt Him who called you, instead latch onto His promise and stay the course!

The mountain in front of you doesn't make any difference to The One who called you by His Name and not only made you a partaker of His Divine Nature, but also anointed you and made you an able minister of the New Covenant! His banner over you is love, His perfect love - receive it and banish all fear! Mountains crumble before Him, nothing can stand against the King of Kings  and Lord of Lords! Nothing!

Remember, He who has begun a good work in you will complete it, yes He will.
He is faithful to finish what He starts, so stay the course.
When the terrain gets challenging, He steadies your feet, 
when the winds howl, He shelters you, 
when the seas get rough, remember He is holding you,
when the storms rage, He is your peace...

Fear not, you are not going under, you are going over!
So stay the course!

You will go through fire, yes you will...but... 
fear not, it is the Refiner's fire and you will come out of it glowing,
reflecting Christ Jesus all the more!
Like clay in the Potter's hands you will be molded as He sees fit,
and you will come out rejoicing!
A vessel fit for the Master's use, 
disseminating the fragrance of Christ everywhere you go,
with a new song of the Father's enduring mercy and faithfulness.
Do not abort, your expectation will not be cutoff,
Stay the course!

FEAR NOT...YOU ARE LOVED!

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Beloved, whatever you are going through, do not yield to fear, be it fear of man or fear of failure, fear of death or even fear of the unknown... do not entertain it, not even for a second and do not even try to rationalize it, it's never ok and it certainly doesn't belong in you.

Fear in any area comes from believing a lie in that area. It originates from the father of lies who seeks to incapacitate us any way he can but thanks be to the Spirit of Truth in us, we are not ignorant of the enemy's devices. The Spirit of God in us assures us that we are God's dearly beloved children and that God is for us, so who can be against us? The Scriptures are replete with "fear not" exhortations.

In Christ we are righteous and that gives us boldness before God, we really have nothing to fear! "The righteous are bold as a lion" as the Good Book says!

Giving in to fear is to forget your true identity as a beloved child of God - and that's not good. 

Remember that your heavenly Father who loves you perfectly and eternally has not given you the spirit of fear, instead, He has given you the spirit of love, power and a sound mind (also translated as self-control).

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Giving in to fear will:

- Render you powerless
- Hinder you from walking in love
- Cause you to lose self-control

Meditate on the truth that you are perfectly loved and accepted in the Beloved, that is in Christ Jesus, the Son of God and Saviour of the world.  Let God's perfect love cast out all forms of fear. You belong in the family of God and you are fearless - yes you! So, beloved, lift your head high, square your shoulders and march forward courageously. The victory is already yours, you are going from faith to faith, from victory to victory, from glory to glory, yes YOU ARE! He who has called you is faithful and He will accomplish what He has begun in, with and through you! Go forth boldly!

You KNOW and HEAR HIS Voice

We do not need a go-between, we can hear His voice and are to be led primarily, by His Spirit within us. Jesus said “my sheep hear and know my voice” (John 10:27) However, there are times when God may choose to use Prophets to speak to us, the difference is, it is God who initiates and orchestrates it, we are not to go around pressuring the Prophets among us to give us a “word from the Lord”, that borders on idolatry. - Excerpt from CONCERNING MINISTRY GIFTS, Chapter 3: The Prophet

Grab your copy here:

CONCERNING MINISTRY GIFTS

Calling and Equipping - God's Style

After a whole night of communing with the Father, Jesus came down the mountain and chose 12 men that He designated “apostles”. Then after that He trains them for the next three and a half years. This seems counterintuitive to how most of us would have it done. I mean it would make more sense to train them first and then to designate them “apostles” after the training, wouldn’t it?

Well, I believe our Lord got that blueprint from His Father and followed it accurately.

You see beloved, God’s ways are not our ways and certainly, His thoughts are way above ours. The Son of God Jesus said He only does what He sees His Father doing and in this case, it was no different. What we gather from this account is the simple fact that it is God’s plan to call and then equip individuals, not the other way around.

So when one is called and given to the church as a ministry gift, say an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher, that is exactly what they are. Now whether they grow, develop and mature in their gifting and calling, that is another story and possibly another topic for another book, who knows?…

( This is an excerpt from the book  CONCERNING MINISTRY GIFTS: An Overview)

Grab your ebook or paperback copy today at Amazon

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07TFTMMC5/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Concerning+Ministry+Gifts&qid=1561123124&s=digital-text&sr=8-1

CONCERNING MINISTRY GIFTS - Both versions now available

You can now get a copy of either the Kindle or the paperback version of my book on the Five ministry gifts that the Lord Jesus Christ has given to his body, the church. This book will give you a handle on what these gifts are, and what they are all about.

It is available on Amazon worldwide.
Here is the link: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1092884815?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

The Book is out...grab your copy!

The Kindle version of the book CONCERNING MINISTRY GIFTS is now out. The paperback version will follow shortly. It is my prayer that this book will deepen as well as widen your understanding of the five ministry Gifts that Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church has given to His church, and this understanding will lead to acceptance of all the five gifts, the end result being growth and maturity for the body.

You can now get your copy from Amazon. 

Here is the link:

https://www.amazon.ca/CONCERNING-MINISTRY-GIFTS-Patrick-Kamera-ebook/dp/B07TFTMMC5/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Concerning+ministry+gifts&qid=1561212664&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Eviction Notice to GUILT, SHAME and CONDEMNATION

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, - Romans 8:1 NIV

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It doesn’t matter what we’ve done or what we've been through, when we put our trust in Christ Jesus, when we believe in Him and what He has done to reconcile us to God and confess Him as Lord, we can rest assured that we are children of God, eternally forgiven and perfectly loved. Remember, Jesus took the sins of the entire world once and for all. Think about it...that means there is hope for every single person on this planet.

We are the ones who needed to be reconciled to God, not God to us. We are the ones who walked away from Him, but He has never stopped pursuing us. He so loved us that He gave His only Son, Jesus, and through faith in Him and His perfect sacrifice of Himself, Jesus reconciled us to God. He is now our God and our Father; He loves us perfectly and unreservedly. 

Beloved, even if you’ve failed, even if you’ve fallen short, even if you’ve missed it, don’t you ever let the enemy saddle you with thoughts of guilt, shame or condemnation. Don’t let satan bombard your mind with accusations. Remember, you are still God's beloved child, His Spirit in you is constantly assuring you of this truth. You have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He was made sin so you can be made the very righteousness of God. 

When you miss it, when you fail, when you sin, stop looking at yourself, stop punishing yourself, stop trying to save yourself, stop trusting in yourself and what you can do to perfect yourself, remember you cannot do it, no one can, except Christ Jesus our Lord. Our very best efforts don’t’ even come close to God’s standard of perfection. The only way out is to trust in Christ Jesus, our Redeemer.

So, stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop wasting precious time... square your shoulders, stand up straight and get back to pursuing your destiny in Christ. 

As you fix your mind on Christ Jesus, the Spirit of the Lord will transform you from the inside out, gradually into His very image. Don’t be discouraged, you are going from faith to faith, from glory to glory, be at peace, never forget – you are accepted in the Beloved and in Him you are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places!

COMING SOON...

It's been a while since I last posted anything on here.

It's not that I've abandoned this blog..no, not for a minute... it's all for a good cause!

Well, I've got some EXCITING NEWS!

I've been busy finishing up a book I've been writing.

I've titled it "CONCERNING MINISTRY GIFTS  An Overview"

I'm happy to say it's now done, it is now ready; its final editing and publishing stage!

It will be available in both paperback and e-book formats.

I will keep you posted once it's ready for release:

I'll let you know when and where you can get your copy...so stay tuned and stay blessed!

You are ONE with the LORD, NOW GO Pursue your Passion!

Beloved, you have the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead in you and on you. You do not need any other "special anointing", what you need is an understanding of what you already have in you and the boldness to live accordingly. You are one with the Lord in spirit, no "special anointing" whether double or triple portion even comes close:

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But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. - 1Cor 6:17ESV

Child of God, get this...you're not seeking, you're not struggling, you're not groveling before God, your Abba Father asking to be blessed. He has already blessed you with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places - Ephesians 1:3 ESV

You see beloved, in Christ you have everything you would ever need for life and godliness. We will do well to learn and appropriate what Christ Jesus has made available to us when He reconciled us to God through His crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension.

  

You are first and foremost a beloved son (or daughter) of God before you are a servant. As a son and daughter you belong in the Family of God; you are free to walk in all the good works that He has already prepared for you to walk in.

In the natural our children, in our families, are free and encouraged to pursue different activities and interests (wholesome of course). And it's no different with God and His kids, His family. So beloved, do not be afraid to go after what you're interested in or feel you're being drawn to (again...wholesome),  chances are that desire is from God's Spirit in you and could very well be your calling beckoning you...whether it's business, or the arts, or politics, or the sciences,  or ministry...you get the idea... 

I'm convinced that one of the ways the knowledge of God is going to fill the earth as the waters cover the seas is through sons and daughters of God infiltrating and influencing all areas of life. There is no area that is off-limits. Remember, anywhere and everywhere you are, you are the light and the salt of the world.  

Go on, let your light shine, pursue your passion, impact lives for Christ and your Father will be glorified!

Your WORDS reveal YOU

Beloved, words are powerful, they express one's thoughts and belief's. We speak what is in our minds, didn't Christ our Lord rightly say "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks"? 
We speak what we believe, as the Good Book says "we believe, therefore we speak"

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The Scriptures have a lot to say about words. 


We are responsible for our words, no wonder the apostle Paul admonished the Ephesian saints thus:


 ²⁹ Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. – Ephesians 4:29 NKJV

And the writer of Proverbs lets us know that:

21Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. - Proverbs 18:21 ESV

So beloved, every time you speak, you are either speaking life or death, blessing or cursing, grace or corruption, you get the idea 

Now since words express what's in one's heart, the solution is not to try and sensor yourself or take a vow of silence, or try any weird tricks, no, no no...far from it! To attempt that would only get us so far, as all self help efforts do, only to be followed by feelings of guilt and condemnation. And the enemy will have a field day in our lives. Let's not be ignorant of his devices. 

Yes, we are responsible for our words and the good thing is, we have the Spirit of God in us and as we spend time with the Lord in prayer and in studying the Scriptures and in meditating on our Father and His goodness, our minds are renewed and our thinking is transformed. The result? Our speech and conduct will naturally, as it were, begin to reflect Him who is the Desire of the nations. 

Remember, you have God's Spirit in you, so reflecting Him is as natural to you as breathing. Learn to live in and from your New Nature. 

You are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus, now let your conversation reflect that! 



 

STOP the BUSY-NESS...Follow HIS Lead

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16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. – Romans 8:16 NIV

Since we believe in Jesus and confess Him as Lord and Christ, we have His Spirit abiding in us. In Christ Jesus, we are already fully accepted by God, we have been made His very righteousness following Christ’s perfect sacrifice.

We are now led inwardly by the Spirit of God who not only knows the mind of Christ, but also imparts it to us as well. As we walk in fellowship with the Spirit and follow His leading, we will not have to worry about “making” ourselves into anything, He will “make” us what He created us to be seemingly effortlessly. We will avoid the “pressure to perform” and/or the “trying too hard” syndrome with its ensuing frustrations.

Beloved, I’m not advocating a life of complacency or apathy, far from it. One cannot truly follow the Lord’s leading and remain apathetic, ineffective or indifferent in how they live and love on others. I must also hasten to add that being constantly active and involved in everything we consider ministry is not necessarily proof that one is following the Lord’s leading. If anything...I mean anything... other than the love of God is driving us to do what we do, then we most likely aren't following the Spirit’s leading. I humbly propose that we take an honest look at our motives and then be bold enough to do the needful.  

In this family of God that we now belong to, He is the Potter and we are the clay. As sons and daughters have chores and responsibilities in natural family settings, with God’s family it’s no different. He is the one who “makes” us into different vessels fit for His use – as He pleases, of course. If we fail to follow Him, we frustrate His grace that’s at work in our lives and miss out on what He could’ve and would’ve made us. Let it not be so! 

The thing is, Christ has graced each one of us uniquely and it is He who knows how and where we fit best in His Body – the Church. And once we find our place and purpose in Him, we will be fruitful and at peace regardless of what the circumstances may be screaming at us.

Jesus called out to the disciples of old “FOLLOW ME and I WILL MAKE YOU fishers of men”

He is calling us today!

My part is to answer His call by obediently following Him, His is to “MAKE ME WHAT HE WANTS”.

Once you know what He is making you into, actively partner with Him by taking hold of that for which He has taken hold of you, as the apostle Paul put it.

And we know that He who has promised is faithful and He will do it! 

Blessings!

Receive My Love - God

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I'm sure most of us know that God is love and can quote scripture all day to that end, but when it comes to knowing God's love experientially, I'm afraid we might not be there yet or maybe we think we are but in reality we've just scratched the tip of the iceberg, as the saying goes.

I recently, actually yesterday as I was driving home, had this eye-opening conversation with the Lord.

Me: (Reminiscing of the times of refreshing we had at a gathering in Rochester, NY in late October) Lord wasn't that awesome!! What should I do now, Lord?!!

The Lord: (I could picture Him smiling) Just receive my love...

Me: (somewhat doubtful if I truly heard the Lord, I protested...kind of you know...) But, but I know you love me, you love everyone you sent your Son Jesus to die for us, I know you love me.

The Lord: (I pictured him still smiling) Just receive my love

Wow!

Isn't that like Him?!

I think I'm now beginning to understand why the apostle Paul put such a high premium on knowing the love of God. He spoke of being constrained by the love of God to do what he did. He prayed that the saints would be rooted and grounded in this love; he prayed for saints to know the depth, the length, the height, the width of the love of Christ that passes knowledge...wow...this love passes knowledge. We've heard "knowledge is power" if that's so, what then is this love? Wow...we could go down a rabbit trail here...

Suffice it to then surmise that only when we receive His love can we give it away, until then our motives for ministry aren't as pure as we'd like to think.

So beloved, is the love of God compelling you to do what you think you are doing for Him? If it's anything other than His love, you may want to hit the reset button and get back to basics.

Receive His love afresh today.

Choose to believe GOD...always!

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Regardless of where you are or what you are going through, do yourself a favour and believe God’s promises to you. 

He is not a man that He should lie and He doesn’t go back on His promises. He is ever-so-faithful even when we are unfaithful. 

He is your God and He is your Father and He loves you with an everlasting love. If He gave up His only begotten Son, Jesus for us, and He did, why would we think He would withhold anything good from us? 

Far from it, He gave us His very best, His own Son and with Him, He gave us everything, including Himself!

The least we can do is to believe Him and take Him at His word.

Remember the story of the disciples in the boat during the storm, with Jesus fast asleep on a pillow in the stern? It must have been a no joke storm for seasoned fishermen, as most of the disciples were, to be that frantic. They woke Jesus up with accusations “don’t you care we are perishing?” Before we give them that “how-dare-you-say-that-to-the-Lord” look, let’s us be reminded of the many trying situations in our lives where we've more or less voiced similar sentiments to God…hmm! 

Jesus, being the express image of God, His Father, only did what He saw the Father doing, was in the boat with them and had already given them His word; you’d think that would keep them calm. 

This is what He had said to them earlier… 

35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” – Mark 4:35NKJV (emphasis mine)

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The very presence of Jesus in that boat with them should've given them the assurance that what He told them is exactly what is going to happen, storm or no storm, they are crossing to the other side, period! You see beloved, just like the disciples of old, we often get so caught up in what we are going through at the moment, we forget the promises of God to us, we also forget He is in us and with us at all times... just as He has promised us several times in the Scriptures, yes even in our darkest moments, He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He loves us eternally, perfectly and unconditionally.

Beloved, what is your Heavenly Father saying to you today? What has He promised you today? Whatever it is, trust Him – if He spoke it, consider it done. Trust Him, He will come through for you...He always does. Blessings!

Desire to Prophesy? Go for it...

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Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy -1 Corinthians 14: 1 NIV

Beloved, here we see the fruit of the Spirit (which is encapsulated by the phrase “the way of love”) and the gifts of the Spirit with emphasis on prophecy going together, hand in hand as it were. The simple reason for this is the truth that everything in the Kingdom operates by love. Whatever we do should be out of God’s love that has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). His love should be the motivating factor behind our desires for His gifts to operate in and through us. Let us not forget that God is Love. His very essence is Love. Anything done without love doesn’t amount to much,1 Corinthians 13, the popular love chapter in the Bible, makes that abundantly clear.

As we yield to the love of God that’s poured out in our hearts, we won’t have any other agenda, our desire will be to see others saved, healed, delivered, blessed, lifted up, restored and fulfilling their God ordained destinies. The gift of prophesy that flows out of love is never condemning, neither does it seek to bring fear, control or manipulation; the gift of prophecy will always edify, exhort and comfort others. 

The gift of prophesy is for building people up, for comforting them and for encouraging or exhorting them. It is never for tearing people down (1 Corinthians 14:3)

Every believer can and should operate in the gift of prophesy, the Lord, through the apostle Paul,  urges us to desire it earnestly, He calls on us to desire it above all the other gifts because He knows we – His body – need it very much and for that reason He desires to use you to prophesy, to speak His words of edification, exhortation and comfort to others. 

In His wisdom, God has made a way for us to learn how to operate in this gift, and as we learn we become bolder and more fluent in flowing with the Spirit. The thing is, we cannot improve on the gifts of the Spirit; they are already perfect gifts from the Perfect One. What we can and are ENCOURAGED to do is to LEARN HOW TO BETTER FLOW or OPERATE in the gifts, and in this case, the gift of Prophecy

³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. – 1 Corinthians 14:31 NKJV

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Start where you are, when the Spirit of God reveals something to you for someone else and impresses upon you to share it with them, the in love, step out by faith and share it, even if it is a one liner such as “rest in the Lord” or “I love you” or “I’m with you”, that might be exactly what the other person needs to hear at that time. Don’t hold back and wait until you can prophesy paragraphs and chapters; faithfully start with what He reveals to you. Do not let fear hold you back, the Lord desires to bless others through you so partner with Him. Blessings!

THE CHOICE IS YOURS

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Beloved you have a choice... to either let your heart be troubled or to trust the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. We can succumb to worry, stress, anxiety and fear or we can trust our Father - we can't do both...at least not at the same time!

What happens when we trust God? Isaiah the prophet gives us some insight through this inspired revelation:

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! - Isaiah 26:3 NLT

Also, Paul, an apostle who experienced all kinds of hardships and prevailed reminds the Philippians and us today:

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

So beloved child of the Most High I would encourage you to refuse to let your heart be troubled... choose to trust God always...choose wisely...

John 14:1; “Let #(John 14:27; 16:22, 24)not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

“Let #(John 14:27; 16:22, 24)not your heart be…

BIBLE.COM

YOU ARE who GOD says YOU ARE! - By Peninnah Kamera

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Did you know that people who love to bring out your past are the ones that feel threatened by your present?

The people who had a difficult time accepting Jesus as Lord always questioned His past, like in Matthew 13:55 " Isn't this the carpenter 's son? Isn't His mother's name Mary? Aren't His brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?" In another example, Nathaniel echoed how most people in those days viewed Nazareth, Our Lord's hometown, by saying, " Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" John 1:46
Well, something great did come out of Nazareth; Yeshua, the Saviour of the world! Well, something great did come out of Nazareth; Yeshua, the Saviour of the world! 


So I would like to encourage you, no matter what people say about you, don't base your worth on their opinions. Base your worth on the Greater One in you, your creator who is your loving Abba Father, who by the way thinks you are awesome, valuable and worth His beloved Son's sacrifice to save you. 

To God, your past is irrelevant, it was buried with Christ. He has a bright future for you, look forward with hope. 

You are deeply loved by your heavenly Father. Happy New year!

A BLESSED 2018

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John the apostle documents this command from Christ Jesus:

“Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” -
JOHN 13:34B-35

Later the same apostle drives the point home:

My little children, let's not love in word only, neither with the tongue only, but in deed and truth. - 1 JOHN 3:18

Then along comes the apostle Paul and gives us a resolution, if you will, to live by:

Do not owe anyone anything—except to love one another. For the one who loves another has fulfilled the Law. - ROMANS 13:8

We'll be wise to heed these exhortations and
may this be our renewed resolution for 2018.

And lest we forget - we don't do this in out own strength but through Christ we can do all things...yes...for His love has already been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit...let's just turn it loose on everyone we cross paths with.

Blessings beloved!

NO QUITTING…PRESS ON!

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This is a word of encouragement for those who know God has called them to serve Him. Yes, we are all called and expected to serve God wherever we are and in whatever situation we find ourselves in, however, there are those that have a clear and specific call to serve Him in and through a specific ministry. If that’s you then read on…

When God calls you, He has a plan and knows exactly what He is doing, so fear not. His gifts and callings are irrevocable…He doesn’t change his mind, so He hasn’t changed his mind about you, his beloved child.

If you feel like you are not really fulfilling God’s call in your life, it could very well be that you are being prepared for it. You are perhaps being trained and equipped for the assignment. We all are being molded and transformed to become more Christlike as we continue growing in knowing Him. Only then will any ministry we are involved in become fruitful and the fruit we bear will not only last, but will also bring the Father glory! So, worry not beloved…the Bible is littered with examples of people who were called by God for specific assignments but had to wait and go through stuff before they could step into their destinies or walk in their calls, as it were.

When God calls us out for a specific ministry or assignment, usually the first thing that goes through our mind is “no not me, no way” or “why me, there are others more qualified” and we sometimes even suggest names to the Lord… If you really think about it, it is actually the height of pride to attempt to “correct” God. How dare we? We will do well to humbly respond in the affirmative, not unlike Mary, the mother of Jesus:

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.- Luke 1:38 ESV

Now if we persist in being reluctant then God in his mercy might send others to encourage us to pursue the ministry or gifting they perceive on our lives thus confirming what God has already told us. This is usually through prophetic words spoken over us. No wonder we are instructed not to despise prophecy but rather to test prophecies before accepting or rejecting them.  

No one who has stepped out to answer God’s call on their life has ever been spared opposition, so yeah you will face opposition, both from the enemy of our souls and from others. When that happens do not be discouraged, instead hold on to what God has spoken to you concerning the assignment He has for you. Wage war with that word from the Lord just like Paul charged Timothy to do as he continued to grow in his ministry. You will have to make this practice your way of life…talk about living by every word that proceeds from God…

This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, - 1 Tim 1:18 ESV

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So beloved child of the Most High, continue faithfully where you currently are, don’t sit idly by waiting for what we sometimes deem as God’s timing but actually it is our subtle pride and/or fear. In many cases it is God who is waiting for us, not the other way round. Remember, in Christ all of God’s promises are yes and we say amen by our words and more so, our actions. There’s one man of God who said something along the lines of – “it is easier to steer a moving car, so get moving and God will give you specific directions if needed”.

So keep on growing in your knowledge of God and His Christ and as opportunities to do with your call present themselves boldly step out by faith and grow in fulfilling your ministry in the Lord.

Let me end here by echoing the apostle Paul's very relevant words to Archippus in Colossee: 

And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” - Colossians 4:17 ESV

Keep pressing on!

Be a Believer, not an Unbeliever!

Source: Google Images

⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. – 1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV

We resist the devil by steadfastly holding on to what God, through Christ Jesus (not Moses), says to us. God cannot lie and doesn't go back on His promises to us, He is not a meanie who would promise us one thing and then turn around and do the opposite as the devil would have us believe. If there is anyone trustworthy, it’s our Heavenly Father who loves us eternally. The Scriptures assure us time and time again “let God be true and every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).

The enemy cannot block what God has promised to do in, to and through our lives. The enemy cannot limit what God can do in our lives, but we can. Satan tries to deceive us into cutting ourselves off from God's ever increasing grace towards us by planting seeds of doubt and unbelief in our minds, for he knows once we entertain doubt and unbelief, we will effectively be limiting what God can do in our lives.

The story of the children of Israel is a good example of what not to do! God wanted to bring them into the land that He had promised them but because of their unbelief, they limited what God wanted to do, in, for and through them. The result: an entire generation perished in the wilderness, they short-circuited the will and plan of God for their lives. That’s how evil unbelief is…beloved let’s not entertain it...even for a second!

Unbelief may manifest as “wisdom”, “concern”, “being real or practical” or any other form but whichever way it rears its ugly head, it will ultimately cast a shadow of doubt over the very Nature and Character of God. Thankfully, by the grace of God, we are not ignorant of the enemy’s devices.

The enemy wants us to look at our failures as the reason why God isn’t going to bless us, but the truth is, if we are in Christ, our sins and failures have already been dealt with once and for all - Christ Jesus is our Eternal High Priest, should we sin, He is our Advocate with the Father and on top of that God remembers our sin no more! And what's more...in Christ we already have been blessed with every spritual blessing. No wonder we go from faith to faith, from victory to victory, from glory to glory! Isn't our Abba Father good?!

Source: Google Images

Let us keep on fighting the good fight of faith by holding on to the assurance of what we hope for and by being convinced of what we cannot yet see (Hebrews 11:1). He who has promised is faithful and He will do it. 

Let’s keep on walking by faith!