Cross-pollinating with the Living Christ!

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me.”

The word from the Holy Spirit today is correlating (coming together) with God which is defined as a mutual relationship or connection, in which one thing affects or depends on another. Or, in the words of the Holy Spirit you become cross-pollenated with Christ.

This act of coming together causes changes in God and in the life of a believer.

The synergy between man and God creates combustion which leads to change.

The combustion is the work of the Holy Spirit to baptize you into the death and resurrected life of Christ.

God never changes His mind about biblical principles and He is without sin. He is a perfect God. But He does change in how He interacts with a believer.

As a believer you become born again and enter into the process of transformation into a new creature in Christ. Your thinking patterns and values change.

God engineers changes or trials in your life designed to cause you to die to self and live for Him. The changes can relate to your employment, relationships with family or friends, or your economic conditions.

Correlating with God begins with the seriousness of your decision to live for Christ. God looks at your motives and thinking patterns to evaluate self seeking behaviors or a genuine desire to pursue the will of God.

Correlating with God is abandoning yourself to the Living Christ. You make a heart decision to live by this precept: “Not my will but yours be done”. This will create significant changes in your life.

Correlating with God is walking by faith and yielding to the Holy Spirit. You seek the will of God for your life through prayer, meditating on the Word, and listening for the voice of God.

God wants your undivided loyalty to Him and will go to extreme and sometimes drastic measures to get your attention and compliance to His instructions.

Walking with God has nothing to do with religion, keeping laws, or attempting to do works for God. The works will come out of your faith and obedience to God. Works begin with God not man.

Correlating with God is committing your works each day to God and inviting the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life.

The Cross is a pattern of suffering and learning obedience to God. Jesus takes you on a journey to be a light for Him and draw those around you to the gift of salvation.

The goal of Christ is to create a broken and humble believer with a zealous desire to live for God.

The exclusive contract to live with Jesus!

“Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.” Galatians 3:15

This refers to a man’s relationship with God which originated with the covenant God made with Abraham. This covenant is everlasting and nothing can be annulled or added to this promise.

This covers all mankind and there are no loop holes. You cannot obtain the righteousness of God through laws, works, religion or any other means.

You were born under sin and this can only be broken by the blood of Jesus. You stand before God unacceptable in His eyes and nothing will change this except entering into the covenant God made with Abraham. You must come to God through faith in Jesus.

Living by faith is trusting in the promises of Jesus. Faith is listening to the voice of God and responding with obedience. The instructions of God may not make any sense or seem very costly but if you want the fullness of God you must obey the Holy Spirit without compromise.

Abraham gave up his homeland, security and inheritance to comply with God. Abraham had no idea of what was ahead or the dangers he would face. He just believed God and knew He had power and dominion over the heavens and earth.

If you are a Christ follower God speaks to you through the Holy Spirit. You have the mind of Christ.

It is your responsibility to spend time with God each day seeking His will through prayer, meditating on His Word, praising Him, and listening for His voice.

Come before God with an open heart and transparency. Be open to correction and change.

Abraham became the father of all the descendants of Christ. There is only one seed to come to God.

Before Abraham was Jesus!

Sinking in religion or experiencing the Living Christ.

Because I live you also will live!

Understanding biblical truth is of no value unless you experience the truths of Jesus in your life. Living the words of Jesus will draw you into a personal and embracing relationship with God. He will be real in your life and not just a character in the Bible.

Your experiential knowledge of the Living Christ will give you the ability to deal with the most difficult challenges in life. You can be as secure as God Himself.

Experiential knowledge comes through walking by faith and living under the authority of the Holy Spirit. He teaches you how to apply the values of Jesus to every aspect of your life.

The decision comes down to living for Jesus above all else or practicing religion. Religion sounds good but cannot produce any results. You will suffocate under religion but breathe and live with abundance with Jesus.

Jesus wants a one on one relationship with you built on faith, prayer, and the word of God. He wants you to know Him intimately and listen for His voice.

Walking with Jesus through all the trials of life will build a strong bond of trust and friendship. Religion talks about Jesus but the Living Christ delivers His people. Jesus is life changing and works powerfully in the lives of believers.

Jesus keeps His word and wants to be alive in every moment of your life. He lives so you can live!

Examining your work priorities under the microscope of God!

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36-37

I parked my car at the grocery store today and God spoke this verse to me. God told me it is very easy to lose track of your priorities in the pursuit of money. Greed creeps in through the insidious work of Satan.

We all want to be cozy and secure in the world. There is nothing wrong in working diligently to meet your materialistic needs. The sticky issue deals with your priorities.

God wants you to be productive working under the authority of the Holy Spirit. You must commit your works to God each day and seek His wisdom. God must come first in your every endeavor. Live in harmony with God and nourish your soul with prayer, the Word of God, and listening for His voice.

There is nothing you can trade of any value in the world to please God. He wants all of you with an open heart to seek His will for your life.

Your motives must be to please God and operate with integrity and the values of Jesus. He desires to embellish your labors and give you more than you ask or think.

Jesus said man small not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Have you integrated your work under the authority of the words of God?

How do you love God?

The love of God is a gift which cannot be earned!

This has nothing to with emotions. Developing a love for God begins with Jesus. He first loved you.

Your love for God is built on obedience to His voice. Nothing else really matters. You cannot reciprocate the love of God through keeping laws, doing works, or immersing yourself in religion.

You love God by obeying His instructions regardless of the cost or whether they make any sense.

You love God by living in oneness with Him through prayer, listening for His voice and meditating on His Word.

You love God by trusting in His promises regardless of the circumstances in your life.

You love God by inviting the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life.

You love God by coming before Him with a contrite heart confessing your sins and asking Jesus to cover you with His blood.

You love God by seeking His will for your life above all else.

You love God by praising Him with a thankful heart.

You love God by abandoning yourself to Him without compromise.

The love of God is unconditional and filled with mercy and compassion. Jesus accepts you with all your character defects and desires to give you an abundant life filled with the goodness of God.

Staying tuned into Jesus!

It is not by might nor by strength but by My Spirit.

The word of God today is learning how to live in the sustaining power of Christ. This is not easy to do and we all stumble at times.

Many believers have the wrong mindset about Jesus. The gift of salvation does not allow you to escape the adversities of life. In fact, you will probably encounter more trials then a non believer.

You are told to pray, go to church, and read the Bible. Then you go out into the world and encounter darkness and disappointment. This creates an up and down relationship with God.

This scenario happens because every day you enter into a war between light and darkness. And, you have to deal with your fleshly indulgences which do not want to yield to the authority of Jesus.

We lapse in our walk with Jesus when the trials come and there are no answers from the Holy Spirit. We look at life through our eyes and neglect the promises of God. Faith waivers or becomes non existent.

Light and darkness do not co-mingle. If you allow darkness to creep into your life the power of the Holy Spirit will diminish and you will be vulnerable to adversity and the perils of Satan.

How do you live in the sustaining power of Christ with consistency regardless of the conditions of your life?

The decision for Christ is to give all of your life to Him without holding anything back for yourself. If you deny Christ in parts of your life you open the door to Satan. And, He wants to destroy you.

The most important thing to do each day is to commit your works to God, invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life, and open yourself up to the conviction and correction of the Holy Spirit.

Ask Jesus to cover you with His blood and pray for wisdom in seeking the will of God with pure motives.

Walking with God is a full time job and requires a lot of work.

Your relationship with God cannot be off and on if you want His wisdom and protection.

Develop an uninterrupted consciousness with God through prayer, listening for His voice and meditating on His words.

Jesus is alive and lives in you. He wants to be your safety net.

What really ticks off God!

“We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” Numbers 13:31

This was the report from the spies sent by God into the Promised Land.

God made a promise to the Israelites but they fell into unbelief. They accepted what they saw with their eyes. They rejected the power of God to defeat the strong and well fortified tribes living in the land of Canaan.

They complained bitterly about God and wanted to stone Moses and Aaron for leading them into disaster.

God keeps His promises but the obstacles may seem impossible from a human point of view. If it was easy to accomplish the promises of God who would get the glory. The promise is made built upon the strength and power of God to bring a victory. He wants all the glory while you praise Him.

God wants to demonstrate to you that His promises cannot be achieved by human strength or wisdom. The promises come by faith and resting in the power of God.

The promises of God are insurmountable for a human being. Faith is trusting God to deliver you and never accepting what you see with your eyes.

This is why we walk with God. He can do for you what you can never do for yourself.

Your unbelief can cause you to forfeit the promises of God and face the punishment of an angry God. Do you really want to wander in the desert for forty years?

Engaging Jesus!

This is relatively easy if you are serious about God.

Jesus controls the universe. He has power and dominion over all things. He is not an aloof or distant God.

Jesus wants you to engage Him. He lives in Heaven but has a powerful presence in the world and in the life of believers.

If you engage Jesus it has to be on His terms.

He desires to have a personal and embracing relationship with you. Jesus will speak to you and share His powerful attributes with you.

Jesus wants you to walk in oneness with Him. He wants you to seek the will of God for your life. Jesus wants you to be submissive to Him. Start each day with Jesus and follow in His footsteps.

The world is in the hands of Satan. God wants to protect you from evil.

Engage Jesus by making a commitment to live for Him above all else. This requires you to have an open heart to God.

Jesus wants you to live under His authority. This starts with developing a fear and respect for God.

The Christ follower is sealed with the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Jesus and your link to God. Wherever you go today or whatever you are facing the Holy Spirit is with you. He is your source of strength, wisdom, joy and protection.

Walk with Jesus by yielding to the Holy Spirit. Stay in constant communication with Him and listen to His voice. He speaks for God.

Religion will stifle your walk with God and take away your freedom. Jesus hates religion. He wants a one on one relationship with you built on faith in His promises.

Jesus is a living God and desires to impact every aspect of your life. He does not want to be left out from your plans and actions.

You will never be able to fully understand Jesus and His ways will seem unpredictable and controversial at times. The value of Jesus is He keeps His promises and you can live with Him forever.

Getting sidetracked following Jesus!

But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Galatians 3:11

This is a straightforward instruction from God. It does not need any interpretation. You cannot circumvent this instruction through keeping laws or doing works. Religion will never give you the righteousness of God.

Living by faith is the only method to please God. It is a lifestyle that governs your every thought, you words, and your decision making.

Living by faith is trusting the promises of God and not what you see with your eyes. Your unwavering faith will fill you with the righteousness of God. Nothing else matters.

Faith is reaching out to God in prayer for your every need. You simply lay your needs on the altar of God and then let go. Your needs are in the hands of God.

God is your deliverer. You wait on Him with patience and thanksgiving.

Secondly, God wants you to listen to His voice with a heart of obedience. This is faith in action. God speaks and you obey regardless of the challenges of the world or lack of human logic. God tells you to move to a foreign country. You move.

God does not have to justify His instructions. He wants your obedience without questioning Him.

God is supernatural. He has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. There is no one like Him.

You and I cannot think or act like God. We have to live in submission to Jesus by faith. Commit your works each day to God and pray for wisdom. Invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life.

Don’t complicate your walk with Jesus through religion. Live by faith and respond in obedience to the instructions of Jesus.

The outrage of Jesus!

“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11

What is stirring up the heart of Jesus? The answer is in the biblical text above and how we interpret building a foundation on Jesus. Satisfying the indulgences of the flesh has corrupted our priorities.

We do not build our foundation exclusively on Jesus. We compromise the foundation with the pursuit of money, living for self, sexual immorality, and a permissive attitude over new laws and liberal views which contradict the oracles of God. We make religion our God and living in oneness with Jesus becomes a secondary priority to keeping laws and doing works.

Jesus created the foundation of life for a believer on the Cross. There is no substitute. Anything you attempt to substitute in place of Jesus will burn up and have no lasting value.

Your foundation must be built on accepting and living in the gift of salvation. Jesus must be the cornerstone of all your thoughts, words and actions.

Your foundation must be impervious to the ways of the world. Do not allow false teaching or the worship of idols to creep into your foundation.

Building your foundation on Jesus!

Lay your foundation on Jesus by waking up each day seeking the will of God through prayer and listening for His voice.

Walk by faith trusting in the promises of Jesus and not by what you see with your eyes.

Invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life and yield to the teaching and wisdom of the Spirit of God.

Live under the cover of the blood of Jesus.

Be transparent with God opening your heart up to correction and change.

Jesus never changes. If you want to walk with Jesus you have to be willing to change and adopt His values in your life.

If you follow the principles above you will elate the heart of God and live under His favor.

Jesus is a living reality!

Jesus is a Living God. He desires to have a personal and embracing relationship with you. He wants to be involved in every detail of your life. He wants all of you. There are no secret places to hide living with Jesus. He is omniscient and sees everything about you. Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. He sees all your personality flaws some of which are hidden from your eyes.

Jesus offers a living salvation filled with strength, wisdom, joy and protection. Jesus created you in His image. He knew you before you were born. Jesus died to give you a life you can never achieve on your own.