“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55

No one wants to face the fear of death or have to deal with the unknown of the after life. 

Jesus has replaced the fear of death with the sacrifice of His life. He has conquered death and desires to give you the promise of eternal life.

The changes required to overcome death are the corruptible nature of man must be replaced with the incorruptible nature of God. And, the mortal man must be replaced with the immortality of God.

This will happen when a decision is made to live for Jesus above all else and the believer becomes a new creature in Christ. This activates the work of the Cross to die to self and become transformed into the character of Jesus. 

When these two changes are completed death becomes victory. Jesus takes the sting out of death and wins a victory over Satan. 

The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks to God who gives us the victory through Jesus.

The sting of death is the work of Satan to corrupt your inner nature and lead you into evil actions.

The strength of sin is attempting to live by laws, works, or religion. This negates the spiritual principles of walking with Jesus by faith and submitting to the authority of the Holy Spirit. 

Come to Jesus and your outlook on life will change dramatically!

The death of Jesus is the only hope for mankind. The Bible explains no one can come to God except through Jesus.

The estrangement of man from God can only be broken by entering into the death of Jesus. An individual can plead to God endlessly but He will not open the door.

Jesus is perfect and without sin. He was obedient to His Father to die on the Cross so all mankind could receive the gift of salvation and be made clean by the blood of Jesus. 

The Cross causes a person to identify with Jesus and die to anything inside him that was never in Jesus. This process begins with a decision for Jesus and culminates in Heaven.

The sanctification of God makes a person Christlike. This work happens through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside a believer combined with faith in Jesus. Without faith you cannot please God or benefit from His promises. 

Jesus is not looking for perfection just an open and willing heart to seek Him out. 

The death of Jesus is your only hope for an abundant life filled with the righteousness of God. The Cross gives you the ability to do the will of Jesus on earth as it is done in Heaven. 

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15

The decision for Jesus changes your citizenship from the world to Heaven. Where the world was once your comfort zone it is now your enemy. Satan controls the world and desires to steal, kill and destroy. He is at work to deceive and destroy a believer. 

The world is built upon the values of greed and self sufficiency. There is no stability or hope in the world. It will always betray you.

The world will attempt to poison you with amoral standards and false claims. The world promotes worldly solutions to bring success but they will only bring disappointment and failure. 

Do not build your allegiance or dependence upon the world or lust after the things of the world. 

The believer can only find hope and peace in Jesus. He must learn to walk with Jesus under the authority of the Holy Spirit. This is where he will find protection from evil. 

Develop a mindset Jesus is your provider for all things and seek Him out for your every need. 

The gift of salvation will happen by declaring you will live for Jesus above all else. This decision is just the starting point because a new believer needs to be transformed with the wisdom, strength, knowledge and values of Jesus.

The act of salvation converts a human being into a new creature in Christ. The fullness of this transformation will not happen unless you take Jesus seriously. Develop a personal and embracing relationship with Jesus. Get to know Him and hear His voice.

Learn the disciplines of prayer, reading the Bible, and submitting to the authority of the Holy Spirit.

Commit your works each day to Jesus and pray for His thoughts to be established within you. 

Walk by faith in oneness with Jesus. Believe in the promises of Jesus and reject all worldly thinking!

You and I are mere mortals and wake up every day with anxiety, fears and worries over life.

God may not bring physical or material changes in your life today but Jesus desires to give you an inner peace and a joyful heart regardless of your conditions.

This happens by starting your day off with the Living Christ who died on the Cross for you. He is alive, wants to be present in your life and speak with you.

Pray to Jesus and cast your burdens upon Him. Pray for your needs. Lay your requests before Him. Pray for wisdom and the order and simplicity of Jesus.

Pray for the strength of Christ to deal with all the challenges of life today.

Pray for unyielding faith and trust Jesus who keeps His promises.

Pray for a thankful heart and praise Jesus for His powerful attributes. 

Pray for Jesus to cover you with His blood and reveal anything you are doing that grieves the Holy Spirit.

Pray for the peace which surpasses all understanding. Ask the Holy Spirit to guard your heart and mind from the evils of the world.

Pray for the will of Jesus and ask Him to show you His priorities. 

Pray for the discipline to walk in oneness with Jesus yielding to the Holy Spirit. 

The Lord is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my pathway! Psalm 119:105

We all wake up and have to deal with the subject of what is on God’s mind today. Some things like work, paying bills, and dealing with children are mandated by life.

But there is the big unknown about filling in the rest of life or getting out of troubles.

The Christ follower must understand the difference between the providential and permissive will of God. 

The providential will is ordained by God and is unchangeable. This might refer to a specific season of life chosen for you by God, or relate to where you live or work, or dealing with trials or troubles engineered by God. 

Don’t try to fight God or strive to get out of the providential will of God. Accept this is God’s plan and pray for a strong faith and the ability not to react out of emotions. This season or condition of life will be changed by God in His perfect timing.

The permissive will of God provides the believer with the freedom to make decisions under the authority and direction of the Holy Spirit.

Commit your works each day to Jesus and pray for wisdom to make good decisions. God speaks to believers so listen for His voice.

Making decisions start by faith. The Holy Spirit will speak clearly and show you the right pathway. If the Holy Spirit is silent this is usually a go ahead signal from God.

If you feel confusion do not make a decision. Pray and wait on God.

The Christ follower has to accept that he belongs to Jesus and He can do with a believer as He desires.

Most believers define the terms of a relationship with Jesus.

The terms of Jesus are extreme and seem almost impossible for a human being.

No human being has been able to meet the terms of the Ten Commandments created by God.

Jesus is not looking for perfection because He knows it is impossible for a human being.

Jesus has set the bar high to demonstrate He is perfect, righteous and holy.

The Bible teaches the righteousness of Jesus comes to those who walk by faith and are obedient to the voice of Jesus.

The only way a believer can do the works of Jesus is through the Holy Spirit.

The natural life at birth is tainted with sin and cannot please God. 

The Holy Spirit is the life of Jesus and lives in every believer. So a believer can be righteous and do the works of God by yielding to the Spirit. 

The believer who walks by faith anchored to the Holy Spirit does not need to worry about falling short of Jesus.

The Christ follower needs to concentrate on these disciplines:

Pray vigilantly and seek the will of Jesus.

Read the Bible daily.

Listen for the voice of Jesus.

Commit your works to Jesus each day and ask Him to guide your footsteps.

Pray for the blood of Jesus to cover you and ask Jesus to reveal anything you are doing that grieves the Holy Spirit.

Give the Holy Spirit authority over your life and be attentive to His thoughts and actions.

It is not by strength nor by power but by My Spirit!

Zechariah 4:6

Christianity is not relevant for most people because the heart of God is not present. The motives are doing works through public ministries. They neglect teaching a believer how to walk with Jesus.

The most important goal of a believer is to develop a private life with Jesus. He is alive, powerful and magnificent.

The private life happens by getting to know Jesus, hearing His voice and giving the Holy Spirit authority over your life. This has to be augmented with prayer, reading the Bible and seeking the will of God. 

Christianity pushes work not waiting on the Holy Spirit. 

The power of life in a believer comes from the inside. The believer must be anchored to Jesus through the Holy Spirit at all times. Concentrate on Jesus for every task in your life. The Holy Spirit teaches a believer the values of Jesus in doing the simple and routine things in life. 

Jesus wants to build a personal relationship with a believer built on faith not based on works or public acclaim.

Learn to wait on the Holy Spirit. Do not waste your time and energy on religious activities.

Be rooted and grounded in Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus tells believers the wind (Holy Spirit) blows where it desires and you can’t tell where it is coming from or where it is going. Build your life on this spiritual principle and you will do the works of Jesus.

This is the reality of a “born again” Christ follower!

Prayer is the most important task in the life of a Christ follower. Prayer builds a solid foundation with Jesus and creates a new lifestyle and priorities. 

Prayer is conversation with Jesus without a beginning or an end. 

The goal is to develop a personal and symbiotic relationship with Jesus. Prayer is communion with Jesus. Seek his desires for your life and not just asking for things. 

Pray in a private place without any motive to promote your prayer life to others.

Do not pray vain repetitions but pray according to the Word and the work of the Cross.

Pray each day for Jesus to cover you with His blood and reveal anything you are doing that is grieving the Holy Spirit.

Listen to the voice of God. He will guide your prayers and show you where change is needed. Prayer transforms your motives and attitudes to make you Christlike.

Ask Jesus to show you the people on His heart and then seek the Holy Spirit for how to pray according to the will of Jesus.

Jesus confronts sin to set people free. As you are praying for someone Jesus may lay the darkness upon you. This is a sign to ask the Holy Spirit how to pray to break the power of the bondage.

God may also choose to break the stronghold through intercession utilizing the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. Intercession is intense and agonizing work for a believer.

Jesus is omniscient and knows every detail of your life from the past into the future. Prayer will provide you with the protection of Jesus against the troubles in the world and the darts of Satan.

Ask and you shall receive but ask for things in accord with God’s desires and prophesies. 

This narrative explains how Jesus prepares a believer for a New Testament ministry.

Jesus gives a believer a powerful revelation in the form of a vision or prophesy.  The believer gets excited and ready for the future. But nothing happens!

Then suddenly Jesus leads the believer into a season of suffering and adversity. Life is nothing like the vision from Jesus.

The believer gets battered every day by the people in his life and the tribulations of the world. The deprivation is overwhelming with no way of escape. 

God puts the believer into this nightmare to see if he can survive by unyielding faith in Jesus or give up hope and drift into an empty lackluster life.

Jesus needs to shape a believer into the life of a disciple so he (or she) can fulfill the purposes of the vision. Most Christ followers can understand the vision but unfortunately they lack the character of Jesus to be successful.

Jesus knows a human being better than he knows himself. The training may seem cruel and harsh at times but is designed to overcome the weaknesses or dispositions in his genetic makeup. The goal is to develop the spiritual attributes of a disciple and prepare him to launch a successful ministry.

The work of the Cross is designed to crucify a believers fleshly desires and ego and replace with the humility and unconditional love of Jesus.

When the time comes to begin the vision Jesus will place a powerful anointing on the disciple and equip him with the gifts of the Spirit.

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” Isaiah 55:6

Isaiah composed a beautiful invitation to come to God and experience His abundance. He explains God’s nature and why humans cannot understand Him.

I have taken excerpts from Isaiah chapter 55 in writing this narrative. 

It is impossible to understand God with a human mind. 

God says My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. 

God is perfect and without sin. And, He has no ego. This contrasts with a human being who is born with an inner condition to please self and defy God.

God goes on to explain “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.”

God operates in a spiritual realm and a set of laws that are contrary to the world. As believers, we live in the world but we are not of the world.

Isaiah uses an analogy about the weather to explain how God provides food for His people.

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.”

The words of God come down from heaven and provide nourishment for believers. Isaiah says why spend your money for food or wine when you can have the bread of life.

Isaiah explains how God’s word is alive and powerful. “He says so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

The word of God will never return empty to heaven. God has engineered the Word to be sent through the Holy Spirit to touch all those people he has designated for the gift of salvation. 

The word shall prosper in causing many to accept Jesus and become new creatures filled with Living Water.

Some will accept the word fully, some will hear but disregard, and some will be blind to the truths of God. 

The question is how can a human being understand God’s thoughts and actions? It requires a lot of prayer, reading the Bible and listening for the voice of God. Most importantly, you must have a strong passion to walk by faith and obey God. 

The Christ follower lives for Jesus and vigilantly seeks the will of God. He submits to the authority of the Holy Spirit who is sealed inside all believers.

Come to Jesus and your life will never be the same!