“Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.” John 3:11

You can read or hear about Christ Jesus and gain an intellectual understanding of who He is. This may give you some inspiration and hope but it will be short lived. This is because Christ does not live in the fullness of your life and you do not know the reality of Christ.

Christ is a God of power, greatness, glory, victory, and majesty. He has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. There is no one like Him!

How can this concept of Christ move into the reality of your life? Very simply, you have to accept His testimony by faith. This requires you to build your life on His promises and abandon yourself to Him without any reservations.

Jesus is not asking you to concern yourself with trying to do things for Him. He is a complete God and lacks nothing. Jesus will not respond to you through works. He wants your unyielding faith to follow Him.

Think about Jesus as a Living God who wants to share His life with you. He works on the principle of faith. Your faith in Christ will introduce you to Him and allow you to experience His greatness and glory. Faith opens the door to see the transfigured Christ.

Knowing Christ begins with an open heart to receive Him without any limitations. Until you get to this point you are just going through the motions with God.

You can receive Christ today by faith in His testimony!

Jesus will deliver you from a beleaguered life to the abundance of His splendor and glory!

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.” Psalm 91:1-2

When nothing seems to make sense and you feel torn from many directions find your refuge in the Living God.

The world doesn’t function under the authority of God. And, you will never find peace and security in the world. The world creates a false illusion and will always betray you.

What happens is you and I find security and hope in the world and unconsciously make this our God. Then comes a whirlwind of troubles and our emotional being becomes shattered.

The only constant in this life is almighty God. He is perfect and lives above the world. God never changes!

Come to God by faith and ask Him to be your refuge and fortress. Take a time out from life and start afresh with God. Let go of everything in your life and seek God out for wisdom and protection.

Place all your values in God alone and ask Him to create the building blocks for today. When you let go completely and make God your refuge He will do great things for you.

The peace of Christ which transcends the world will come upon you and suddenly you will have clarity and renewed hope. You will see life through the eyes of Jesus!

Build you life on the Word of God and His promises. Do not stray away from God or allow the influences of the world to distract you from Him. Make your fixture Christ Jesus!

The favor of God falls upon those who trust God implicitly and live by His Word!

 

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6

The definition of the term unequivocal is “in a way that is clear and unambiguous and not subject to any conditions or exceptions”. It is espousing an attitude that is absolute and without doubt.

Your response to Christ has to do with yielding your will power to Him.

God wants you and I to come to Him with an unequivocal commitment. This means you unquestionably accept Christ for who He is and submit your will to Him.

The concept of abandoning yourself to God is difficult for most people. It is just to costly for some and many times is easily misunderstood.

Your will power is the stumbling block for almost all believers. We come into the world as ego driven people and strongly desire to keep our autonomy and independence.

The question becomes “Who is going to exercise the will power in your life—you or God?”

In facing Christ we tend to yield a little of our will power and as we grow in maturity we turn over more of our independence to Him. It is easy to give the non important things to God but when it comes to work, security, or money it is another matter.

Then there are those who agree to jump wholeheartedly into God but have a mistaken concept about abandonment. They believe the path to God is to practice religion and do works.

Abandonment is not about works, keeping laws, or religion. It is simply submitting your will to God unconditionally and without any limitations. It is giving God the freedom to do with you as He pleases!

Walking with God is a lifestyle of prayer, worship, dwelling in His Word, and yielding to the Holy Spirit. This is how you will find the will of God.

Abandonment is knowing Christ and living through Him!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31

After speaking to the masses in a remote location, Jesus dismissed the crowd and told His disciples to take the boat to the other side of the lake. He needed to be with His Father to pray for wisdom and direction.

It was just before dawn and Jesus was alone. He saw the strong wind and in the far distance was the boat with His disciples.

Jesus began to walk on the water towards the boat. The disciples were terrified when they saw Jesus and believed He was a ghost.

Peter said if this is you Jesus tell me to come to you. Jesus replied “Come”.
Then Jesus said “Have courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.” Peter acted on the words of Jesus and got out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus.

Peter briefly took his eyes off Jesus and saw the strong wind and became terrified. He started to sink and cried out to Jesus to save Him.

Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter. Jesus responded “you of little faith,” and said “why did you doubt?”

There are so many truths in this story that are helpful in walking with God. However, I am going to focus on Peter. He is just like you and me.

First, Peter understood the authority and power of Jesus. He was not going to attempt to walk on water until He heard the voice of Jesus say “come”.

Peter trusted Jesus and all was going well until He took His eyes off Jesus. At this moment he reverted from walking by faith to yielding to his human emotions. And, Peter failed in his command from Jesus.

Today, you will hear the command of Jesus to “Come”. This might be in reference to your work, dealing with family or others, or the responsibilities of life. Your success will come by walking in unyielding faith with Christ and keeping your eyes focused on Him.

Like Peter, there will be distractions around you today and they can easily create confusion, anxiety or doubt. And, the moment you succumb to these feelings you will start to drown.

Without faith it is impossible to please God!

 

 

“He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

What happens to all believers is we come before God in prayer and worship and acknowledge His Word which is alive and powerful.

At this time we become filled with faith in God understanding who He is and what He can do for you and me. We have the feeling nothing can daze our strength and faith in God.

Then we go out into the world and this feeling of overwhelming faith in God begins to gradually fade away as the challenges of life appear.

Fear and doubt begin to arise and we question the sovereignty of God. And, this happens to everyone including the great pillars of faith.

The question becomes is there anyway you and I can avoid this seesaw effect moving from faith to doubt?

Can you find permanency in Christ? The correct response is you can find permanency but it requires perseverance and maturity in dwelling in the Holy Spirit. There is no other way to escape from the ebb and flow of trusting God.

First, you have to accept the Holy Spirit is alive within you and desires to strengthen your faith. Think of the Spirit as a real person whom you can have conversations with and receive the attributes of the life of Christ.

Secondly, learn to listen to your feelings and thoughts and the moment you sense doubt or fear arising within you take a timeout. Try to determine what is causing these feelings and then turn to God.

Ask the Holy Spirit to remove the fear or doubt and replace it with faith in Christ. Then pray for any wisdom to deal with the source of your difficulty.

At this point, let go completely because the difficulty is in the hands of God and belongs to Him to resolve.

If the fear or doubt returns (which is probable) then repeat the same sequence above.

Fear is a integral part of life for a human being. You need the supernatural strength of the Holy Spirit to overcome fear and live in the permanency of Christ.

It also helps to be grounded in Christ through prayer, His Word, and like minded believers.

Remember, God wants you to judge Him by His Word and never by the events of life. The ups and downs of life are a constant but the Word of Christ will never fail you.

 

 

“He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” Matthew 13:11

How can you be the person Jesus is referring to in the above scripture?

The answer to this relates to the heart of God and your response to Christ Jesus.

God shares Himself with those who are unconditionally open to follow His ways. This is someone who has laid down his life for Christ and will not be deterred by the circumstances of life. He is willing to lose everything for Christ.

This is a deep condition of the heart and can only be determined by Christ himself. This commitment cannot be made with intellect or emotions because they will fade away in the face of adversity.

God will put you through severe testing to determine your loyalty to Him. This loyalty has to be void of intellect, emotions, or experiences.

God will take you to the point where you will finally accede “He is God and can do with me as He pleases.”

This is the perfect place to be with God. You will see the transfigured Christ and He will share the greatness and glory of His life with you!

“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17

Believers get in trouble when they overstep the boundaries of God. This can happen quickly and most likely is caused by allowing your emotions and fleshly desires to dictate your actions. In reality, you choose to make a decision without inquiring of the Lord. You believe you know what is best for you and not God.

Moses prays the beauty of the Lord will fall upon you. And, then he explains how this can happen. Ask God to establish the work of your hands. Moses is implying do not strive or act out of your emotions or lean on your own understanding.

Moses is instructing you to commit your works each day to God and His thoughts will be established within you. When you pray this from your heart you are no longer working for self. You are working for God and will see the beauty and splendor of Christ.

God wants to be intimately involved in all the details of your life. He wants to live with you through the big and little decisions you make each day. Invite the Holy Spirit to live with you today!

You have the mind of Christ and God desires to fill you with His thoughts and the perfect wisdom that comes from heaven. This is the essence of life for a believer. For in Him we live and move and have our being.

 

“So I will break down the wall you have plastered with untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be uncovered; it will fall, and you shall be consumed in the midst of it. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 13:14

If you build a wall of protection with untempered mortar the wall will eventually crumble away. This is what happened to the Israelites and is coming to all those who live in a religion of fabricated truths.

The winds of God’s judgment is blowing on all those who have taken liberties in teaching the oracles of God. And, this includes those who have accepted and live by a watered down version of God’s truths.

God is perfect and He never changes. Heaven and earth may fade away but the word of God endures forever. The Word cannot be compromised or interpreted to satisfy the motives of a changing society or religion’s self centered goals.

The true disciple of Christ stands in the gap to build a wall for the Body of Christ that cannot be penetrated by sin or destruction. He has one motive in life which is to satisfy Christ Jesus.

Do not be seduced by false teaching in the Body of Christ. There is no peace in the world and our perfect God rules with retribution. He blesses and He curses according to His Word and no one is immune from the judgment of God.

The wall of eternal protection will come to those who do not succumb to false teaching and truly live by the words of Jesus; “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

In the coming days God will shake the earth with His anger and all will know that He is the Lord!

 

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you” John 15:16

This scripture is very difficult to understand and appropriate in your life. The truth is God chose you for His purposes—not what you would like to do or to fulfill your expectations as a disciple of Christ.

God thinks and acts differently than you and I. He is a spiritual being without an ego. You and I are ego driven people and think we can determine how best to serve God. This is foolishness in the eyes of God.

When you make a decision for Christ you lose ownership of your life. It now belongs to God to do as He pleases.

There is no striving in walking with God. You are called to enter into the rest of Christ and cease from your works.

God will usually not disclose how He plans to use you in His kingdom. And, as you grow in spiritual maturity it becomes even more puzzling.

The trap is trying to do something for God when He is just asking you to walk with Him by faith. If God wants you to do something specific He will speak directly to you and there will be no doubt.

As an example, God spoke to Abraham and he was obedient to His calling. Abraham gave up his homeland, security, and inheritance to venture into a foreign land.

You will be surprised to learn God’s priority in dealing with you. It is not so much about what you do but how you do it. It is inviting God to live in the moment.

God wants you to be grounded in Him through prayer, His Word, and the Holy Spirit. This will allow you to take His values into your everyday life.

Make you priority living in oneness with Jesus and let Him establish the direction and goals for your life!

There is no one like Him!

“The Lord is in His holy temple,
The Lord’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
The Lord tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves
violence His soul hates.” Psalm 11:4-5

The definition of a litmus test is a decisively indicative test.

You and I have to undergo this test which is ordained by the hand of God. It takes many different forms and can happen often in your life. You may face what seems like rejection by God, suffer financial loss or ruin, encounter serious health issues, or face betrayal from a loved one. The list goes on and on.

The purpose of the test is to determine your faith in God and belief in His promises. God wants you to have a living faith which is established and strengthened in the wake of disaster or adversity.

The only way you can demonstrate your faith to God is through the difficult challenges of life. You have three choices. Walk by faith, seek worldly solutions, or reject God entirely.

God knows how you will respond to adversity. The test is not for Him. It is for you. The test will be decisive. The result will determine your standing with God. It will be indicative of how you react to the challenges of life.

The test will answer the question “Will I believe in God regardless of what happens in my life?”

The moment of truth happens when God is no longer an intellectual or esoteric being. He is your God for life!