“I AM who I AM.” Exodus 3:14

So you think you know Jesus?

It is impossible to understand the person of Christ Jesus. This is because He thinks and acts in ways unlike you. Jesus is unpredictable, controversial, and will never adapt to a definition.

There is nothing normal or predictable about the standard of conduct in the life of Jesus. You get to the point where you think you understand Jesus and are living closely with Him and then He turns your spiritual life upside down.

The disciple of Christ living in oneness with Jesus can expect to face many implausible situations in your spiritual journey.

I have personally experienced all of the manifestations of God described below in my walk with God. This does not mean all believers will have to deal with these characteristics of God but you need to be aware of some of the nuances of our amazing God. He works in mysterious ways and at times can be very difficult to understand.

Jesus will create distance in your relationship with Him and appear as if He isn’t concerned about you. Look at how many times David cried out to God feeling forsaken and forgotten. Or, Jesus suffering on the Cross for three hours and feeling abandoned by His Father.

Jesus will cause spiritual confusion through His Words and actions. You have a dream, see a vision, or hear His voice and nothing fits together or makes any sense. In reality, Jesus is weaving together a perfect plan for your life but He is not allowing you to see the outcome.

Jesus will create isolation in your life and close doors to relationships with others or to the vibrancy of life. Examine the life of Job or consider Moses who was isolated by God for forty years while tending sheep.

Jesus can appear very cold and indifferent at times. You pray for a fish and get a serpent. Or, how did the man feel when he went to his friend in the middle of the night seeking a loaf of bread. The friend would not open the door and from within told him “Don’t bother me”.

Jesus will test you through His voice. He will instruct you to do something or He will speak prophesy about a future event and then nothing happens. You have to deal with a broken promise. How did Abraham feel about the instruction from God to sacrifice his son and then at the last minute God changed His mind?

The goal of Jesus is for you to walk with Him by faith and accept Him without question or second guessing His motives or conduct. He is God and can do as He pleases.

Can you get to the place where you can accept Jesus for who He is without judging His actions?

He is a perfect God!

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

This popular bible verse is referred to many times to explain that all the events in the life of a believer will work together for good if you love God and are working under His authority. It is a “catch all” phrase to validate the work of Christ. However, you cannot interpret this as a blank check to do as you please or maintain a lackadaisical attitude towards God!

The reference to “all things” relates to your personality, parental upbringing, the trials of life, your rebellion against God and sinful actions, and the power of God at work in your inner being. The goodness comes from the work of the Holy Spirit who intercedes for you according to the will of God.

There is also the issue of how God works through tragedies or terrible experiences to bring His goodness into your life.

God accomplishes this through His love; “Where sin abounds the grace of God abounds more.”  Jesus is loving and compassionate and will overcome all sinful actions with His unending mercy and love.

Jesus looks at the tragedies of life and rules with justice and honor. He convicts wrong doers of sin, punishes those responsible in His perfect ways, offers forgives through His blood, and heals those who have been hurt. God uses a tragic situation to strengthen your faith and bring glory to His name.

The question is how do you love God and live according to His purpose. You love God by abandoning yourself to Him unconditionally and making Jesus the centerpiece of your life. You give your heart to God with an openness and genuine desire to live under His authority.

The challenge is understanding what it means to be called according to His purpose. Very simply, God wants you to live a life of faith trusting Jesus for your every need. God wants you to find your security in Him and never in the things of the world. You live in oneness with Jesus by yielding to the Holy Spirit.

You will find His purpose through prayer, dwelling in His Word, and listening for His voice. God’s ultimate purpose will never relate to works.

Jesus wants you to live in a passionate and intimate relationship with Him. The real purpose of a believer is to know Christ and identify with His suffering on the Cross.

The outcome of the life of a believer is to live with God forever. The journey is understanding your inner fallacy and lack of ability to please God. Then God can do great things through you!

 

 

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

Let’s explore the beginning of a new life in Christ Jesus. This happens by the work of God and was initiated before you were born.

At some point in time, you hear the truth of Christ crucified and accept this by faith into your heart.

This experience of salvation happens without any contribution on your part except the act of opening up your heart to Jesus.

God will not allow your flesh to play a part in the decision for Christ because you are tainted with sin and unacceptable to Him.

It is the work of the perfect and holy God who creates the gift of salvation. And, only God can boast of this life changing experience.

With this decision, God implants the Holy Spirit to live in you and share the life of Jesus with you. The Spirit is the source for doing the works of God.

The God who supplies His Spirit to you and performs signs and wonders in the Body of Christ does this through your faith in Christ. Your flesh died with Christ on the Cross and has no value or role in walking with God.

What happens to believers is they start a relationship with Jesus by faith and then quickly turn to works and religion to please God. They are trying to perfect their walk with God through their flesh.

Do you really think you have the ability to do anything for God who created the heavens and earth? It is God working through you in the person of the Holy Spirit who can perform miracles and do the work of Christ.

If you attempt to justify yourself with God by works you will fall under the curse of God. This is because you have to keep all the laws of God which is impossible. No one on this earth has been able to do this except for Christ Jesus. In actuality, you are defying the work of the Cross and replacing Jesus with the efforts of self.

The good news is the curse of the law died on the Cross with Christ. As a new creature in Christ Jesus, your obligation is to live by faith believing in the promises of God and to become obedient to His voice!

Walk with God yielding to the Holy Spirit and you will experience the grandeur of the transfigured Christ!

There is no one like Him!

 

 

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.“ Philippians 2:13

Today God is at work in you to fulfill His good pleasure. Some of His work is accomplished through your prayers and the act of worshipping Jesus in Spirit and Truth.

The Living Water (the life of Christ) flows out of you touching others with the love, compassion, and joy of God. People see Christ in you and are attracted to God.

God will speak to you through His Spirit to instruct you to do acts of kindness to those in your life.

However, the significant part of His work is done below your consciousness. He is changing your personality to mirror the image of Jesus.

God is at work through the Holy Spirit to refine you like precious gold. This is the process of dying to self and living for Christ. Most of this work takes place in ways not visible to you.

The Spirit of God also makes intercession through you to bring down demonic strongholds over others. At times, the Holy Spirit will fill your body with the afflictions lacking in Christ to bring glory and honor to His body, the church.

The fallacy of Christianity is urging believers into a doctrine of works. The works of God are very important but they come out of your faith in God, obedience to His voice, and are born by the Spirit.

Believers become so consumed by the idea of serving God they lose the importance of knowing Christ and walking by faith. This has to precede any work for God.

The disciple of Christ lives out his faith every day of his life and believes God calls things that don’t exist as if they did.

Your faith in God has to be reflected in your thoughts, words, and actions. Faith is a discipline of living in the promises of God and not allowing your faith to be compromised by the circumstances in your life.

The reality of the Cross is understanding you are unable to do anything for God. And, you are deceiving yourself if you think the works of God can originate within you.

The works of God were finished on the Cross. It is Christ working in you that draws others to God. Your individuality (or ego) has no value in doing work for God and will lead you astray.

Demonstrate your faith in God through your words and actions and Jesus will release His resurrected power enabling you to do the mighty works of Christ and bring glory to His name.

Remember, your ministry for Jesus begins with Him. It is not by might nor by power but by His Spirit!

 

“For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance”
1 Thessalonians 1:5

The gospel comes to you in words, in power, and in the Holy Spirit.

The beginning is the words of the gospel. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You hear the gospel and accept Jesus by faith. The power of God convicts you of sin and demonstrates the greatness and glory of God.

This begins the action of becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus. You become baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. As a believer, you are born again into the life of Christ and all things become new.

God confirms His Word through the Holy Spirit. Christ becomes alive in you through the indwelling Spirit.

The Holy Spirit authenticates the truths of God and shares the life of Jesus with you.

The assurance of the gospel is to live with Christ forever and to participate in the treasures of God. In this journey you will be tested by God, suffer at times, and experience the abundant life of your Savior. You will see the transfigured Christ and fall to your knees in awe of His grandeur and glory.

The gift of salvation is to be able to have a personal and vibrant relationship with Christ Jesus every day of your life. You can have conversations with the Living God and enter into an intimate and caring friendship with your Maker. Jesus becomes your best friend and confidant.

It is amazing that almighty God who created the heavens and earth wants to share His strength, wisdom, and joy with you along with all of the fruit of the Spirit.

The reality of Christ is you live with Him through the resurrected power of the Cross. There is no one like Him!

“The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” Psalm 37:31

This is a powerful promise from God. You have the ability to walk through life with confidence knowing your footsteps will not stumble.

The question is how do the truths of God move from printed words on a page in the Bible into your heart?

The Word of God is alive and powerful. It is life changing to those who read the Word with an open heart and ask the Holy Spirit to bring wisdom and spiritual discernment to the scriptures.

The desire of God is to imbed His truths into your heart through the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray each day the Word of God will dwell richly in you with all wisdom and understanding.

The purpose of reading the Word is to appropriate the teachings and values of Jesus into your life. This will allow you to navigate through life utilizing the sign posts of God.

The Lord is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your pathway. However, this can only actualize when you are walking with God through His Spirit.

The reason you and I stumble is we succumb to worldly temptations or give power to our fleshly indulgences. We disconnect from God and live through our fleshy desires.

God knows all your strengths and weaknesses. In fact, He knows you better than you know yourself. Also, God is omniscient and knows every detail of your life including your future. He wants to act as a powerful beacon to direct you into a safe and healthy pathway.

The life of Jesus dwells in you in the essence of the Holy Spirit. He does not want you to stumble or slip away from His protection. And, the Holy Spirit is perfect!

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. So you have to yield (or submit) to the Holy Spirit to avoid the pitfalls of life.

The discipline of yielding to the Holy Spirit begins each morning when you commit your works to God and ask Him to establish His thoughts in your mind. In reality, you are submitting your day under the authority of the Holy Spirit.

You have the mind of Christ and God’s method of communicating is to place His thoughts into your mind. Just be open to hear and accept His words by faith.

The Holy Spirit is alive and readily available so come to Him anytime you have doubt or confusion about making a decision.

God lives in the moment! Learn to praise Him and pray to Him during the course of your day. This will help you keep connected to the Spirit of God.

Remember, the Holy Spirit will never lead you astray. He is the life of Jesus and wants to be your best friend!

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

This deals with the relationship between what you treasure in life and your heart condition to God.

Jesus is challenging you to examine your priorities! Are you living for self, sold out for God or somewhere in between?

The real question is what causes someone to treasure God above all else?

A good place to begin is with your commitment to God. Are you just along for the ride or are you serious about living for Him?

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You hear the gospel in a sermon, read a book, or through the counsel of someone. You accept by faith what you hear and make a decision for Christ. Or, you experience a tragedy or crisis and reach out to God.

Many people hear the gospel and accept the gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sins. This is a no brainer.

The issue then becomes how much of the gospel do you accept and where do you draw the lines to protect your treasures.

Most believers have difficulty in letting go of the treasures closest to their heart. This is a sign of their lack of faith in God.

They doubt the efficacy of God and replace Him with self preservation measures. This action deprives believers of sharing in the fullness of God.

The reality about your earthly treasures are they come from God and can be added to or taken away at anytime. You have no control over the propensity of God.

God is not a pauper. He wants to give you more than you ask or think. There is nothing wrong with seeking prosperity if your motives are pure with God.

What is most important to God is your priorities in life!

God is very jealous! He wants all of your attention. He does not want to compete with your work, money matters, lifestyle pursuits, special interests (like sports, fitness and the arts) or a desire for success.

There is nothing wrong with any of the things above as long as they come under the authority of God and are subordinate to your relationship with Him.

To make it very clear, we are not talking about works or religion. We are talking about Christ centered living.

How do you make a decision to treasure God above all other things? This happens when you understand the reality of the character of God. He is a God of greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty. He has authority over the heavens and earth and nothing is impossible for Him. Your destiny is in His hands.

The only way you can experience the Living God is to draw near to Him with an open heart.

God is very approachable. Come to Him with praise, prayer, and live in His Word. Listen for the voice of God.

You will discover the grandeur of God and see how insignificant you are compared to God. This is the turning point where you can start to treasure God above all other things.

You see the value of God and the hopelessness of living without Him. It then becomes very easy to adopt a pattern of living grounded in Christ.

For in Him we live and move and have our being.

 

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24

The act of worshipping God does not require you to go to a church service or any specific holy place. God is ubiquitous and present everywhere. You do not have to go looking for God. If you are a believer, He lives in you.

You also do not need a minister to worship God or enable you to come into His presence.

Jesus said the hour is coming when you will not worship God on a mountain or in Jerusalem. The Cross shattered the established forms of worship and provided for the true worshippers of God to worship in Spirit and Truth. Jesus explained it is the desire of His Father for all to worship in this manner.

The analogy is comparing the spirit of a man to the Spirit of God. How can you understand the depth of a man’s personality and feelings without being connected to his spirit. Likewise, you cannot understand the deeper things of God unless you are connected to His Spirit.

Jesus said the Holy Spirit will take what belongs to Jesus and share it with you. He is the conduit to the life of Jesus.

As believers, we worship God in truth by reading scripture and applying His values into our life. This can become alive by praying the Word of Christ will dwell richly in you in all wisdom and knowledge.

We worship God in Spirit through praise for who He is and by yielding to the Holy Spirit who resides inside you. You can literally walk with God through His Spirit.

The Holy Spirit offers you the mind of Christ enabling you to have conversations with God. It is your responsibility to be still and listen for His voice.

The Holy Spirit brings the reality of Christ Jesus into your life. Jesus becomes a Living God and your best friend.

 

“That they may be one, even as we are one.” John 17:22

Jesus lived in oneness with His Father throughout His entire life. He was born in the form of a human being and was subjected to all the temptations from Satan that you and I face everyday of our life.

The difference is Jesus never succumbed to any temptation or fleshly desire. He was perfect!

Jesus prayed that you and I can live in oneness with Him like Jesus was to His Father.

The question is “Can you really live in oneness with Jesus?” And, if this is so “How do you maintain oneness with Him?”

The reality is Jesus wants you to be one with Him and it is very possible to have this spiritual connection.

However, it is impossible for you to live at all times in perfect oneness with Jesus because you are a human being filled with many frailties.

The good news is you can live in oneness with Jesus for a significant part of your life. And, it gets easier as you grow in maturity with Him.

The first step is to examine yourself and determine if you really have a desire to live for God and deny yourself. Without a serious commitment to Jesus, you are probably wasting your time.

God knows you better than you know yourself and all it takes is a willing heart! God will accept you just the way you are with all your blemishes.

Once you make this commitment to God you can forget about trying to please God through your own efforts. You will fail God unless you are operating under the influence of the Spirit of Jesus.

It is God’s responsibility to teach you how to walk with Him and keep you away from the temptations of the world.

This is accomplished by the Holy Spirit who lives in all believers.

The Holy Spirit is the life of Jesus. He will share the essence of Jesus with you and guide you into living in oneness with Him.

Think of this like making a choice each day (or sometimes by the moment) to do what pleases you or to yield to the Holy Spirit.

You may think you are pursuing a path that seems logical and good but the end result could be destruction.

This is why the Holy Spirit is so important. He is omniscient and knows every detail of your life. He wants to protect you and guide you into the abundant life of Christ Jesus.

Walking with God is a learning process. It will eventually flow without a lot of conscious thought.

Take timeouts during you day and check in with the Holy Spirit when dealing with an important decision or questioning some action. This will keep you on track with God.

The Holy Spirit offers you the mind of Christ. He desires to speak with you and He is your conduit to developing an intimate and close relationship with Christ Jesus.

Are you connected to Jesus today?

“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:11

This deals with the relationship of rest to disobedience looking through the eyes of Christ Jesus and affects every believer in the kingdom of God.

What is disobedience to God? The best definition is you hear the voice of God but you harden your heart. You fall into rebellion against God and doubt the veracity of His Word.

The primary example used throughout the Bible is the Israelites rebellion against God. They heard the voice of God but they fell into unbelief. They complained bitterly about their circumstances and chose to worship other gods.

God has provided a rest for His people so you can cease from your works as God did from His and live by faith in the promises of God. You can enter into this rest by accepting Christ Jesus and walking with Him by faith.

This rest is acknowledging the greatness of God who created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day. You rest in the works of your Creator!

It is accepting the work of the Cross and living by faith and not by sight. This where the struggle begins.

What happens to most believers is they hear the voice of God with excitement and fervor but then the trials of life bring hardships and suffering. And, they fall into unbelief! They don’t believe Jesus is who He claims to be.

This usually begins with feelings of anger, fear, and doubt. Then you speak disparaging words about the lack of God’s sustenance in your life.

The unbelief changes to action when you substitute something to replace God like self sufficiency, fleshly indulgences, worship of idols, or the pursuit of worldly living.

The penalty of unbelief is usually associated with some form of punishment. God afflicted the Israelites with poisonous snakes and several thousand died.

The action of disobedience makes God angry and raises the concern He might disallow you from entering into His rest. He did this with most of the Israelites who died in the desert.

The rest of God is simply walking by faith and judging God by His Word and never by the circumstances in your life.

The most important question you can ask God today is “Am I in obedience to your voice?”