“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:12-13

On my walk today, the Holy Spirit spoke to me about passivity in the body of Christ. This is an attitude of accepting life without any active response or accountability. It is a lackluster approach to living and reflects apathy towards God’s precepts.

If you are a believer, you have an obligation to God. You are in debt to God for giving you the gift of eternal life.

Jesus purchased your salvation with His blood. He died so you can live free from the bondage of sin and experience the transfigured life.

If you choose to live by the flesh you are making a mockery of what Jesus accomplished on the Cross. This attitude leads to sin and eventual death. In reality, you are defying Jesus and will have to face the consequences of your actions.

The miracle of salvation is God lives in you and desires for you to live through Him. You do this by yielding to the Holy Spirit and following His leading.

The Holy Spirit crucifies the desires of the flesh and gives you the ability to live in oneness with Jesus.

It is of upmost importance to recognize the Holy Spirit is alive in you and to invite Him to have authority in every aspect of your life.

The Holy Spirit will become your mentor and guardian. He will transform you from a weak and impassive believer to a powerful disciple of Christ filled with His resurrected life!

“Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right.” Psalm 17:2

The definition of vindication is to be cleared from an accusation.

You and I stand accused by God as unholy people with a corrupt inner being. You can never live up to the standards of God. No matter how hard you try, or practice religion, or do good works you have been “sold under sin”. This means you are unacceptable to God in your present condition.

The laws of God are perfect but you cannot keep them. They accuse you of your imperfection and inadequacy before God. The laws bring condemnation upon you because you see your failure in the eyes of God.

The challenge is to face your sins and find a way to live a godly life. You can ask Jesus to forgive you but you will still keep on sinning because you were born with an inner condition which desires to live for self. You are in a hopeless situation with no way out!

How can you get out of this dilemma? You can only be vindicated by God through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus will cover all your sins with His blood and restore you to God.

The miracle of salvation is you become “born again” through the Water and Spirit. This dynamic creates a new creature in Christ Jesus. The Water washes away your sinful past and the Spirit creates new life. You die to self and live for God.

God recognizes your inability to live a life pleasing to Him so He places the life of Jesus (in the essence of the Holy Spirit) to reside within you. This gives you the ability to live blameless before God.

The dilemma of sin still exists in you. God does not take away your fleshly condition but He gives you a choice to live yielding to the Spirit or to live through your flesh.

Your vindication through Christ Jesus offers you eternal hope and gives you the ability to live in oneness with almighty God.

 

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

The Bible is not an easy book to read or understand so how can it become alive and powerful in your heart?

The answer lies in praying these simple words to God; “Let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you with all wisdom and understanding”. I pray this every day of my life.

You are asking Jesus to explain the purpose of His words and how they can be appropriated in your life.

The Holy Spirit will take what belongs to Jesus and share His life with you. You do not have to strive or use commentaries. The Spirit will teach you the spiritual significance of the Word and how to utilize the truths in your life.

The miracle of salvation is Christ lives in you and His Word is alive and powerful. The Word will never fail you.

The spiritual reality for a believer is understanding you have a volume of biblical truths stored in your heart through the Holy Spirit.

Your responsibility is to walk by the Spirit and inquire of the Lord for wisdom in dealing with the challenges of life. This will allow you to walk in a smooth path. You won’t be perfect and you will stumble now and then but you will be guided by the Spirit.

If you lack biblical knowledge, no problem! Just pray the words of Colossians 3:16 and spend 10 minutes a day reading the Bible. You’ll build up an inventory of spiritual knowledge in no time at all.

The Lord is your Keeper and He wants to preserve your going out and your coming in. However, this can only happen if you walk by the Spirit.

Remember, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

He lives so you can live!

“And without faith it is impossible to please God” Hebrews 11:6

The fallacy of Christianity is the belief you have to take the initiative to serve God. It implies you are responsible to do things for God. The truth of the gospel is there is no self motivation in working for God.

The purpose of walking with God is finding the reality of Jesus Christ in all the circumstances of your life. Your goal is to know Christ Jesus and how to appropriate His teachings and values into your family and friends, your work, what you eat and drink, decision making, and your worship habits.

You cannot do work for God until you are grounded in His Word and living in oneness with Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

There has to be a complete makeover within you so you can understand the mind of Christ and please Him with your actions.

Faith is the cornerstone of your relationship with Jesus. It is the most important principle in walking with God. It is a test of your spiritual character.

Jesus will engineer circumstances in your life to cause you to have unyielding faith in Him. He wants you to trust Him implicitly even in the most bleak moments of life.

Without faith you cannot please God. Faith is hearing the voice of God and acting in obedience to God without a rational explanation.

Develop the mindset your priority is to walk with Jesus by faith and seek Him first above all things. Ask Jesus to be your best friend and live in close fellowship with Him.

The works of God will come in His perfect timing and will be born of the Holy Spirit as a measure of your faith in the Son of God!

He alone is worthy of your praise!

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

What causes someone to invite Jesus Christ to crucify their life and to give up everything for Him? The answer is you have a personal encounter with the Living Christ and realize He is your only hope for life.

Jesus has to become a reality to you and not just a story in the Bible. This will happen when you witness a glimpse of His greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty.

Jesus will demonstrate to you the futility and weakness of trying to live through your flesh and the power and glory of the risen Christ. You will gladly choose life over death and walk by faith with the Son of God.

You cannot experience the fullness of Christ crucified until you abandon yourself to Jesus and invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life.

The reality of Christ crucified will come to you by living out your faith and trusting Jesus for your every need. You will not find the crucified Christ through religion or works.

The miracle of becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus is a recognition Christ lives in you through the Holy Spirit and wants to share His life with you. He gives you the ability to walk by the Spirit and live in oneness with Jesus.

The dynamic of Christ crucified reaches into every aspect your life including your thoughts, decision making, values, family and friends, your work, and all your other activities. Nothing is left untouched.

The Holy Spirit infuses your life with the spiritual values of Jesus and you become a light touching those living in darkness.

Christ crucified is simply giving up your life for the life of Christ! He is the way, the truth, and the life!

“Be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16

God is holy and without sin. He will never allow His throne to be contaminated with your sins.

You and I stand today estranged from God with no hope for life. The Spirit of God will not strive with the spirit of man. In His eyes, you are flesh living in rebellion to God and desiring to please yourself.

God is very jealous and His jealousy is like a consuming fire. He gets angry when you worship false gods or idols. He wants all of your devotion and will not share you with other gods or idols.

God created you in His image and does not want you to live in autonomy from Him. This will lead to destruction, misery and death.

Your independence and stubbornness is a major block preventing you from pleasing God. This also applies to most believers who decide where God is invited and where He is not welcome.

God never changes and He detests those who compromise His values. You either accept the totality of Jesus and His teachings or you will live in a spiritual morass and lose out on experiencing His greatness and glory.

You cannot bring the life, influence, or possessions of false gods into your life. This will cause you to be rejected by God and you will face His punishment.

God hates lust and sexual immorality. He destroyed all of humanity for these sins except for seven souls.

It is blasphemy against God to place your security and hope in the ways of the world. The Cross is the only pathway to an abundant life with God.

You can quickly see how your sin is an impediment to the heart of God and that you can never get right with Him.

This separation can only be overcome by Christ Jesus. He is the mediator standing between God and mankind. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. No one can come to God except through Him.

If you want to emulate the life of God, you have to come to Jesus by faith and accept the legitimacy of His life and teachings.

Jesus will cover all your sins with His blood and reconcile you to God. And, He will give you the precious gift of the Holy Spirit who will allow you to live in oneness with Him.

The secret to avoiding sin is to live by faith with Jesus and walk according to the Spirit not the flesh. Don’t try to overcome sin through your own will power because this will never work.

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus will set you free from the bondage of sin.

For in Him, we live and move and have our being!

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

We want Jesus but we really don’t want all of Him. You make a decision for salvation and the abundant life but it stops there with many believers.

Jesus died on the Cross for all of you. He doesn’t want to be a part time God. Salvation is not just about forgiveness of sins and eternal life. It is about a willingness to die to your old self and live for Jesus. You give up the right to yourself and your independence for the life of Jesus.

Jesus desires for you to present your body as a living sacrifice to Him. This is the act of inviting Jesus into every aspect of your life. The spiritual person has no secrets or private compartments that he keeps for himself. His life is an open book to Jesus and he comes before the Holy Spirit every day seeking His will.

The question is do you really want to know the reality of Jesus? You can only experience this when you understand your life no longer belongs to you. It belongs to Jesus for His purposes.

Your abandonment to Jesus will fill you with the fullness of the Holy Spirit and you will live with the God who created the heavens and earth. You will experience signs and wonders and see the majesty and splendor of God.

Most people can’t make this decision because they treasure their worldly possessions and the cost of coming to Jesus is too fearful and upsetting to your lifestyle.

The truth of abandonment to Jesus is that He will give you an abundant life you can never achieve on your own. Jesus desires to enter all of your life and fill you with His excellence and give you more than you ask or think.

The private compartments deprive you of the life of Jesus and they lead to spiritual death.

It is very costly to follow Jesus! You die to self and become a new creature in Christ Jesus dedicated to live for Him!

“I live so you can live. My purposes are eternal. Come to Me with your all and I will share the transfigured life with you. Nothing is impossible for Me!

Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:7-8

The Spirit filled believer is like someone blowing in the wind. You can hear the wind but you cannot tell where the wind comes from or where it goes.

The wind of God is illusive and moves in different directions. You can hear the voice of God through the Holy Spirit but He seldom reveals very much about the future. He wants you to walk by faith without the ability to see ahead.

The life of a believer moves by the wind with no visible destination ahead but God is leading you into His perfect plan.

You have been born of the Spirit and your life moves in ways you cannot understand. Walk by the Spirit understanding you cannot approach God through your intellect or look at your life in the ways of the world.

The wind blows in unpredictable ways causing you to live by steadfast faith when you can see no hope. The wind places you in difficult situations where you must reach out for help from the Creator of the heavens and earth.

Remember, you live in the world but you are not of the world. You are a spiritual being blowing in the wind and called by God to bring light to those living in darkness!

“When you walk with Me it is like sailing in a boat with the wind providing the power and direction. It is about the journey not the destination. I can see what is blocked from your eyes and will lead you in My perfect path.”

“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” Luke 12:29-31

The fundamental principle of living with Jesus is to seek Him first and then all the other things of life will be added to you.

Jesus does not want you to worry about what you lack but to understand He knows your needs better than you and has promised to supply your every need. And, Jesus keeps His Word.

The question becomes how do you seek Jesus first in your life? The answer deals with your heart condition and your values in life.

Jesus wants you to abandon yourself to Him. This is a decision to make Him the priority in your life above all things and to seek the will of God.

Abandoning yourself to God is not about neglecting or abdicating your life pursuits. It is seeking Jesus out to infuse His presence and excellence into your work, family and friends, diet and exercise programs, and your special interests. Jesus wants to bring quality into every aspect of your life. He wants to give you an abundant life which is impossible to achieve on your own.

There is a deep comfort in the spiritual man or woman who has laid down their life for God. They have faith and confidence in God to provide for their every need and can focus their attention on seeking God and understanding His priorities.

You seek God through prayer, dwelling in His Word, and living in oneness with Him through the Holy Spirit. Your mission is to know Jesus and to live intimately with Him.

The calling to follow Jesus is a walk of faith. You turn to Him for your every need and live by faith trusting He calls things that don’t exist as if they did.

You please Jesus with the openness of your heart and your values in life. The Son of God established the role model for all to follow; “Not my will but yours be done!”

But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ Luke 16:31

If you are not a believer this should get your attention. Don’t think so much about the punishment but open up your heart to the upside of Jesus. He loves you!

This is a story of a rich man and Lazarus, a beggar. They both died and the beggar went to heaven and the rich man went to hell.

The rich man was tormented by the flames of hell and pleaded with Abraham living in heaven to send Lazarus to him that he might dip his finger in water and cool his tongue. Abraham told him you had a rich life and now you have to accept your eternal destiny.

Then the rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus to testify to his five brothers so they could avoid the horror of living in hell.

Abraham responded that if your brothers won’t hear Moses or the prophets they will also not be persuaded by someone rising from the dead.

The truth in this story is many non believers will not accept salvation even if they are confronted by the person of Jesus or someone returning from death to preach the gospel.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You attain salvation by hearing the Word and accepting it by faith. There is no other way.

The truth of God will set you free and give you the ability to live with Jesus forever. Salvation starts the moment you decide for Jesus. He fills you with Living Water and shares His life with you.

The act of coming to Jesus is not about waiting for heaven. Jesus desires to be alive and at work in you today. He offers you love, joy, and peace. Jesus wants to be the strength of your life and give you eternal hope.

Do you really want to risk salvation over your stubbornness to accept Jesus?