Father, I adore You
Lay my life before You
How I love You.

The Holy Spirit sang this to me as I was waking up this morning.

I got to thinking why would anyone lay down their life for Jesus, a Jewish prophet who lived over two thousand years ago. Jesus was poor, a carpenter by trade, and hated by the religious leaders of the day.

What would cause anyone to lay down their life for this man who claimed to be the Son of God?

You can only come to this decision when you discover Jesus is alive and wants to have a personal and vibrant relationship with you.

Open up your heart to Jesus and you will quickly discover He desires to make you a better person and help you achieve an abundant life. Jesus wants to bless the desires of your heart.

Jesus is not some esoteric figure from the past. He is alive and wants to enter into every aspect of your life and enrich you with His goodness. He wants to give you more than you ask or think.

You have to personally experience the greatness and glory of God and then you will understand without any doubt how weak and hopeless you are without Jesus. (If you’re still not sure, just hold up your hands to Jesus and ask Him to show you who He is.)

In closing, you can lay down your life for Jesus with confidence knowing He will give you a better life than you can ever achieve on your own. And, you will live with Him forever!

I have been with Jesus and there is no one who can compare to Him. Invite the Living Jesus into your life!

 

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19

It is impossible for a believer to keep his individuality and walk with God. And, if you try to maintain or save your individuality, God will bring pain and suffering into your life.

When you make a decision for Jesus, you are accepting Him as your Lord and Savior and turning over the right to your life to Him. Jesus now has ownership over your life whether you like it or not. He controls your destiny and you follow in His footsteps.

You are living for God and He will bring you to your knees to get your attention and cause you to surrender your will to Him.

Your body is a holy temple and Jesus lives in you in the essence of the Holy Spirit. He wants to live through you!

As a new creature in Christ Jesus old things have to pass away and all things have to become new. You cannot continue to live as in the past. Jesus has to be a reality in your life.

You have to become broken to be an effective vessel for God. Your pride and ego have to diminish and God has to increase in your life. Self sufficiency fades away as humility enters your personality.

The whole issue of ownership can be expressed in one simple word—willingness. Are you willing to submit your will to the will of God?

This is all God is asking of you!

“Would not his splendor terrify you?
Would not the dread of him fall on you?” Job 13:11

 

When you’re in a difficult place, do you really want humanistic advice? God allowed Satan to ruin Job’s life and he lost almost everything. Job suffered greatly!

Job’s friends tried to comfort him with worthless platitudes. Their words were deceiving and lacked any truths of God.

Job challenged his friends and told them they could not create partiality (or favor) with God. They were speaking empty words of lies and deceit.

Job said to his friends if God were to examine you like He has me would you be able to face up to the splendor and glory of God? In other words, do you live with the integrity of God and can you stand blameless before your Maker?

Job’s friends could not argue their case with God but Job was able to face God because he walked in the righteousness of the Lord.

Job understood the greatness and glory of God and his humility and weakness as a mortal being.

The point of this story is you can only become right with God through the work Jesus Christ did on the cross. Then you do not have to rely on worldly advice to help you in time of trouble. You can come boldly with confidence to the throne of God and face your Savior!

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world!

“The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.” Psalm 33:11

The Lord has spoken and His Words are alive and powerful. He has laid out a plan for living to all generations.

The Word of God is eternal and the challenge for a believer is to integrate the truths of God into your life. God does not need to change; you and I have to change and accept the truths of God into our lives.

Walking in the path of God is difficult. The world is not your friend or a safe haven. And, you are tempted constantly to stray away from God.

You have to conform to the ways of God to survive in this world. Present your body as a living sacrifice to almighty God and allow the Spirit of God to transform you into a spiritual being. This is how you will find the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

Come to God with a heart to give up the ways of the world and to live intimately with Him. Ask God to make you the apple of His eye and hide you under the shadow of His wings.

Without faith you cannot please God! You have to live with God believing in His promises and keeping your eyes focused on Him. The world will disappoint you but God is faithful and just and He will keep His promises. Jesus died so you can live abundantly.

The secret is to position yourself with your Creator and then stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. His ways are perfect!

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37

In the middle of last night God spoke to me about the devastating influence of religion. It discriminates based on a system of rules. It is intolerant to the work of the cross.

Religion has created a series of rules concerning how you must worship and serve God. You must conform to these rules or you are an outcast. Your devotion to God is measured by your ability to keep these rules and your heart attitude towards God becomes secondary.

Jesus spoke concerning the greatest commandment to believers. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the foundation to living with God. This commandment is void of rules and you are evaluated on your heart condition to God.

“Religion corrupts My reputation and disavows the work of the cross!”

Religion wants to control you and your Creator wants to set you free. Jesus came to convict you of sin and provide a way for all your sins to be forgiven and for you to be restored to God.

Religion wants you to find God through laws and regulations. Jesus died to shatter the network of religious laws and practices. When you encounter Jesus, He will tell you to go and sin no more.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You only hope is to walk by faith trusting the promises of Jesus. There is no other way.

Your faith will set you free!

“Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5

Do you want to live in the kingdom of God, witness signs and wonders, and sense the presence of angels? And, hear the majestic voice of God speak to you.

All this is possible for a believer! However you have to take off your shoes if you want to stand on holy ground. This is a recognition of the greatness and glory of God and your failure to match up to His standards. You are an imperfect mortal being and fall short of the glory and splendor of God.

Acknowledge the holiness and perfection of your Savior. You cannot come into the presence of almighty God without an atonement for your sinful condition.

Come to God through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and ask for His blood to cover your sins. Admit your impoverished inner condition and accept He is your only hope for righteousness.

Now you are on your way to meeting the Living God! Come to Jesus and abandon yourself completely to Him. He needs to become the reason for your existence!

Ask the Holy Spirit to take authority over every aspect of your life. At this moment, you can enter into the precious kingdom of heaven and live intimately with your Creator.

Jesus will teach you about Himself and fill you with His resurrected life. You will also discover quickly that Jesus will point you to integrating Him into the reality of your life. You have to live out His spiritual truths, walk by faith, and learn to be a light for God.

Live in oneness with Jesus through the Holy Spirit and you will see the glory of God!

“Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, yes I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

When your world suddenly turns upside down, the human reaction is to become fearful and get angry. I have been there many times.

However when you fall into that deep dark pit, your only recourse as a believer is to turn to almighty God. He is with you at all times and His Spirit lives in you.

This verse in Isaiah is a powerful promise of God to His people. Do not fear for God is with you! Release your feelings of fear, anger, and uncertainty to God. This means you literally choose to let go of these feelings and give them over to God. It is an act of volition on your part.

As soon as you take this step, the peace of God will fall upon you and you feel the love and compassion of your Creator. He lives so you can live!

It’s not about the answer to your troubles, it is a deep recognition in your heart that God will strengthen you and help you overcome your troubles.

God is just and merciful! Jesus will execute His perfect judgment and cover you with His righteousness.

Remember, the world is not your friend. Your only hope rests in Jesus who has overcome the world!

“I am a Living God! I will never leave you or forsake you. Reach out to Me and I will deliver you from your troubles. There is no one like Me!”

“Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” Matthew 13:11-12

This quote from Jesus refers to why He speaks in parables. The people following Jesus could hear His words but they did not understand what He was saying.

Jesus goes on to tell His disciples they have been given the ability to understand the mysteries of God.

Then Jesus explains the disciple who has the life of Jesus more will be given to him but whoever does not have His life will lose all.

To enjoy the abundance of God, you have to hear and accept unconditionally the promises of God. Seek first the kingdom of God with all your heart and all the other things in life will be added to you.

To live with God, you have to invite the Holy Spirit to come into every aspect of your life and take authority over your thoughts, words, and actions.

You cannot be an effective witness for Christ without the power of the Spirit. God is a Spirit and you have to worship Him in Spirit and Truth.

Pray to God to forgive you for your sins and cover you with His blood. Ask God to correct you of anything not pleasing to Him. Then ask Jesus to fill you with His life.

Now you can stand still and see the salvation of our great God!

And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”Luke 4:12

Satan’s final attempt to lure Jesus away from His Father’s protection dealt with testing Jesus to jump off a high pinnacle with the belief His Father would send angels to rescue Him.

Anytime you take a step in life without praying to God for wisdom and protection you are tempting God. You are acting on your own with the belief you know what is best for you. You are rejecting the wisdom of God and functioning from self sufficiency. This behavior will lead you to destruction and misery.

From a humanistic point of view, there is a way that seems right to a man but its end will lead you astray.

God is omniscient and sees every detail of your life-past, present, and future. He knows where you can find His perfect shelter and protection.

So when you launch out on your own you are not only tempting God but you are walking into a whirlwind of trouble.

Pray each day that the Lord will be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your pathway. Commit your works to God each day and He will guide you into a smooth path.

“The world encourages you to satisfy your desires and go after your goals without a biblical compass. If it seems right pursue it! This attitude will lead to your downfall. I gave up My life so you can share in My riches and live with Me forever!”

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2

You and I get so caught up in the things in our lives that we inadvertently take our eyes off God and immerse ourselves into trying to solve our living issues. We focus on the problem not the true source of help.

We forget God is the author and finisher of all things and has power and dominion over the heavens and earth.

What happens is we try to take matters into our own hands and hope our God will go along with us.

We get our priorities twisted and discover we are trying to operate in our own strength and are neglecting the help of our Creator to deliver us from our troubles.

This Psalm of David speaks to the heart of a believer. Where do your eyes go when you are facing trouble? Most believers tend to have a superficial faith and quickly look within themselves or to the world to find answers to their troubles.

Today, my eyes will be on the Lord for my help and I will believe our great God calls things that don’t exist as if they did!