“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

This a very important time in the world for you to be able to discern the spirit of truth from the spirit of error.

Satan has released many spirits of the antichrist to deny Jesus Christ is the Son of God and to destroy His influence in the world. These false spirits want to deceive you by weakening the Word of God and interpreting scripture to conform to our society today.

Satan has accomplished the first step in convincing organized religion to accept and promote a watered down version of the truths of God. This will be a segway to introduce other gods, false teaching, and continue to downplay the power of the Son of God.

Satan’s strategy is to introduce worldly thinking into the body of Christ. The antichrist spirits want to remove the idea that God is your provider and all things begin with Him. They want you to look to self and worldly methods to obtain success. They also deceive your moral standards with the idea you have the freedom to do things that are opposed to God.

If you think like the world, you believe the lie that it is your right to achieve the better things in life. There is a sense of entitlement to attain a higher standard of living. This creates greed and causes you to relax your moral compass to get what you want.

The evil spirits trick you with the idea of taking “ownership” over your life. You do not own your life. It belongs to God.

Everyday you face a barrage of lies stemming from the antichrist spirits. They target you through the media, friends, the workplace, and even in your churches.

Your only hope is to have a strong bond with God through the Holy Spirit and take every thought and outside stimuli from the world captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ.

He will teach you what is the truth and what is a lie and protect you from the attacks of Satan.

 

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

Jesus is the only person in the world who can bring you an abundant life. You must enter through the door leading to Jesus and He will give you the gift of eternal life.

This gift enables you to live abundantly with Jesus each day of your life. He will preserve your going out and your coming in. He will provide for all the necessities of life and fill you with Himself. He offers you His love, joy, peace, and protection. He desires to give you more than you ask or think.

The abundant life offered by God is not a blank check or immunity from the problems of life. Jesus warns believers that Satan lives in the world and has come to steal, kill, and destroy. He is your adversary and is very cunning.

You will face adversity in the world. It cannot be avoided because the world is not under the authority of God and the influence of Satan is rapidly increasing to deny and destroy Jesus.

Your only hope is to be yoked to the person of Jesus living inside you. The Holy Spirit speaks for God and will guide you into all truth and the life of Jesus.

Take every thought and decision captive to the obedience of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He will be a light unto to your feet and a lamp unto your path. He will fill you with His wisdom and defeat your enemies. The Holy Spirit will take what belongs to Jesus and declare it to you. He is your conduit to an abundant life. Live moment by moment linked to His Spirit.

Don’t measure your life by money or success. Measure your life by the quality of your relationship to God and your obedience to His Spirit.

When you live by “Not my will but yours be done” you will experience the overwhelming abundance of God!

“Would it turn out well if He examined you?”
Job 13:9

The story of Job is an extreme example of the testing and vetting of God. Job was stripped of everything but was allowed to stay alive. He suffered terribly!

Job knew it was impossible to deceive God because nothing is hidden from Him. Your life is an open book to God.

God calls you to account for your every thought and action. Job walked with God but he was not perfect. The question was how long would Job be able to withstand the punishment without fleeing from God.

Job at some point in his life had experienced the splendor of God and was terrified of His glory and power. He knew the excellence of God and that His hand can bring dread and suffering upon you.

Job understood there was no rationalization for what was taking place with Him. There was no human or logical explanation or method to stop the actions of God. Job realized God is sovereign and He can choose to do whatever He wants.

Job did not blame God or speak back with words of anger or malice. He accepted the punishment God allowed through Satan. He maintained his faith in God and reluctantly accepted the will of God for his life.

At some point in time, you will go through something similar to the experience of Job. It probably won’t be as drastic but it will be God’s purpose to see what you are made of and to measure your faith in the person of Jesus.

You can argue your case endlessly with God but it will come down to letting go and finding strength and hope in His promises.

The response to the testing of God is to accept it is the divine plan of God and to praise Him for who He is and and trust that His ways are perfect!

“For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20

For a believer walking with God, you can experience the power of God at work every day in your life. The gospel is not just about reading or talking about the truths of God. You see the words in the Bible come alive with power and victory.

God wants you to have His power at work in your life at all times. He died so you can live with the resurrected power of Jesus.

There are two caveats from God about appropriating His power. You cannot exploit God by asking Him to follow behind you as you pursue your goals in life. God must be in the lead and you must follow Him. The reverse will never work.

Secondly, you must understand and accept in your heart your weakness and inability to be successful without God. When you recognize the strength of God is made perfect in your weakness you will be able to conquer new heights.

You receive the power of God simply by asking for His strength. The only thing blocking you from the fullness of God is sin which diminishes the power of the Holy Spirit.

So come before God each day asking for forgiveness and correction. You can then go forward knowing you have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus and are restored to Him.

The power of God will come to you to accomplish His objectives in your life because your sufficiency comes from God and not self.

The spiritual man or woman walks the gospel and lives out his life by faith. Faith motivates God to act in your life.

You are acknowledging your life is no longer yours but belongs to God. So it becomes God responsibility to manifest Himself through you.

God rewards those that diligently seek Him!

 

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

The precious things God has prepared will come to you through the gift of eternal life and are available to you at this very moment. God is about impacting your life today!

As a believer, God has placed His Holy Spirit inside you. This is the essence of the living God in the form of a Spirit. He lives in you and is your only source to understand God and His truths.

The Spirit will introduce you to the real person of Jesus and He will share His life with you. You will come to know Him personally and understand His feelings and thoughts.

The goal of the Spirit is to merge your personality with the personality of God. This will create a oneness with Jesus and keep you on His perfect path for your life.

The Spirit will freely give you wisdom to deal with all your challenges in life. This wisdom has nothing to do with worldly thinking. It comes directly from God. The wisdom of God will protect you and guide you into “Christ centered” decision making.

Live through the Spirit and God will enrich your life and give you the desires of your heart! He wants to be a part of your life today!

“Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.” 1 Chronciles 21:1

This is an amazing story about the retribution of God at work in the life of King David.

Satan wanted to destroy Israel and he convinced David to number all the people of Israel. He deceived David with the idea of the importance to determine an accurare account of the size and strength of his army so he could lead his people to defeat their enemies. Satan was in effect telling David that victory would come by numbers and not by the Spirit of God.

David accepted this lie and ordered the numbering of the people even though Joab, the commander of his army, told him this was an unwise decision.

Joab complied with David’s command and the people were counted.

God was not pleased with this action and decided to punish Israel. David finally realized his mistake and asked God to forgive him.

God gave David three choices of punishment to choose from for this evil action: three years of no food in the land; three months to be destroyed by the sword of those who hate you; or three days of the sword of the Lord. This would be a disease sent upon the land.

David chose the disease and 70,000 died from this curse from God. It was also the intention of God to destroy Jerusalem but God relented when He saw the trouble this would cause to Israel.

David realized the pain and affliction his actions brought upon his own people and pleaded with God to have mercy upon the Israelites and take out any more vengeance upon David and his house. God heard David’s prayer and ordered the end to the curse.

The significance of this story is to inquire of God prior to making decisions and to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus. This is where David failed!

Secondly, you need to understand that human power or power based upon your earthly possessions is useless in meeting the challenges of life. The power of God can move mountains, change the sun into darkness, and raise people from the dead. This is the power to seek to bring victory into your life.

David was deceived to believe victory would come through numbers and neglected the truth of God that it is not by power or by might but by the Spirit of God.

Your only hope is in the power of God!

 

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:14-16

If you are not a believer or call yourself a Christian without any serious commitment to God, you are blind to the things of God and they will never make any sense to you. You cannot know the truths of God unless the Holy Spirit lives in you. The truths of God can only be received by those who are spiritually discerned.

The spiritual man or woman is living for God and is committed to leading a Christ centered life. He understands Jesus lives in him through the indwelling Holy Spirit and he wants to be in oneness with the Spirit at all times.

The steps to create oneness with the Spirit is through prayer, praise, and the Word of God. You also must make time to be still and listen for the voice of God.

The spiritual man or woman does not try to know God through an intellectual process or a scholarly approach. He seeks God out through His Spirit who teaches all truth. This allows the laws of God to be implanted in your heart.

So when you face a decision or have a challenge in life you look to the Spirit for wisdom and direction. Think of this like having a wealth of spiritual knowledge embedded inside you and asking God to bring you the perfect wisdom in all circumstances.

Your mind is the conduit to receive the thoughts of God. Just have an open mind to God and receive His thoughts by faith. Remember, God desires to speak to you and has given you the mind of Christ.

The spiritual man or woman sees life through the eyes of Jesus and can discern right from wrong. He cannot be judged by others because he is leading a Christ centered life and is in personal union with God. His judge is the Holy Spirit.

If you are a believer, the Holy Spirit lives in you. Invite Him to come into your life and become your best friend. This will give you an intimate and powerful relationship with God. Your life will never be the same!

 

“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3

There is a very simple answer to this question. God wants you to worship Him and have nothing to do with any other god or idol. God is very jealous and His jealousy is like a consuming fire. He wants all of you and does not want to share you with another god or idol.

Put yourself in the place of God for a moment. He is all powerful and no one can compare to Him. He created the heaven and earth and every living creature. He created you in His image and wants to bless you abundantly.

He looks down and sees that you don’t fear or respect Him. You place your priorities in earthly things and He gets left out. This is what makes God jealous and angry. He is the answer to your every problem but you reject Him or give Him lip service. You live your life like there is no God.

You don’t give honor and praise to God for who He is or understand His divine nature. He is a God of greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty. He is the head over all and deserves to be exalted above all things.

God hates evil and immorality! He destroyed all humanity except for eight people because of their wickedness and lack of respect for His righteousness.

You can’t get away with sin and evil acts. He is a God of retribution and judges all your actions. He blesses and He curses. You are accountable to God for every detail in your life.

The Spirit of God will not strive with your inner spirit of independence and rebellion against His will. He will allow you to live for self and face the consequences of destruction and misery.

God spoke to the Israelites gathered at the base of Mt. Sinai and told them if they would obey His voice and keep His commandments, they would be a special treasure to Him above all the people for all the earth belongs to Him.

This is your promise today. Abandon yourself to God and live for Him and you will be His special treasure!

 

 

“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.” Genesis 6:9

What does it really mean to walk with God?

This is a picture of what it is like to walk with God. Imagine walking through life with your best friend who is always at your side. You can share anything with your friend who cares deeply about you and wants the very best for you. And you know in your heart you can trust this friend with your life and he will never leave you.

In preparation for writing this narrative, God came to me in the middle of the night and explained there are many imposters in the world who pretend to be a believer but are only deceiving them self and others.

They live an incongruous life and are not conforming or harmonious with the Word of God.

In dealing with this subject, a good place to start is to identify what does not contribute to the definition of walking with God. Professing to be a Christian, attending church, or participating in religious activities has very little to do with walking with God. And God doesn’t really care about your sacrifices or offerings. You can’t buy favor with God through your efforts so don’t even try.

The foundation to walking with God begins with your faith in Jesus Christ. You agree to trust Jesus for your every need without any evidence or proof in your life.

You base your relationship with Jesus on His promises and not on what you can see with your eyes. You live with the understanding God calls thing that don’t exist as if they did and this is how He will work in your life.

You have a genuine desire to please Jesus in every facet of your life. You make this covenant with God because you believe He has power and dominion over all things. In your heart, you know that no one can compare to God.

The man or woman who walks with God prays constantly, reads and mediates on the Word of God, and takes time to listen to God. When you hear the voice of God you are obedient to His leading regardless of the cost to you.

You realize that you were born with a corrupt inner being and can never measure up to the standards of God. You come to God each day with a repentant heart seeking forgiveness and correction.

The key to having a personal relationship with God is through the Holy Spirit. You understand Jesus resides in you and wants to live His life through you. You develop a oneness with Jesus through the Spirit.

You live moment by moment yoked to His Spirit and inquire of Him before making decisions in life.

Your motives are to do good, avoid evil, and walk humbly with God.

You seek peace at all times and stand blameless before God because you do your best to live by the commandment to treat others like you would want them to treat you.

You become a powerful light for God touching others. They see God in you!

Walking with God becomes an unconscious activity. You live by faith with the knowledge God is at work within you. Your priority is to be linked to the Holy Spirit at all times who will give you more than you ask or think.

He is your best friend!

“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.” Colossians 3

God is not a respecter of people and reaches out to all regardless of nationality, religious tradition, past behaviors, or position in life.

There is no barrier preventing anyone from coming to God. You can be one of the lowliest human beings on earth and you are warmly invited to come to the kingdom of God.

There is no bias with God. He is searching at this very moment for broken and hurting people. He desires to take you just as you are and renew you into His perfect image.

Jesus is all. There is nothing higher or more worthy to seek in this world. He is the Creator and is above all things, in all things, and through all things. Nothing on this earth is off limits to God.

Jesus is complete! There is no reason to go anywhere else. He will fill you with what you are lacking to make you conform to His image.

It all starts with Jesus! He is your only hope for living in the world. If you try to reverse the process and live in the world guided by self you will fail and ultimately face destruction.

You were created to be in relationship with God and seek a higher calling. He wants to be your Savior!