“All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:15

You can’t really delineate between Jesus and God! They were one from the beginning of time. Jesus is in possession of all the qualities of God.

Jesus is explaining in this verse in the Book of John that God will take what belongs to Jesus and give it to you. This is accomplished through the Holy Spirit who lives in all believers.

As a believer, you have the life of Jesus residing in you and He wants to share His life with you. The Holy Spirit is a person and God desires for you to one with Him. You can do this through prayer and developing an inter consciousness with the Spirit.

You have to abandon yourself completely to God to receive the fullness of the Spirit. If you close God out from compartments of your life you will quench or diminish the power of His Spirit.

Companionship is a warm and close relationship with another person. You can have this intimate rapport with the living God. He wants to be your best friend. He wants to be the most vital part of your life. He wants to speak to you and guide your footsteps.

You have the mind of Christ and He desires to fill you with His thoughts. You accept His voice by faith with an open mind to receive Him.

Your companionship with God is built on faith in His name. You learn to trust Him for your every need. You walk with God by faith trusting in His promises.

You dwell with God through prayer, His Word, and a sensitivity to His Spirit.

Make God your best friend! He will never disappoint you!

“Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” John 2:10

This miracle is about a lot more than changing water into fine wine. And this miracle will work for you today!

Jesus, His mother, and disciples were invited to a wedding. Mary told Jesus all the wine had been drunk. Jesus immediately replied that the time for His blood to flow on the cross had not yet come.

Jesus then proceeded to tell the servants to fill the water pots with water. Then Jesus said draw some water out and take it to the master of the feast to sample.

The master sipped the wine and called for the bridegroom. He said “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

The cross allows you to have the best wine because Jesus paid for it with His life. The significance of this story is the best things in your life will come after you have accepted the cross.

Life is never the same after making a decision for Jesus. What you thought was good before God becomes mediocre and unacceptable when you taste the life of Jesus.

He makes all things beautiful in His time and wants you to have the very best! Seek first the kingdom of God through prayer and fill yourself with His Word. Commit yourself to God each day and walk by faith.

He is saving the very best bottle of wine for you!

 

“So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” Luke 16:8

There was a steward who handled a rich man’s investments. The rich man determined the steward was wasting his money and planned to fire him.

The steward could not do manual labor and did not want to beg for money. So he went to all the debtors of the rich man and reduced the amounts owed. In this way, he would gain their favor and help after he was ousted from his job.

The response from Jesus is amazing about the actions of the steward. He commended the steward for acting shrewdly and stated that most unbelievers are more shrewd than the sons of light.

Don’t ever think God wants you to lay down and let the world trample you! He wants you to use the techniques of the world to meet your needs.

This is why it is so important to be linked to the Spirit of God. He thinks and acts differently than you and will impart His unique wisdom to you in dealing with how to meet all your challenges.

God is unpredictable and controversial. He views justice and morality from a spiritual perspective. His ways can be very unconventional and opposed to the social and religious mores of society.

Jesus commended King David for taking the Holy bread from the temple to feed his companions.

Jesus told the disciples to cast their net on the other side of the boat and they caught an abundance of fish.

Jesus approved of the disciples reaping grain on Sunday which was forbidden by Jewish law.

Jesus paid the temple tax by telling Peter, His disciple, to catch a fish filled with a coin.

Jesus allowed Mary to rub an expensive jar of perfume on his feet just before He died.

No problem is too big for Jesus! But remember His ways are not your ways!

“I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.” Isaiah 13:11

God is alive and at work today! Expect cataclysmic events in the near future. God is judging our country and the world for turning away from Him. We do not fear or respect God and this attitude will bring destruction and misery upon our world.

There is an attitude that God is not relevant anymore and His influence should be discounted. We dismiss the precepts of God or replace them with new laws that contradict God’s views.

God destroyed all humanity except for eight people because of similar corruption and immorality. And God never changes! You can minimize this warning but God will not relent.

In the days ahead, God will cause events to take place to get your attention and to prove that He alone is almighty God and worthy to be praised and trusted. The world will begin to crumble and fade away but God will endure forever!

Think how God must feel about the state of our world! He created the heavens and earth and all living things. He created you in His image and told you to be fruitful and multiply.

He gave up Jesus, His Son, so you could be forgiven for all your sins and restored to God. He placed the Spirit of God in all believers and spoke an abundant life for you. He desires to give you more than you ask or think.

You can’t do anything about the coming judgments of God but you can do something about yourself. Turn to God and seek His forgiveness for your sins and commit your life to Him.

God is merciful and forgiving. There was a community of 120,000 people living in the city of Nineveh. They faced the punishment of God and repented and turned back to worship God.

God looked down on Nineveh and said these people don’t know their right hand from their left hand and they act like their livestock. But I will have mercy on them!

Don’t sell God short! He is a God of greatness, power, glory, victory, and majesty. He wants to bless the desires of your heart and overwhelm you with His goodness!

He alone is worthy!

 

 

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

There were two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus discussing the life and recent death of Jesus. They hoped that Jesus was the Messiah and the one chosen to redeem Israel. But they weren’t certain. They agreed that Jesus was a prophet, great teacher, and performed mighty miracles.

Jesus appeared to these two men but his appearance was disguised. He asked a few questions and listened as the men explained why they were saddened by the recent events.

Jesus then proceeded to teach them about the prophesies concerning the Messiah and that it was the plan of God for Jesus to be crucified.

The men invited Jesus to join them for dinner. He took the bread, prayed, and then broke it and gave it to the disciples. At this moment, their eyes were opened to see Jesus.

Then Jesus vanished!

The significance of this story is the power of the Holy Spirit working through Jesus to bear witness to the truths of God and to authenticate Jesus, the Son of God.

You can’t find Jesus unless you open your heart up to receive the truths of God. If you try to understand Jesus from a human point of view (like reading a book) you will never discover the living God.

The Spirit bears witness with your spirit and burns (or pierces) your heart so you can grasp the truths of God. The Word becomes alive in your body and you learn to walk with God.

Just like the two disciples in this story, you can have your own meeting with Jesus. Invite the Spirit of God to speak to you! Then you will have no doubt about Jesus, the Son of God!

 

 

 

 

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13

During my walk yesterday in the foothills near my home, God gave me the wisdom for this blog message.

Imagine you are like a Yo-Yo on a string with ups and downs similar to the trip through life. You can’t really do anything about the gyrations of the Yo-Yo because you are at the mercy of the hand of God.

Life will have it’s ups and downs because you live in a world that is not under the authority of God. I think God designed the world in this manner to draw people to Himself. He allows the Yo-Yo to take downturns to get your attention. If everything in life was always smooth and upbeat, then you really wouldn’t need God.

Your emotions and attitudes about God mirror the trip on the Yo-Yo string. When you are on the upswing God is great and life is wonderful. However, when you are on the downswing you question God, challenge His authority, and tend to drift away from Him.

The challenge is to stay yoked to God regardless of the path of the Yo-Yo. Nothing happens by chance in life. So if you can accept and understand God is in control of every facet of your life, then you can overcome the adversities by trusting and praising God.

God wants your total allegiance to Him regardless of the circumstances of your life. Your steadfast faith in God will cause His favor to fall upon you. Faith is believing in what you cannot see and relying on God for your every need.

So when things are crazy and life is spiraling downward, stay focused on God through prayer and filling yourself with His Word. Learn to be still and listen for the voice of God. The Spirit of God desires to speak to you and provide you with wisdom and guidance through life.

After every downswing in life there is a powerful upswing brought about by the mighty hand of God. You will experience the overwhelming goodness of God in the land of the living!

God keeps His promises!

“Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
And saw My works forty years.” Hebrews 3:9

You and I tend to be stubborn people and want to do things our way. The idea of following someone living in the invisible is uncomfortable and feels very insecure.

Most people tend to evaluate God and develop feelings towards Him based on what they can see and are experiencing in life. So when things become difficult and unpredictable, they blame God and fall into unbelief. They panic, accuse God of falling asleep, and turn to other options to find relief.

Faith is trusting God and never allowing your circumstances to bias your relationship with Him. The trials of life are ordained by God and cannot be avoided. Faith is allowing God to direct your life in His ways and not questioning His judgment or actions.

If God wants you to wander in the desert for 40 years and eat manna and quail, you accept this is God’s plan for you. Your attitude should be “He’s God and can do whatever He wants”.

As humans, we want security and order in life. God wants your unwavering faith in Him and tends to discount security and predictability because they become a distraction to walking with God.

Living by faith teaches you to look to God for your every need and never to trust the world or your earthly possessions.

God never changes and is very predictable in keeping His Word. However, God’s ways are not your ways. He prefers you ride with Him in a roller coaster without having the ability to see ahead.

This will cause you to be linked to God so strongly that nothing can shake your faith!

“For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Deuteronomy 20:4

Forgotten in all the litany about Jesus is that He is a God of victory.

He destroyed Pharaoh’s powerful kingdom and delivered the Israelites.

He healed the sick and performed mighty miracles.

He overcame the world and was raised from the dead.

He rescued Peter who was chained and in prison and set him free.

He took Esther, a young Israelite, living in a foreign country, and made her the Queen and used her to save the lives of the Israelites living in exile.

He raised up David, a sheep herder, to become King of Israel and defeat many enemy nations.

Wherever you are in life, Jesus wants to bring victory to you. This is His nature to raise people up to accomplish great things. Think winning when you come to Jesus!

The miracle of walking with God is you admit defeat and allow Him to bring you victory. Abandon yourself to God and trust Him for your every need.

Believe in the depth of your heart “My help comes from the Lord who created the heavens and the earth”. This will put you on a winning track in life!

 

 

 

“The Lord is the strength of my life.” Psalm 27:1

 

King David, the author of this quote, centered his life around God. He was anchored to God and looked to God for His every need. The Lord was His keeper.

You have to understand the strength of God is made perfect in your weakness. This will only come into your reality when you experience the power and glory of God and see your insignificance compared to almighty God. You will then fully grasp the futility of trying to rely on self when you can have the backing and support of God.

The spiritual man wakes up in the morning and seeks God out for strength and wisdom because he knows God is infallible and wants to give His unlimited attributes to him. He commits his works to God each day. This is how you walk with God and allow Him to live through you to meet the challenges of life.

If you try to depend on self to meet your needs, you will fail. The spiritual man realizes that God will supply his every need and give him more than he asks or thinks.

The spiritual man inquires of the Lord before making decisions because he knows God wants to protect and keep him away from trouble.

You can have the courage and strength to face any challenge in life when you walk with God. He will never leave you or disappoint you!

 

 

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Matthew 24:35

At this very moment there is an insidious attack taking place to destroy God. This affects everyone and could lead to your downfall.

You need to be aware of the devious ways of Satan. He is very subtle, cunning and treacherous. He is working undercover to achieve his objectives of destroying Jesus and eliminating His influence in our country and the world.

Satan deceives you with falsehoods and wants to make you believe sin is permissible. He wants you to think God is more lenient and understanding of modern culture and attitudes. This is a lie! God never changes and His attitudes about sin are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Satan is at work to attack the sovereignty of God and change the moral compass of our country. For example, he has virtually destroyed the institution of marriage and the values of family. He has been successful in changing gender definitions. This is ridiculous since the gender plan of life was created by the mighty hand of God and can never be changed.

Satan has entered into organized religion and convinced leaders and believers that biblical truths should be interpreted differently to meet today’s changing society.

The laws of God have been circumvented with new “man made” laws that are intended to replace the authority of God. In reality, the government leaders are making a statement that God is no longer relevant and His laws must be replaced.

The point of this attack is to disavow your allegiance to Jesus Christ and to persuade you that He is not the Son of God. Do not be fooled! There is one God, one Son of God, and one Holy Spirit. The only access to God is through His Son. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life! The teachings of Jesus are everlasting and cannot be modified by man.

Do not depart from God through liberal interpretations of His Word! Stay yoked to God through His Spirit and He will protect you from this onslaught of deception and evil from Satan.

The Word of God is precious and perfect. The Word is the only thing you can trust in this world!