This narrative defines your relationship to Jesus.

If you make the same decision as Abel you will be in relationship with the living Christ and share in the fullness of God. If you choose to follow Cain you will be deprived of the greatness and glory of Jesus.

Cain and Abel were brothers and their parents were Adam and Eve.

We know God was in conversation with this family from the text in the Bible.

Cain was a tiller of the land and Abel was a keeper of the sheep. They spent most every day working in the fields.

Something inspired Cain and Abel to make a sacrifice to God. It might have been God or insight from some other source. We just don’t know.

The Bible says in the process of time they decided to make a sacrifice to God.

Cain was motivated to make the first sacrifice and Abel followed.

God looked at both offerings and accepted Abel’s but rejected Cain’s.

This made Cain very jealous and angry.

God cautioned Cain about his emotions and said “If you do well, will you not be respected?” In other words, ask God to forgive you and learn to respect God by giving Him your very best.

God also told Cain if you do not do well sin lies nears you and its desire is to consume you but you can rule over it. God was warning Cain that if he does not repent he will do evil but there is a way to escape from this trouble.

Cain did not obey God and killed Abel. God was very angry and placed a curse over Cain’s ability to grow crops from the ground.

There is a wealth of wisdom in this story.

God looked at both offerings and saw that Abel offered the very best to God and did not hold anything back for himself. Cain offered a paltry offering. He was not willing to give God the very best.

God saw the reaction from Cain and told Him to repent of his feelings and do right with God and his brother. We all make mistakes but we have Jesus who loves us unconditionally and will forgive all our sins by His blood.

Cain ignored God and allowed Satan to create a stronghold over him. Cain acted out of his feelings in killing Abel. The lesson for believers is to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and flee from all evil emotions and thoughts.

God is omniscient and saw this entire incident before it even happened. This is why we must be in prayer, living under the authority of the Holy Spirit and listening for the voice of God. Jesus desires to protect believers and provide a smooth pathway.

God was merciful towards Cain and willing to forgive him. You and I are imperfect human beings and can never match up to the standards of God. We need the blood of Christ and the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our lives every day.

God told Cain that he could rule over his sin. We all have feelings or actions that can lead us astray but if we turn to God and pray for His covering over us we can be free from the bondage of sin.

This story speaks about your heart commitment to Jesus. Have you given Him the very best or are you holding back what is precious for yourself?

Every human being is born in the image of God but we all have an inner nature to live for self and defy God.

So when a human being is born he has no roots to God except for those who may be praying for him.

The challenge is developing new roots anchored to God and getting rid of your old roots from birth.

The first step is making a commitment to submit to the supremacy of Christ. This means you will agree to live for Him above all else and zealously seek His will for your life.

Secondly, you must repent, confess your sins, and ask Jesus to cover you with His blood.

This act only deals with the visible surface of your personality. There is another deep area of darkness that is hidden from your eyes. God sees all this including genetic dispositions from your ancestry and compulsive behaviors.

The old roots will lead you to destruction and deprive you of the fullness of God. They must disappear from your life.

As a believer, God seals you with the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Christ and can help you get rid of your unhealthy old roots and grow new and strong roots in Christ.

The strong roots come from the transformation of your inner being into a new creature in Christ.

You are incapable of doing this work on your own.

The Holy Spirit will baptize you into the death and resurrected life of Christ. This requires a willing heart to let go of your independence, self sufficiency, and fleshy desires.

Everything has to go and eventually be replaced by Christ.

Jesus wants to be in all your thoughts, words, emotions and decision making.

This will gradually happen as you give the Holy Spirit authority over your life and yield to Him.

The Christ follower will consistently hear the voice of God. Jesus will fill you with His thoughts and guide your pathway.

As a believer, you can nurture the growth of the new roots with these powerful methods:

Pray consistently and listen for the voice of God.

Read the Bible every day and ask God to help you implement the teachings of Jesus into your life.

Be open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit with a willing heart to change your motives and behaviors. Your sin will always be on the radar with God.

Walk by faith believing in the promises of God and not what you see with your eyes.

Submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit and commit your works each day to God.

These steps will allow you to live in a symbiotic relationship with the Living Christ. He will never fail you.

In Him, we live and move and have our being!

The word from God today is vicarious which means identifying with the feelings, thoughts and plans of Jesus.

If you want a personal and deeply enriching relationship with Jesus you must identify with Him.

The starting point is making a heart commitment to live for Jesus above all else.

The vicarious believer wants the reality of God. He wants to hear the voice of God and know the priorities of Christ for His life.

He is not interested in pursuing anything not initiating with God.

He has no interest in religion. He wants to dwell with the Living Christ in all the moments of life.

This depth of commitment is built on unyielding faith in the promises of God. The vicarious believer will do what God asks without explanation. He is loyal to Jesus.

This is a transition from earthly living to dwelling in the reality of the Living Christ. Jesus is upfront and center in your life.

The vicarious believer does not substitute his feelings or intellectual thoughts in place of God. He understands that sin is the heart of the matter with God and only Jesus can change a human being whether it is you or another person.

This is why prayer, repentance and intercession is such a powerful weapon in dealing with sin.

The challenge in living vicariously is battling through mood swings and the desires of the flesh to stay centered on Jesus.

This requires prayer, consistent concentration on Jesus and living under the authority of the Holy Spirit.

Beware of what you take from the world because in some way it is tainted.

Jesus is alive and desires to have a symbiotic relationship with a believer. He wants to bless the desires of your heart and protect you from evil.

Today I am heavy laden and drained of all my strength after a lengthy season of intercession and turmoil. I can hardly think or walk.

I am looking at the beautiful mountains here and God just spoke the words “The tapestry of Christ”.

This is about the beautiful work of Jesus to refine a believer into His character. The work of Jesus never ends. The tapestry is mostly hidden from your eyes.

You and I cannot fully understand what it means to be transformed from your natural life at birth to a new creature in Christ.

How far do you want to go with Jesus?

Think of a spectrum with the left side starting with your natural life at birth and the right side ending with the perfect life of Christ. The challenge is how far do you want to go towards the right end?

I imagine most Christians never get past the middle of the spectrum because the pathway is very difficult and filled with pot holes.

Jesus is perfect and without sin. He has no ego. No human being can ever come close to this standard.

Jesus is not looking for perfection and He does not desire for you to become a religious robot. He wants to refine you into His character to give you a better life and protect you from evil.

The best counsel is to walk by faith in oneness with Jesus yielding to the Holy Spirit.

Jesus wants you to be obedient to His voice regardless of the conditions in your life or the lack of logic. This will move you to the right on the spectrum and greatly please Jesus.

The pain and agony in the life of a believer is caused by dying to self and living for Christ. This is not an intellectual exercise but the reality of giving up your independence and rights to Jesus.

I just met the Living Christ.

This all begins with making a decision to live for Jesus above all else. You will meet the Living Christ and be astonished by His greatness. He will enter into every aspect of your life.

There is no one like Jesus. He lives so you can live!

Intercession is entering into the dark world of Satan. It is very difficult work and can seem consuming at times. Intercession begins and ends with God.

God asks you to offer up your body to make intercession for what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of His Body, the church.

The intercession takes place by the work of the Holy Spirit dwelling in all believers. Jesus partners with you to bring down strongholds and set believers free from sin.

This is modeled after the intercession of Jesus to conquer death and offer all humanity the gift of salvation.

Jesus took your place on the Cross and we are obligated to make intercession as guided by the Holy Spirit to perfect the Body of Christ.

As an intercessor you are engaging in a war against Satan and his demons.

Be sure you are outfitted with the full armor of God. This will give you the weapons to protect yourself and bring a victory.

Stand firm with confidence in Christ and meditate on the promises of God. Walk by faith living in the righteousness of God. Seek peace and pursue it in all your decisions. Arm yourself with the shield of faith to refute the lies of Satan. Have boldness in the gift of salvation and speak the Words of God to Satan.

Satan will be terrified when He hears your voice speaking the name of Jesus. However, this work requires concentration on Jesus and does not bring results overnight.

An intercessor enjoys a special closeness with God. The motives in this work are pure and holy without ego or self recognition. Only God knows what you are doing!

The intercessor will identify with the darkness and emotions of the individual in a stronghold of Satan.

The glory will always go to God and you may not even know the identity of the person or subject of the intercession.

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the names of the demons so you can target them directly. Their names reveal the type of evil they are inflicting upon believers like alcohol, drugs, anger, lust, deceit, suicide and so on.

Intercession can also be about a global issue like government policies, an evil nation, or a demonic cult. Look how God targeted Sodom and Gomorrah for their actions.

God called me over a year ago to make intercession for the sexual immorality in our country. He has made me very aware of this spiking epidemic and His feelings about this debauchery.

At some point in time you will be asked to share in this labor of love for an important cause of Jesus.

Remember, a servant is not greater than His Master.

Jesus rules in this endeavor!

Last night the Holy Spirit spoke to me about the Living Water. I saw a well located in the wilderness springing up with Living Water.

Moses led the Israelites to the land of Beer which God said is the location of a well. God said to gather the people together, and I will give them water. Then the Israelites sang “Spring up O well”.

The Living Water is the life of Christ and is gift to all believers. This how you can get out of the wasteland and be filled with the attributes of Jesus.

The source of the Living Water is the Holy Spirit. If you drink this water you will never thirst again and the water will become in you a fountain leading up to eternal life.

Everything you need to deal with the challenges of today is in the Living Water. The Holy Spirit provides strength, wisdom, joy, protection and peace.

The Living Water will deliver you out of the wasteland into the riches of Christ. There is no bottom in this well.

God also told me there are many today masquerading as Christ followers but they allow darkness to come into their lives. They switch between living for self and walking by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit also cited a scripture to me in Deuteronomy. “So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.” The penalty from God was very radical in eradicating sin from the Israelites. (You can find this in Deuteronomy 13.)

God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He never changes!

Pray for Jesus to cover you with His blood and cleanse you from all sin. Be open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Then ask Jesus to fill you with Living Water and satisfy your every need.

The title for this message came from the Holy Spirit and is how Jesus feels about those who live without Him.

If you are attempting to navigate through life on your own this will lead to disaster.

This revelation from Jesus has nothing to do with religion, keeping laws to appease God or doing good works. Throw everything out the window and begin with one goal.

I want to be in relationship with the Living Christ.

This goal is easy to achieve if you have an open heart and forget your preconceived ideas about God.

The fear of the Lord is understanding who God is and respecting Him. It is taking Him seriously and seeking His will for your life.

Jesus controls your destiny whether you believe in Him or not.

Jesus is omniscient and knows every detail of your past, present and future. He hears your every thought.

Jesus has power and dominion over the heavens and earth. He is the most powerful force in the universe and can defeat any enemy foe.

Jesus desires to give you an abundant life filled with His goodness.

Jesus wants to give you the gift of salvation so you can live with Him forever.

Jesus knows you will never be perfect. Don’t even try.

Jesus is alive and desires to have a symbiotic relationship with you built on faith. He is the Living Christ and wants a personal and endearing friendship with you. He wants to speak to you and share His life with you. Jesus wants to be in all the moments of your life.

Jesus is perfect without any sin. He does not want to mucky up His life with all the skeletons in your closet. So if you want Jesus you must ask to be covered with His blood and repent from your bad habits.

Jesus offers you a new life. This is why He died on the Cross. When you make a decision for Jesus this begins the gift of salvation and your sanctification into the character of Jesus.

Jesus seals you with the Holy Spirit.

He is the life of Jesus and your pipeline to all of His unlimited attributes. He desires to fill you with His love, strength, wisdom, joy and protection.

The only requirement is to agree to live for Jesus above all else. You live for Him by seeking His will and giving up your independence and self sufficiency.

Many Christians never get to this point and miss out on the awesome power, glory and majesty of Jesus.

You can get started today. Jesus is waiting for you to knock on His door.

Don’t be afraid. This is the best decision you will ever make in your life!

The Holy Spirit has been burdening me over this subject for a long time,

He recently told me sexual immorality is an epidemic that has spread around the world. There are no rules. Anything goes.

Most of the governments around the world have created new laws overriding the precepts of God. They have legitimized this behavior.

The moral compass in most human beings is the laws of society and there is little concern or respect for God’s views.

We do not fear God!

This is a big mistake. Take a look at Sodom and Gomorrah or the flood that destroyed all humanity except eight souls.

You might rationalize these events as just biblical myths. Lets move to a later date in time. Do you really think AIDS or COVID just mysteriously came out of the cosmos?

The corruption of God’s laws is the work of Satan. Sadly, most of civilization has accepted his lies.

God is holy and righteous. He hates sin.

You and I can do very little about the behavior of nonbelievers except to stand in the gap with prayer and intercession for those people He brings into our lives.

However, as Christ followers we are accountable to God for all our actions. God is omniscient and sees everything. Nothing is hidden from Him.

Our body is a living sacrifice to Jesus.

Jesus lives in believers in the essence of the Holy Spirit. How do you think He feels about having sexual immorality mixed in with His purity?

The Christ follower becomes contaminated when he allows amoral behavior to creep into his thoughts, what he looks at with his eyes, and what he listens to with his ears.

This behavior grieves and lessens the power of the Holy Spirit in a believer. And, this will put you on a path leading to destruction and death if you do not seek repentance through the blood of Jesus.

God created the act of sex and Jesus desires for this to be a beautiful and awesome experience defined by His Word.

The Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about believers who have a limited vision of Jesus.

This is not a prosperity gospel message. It is recognizing Jesus for who He is and seeking Him out for the fullness of your every need.

The Holy Spirit wants to enlarge your vision of Jesus in your thoughts, words, and prayers. Jesus wants you to think big and not settle for less.

We need to change our prayers according to the words of Jesus.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

You and I cannot control God or the timing of His plans for your life.

But we can ask, seek, and knock and the door will be opened. This is an ironclad promise from God.

We tend to give up after a while because Jesus seems to be sleeping through our prayers.

The Holy Spirit will show you the desires of God’s heart for you and give you an understanding of the seasons in your life. You can’t find prosperity living in the desert.

God has two purposes in awarding prosperity to believers. Jesus proves that He keeps His promises and He spreads His glory for all to see.

Speak this promise to God every morning when you awaken.

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

Do not under estimate Jesus. He wants to give you more than you ask or think.

Have confidence in the voice of God. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever!

Jesus is not a temporary feel good solution. He is the Living Christ with power and dominion over the heavens and earth.

Jesus was at His lowest point just before He was crucified. Jesus was burdened over dying on a Cross.

Jesus can identify with you. He lived as a human and experienced all the emotions of life.

Jesus is a gentle and humble God and desires a personal and embracing relationship with you.

In times of turmoil Jesus promises to give you rest. He wants you to literally cast your burdens upon Him and He will give you supernatural rest.

Reach out to Jesus. He does not want you to be alone or try to solve your problems on your own.

Learn from Jesus in times of trouble. Seek the strength, peace and wisdom of Jesus.

When Jesus says take My yoke He is referring to His life. Jesus is easy and His burden is light.

Jesus will make your pathway easy regardless of your overwhelming troubles. And, He will give you a sense of freedom and emotional release from your burdens.

Jesus is not promising to take away all your burdens but He wants you to cast all your concerns upon His shoulders and live through Him.

Jesus died to bear all your burdens.

This happens through the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Christ and lives in all believers.

When Jesus says take My yoke He is telling you to live through Him and not your natural life.

Abide in the Holy Spirit by prayer, reading the Bible, and listening for the voice of God. Give Him all your burdens and draw upon His attributes.

The Christ follower does not live a life free of troubles. In fact, you may encounter more conflicts than a non believer.

Jesus is how you can overcome the world. It is not by might nor by power but by My Spirit.