“Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:35

The word from God today is spurious referring to the claims of religion.

The definition of spurious is not being what it purports to be. It is about religion operating with false premises.

The instruction of Jesus is to repent from the depth of your heart and turn away from sin. 

Repentance is not a ritual like taking your automobile to the car wash. The car comes out clean without a speck of dirt. Jesus forgives your sin but you still live with an inner condition to satisfy self. This conflict never ends while on this earth. 

You must seek the blood of Jesus every day of your life and be open to His correction and change. 

Jesus asks you to abandon yourself to Him without compromise. Abandonment is not about works or immersing yourself in religion. It is a zealous desire to know the Living Christ and to seek out His will above all else. 

Authentic Christianity is walking in oneness with Jesus under the authority of the Holy Spirit. It is about meeting the Living Christ every day of your life. 

It is about having an embracing and vibrant relationship with God. You become best friends. 

You learn how to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and appropriate His values into your life. 

Walking with Jesus has no time outs. You integrate His values into every moment of your life.

Religion teaches the form of Jesus but lacks the substance. It looks good on the outside but is empty inside. Jesus teaches you about the reality of God, how to be filled with the fires of God and dwell with Him forever.

The substance of a Christ follower is vigilant prayer, seeking the will of God, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit and making intercession to defeat the strongholds of Satan. 

Religion presents a cosmetic treatment of the personality of Jesus.

Jesus is a jealous God and wants all of you. He does not want to share you with other gods or idols. 

Jesus is a God of retribution. He blesses and He curses. You are accountable to Him for your every thought and action. 

Jesus is very angry about sin. We do not respect or fear Him. He takes out His wrath in the form of judgments over humanity.

You can dispel the spurious claims of religion by making a decision for Jesus without compromise and living under the authority and teaching of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is authentic and alive. He invites you to dwell in the reality of His kingdom. You can experience Jesus personally every day of your life.

Last night God spoke to me about the rebellion against His name using two examples of scripture. This attitude is pervasive and has stirred up His anger and provoked His judgments over our world. 

“Why do the nations rage,
and the people plot a vain thing” Psalm 2:1

God feels outrageous over the actions of the nations. They have disdained His holy name.

The leaders in government and the powerful kings have set themselves up opposed to God and have made a derision of His precepts. 

They have attempted to nullify the precepts of God and replace them with their own laws and liberal attitudes. They have disgraced God and will pay a brutal and heavy penalty for their actions. 

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4

The other example God brought to my attention is the Tower of Babel. This deals with the arrogance of the people in attempting to build a tower reaching to heaven. Their purpose was to secure the protection and favor of God.

This made God very angry. They were dismissing His sovereignty believing a tower would protect them from danger. They exemplified an arrogant attitude they could somehow control or influence God. They did not recognize God has no needs or help from any human being. 

We need God; He does not need us. There is nothing you can do to influence God. He is set in His ways. As believers, we must submit to God seeking His will for our lives. 

This action caused God to confuse the people with different languages and scatter them around the world.

The question is how do you and I rebel against God?

Any time you or I attempt to exert our will above God we are asking for trouble. This is why it is so important to stay attached to God through the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Christ.

You live in oneness with God by listening to His voice, studying His Word, and opening yourself up to the correction and change of the Holy Spirit.

Give the Holy Spirit authority over your life and you will be able to do the will of God on earth as it is done in Heaven. You will meet the Living Christ!

This comes down to accepting Jesus has power and dominion over the heavens and earth and diligently seeking His will for your life.

He lives so you can live!

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

The word from God today is hypocrisy referring to how a believer evaluates his or her priorities. 

The words spoken by Jesus above deal with what you treasure in life and how this relates to your heart condition.

What are the dearest desires in your heart?

Most believers have a very difficult time relating the importance of God to worldly or emotional needs. It is so easy to get off track with God because of the pressures of the world and fleshly desires. 

Very simply, God wants you to vigilantly pursue His will above all else. This is not necessarily about lifestyle but how you interact with God. 

Where most believers error when interpreting how to treasure God has to do with trying to perform for Him. 

God doesn’t care about your works to please Him. He wants all of your heart without reservation. 

This deep commitment will stir God and prepare you for doing His work. 

The only motive for doing something for God should be to satisfy Him. Nothing should be done for self benefit. This gives you the freedom to be a powerful vessel for God with pure motives. 

You can evaluate your standing with God by considering the spiritual guardrails below. 

God insists you walk by faith believing in His promises regardless of the circumstances in your life. 

God wants your obedience to Him. When He speaks you comply without compromise.

God looks at your thoughts and decision making to determine if you are integrating the values of Christ into all the aspects of your life.

God measures how much time you spend with Him through prayer, studying His Word, listening to His voice and praising Him. 

God wants you to reach out to Him for your every need and make this a consistent lifestyle discipline. 

Finally, are you really willing to lay down your life for Jesus and give up your independence and desires to follow Him?

“Yours is not to know the times or seasons” Acts 1:7

The word from God today is traversing which is defined as to travel back and forth. It is like a zig zag pattern following God with no end in sight. 

The journey with God is unpredictable and moves in a way which makes no sense or follows any form of human logic. 

God does not want you to see very far ahead. 

There are many different seasons walking with God. He makes you wait upon Him for a long period of time or moves with mercurial speed.

Walking with Jesus is not really about a worldly goal or destination. It is making God happy in all the vagaries of life. 

It is learning to live with God by faith anchored to the Holy Spirit.

God creates many challenges in life and causes you to deal with severe troubles. 

This is how you learn and appropriate the values of Jesus in your life. We all want a smooth path but God makes it bumpy at times.

God tests believers. The severe testing is to determine your allegiance to God when your life is falling apart and God seems distant.

God wants you to have unyielding faith in His promises and give Him praise and honor regardless of the dire circumstances in your life.

There is an important principle of God dealing with the subject of hope. If your hope is deferred it makes the heart sick but when your hope (or desires) come into fruition they are from the tree of life. This is recognizing Jesus is the bread of life and delivers His people. 

We have to hope in God in all the difficult moments of life. This builds patience and strengthens our faith. 

If you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart. 

God keeps His promises!

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

God has been speaking to me over the last couple of days about informing the Body of Christ about His disposition.

The word disposition refers to a person’s inherent qualities of mind and character. What is the mind and emotions of Jesus Christ today?

I am sharing His thoughts with you. Most of the words have come directly from the mouth of God with as little editing as possible.

The Holy Spirit told me God is very angry and feels betrayed by His own people. We do not honor Him with all of our heart, mind and soul. 

He said My people are headstrong and refuse to abide in My Spirit.

He is angry because He died to give you the gift of salvation and does not approve of your lukewarm attitude towards Him. 

He does not feel the respect or trembling fear He deserves for giving up His life for your sake.

God explained to me salvation is like a marriage between a bride and bridegroom. He is the bridegroom and believers are the bride. 

This relationship was created with sacred vows between both parties. God has kept His vows but the bride has fallen into a decadent and immoral lifestyle. 

We do not cherish the bridegroom with a vigorous attitude to do His will.

God went on to say My eyes see everything and I am appalled by the intrusions in the lives of believers. My people do not give Me the priority or importance that I merit.

I feel like I have been stabbed in the back and I grieve over the lack of attention to My voice. 

God said He longs for companionship with His people but they tend to ignore His presence and treat Him like a second class person.

God told me He is punishing the world with His judgments over our arrogance and worldly attitudes. 

God said this is the most important season in the life of a believer. Come to Me with an open heart to do My will and turn away from darkness. 

Give Me the respect that I deserve for dying on the Cross. 

Worship Me in Spirit and Truth.

Do not take the gift of salvation half heartily. I live inside you in the form of the Holy Spirit. He is My life and your source to all of My attributes.

Listen to the Holy Spirit and give Him authority over your life. He speaks for Me and is how you can live in oneness with Me and avoid the pitfalls of sin. 

My reputation is untarnished. I am a perfect God and I have power and dominion over the heavens and earth. 

I want only the very best for you!

You can’t do anything for Me but I can do great things for you!

“You will not surely die the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:3

The word from God today is the widespread disintegration of the gospel. The word disintegration refers to the process of losing cohesion or strength. It is like something which falls to pieces.

Satan has been at work in the Body of Christ to disintegrate the principles of Christ.

This has taken place gradually by watering down the gospel to make it more attractive to society. 

The leaders attempt to interpret scripture in a more liberal or contemporary context to appeal to believers. 

Once a believer accepts a slightly different version of a principle of Christ he or she has opened the door for more changes. Nothing is any longer sacrosanct.

The integrity of Christ has been severely weakened by the leaders in the Body of Christ. 

This deception follows the pattern of what Satan said to Eve in the Garden of Eden.

God told Eve not to touch or eat of the tree or she will surely die. 

Satan responded “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

Satan contradicted God and then attempted to rationalize this lie with an appealing explanation of how God will respond favorably to eating the fruit of the tree.

This is how Satan works. He disputes a truth of God and replaces it with a lie which will be more acceptable to believers. Satan’s end goal is to eliminate Christ from the world.

As a believer, the Holy Spirit is sealed inside you. He will expose the lies of Satan and confirm the truths of God.

Test every word spoken to you about God with the Holy Spirit. He will always bring glory to Jesus in revealing His truths. 

Trust the authenticity of the Word of God and do not accept compromise. 

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

“The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head.” Obidah 1:15

The word from God last night is about His wanton character which is defined as cruel or deliberate. He is a steadfast God when it comes to sin.

The setting is the Book of Obidah. God made it very clear to me this Old Testament story transcends to all humanity today. Evaluate yourself in the light of this story. 

If you dismiss this story with the belief Jesus has made everything beautiful you are in for a brutal awakening with pain and suffering in the days ahead.

Obidah was a prophet of God and witnessed the actions of the nation of Esau against the Israelites. Esau acted in a cruel manner and would not allow the Israelites to pass through their country on their pilgrimage to the Promised Land. They also participated in the brutal looting and destruction of Jerusalem.

This deals with the retribution of God against those who do evil and violate His principles. The nation of Esau was destroyed by God.

The point of this scripture is to understand no one gets a free pass from evil. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. 

The people of Esau did not have a contrite or a repentant heart for their actions. They were a prideful people who did not respect God.

This caused the judgment of God which is now over all nations. We are a headstrong people who do not respect or fear God. 

Not only do we practice sexual immorality but we have passed laws approving this conduct. Satan has influenced every aspect of our society and we tend to accept his evil intrusion into our lives.

This admonition is to wake you up to the wrath of God.

Jesus is loving and compassionate but He never changes. He destroyed all humanity except for eight people for the same immorality we are practicing and condoning today.

God is holy and will not tolerate sin or allow you to get near Him.

The purpose of Jesus is to cause you to repent from your sins and return to the values of Jesus. You have no chance of survival without the gift of salvation.

The blood of Jesus allows you to stand face to face blameless before God. 

Do not take Jesus lightly or think you can escape His scrutiny?

This is a time to recognize the judgments of God and that your salvation is a treasured gift which must be taken seriously.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

The word from God today is understanding your well being comes from God. 

The well being of God comes in both seasons of prosperity and adversity. 

The well being of God is strength, wisdom and protection which have no limits with God. 

The well being comes to those who walk by faith believing in the promises of God regardless of the circumstances in their lives.

Your priority must be God first with the blessings to follow. The reverse will never happen in the eyes of God. You might have some temporary success but it will be taken away. 

The well being comes to those who seek the will of God through prayer, studying the Word, and listening to the voice of God with an obedient heart.

The motivating factor of the well being of God comes from the sincerity of your devotion to Jesus. Are you willing to give up your hopes, goals, and independence to follow Jesus?

The Christ follower is called to lay down his life for God. And, there is no turning back.

The well being does not come through self efforts, works or keeping laws. 

It comes from placing your life in the hands of God and giving Him a free rein to do with you as He pleases. 

The Living Christ comes to those  who walk with God under the authority of the Holy Spirit

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Matthew 6:9-12

Jesus taught believers how to pray after the model of the Lord’s Prayer. 

The question is this just something symbolic and a ritual of worship or is it life changing?

This prayer begins with recognizing the holiness of God. Do you come before Him with respect and trembling fear?

Jesus tells believers His kingdom is coming and available to all those who worship Him in Spirit and Truth.

Jesus is explaining it is possible to do the will of God here on earth as it is done in Heaven. We are imperfect people with the capability to do the will of God through the Holy Spirit residing within us.

This happens through a serious commitment to God, prayer and listening to the voice of God.

Jesus wants you to reach out to Him for your immediate needs. He delights in those who trust Him and walk by faith. 

Most importantly, Jesus wants you to confess your sins and pray for forgiveness. The act of forgiveness comes with a willingness to turn away from sin.

We must also forgive those who have injured us through their words and actions. Seek peace and pursue it in all your relationships.

Jesus prayed that we would not be led into temptations but would walk in the Spirit. The temptations come when we yield to our fleshly desires or entertain thoughts from Satan. 

Jesus wants to deliver you from the bondage of sin and break the strongholds of Satan.

We must dwell with God everyday in the substance of the Lord’s Prayer. This is a conscious awareness of the Spirit of God invading every aspect of our lives. 

The Lord’s Prayer will cause dynamic change in your life if you take the words of Jesus seriously and don’t accept it merely as a religious ritual. It is alive and powerful.

Speak to God in your own words echoing the themes of His prayer with a heart to do His will.

This will allow you to enter the world of the Living Christ. 

“All the promises of God in Christ are yes!” 2 Corinthians 1:20

How many times do you read or hear a promise from God and just file it away as a good memory?

The promises are not met to simply calm your emotions and get you through a tough spot.

The promises are reality and come to fruition to those who walk by faith and are in contact with the Living Christ.

How do you get from hearing the promise to seeing the goodness of God in the land of the living?

Encounter the Living Christ with a heart to live for Him above all else. Invite Jesus to come into the fullness of your life.

Listen for the voice of God and be obedient to Him. You have the mind of Christ and He desires to have conversations with you.

Walk through life yielding to the Holy Spirit and give Him authority over all your thoughts and decision making.

Live in repentance seeking the blood of Jesus to cover you. Be open to correction and change from God.

God is not a figurative concept. He is the Living Christ who you reach out to through prayer, studying His Word and offering praise to Him.

God strongly dislikes your complaints and grumbling. They block the power of the Holy Spirit. Learn to give Jesus your negative emotions and not allow them to control you.

The promises of God come true to all those who walk by faith and not by sight!