“But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 2:16

The word from God today is understanding your conscience and how to live in oneness with the Spirit of Christ. 

The definition of conscience is an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.

Your conscience is a reflection of your soul. It is developed by many factors in life. It will relate to the highest standards of morality alive in your soul. 

Your conscience is influenced by many factors including your parents, religion and the standards of society.

If you are a believer, your conscience will relate to your views of the principles of God. 

Your conscience can also be influenced by the works of Satan. 

Your conscience is very important because it affects your thoughts and decision making. 

The Christ follower must be very sensitive to the Holy Spirit and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ Jesus. 

The conscience of a believer will change as you walk with God and increase in spiritual maturity. 

You enrich your conscience through prayer, meditating on the Word and listening to the voice of God. 

Most importantly, invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your inner conscience. Ask God to filter out all evil influences and the subterfuge of Satan. 

The goal is to have a spiritually healthy conscience. This will enable you to live and move and have your being centered in Jesus. 

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13

Can God change a sinner into a righteous man?

This is really the beginning of a ministry. Forget about religion. It can never do the work of God to transform a depraved soul into a new creature filled with the life of Christ.

What changes someone into a new creature in Christ Jesus? They simply make a decision by faith to live for Christ above all else. 

Everything with God originates by faith. Your faith in the Living Christ will create your works.

The approach for most believers is to immerse themselves into religion and do work to please God.

This is so much easier than trusting God. 

You have to be identified with the life of Jesus if you want to help others.

There are very few believers who understand the spiritual principle that we have been created by the workmanship of Jesus for His good works. 

The question is are you working for God under the authority of the Holy Spirit or are you just one of the multitude of believers striving to please God?

God wants to take you to the place where you trust Him implicitly to create a ministry. You have to take your ego and own ideas out of the picture. 

The powerful ministries of God all start by faith and are created by the work of Holy Spirit. 

God wants to give you a ministry that you can never create on your own. If you attempt to create your own ministry it will become corrupt and motivated by personal ambitions. 

The birth of a ministry for the Living Christ begins with those who have seen their despicable inner nature and understand nothing good can happen apart from the love and purity of Jesus.

“Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” Colossians 1:24

This narrative is about the intercession of God to bring down strongholds and set people free from the bondage of sin.

Intercession started with the death of Jesus on the Cross and continues today through the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.

Intercession is a vicarious identification with Jesus about sin. You unconsciously experience the actions of Jesus fighting off darkness in our world. It is agonizing work to be an intercessor. 

You come into the inner sanctum through the blood of Jesus. The credentials of an intercessor are humility, a contrite heart, and understanding your unworthiness before God.

Intercession in a believer begins and ends with God. Jesus chooses those who have laid down their lives for Him to participate in this cataclysmic work.

Intercession is the agenda of God dealing with sin. It might be for an individual, an organization or a nation. 

Intercession is allowing the Holy Spirit working inside you to make groanings to deep to understand to bring down strongholds of evil. 

Intercession is living in a different world. You are participating in a war between light and darkness.

Forget about trying to understand intercession or how God works to bring down strongholds. 

You are like a bystander as God does His mighty work. He may give you some glimpses of what He is doing but most of this work is hidden from your eyes.

Intercession is how God builds His church through the work of the Cross. 

Intercession is the action of the Cross laboring in the lives of believers. 

Intercession is an expression of the unconditional love of God for those in bondage to sin. 

“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” Philippians 2:6-7

Last night God spoke this verse to me along with the title for this narrative.

To understand the role of a Christ follower we have to look at the life of Jesus. 

Jesus was the equal of God but in the likeness of man. 

Jesus did not come to exploit the world for personal advantage. 

Jesus did not try to create a reputation but humbled Himself in the role of a servant. 

Jesus performed signs and wonders in the likeness of man with the authenticity of God. 

Jesus came to offer Living Water to the unsaved and free those in bondage to darkness. 

The legitimacy of a Christ follower begins with your decision to live for Him. 

This decision is to walk humbly with Jesus simply seeking to His will for your life. You are not entitled to exploit God for personal advantage. Your purpose is to serve Him. 

Many believers get into trouble when they attempt to define the boundaries and terms in a relationship with God.

Your motive is to bring glory to God and should never be focused on building a reputation or fame for yourself.

Your purpose is not to take from the world but to dispense the Living Water to those around you. 

The Christ follower operates under the authority of the Holy Spirit. This will attract people to the authenticity of the Living Christ. They will see you have no hidden agendas or motives.

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” Philippians 3:10

If you are a believer you will have the markings of Christ in your life. This is unavoidable for those who come to know the Living Christ.

We live in a narcissistic society and are self driven people.

God has no ego and is motivated by unconditional love to save souls.

God designed the Cross to breach the gap between human nature and the life of God.

The Cross causes you to deny yourself and live for Christ.

You become a new creature in Christ Jesus and old things pass away and all things become new.

This causes pain and suffering as you have to be crucified to the things of the flesh and learn to walk with the values of God.

God creates hardships and sorrow in your life. They are purposed to strengthen your faith and train you in the ways of God.

The spiritual man faces all kinds of afflictions dealing in the war between light and darkness.

Fortitude is a mark of a Christ follower. Jesus gives you His courage as He faced the Cross to deal with pain or adversity. 

The Cross creates the character of Jesus in your personality. You become a humble and gentle person esteeming others above yourself. You have no desire for boasting because God is your provider and keeper.

The Cross teaches you to walk by faith believing in the promises of God. You live in the world but you are not motivated by the machinations (or schemes) of the world. 

The Cross makes you see yourself for who you are and identify with your abject unworthiness to God. 

The Cross gives you the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Christ and your navigator through life. He is the source of the resurrected power of Christ which helps you meet all the challenges of life.

The Cross gives you the ability to have an embracing and vibrant relationship with the Living Christ. Jesus speaks to you and teaches you how to live with His values.

The Christ follower is marked with a brazen quality. When you fall, God picks you up. He fills you with boldness and erases the shame with the blood of Christ. 

The most significant marking of the Cross is waking up each day with an attitude of “Not my will but Yours be done.”

“The law of his God is in his heart and none of his steps shall slide.” Psalm 37:31

The word from God today is the compunction of God living in a believer!

The definition of compunction is a feeling of guilt or moral scruple that prevents or follows the doing of something bad.

If you are a believer the moral compass of God is alive in your heart.

The moral compass is the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Jesus and will always glorify God.

Your steps cannot stumble if you are walking under the authority of the Holy Spirit.

Unfortunately, no one can live in perfect oneness with God and we all end up falling into the abyss of moral decay.

So after stumbling we have to get up off the ground and return to the Lord. 

God is merciful and filled with compassion toward those who repent and confess their sins to God. 

It is impossible to match up to the standards of God even if you vigorously strive through religion and attempt to keep the laws.

You will fall. And, probably more than once. The Israelites were God’s chosen people but they did not listen to God and were severely punished.

Your hope for righteousness will come by faith in the Living Christ and walking under the authority of the Holy Spirit.

“Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? Arise! Do not cast us off forever. Why do You hide Your face, and forget our affliction and our oppression?” Psalm 44:23-24

This happens to every believer who walks with God. The absence of God might be for a day, a week or several years.

To get a better feeling for this characteristic of God you might want to read Psalm 44 and see how God crushed the hearts of the Sons of Korah.

The perception is the Living Christ who can move mountains changes to a figurehead lacking power.

God not only seems to disappear but He causes you to look like a scourge (or eyesore) of society.

In reality, God is present in every moment of your life but He chooses to distance Himself from you and allows you to become scorned and despised by those around you.

Do not interpret this action of God as punishment for your sins. He is at work to refine you into His character. 

The purpose of God is to strengthen your faith and prepare you for future battles between light and darkness.

During the times when God seems absent walk by faith understanding God hears every word you speak to Him.

Cast your feelings of anger, bitterness and depression on the shoulders of God. Don’t allow them to lead you into darkness.

Seek the blood of Christ to cover your sins and be open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. 

Finally, put your hope in these words; “I would have lost heart unless I had believed I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living.”

“The glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” Colossians 1:27

God woke me up last night with the words in this narrative.

The appellation (or name) of Christ lives in all believers. The appellation begins and ends in Heaven.

The decision for Christ by faith places the seed of Christ within you.

The seed is the gift of salvation and has to be watered and nourished.

The seed is the Living Christ who wants to speak to you and become your very best friend. 

The seed will be severely tested to determine your loyalty to Christ.

The seed grows to maturity through prayer, the Word, and worshipping God in Spirit and Truth.

The seed must be covered with the blood of Christ to deal with the retardants.

The seed becomes a powerful light for Jesus touching those living in darkness.

The seed needs the protection of Christ to grow and thrive into a beautiful tree of righteousness.

The seed lives to glorify God in your words and actions.

The seed multiplies the life of Christ within you.

The seed experiences a growing season with pain and sorrow.

The seed grows by faith in the promises of the Son of God.

The seed overcomes the storms of life through the strength of Christ.

The seed magnifies God in your words and actions.

The seed groans for the creation of Christ.

The seed is Christ in you through the efficacy of the Holy Spirit.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

God spoke to me today about abandonment using the analogy of barnacles on a rock to illustrate what He does to those who yield to Him.

Abandonment is giving God permission to do with you as He pleases. You live in the presence of God without expectations.

Abandonment is building a personal relationship with God through prayer, the Word and listening for His voice. 

Abandonment is living in obedience to the voice of God even when it makes no sense to you.

Abandonment is living under the blood of Jesus confessing your sins and seeking repentance. 

Abandonment is not about personal holiness or sanctification; it is walking in oneness with God.

Abandonment is making God your priority above all the things in the world. 

Abandonment is not about giving things up for God; it is receiving the abundant life from God.

Abandonment is vigilantly seeking the will of God. 

Abandonment is walking by faith believing in the promises of God. 

Abandonment is resting in God and allowing the Holy Spirit to help you meet every challenge in your life. 

Abandonment is understanding your unworthiness and depravity will never leave you and the righteousness of God is a gift from Heaven. 

Abandonment is an open heart to God. 

“The LORD said to Hosea, Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom.” Hosea 1:2

This narrative deals with unabashed devotion to the reality of God. It is about turning away from your cherished religious beliefs and convictions and entering the world of the Living Christ.

God told Hosea to marry a prostitute and ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son.

What is God asking you to do?

Many believers hide in the comfort of religion and never experience the sometimes harsh and controversial reality of the Living Christ.

You and I have to be completely devoted to the Living Christ and turn away from cursory practices of worship.

Worship Jesus in Spirit and Truth. Invite the Holy Spirit to have authority over your life. Listen for the voice of God and respond with obedience.

What you think might please God is usually far from the heart of Jesus.

If you are one with God He will take you out of the bubble of religion and lead you into the sewers of life. This is where He does His work. 

God is looking for your undivided loyalty to Him regardless of the cost or repercussions from others.

Invite the Holy Spirit to crush your unfounded beliefs and traditions about Jesus and show you the purposes of His heart. 

You will be amazed about the unconditional love of God and how Jesus works to draw those living in abject poverty to receive the gift of salvation.