We live in the end times. God is bringing cataclysmic events into our future including wars, famine, earthquakes and economic disasters. And, your life is like a vapor trail here today and gone tomorrow.

Jesus is alive and wants to impact your life today. He is speaking to you at this very moment.

The gift of salvation is designed for you to live in an embracing and vibrant relationship with Christ and begins with your decision for Him. Salvation is a method of living with Jesus and does not relate to a timeline.

You and I are going to have both good and difficult times whether you are a believer or a non believer. So what is the real appeal of Jesus?

Jesus wants to give you a quality of life you can never achieve on your own. He wants to share His life with you including His love, joy, peace, wisdom, and strength. These attributes come from Heaven and cannot be found on earth. 

Jesus wants to protect you from evil and guide your pathway. He is omniscient and knows every detail of your life-past, present and future.

Jesus wants to have conversations with you and teach you His values. He seals believers with the Holy Spirit which is the life of Christ. The Holy Spirit is your link to the kingdom of God. 

Jesus has power and dominion over the Heavens and Earth and your destiny is in His hands. Jesus wants you to seek Him out for your every need. 

Jesus wants you to walk by faith believing in His promises. You give up the right to yourself and live in submission to God. 

You no longer rely on self sufficiency; your help comes from God.

Jesus wants to live in every detail of your life. The life of a believer is seeking out the will of God and living in obedience to the voice of God. 

The life of Jesus has nothing to do with religion. It is a commitment from the heart to live for Jesus above all else. 

Jesus keeps His promises. He is the way, the life and the truth!

You can experience the life of Christ today with a simple yes to His invitation to receive the gift of salvation. 

The word from God today is incorrigible which describes a person who is not willing to be corrected, improved or reformed.

This character defect is alive in both believers and non believers. This can be caused by a genetic disposition for sin or someone who has given into the desires of the flesh and crossed the line into a stronghold of Satan.

The power of Christ can help anyone with a incorrigible personality. All it requires is an open heart to God and a willingness to change. God will do the rest.

For a Christ follower, it is essential to be open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Make a practice of opening yourself up to God for correction. God knows you better than you know yourself. He examines your every thought and looks at your motives.

if you resist correction God will bring adversity into your life to get your attention.

In many situations, the work of God will be accomplished by intercession through the Body of Christ.

The Christ follower will stand in the gap for the person under a stronghold of Satan. This involves vigilant prayer and an agonizing battle dealing with the powers of darkness. The principle of intercession is based on “Filling up your flesh with the afflictions of Christ for His body, the church.” 

God works through the Holy Spirit dwelling inside you to intercede for the lost soul. Most of this work is done below your consciousness. Many times you will identify with the feelings and personality of the person in bondage to sin.

God delights in bringing down strongholds and setting people free. 

Intercession begins and ends with God. This is a Holy calling and Jesus gives you the keys to the kingdom of God.

Don’t look for results through intercession look for the approval of God.

Intercessors literally fulfill the role of “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.”

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.” Psalm 33:8

We get so carried away with trying to please God by keeping laws, doing good works, and participating in religion that we forget the most important ingredient in a relationship with God. 

We must have a deep fear and respect for God above all else. This fear must be a strong motivating influence in our lives.

We live and move and have our being understanding Jesus has power and dominion over the heavens and earth and our destiny is in His hands. 

Very simply, we respect God by seeking out His will in our thoughts, words, and actions. 

This is accomplished through prayer, meditating on the Word of God and  listening for His voice. 

We walk by faith believing in the promises of God and give the Holy Spirit authority over our lives.

Jesus doesn’t live in the Bible. He is alive today and wants an embracing and vibrant relationship with you. 

The reality of Jesus is He wants to be your help and your shield. Commit your works to God today and you will meet the Living Christ.

Your soul thirsts for God and nothing will bring satisfaction except the Living Water.

The eyes of God are on those who fear Him and hope in His mercy. 

You cannot do anything for God but He can do great things through you!

This morning God spoke to me about the two most important criteria in achieving an exemplary walk with God. 

They deal with understanding the reality of faith and the struggle between living an independent lifestyle or relying on God for your every need. 

The favor of God was on King David during his life even though he made many mistakes. This is because David believed in God and trusted Him for his every need. 

David lived out his faith in some very difficult and life threatening situations. David knew in the depth of his heart that God has power and dominion over the heavens and earth and his destiny was in the hands of God.

Faith is believing in the promises of God regardless of your circumstances. Faith does not judge God by what you see with your eyes. Faith is not an intellectual concept or have anything to do with works or laws. Faith is building your life on the promises of God.

Faith is seeking out God for your every need. You cannot please God unless you have a lifestyle of faith. Faith is believing God calls things that don’t exist as if they did. This is the reality of life for a Christ follower. 

When troubles arise the tendency is to rely on self sufficient methods to find a solution. Instead of praying and waiting on God most believers panic and strive to find a solution.

The self sufficient individual has not met the Living Christ. He may have an intellectual concept of God but lacks a personal relationship with Him.

Your desire to maintain independence and control over your life blocks the power of God in a believer.

God wants to deliver you out of your troubles and meet your every need but He wants to get the glory. 

If you claim the glory for your successes then there is no need for God in your life.

The Christ follower lives by faith anchored to the Holy Spirit. He knows it is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of Christ.

This narrative is about exploiting God with self serving motives and identifies several anathemas which are an abhorrent to Christ.

The decision for Christ is about giving up your rights and desires to live for Him. Jesus is your priority above all else. This does not require you to be a robot but you do become a servant of God dedicated to seeking His will for your life. It is a willingness to be obedient to God regardless of your circumstances. 

The words below from Jesus explain the concept of living with Him and where to find your nourishment for life. “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Satan will entice you to take actions which are not in accord with the will of God. You have to make a choice to satisfy a desire of the flesh or be obedient to the voice of God. Walking with God is learning patience and not making compulsive decisions to get short lived pleasures.

Christ followers have to learn to be anchored to the Holy Spirit and listen for the voice of God. This is your safety net.

Give the Holy Spirit authority over your life and commit your works each day to God. This will keep you in the safe pathway of God and enable you hear His voice frequently. The Holy Spirit desires to enhance the quality of your life and protect you from evil.

As a believer, you cannot insist on your independence and attempt to fit God into your lifestyle. You belong to God and He can do with you as He pleases. If you strive to keep your autonomy you will encounter the stern discipline of God and face many difficulties.

Another anathema of Christ is attempting to appease Him through religion. Many have the mindset if you keep the laws of God and do good works God is obligated to bless you. This is blasphemy against God. Your obligation is to walk by faith believing in the promises of God. Your unyielding faith and obedience will bring the favor of God upon you.

Many believers try to think for God. This is a futile and useless action. You will never be able to think or act like God. God has no ego or needs. You and I are self driven people. You can draw close to God through fervent prayer, meditating on the Word of God and listening for the voice of Christ. 

The Body of Christ is filled with many people who believe and act like their sinful nature is in the past tense. Jesus died for all your sins but your sinful nature will never leave you. It is impossible to live up to the perfect standards of God and you will probably fail Him several times today.

You can live a life pleasing to Jesus by asking for His blood to cover your sins and having an open heart to the correction of the Holy Spirit. 

The life of a believer is like a roller coaster and at times makes no sense at all. Jesus does not act in predictable ways. It is very easy to second guess Jesus, get angry and accuse Him of failing to meet your needs. This is a dead end and will only increase your frustration and distance you from Jesus. The spiritual remedy is to trust Jesus, praise Him and acknowledge His ways are perfect.

Jesus desires to give you more than you ask or think but you must live in submission to  Him.

The definition of eviscerate is to deprive someone of their essential content. It is like gutting the interior of a person.

This analogy from God explains how He works in a believer. It sounds a little scary and grotesque. 

The work of God in a believer removes the natural condition you were born with and replaces it with the life of Christ. 

It is a surgical procedure which takes many years and will culminate in Heaven. At times, it will create anger and frustration and cause you to question the purposes of God.

You and I are ego driven people and cannot think or act like God. We have to be born again of the Spirit and Water.

The decision for Christ initiates the born again experience. You receive the gift of salvation and are sealed with the Holy Spirit. At this time the work of God is activated to baptize you into the death and resurrection of Christ. This is a sometimes painful and difficult journey as you give up the rights to yourself to live for God.

God sees everything about you and knows you better than you know yourself. He is constantly dealing with your inner nature and hidden defects. Most of this takes place without any consciousness on your part.

This is a lifelong process and will eventually transform your personality, thinking patterns, and motives into the ways of Jesus.

The work of God seems very cruel at times. We interpret the actions of God as punishment when He is refining you into a new creature in Christ Jesus reflecting His values. 

Is all this surgery performed by the hand of God worth the outcome? I can’t answer this question for you but I can share my personal encounter with the Living God that happened many years ago. It was the most terrifying experience of my life and I saw the reality and awesome power of God.

The fear of God is both frightening and intimidating. It is unlike anything on this earth and causes you to tremble in the presence of our Holy God. I witnessed first hand that nothing is impossible for God.

Our amazing God is motivated by love and wants to have an embracing and vibrant relationship with you!

Last night I saw God interact with many people of all ages each with different needs and challenges in life. God met every individual at their point of need. He is a God of miracles.

The gift of salvation is designed to enhance your life today with the goodness of God. 

Salvation is a living relationship with Jesus and never relates to a timeline. Now I will arise says the Lord. I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.

You have to take the initiative and reach out to God and worship Him in Spirit and Truth. Give praise to God for who He is and seek out His will for your life. 

Ask God to help you to overcome all the challenges in your life. Approach God by faith believing He will deliver you from all your troubles.

Jesus desires to share His life with you at this very moment. Ask and you shall receive strength, wisdom, joy, and protection. 

Jesus is a healing God. Pray for healing with confidence and faith in the resurrected power of Christ. He lives in you.

Abide with Jesus today anchored to the Holy Spirit. He wants to be one with you!

“And to be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:9-11

If you have been found in Christ you will never attempt to acquire the righteousness of God through your own efforts and you will understand it is impossible to claim ownership to the holiness of God.

The righteousness of God is a gift which comes by your faith in Jesus. It has nothing to do with works or keeping laws. 

The life of Christ lives in you in the essence of the Holy Spirit. Your faith and obedience to Christ is the source of the righteousness of God.

It is very difficult to believe that the excellence of the knowledge of the Lord is worth the loss of all things. However, the Cross causes you to die to the things of the world and you lose the right to yourself. And, if you want a close fellowship with Jesus you will endure pain and suffering. 

You have to be conformed to the death of Jesus before you can participate fully in the resurrected power of Christ. Your ego, personal desires, and self preservation have to be crucified so you can be an anointed disciple of Christ working with pure motives.

The ministry of Christ is not about gaining personal glory or achieving notoriety.  Your goal is to humbly seek out the will of God and live by faith believing in the promises of God.

The disciple lives for Jesus above all else. He commits his works each day to Jesus and prays for the thoughts of Christ to be established within Him. 

He walks in oneness with Jesus anchored to the Holy Spirit. He endures severe testing and many troubles. He fails God often and consistently seeks repentance and the blood of Christ to cover Him. 

The life of a Christ follower consists of a vigilant prayer life, living in the Word of God, and listening for the voice of Christ. He is open to the correction of the Holy Spirit and has a heart to please God. 

In your journey with God you will have to prove your obedience and operate with the values of Christ in the small and mundane details of life. Then God will give you bigger challenges and expand your ministry. 

Christians mistakenly believe they must do things for God. The reality is you can never do anything of value for God but He can do great things working through you. 

The Christ follower must learn to cease from striving and rest in God. Wait patiently for God believing it is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of Christ.

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15

God has spoken this scripture to me recently as a reminder of the outcome for a Christ follower. 

If you are a true follower of Christ Jesus you can expect to go through a season where it seems like God has forgotten you and allows many troubles to come into your life. The scriptures testify of severe testing for the people of God.

The question is why does a God of love and compassion allow this to happen?

Here are my insights developed over many years of walking with God:

God creates different seasons in your life. There are times of prosperity and times of adversity. The difficult times are designed to strengthen your faith, teach you patience, and discipline you in the ways of God.

God judges the nations. We do not respect or fear our great God. This brings retribution like the recent pandemic. The Israelites were God’s chosen people but they failed to obey God and went through a horrific experience. 

If you are serious about God, He has to prepare you for doing the work of the gospel. This can seem cruel and last many years. Moses tended sheep for forty years to prepare Him for his ministry.

There will be times of isolation, deprivation, and blindness in your walk with God. This is to get you to the point of total obedience and reliance upon God.

God knows you better than you know yourself. The refining nature of God is to reach deep into your personality and soul to take away your self nature and disposition for sin. 

The purpose of God is create your total obedience to Him even if it may cost your life. 

You have to get to the point where your heart is reconciled to this truth; He is God and can do with me as He desires.

Here is an awesome promise of God for those going through a time of hardship: 

“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” 1 Peter 5:10

“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11

When you make a decision for Jesus, the foundation of your life going forward is built on the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Everything you do will be evaluated and measured by the Cross. 

There is no negotiation with God. You have been crucified with Jesus and your old habits and thinking patterns died on the Cross. From God’s point of view you are a new creature in Christ Jesus and your sins have been washed away with the blood of the Cross.

Each day you have to make a decision to live anchored to God through the Holy Spirit or live for self. When you deviate away from the foundation of Christ you are opening the door to misery and destruction. 

Your life begins and ends each day with Jesus. Pray your thoughts, words, and actions are submissive to the Holy Spirit. 

The foundation is built on walking by faith believing in the promises of God. You cannot appease God through works or keeping laws. If you attempt to live by laws you will bring a curse upon yourself. No one can keep the laws of God. The righteous shall live by faith following the example of Abraham. 

Jesus wants you to seek out His will for every aspect of your life. You do this by prayer, listening to the voice of God and meditating on the Word of God.

The foundation was created by God so you can live in oneness with Jesus anchored to the Holy Spirit. You can have an embracing and life changing relationship with Jesus. He desires to be your best friend and share His life with you.

Salvation begins the moment you become a Christ follower. God seals you with the Living Water. You learn how to walk with God through all the experiences of life never by an intellectual approach or a system of rules. 

The foundation is built on your obedience to God regardless of the circumstances in your life. God is unpredictable and controversial at times. He wants your allegiance to Him even when nothing makes any sense and your life is in shambles.

God enjoys changing lives from ashes to beauty. He promises to give you an abundant life while bringing glory to His name.

The Cross will bring pain and suffering because you have been baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus. 

The purpose of God is to complete the work of the Cross and change you into a Christ like personality with a heart to live for God. This can only happen when you give up the ownership of your rights to God. 

The walk with God is not about conforming to religion or a system of behavior. You simply live by faith seeking the wisdom of God for your life.

Develop the mindset of resting in God and allowing Him to work through you. The miracles of God happen to those who understand it is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of Christ. 

For in Christ we live and move and have our being!