Holy Spirit is The Life of Christ

In John 16:5-7, Jesus tells the disciples that it is good for the Holy Spirit to come. As I read this, I also recalled how I Corinthians 6:19 says we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. It dawned on me that we truly are the Body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:27), in which The Holy Spirit dwells (Ephesians 1:23).

A body without a spirit is just a shell of a person; it is a dead body. When a person dies, his/her spirit departs from the body, and the body is no longer able to sustain life. It is a corpse. Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly (John 10:10). When God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil lest they die (Genesis 2:17), it wasn’t a metaphoric statement of dying. All humanity became a shell of existence—no longer fully living, as the Spirit of God no longer dwelt in us. 

Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). We are dead without Christ. However, we come alive when we come to know Christ. This is why it is said that we are “born again” (John 3:3-7). We receive new life - a hew Spirit - when we accept Christ. And even Paul called the early Christian “babes” in Christ who needed to mature (I Corinthians 3:1-2) because we are born again, starting afresh, given new life by the Holy Spirit.

As a follower of Christ, it is also why Paul says, “It is not I who lives but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20). We literally are the Body of Christ. We host the Spirit of God. Otherwise, we are merely shells of existence (sadly like much of the world). We must deny the flesh and live as new creations. Christ is our Life. He lives on earth through us by His Spirit. 

Photo by Marek Piwinicki

Let's Not Be Religious About It!

"For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’  But wisdom is justified by all her children.” - Luke 7:34-35 KNJV

From this passage, Holy Spirit helped me to see that God uses different people to advance the Kingdom of God. John the Baptist was teetotaler and Jesus drank wine. Who is holier? Who is closer to God?

We know Jesus is the Son of God and One with God. However, in our limited, earthly understanding of the Kingdom of God, we are sometimes prone to think one person's lifestyle is above another's, thus making them more "holier" than another. We really should stop that. 

Anyone who has walked with the LORD for a number of years knows that He rarely does something the same way again and again in our lives. It may sound cliche but experience keeps us repeating the saying,"God works in mysterious ways." In a way, one could say that He enjoys playing hide-and-seek with us -- leading us to search Him and His way out everyday (see Joshua 1:8). No one should assume they have God figured out. God is Eternal -- not only in His forever-existence but also in His Ways. Eternal is Who He Is. It will take us eternity to figure Him out. Just ask those living creatures with all the eyes singing "HOLY" over His throne. They don't grow tired of it because no matter how much they see, seeing Him never gets old. 

The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come! - Revelation 4:8 NKJV

Understanding this helps us as the Body of Christ welcome and work alongside those who may think or act differently from us yet who serve the LORD in their special way. One may drink; another may be a teetotaler; another will have a tattoo; another may wear a long skirt or robe. Mother Theresa and Todd White are not the same but devoted themselves to the work of the LORD. Who is holier? Who is closer to God?

We know Jesus is the Son of God and One with God. . . . And He came to redeem us ALL and make us One with Him. "Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." - John 14:23 NKJV

One may ask, "What is it to 'keep' or obey God's Word?"  Well..."Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”  - Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus didn't say be like your neighbor. He said to love your neighbor. God made us different because we ALL reflect our EL OLAM, our God The Eternal. So when it comes to serving the LORD, let's not be religious about it. Let us enjoy the diversity of the Body of Christ. After all He did make us in HIs image and after his likeness.

"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." - Genesis 1:27 NKJV

GIFTS VS. FRUIT

GIFTS VS. FRUIT: A parable about two similar but different men.

The Gifts:

The gifts of a man can be likened to a man who knew a woman, and she bore to him a child--a beautiful baby boy. The boy was strong, healthy, and possessed features much like the man. The man was proud of the beautiful baby boy. Wherever the man traveled, which he did often, he boasted of the child's beauty and likeness to his own. All who saw pictures of the boy agreed and congratulated the man on his beautiful baby boy. 

Sometime later, many years later, when the man grew old and the beautiful boy was a handsome man, the old man fell ill while on his travels. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was cared for by kind doctors and nurses. Several days passed but little recovery was made. After sometime, recognizing that he may soon be drawing his last breath, the old man asked a nurse to draw near and whispered for her to send the hospital address to his beautiful baby boy (now a man) and inform the boy of his sickness. The nurse readily agreed. 

Two days later a large beautiful bouquet of flowers, two yellow smiley-face helium balloons, and a dozen sugar cookies arrived at the hospital for the old man. The nurse received the delivery and placed the gifts on the nightstand next to the old man's bed. Opening the cookies, taking one from a sleeve, the nurse gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. Sighing heavily, she thought of how the old man would have loved the gifts that were sent by his beautiful baby boy (now a man). For the old man did not receive the gifts. He had passed away a day prior to their arrival. The nurse wiped away a tear. Taking a bite of the cookie, she stood to her feet and grabbed the rest of the cookies to share with her fellow nurses. 

The Fruit:

The fruit of a man can be likened to a man who knew his wife, and she bore to him a son -- a beautiful baby boy. The boy was strong, healthy, and possessed features much like his father. The man was proud of his beautiful baby boy. Wherever the man traveled, which he did on occasion, he boasted of the son's beauty and likeness to his mother. All who saw pictures of the boy agreed and congratulated the father on his beautiful son. 

Sometime later, many years later, when the father had grown old and the beautiful son was a handsome man, the old man fell ill while on his travels. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was cared for by kind doctors and nurses along with his wife, son, relatives and friends who traveled to be at his side. Several days passed. Days grew to weeks but little recovery was made. After sometime, recognizing he would soon be drawing his last breath, the old man asked his son to draw close and whispered to him the address of a property the son was to inherit. The father told the son to take care of his mother. The son readily agreed. Raising a weak smile across his face, the father exhaled his last breath with a faint, "I love you."

Two days later a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a basket full of fruit arrived at the home of the late father and his wife. The son, while visiting the home, received the delivery and placed the gifts on the kitchen table next to a buffet of meals prepared by thoughtful friends and family. The wife inquired about the sender. Seeing an envelope in the fruit basket, the son opened the note to find a letter with a key inside from the late father - a letter that had been prepared and written years prior. The letter expressed the father's enduring love for his wife and son and hopes for them to enjoy long, full, happy meaningful lives. The key, as the note explained, belonged to the property that the son had inherited.

Over the next few hours, the wife and son sat at the kitchen table enjoying a bowl of fruit from the fruit basket, reading and re-reading the letter from the father. Pouring over each word, they laughed and cried as they once again heard the father's voice through the letter that came with the basket of fruit.

Moral of the story:

The moral of the story is that just as any man can impregnate a woman, any Christian can operate in the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of God are irrevocable.(Romans 11:29). It is indeed a wonderful gift to bear children. However, it takes a father to raise a son or daughter, which requires care and attention lest the fruit become spoiled. The fruit of The Spirit requires care and attention and requires staying connected to The Father.  Let us not only operate in the gifts of the Spirit, which are good, but also in the fruit of the Spirit. (See also John 15:5-8 and Matthew 7:18-23)

FAIL-PROOF

 If Jesus is like you, He wouldn’t have even come. . . He would have said “What if I fail?” -Kevin Zadai

We need to approach and pursue our callings and purposes the way Jesus pursued us and His redemption of mankind. Jesus didn’t flinch at His purpose. He came to save, and He did. He never questioned if He would fail. So why would we question if God would prosper us if He elevated us to Jesus' position (Romans 8:17 and 2 Timothy 2:12), or question if we can actually do "all things through Christ" (Philippians 4:13), seeing how Jesus' plan was fail-proof. 

There are SO MANY verses that remind us of our ONENESS with Christ (just Google it) that further encourage and remind us that God WANTS us to succeed and give us the desires of our heart. Yes, we are in a fallen world, but so was Jesus. Furthermore, He was a Jew oppressed under Roman rule, limiting His movement and activity to their jurisdiction and authority--sounds a lot like some of our situations (metaphoric, actual or physical) when it comes to corrupt government, red tape, and oppressive leadership tactics. 

You've got this! And, I don't mean that in a cheery "hurrah" sort of way. I mean that literally. God already gave you everything you'll ever need . . . Please do not get in your head now, and start saying, "Oh, I've heard that before." No. Take it as a child--like the first time you heard it. It's a truth that is just as fresh as the first time you heard it, if not fresher because now you are allowing it to fully sink into your spirit. YOU CAN DO IT! Just remember, JESUS DID IT! He saved mankind. He did not fail. Yes, He encountered opposition from Pharisees and demons and even His closest disciples and friends such as when Peter said, "Never Lord...This shall never happen to you" (Matthew 6:22 NIV). 

Jesus did it anyway. 

God never lost sight of His purpose for Jesus, and Jesus never lost sight of God's purpose for Him. He did it!  Oh, and guess what; Jesus did a lot more as well. You may ask, "What do you mean?" Well, I mean that Jesus not only came to die on the cross, resurrect and reign in glory; He also healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the poor, cast out demons, made friends, socialized, and so much more (John 21:25). 

I bring this up to let you know that you do not have to limit yourself and wonder, "What is the one single thing I am called to do?" No. Do you really want to limit the God of eternity to having you do only one thing? And if one thing is all you feel called to do, which is awesome, believe me that God can increase your footprint and influence even with that one thing (Luke 16:10). So do not worry so much about "what" to do. Focus on the fact that you can and that God truly loves you and wants you to succeed, just like He wanted and knew Jesus would succeed. 

Truthfully, God is not looking at you with a quizzical and suspicious brow wondering "Will he/she do it?' and saying, "I knew it! I knew they would fail me!" (Cue the buzzer. WRONG!!!). God does NOT look at you with suspect eyes. He looks at you with loving, endearing, authoritative eyes of assurance as a parent looks at a child learning something new, saying "You can do it. You got it."  

Now, if you're unsure of where to go from here, here are few questions/suggestions that may help:

• Ask yourself, "What dreams have I abandoned that still remain in my heart, even since my youth?" It's not too late to dream (Psalm 126:1-2).
• Ask yourself, "What injustice do I wish I could remedy, and is there a way to get involved even now in a simple way?" Don't despise small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). Sometimes starting small is the best way. (You can't fit a gallon of ice cream into your mouth, but you can fit a spoonful.)
• Read The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, which offers guidance on how to approach discovering your purpose. (Spoiler Alert: . . ."It's not about you."). You can only find your true fulfilment in the ONE who created it all (John 4:14). 
• Maybe ask yourself some questions around the journalists' 5 Ws and H: "What do I like to do often, or What resources do I currently have to get started? Who do I like to help, serve or be around? Why do I like to help them or be around them? When am I most motivated or most fulfilled? Where do I feel comfortable helping and serving, or Where do I see myself in so many months or years in my dream world (soon to be reality)? How do I get started, involved or stay motivated?" [Sometimes the right, suitable foods, music, sermons, environment, healthy incentives,  etc. can help with motivation. Consider such as resources. These may be key in helping you find the sweet spot of performance and effectiveness. (As a note, this bullet point came from the top of my head or subconscious memory, so there are certainly other and better tested, tried and true questions and resources to consider)]. 
• Consider signing up for a SOZO session to help you overcome spiritual and emotional blockages that keep you unmotivated. (For more info, visit https://www.bethelsozo.com/ and see if there is a SOZO leader near you. Some leaders also offer Zoom sessions.)

The above are simple suggestions (not rules) and by no means comprehensive. That is where the Holy Spirit, the Bible, a healthy community, and additional godly resources come in. . .God is with you and "will never leave you nor forsake you," (Deuteronomy 31:6,8 and Hebrews 13:5-6). God will refresh you (Psalm 23; Proverbs 11:25; Luke 18:1-8; Galatians 6:9, etc). 

**Lastly and perhaps most importantly: Read your Bible. You can even start with the verses listed in this full post--maybe just a couple or a few a day. Success is not in the doing but in the being.  Be with God, and He will Be with you. (Psalm 91; Psalm 23; Psalm 46:10; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 37:4; Matthew 6:6; James 4:8; Matthew 7:21-23;  Matthew 25:31-43; Luke 13:27; John 10:10 etc.). 

God doesn't plan for failure. God planned in advance for Jesus to redeem the world, before He even made man--recognizing that there may be hiccups along the way to try and stop our communion with Him. (Revelation 13:8; Ephesians 2:8-10).  As with Jesus, God wrote out your finished work before you were even born (Psalm 139:16).  So, literally, you've already got this.  God is with you. God is not seeking your failure (Jeremiah 29:11-12). Rather, He is anticipating your success. Your purpose is fail-proof.

Happy Succeeding! 

Kendra Scott 

SPEND TIME WITH ME

The LORD says “Come spend time with me.🙂❤️”

-We HEAR, “You haven’t spent time with me.”🙁 (Gulp)

-We THINK, “I haven’t been spending enough time with God.” 😔

-We FEEL ashamed, unworthy and like, “I’m not a good enough Christian (Believer, Child of God, Follower of Christ). So-and-so always talks about spending time with God and tells me to spend time with God; they’re a better Christian than me. Why would Jesus want to hear from me?😞

-We BELIEVE, “I’m not worthy of talking to Jesus. He’s so perfect. And other people always hear from Him, but I never hear His voice or feel His prompting like other people”… [even though we just heard Him say “Come spend time with me”]. 

-Then we go and DO something else instead of spend time with Him.

All Jesus said was, “Come spend time with me🙂❤️.” 

Go in peace. 

He loves you.🙂❤️

Buy the House First

 “Seek ye first the kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added onto you” -Matthew 6:33 KJV

Seeking the “added things” instead of the kingdom and His righteousness first can be likened to purchasing furniture to fill an entire house and all of its rooms, loading all the furniture onto a U-Haul. . . and forgetting to buy the house! These added things have no place; they have no home. These “added things” are simply clutter without a home. These “added things” clutter our lives and cannot be fully enjoyed because we have no place or space for them. Spiritually, these added things bring us no joy because if we seek them first instead of the Kingdom and His righteousness, they clutter our hearts; they clutter our thoughts. They distract us. They even burden us. We need to find the KINGDOM— a home for the added things. 

Yes, it’s easier to buy furniture or seek the “added things” than it is to buy a home but if that furniture has no home, it is now a burden. Jesus wants us to find “home.” 

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”(Romans 14:17) 

As the old saying goes, “Home is where the heart is.” God wants your heart to be at home in the Kingdom—in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, not in the added things. God doesn’t want you sleeping under the table you purchased. God doesn’t want you carrying around bags of goods without a home. God wants you to be at home and have a place for all the things He wants you to enjoy. It’s easier to replace furniture or “added things” than it is a home. A home is a solid foundation and not easily moveable or shakeable. A good traditional home is built on a rock (Matthew 7:24-26). Let Jesus be your Rock. Spend time with Him: read a verse, say a prayer everyday and ask Him what’s on His mind. He loves to reveal Himself to those who seek Him (Isaiah 55:6; Psalm 25:14).

Let the Kingdom be your home. Then you will be able to enjoy the added things.


Originally drafted 6.24.19

FOR + GIVE

One Friday night, the Lord asked me a hard question. He brought to my mind someone who had hurt me and betrayed me--someone I would have preferred to keep out of my mind forever, if at all possible. As I recalled this person, the Lord asked me: "What do you want for this person?" I had no response.

"Lord, why are you asking me this? I don't want to discuss this right now.  Really?! Ugh, I don't know how to answer this? Why?! Why do you want to discuss this now?!" . . .This was my response and reaction. I was annoyed by the question mainly because it made me feel vulnerable and was leading me to recall a painful situation.  After a few minutes of prayerful bickering (yes, that's a thing; God talks to us like friends), I finally caved in and answered God truthfully, "May they burn in hell for all eternity."

Although, it was helpful to know my true feelings (after suppressing them for so long in a vain effort to be religious), I honestly didn't feel much better. I simply felt honest.

God and I talked a little bit more, then, Holy Spirit prompted me to do a word study on "Forgive." I went to etymonline.com to try and understand the original meaning of "forgive." The break down of the word is pretty simple, but the revelation was profound.

The prefix "for-" can mean "away, against or opposition," while the word "give" has the same meaning today as it has always had, "to transfer or allow possession of." One could say for-give is to oppose a gift or be against receiving a gift.

Now, imagine a person who has hurt you comes to present you with an abundance of gifts in order to pay you back for all the damages he/she caused and the pain  inflicted upon you. This person comes to you to pay you back and settle a debt. But, instead of accepting the gift(s), you actually motion your hand to wave the gift away; you shake your head and say, "No gift is needed. The debt is settled". . . That's right! You say, "No gift is needed. The debt is settled." WHOW!

CAN YOU IMAGINE?  Perhaps you have spent years in therapy because of someone's wicked behavior, lost close relationships or lost a job, or even spent days in a hospital because of someone's poor decisions or mistakes . . . But, instead of making the wrongdoer(s) pay you back for the damages, you wave your hand, shake your head and say, "Your gift is unnecessary. The debt is settled." 

This may seem unbelievable and impossible. I mean, who would do such a thing? If the injurer pays you back for damages, it only seems logical to take that payment. Well, as followers of Christ, we are called to be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved [us] and gave Himself up for us. . .(Ephesians 5:1-2). God does not want us hanging a payment over anyone's head because He does not hang our debts over our heads. We do not deserve to be for-given our debts. Our sins (big or small) deserve eternal damnation in Hell, but God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).  Jesus waved His hand, shook His head and said our gifts were no longer needed. The debt was settled. Jesus was the payment. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). This is why God calls us to for-give because He for-gave us. And Jesus warned us, saying that [i]f you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15).

I want to clarify what I thought forgiveness was before.  My erroneous interpretation of forgiveness was "to surrender" the problem and the person to God.  I would pray, "Lord I give this painful situation to You. I will no longer worry about this person or this situation. I will allow this person to answer to You alone. I bless them, and I will let You deal with (aka punish) them."  I would pray this while the verse, "Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord" was running in the back of my mind (Deuteronomy 32:35,Romans 12:17-19).  Truthfully, I was seething and wanted them to suffer and answer to God in hopes that they would incur a more severe punishment from God. I concluded that God's punishment would far outweigh any punishment I could levy, so I "surrendered" the pain and the injurer to God. Little did I know that I had not truly forgiven them. In actuality, I was simply transferring their debt from one account to another---from my account to God's account. I was not freeing them from debt; I was only making them commit payment to God instead of me. That is not for-giving a debt. That is not for-giveness.

God, through His Holy Spirit, opened my eyes via this word study, that I have to say in my heart that no repayment is needed, that the debt is settled and they owe me nothing. 

What a revelation! Believe it or not, it was quite liberating to know what it meant to for-give. I, for the first, was truly able to for-give those who hurt me and betrayed me. I didn't have to wonder any longer how God would exact justice or inflict punishment on the wrongdoers.  I no longer felt like a maniacal creditor, mentally and emotionally calculating payments for debts and when they should be paid.

Y'know, being a debt collector is rather exhausting, time consuming and life-sucking. It leaves you running on a treadmill, going nowhere really hard and really fast. Before you know it, time has passed, your life is spent, and the debt remains unsettled. 

What. A. Waste.

Don't be a slave to pain, bitterness and unforgiveness. Let it go! You're life is worth more than that. Get on with your life. No payment could ever match your value, so it's best to release wrongdoers from their debt and focus on more important things.

Anyway, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28). So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today (Matthew 6:34). Don't worry about the outcome of the wrongdoers or even your outcome . . "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).  The Lord will perfect that wihch concerns you (Psalm 138:8). Let go and Live!

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If you're not sure if God has forgiven you of your sins, simply pray: "Jesus be my Lord and Savior.  I want to be part of your family. I am sinner, but you died and resurrected to give me a new life. Forgive me of my sins. I want to be born again. Through Your blood, make me a child of God and follower of Jesus Christ. Amen." (based on Romans 10:9-10)