Monthly Archives: April 2017

HE DID IT FOR US

​”Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There  is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was  wounded for our transgressions, He  was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was  any  deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors”.[Isaiah 53:1‭-‬12]

LISTEN:

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord”.[I Corinthians 15:50‭-‬58]

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”[John 11:25‭-‬26]

Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?  Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”[John 16:31‭-‬33]

HE WILLINGLY PAID THE PRICE

​Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.”  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. ” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”{Matthew 26:36‭-‬46}

He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was  wounded for our transgressions, He  was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was  any  deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.[Isaiah 53:3‭-‬10]

Because of JESUS our citizenship is in heaven. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

 Philippians 3:20-21.
Lord our God, draw us to yourself. Draw us into the quiet that you give, where something can happen to us and to our hearts. Help us to discern your kingdom surrounding us and in our spirits to live in this kingdom. Then our life will be as if in heaven, where we need not worry or torment ourselves, where your power is everything to us, penetrating our earthly life, which so often weighs us down. We thank you that you have made a way of strength, full of power to hold us firmly, so that even when we stumble, we cannot be turned from the goal. We thank you for all the good that comes from you, which we cannot see in earthly things but which can invade our hearts with such mighty and uplifting power. IN JESUS NAME.

 Amen.

WHAT ARE YOU PUTTING ON

​Colossians 3:12-17 

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must  do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—….[Ephesians 6:10‭-‬18]

To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord , that He may be glorified.”[Isaiah 61:3 ]

BE HOLY 

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which  is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”(Romans 12:1‭-‬2).

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”(1 Peter 1:13‭-‬16).

Being Holy is one of God’s requirements. Why?

Because it is written, in (Leviticus Ch: 10, 11, 19, 20, 21, 22), Be all of you HOLY; for I am HOLY. 

“Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 20:7)

•What does God mean when He said for us to be HOLY?

•What is HOLY? Sacred; Consecrated; Sanctified; Reverently dedicated to God. 

•As HOLY People of God we are the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, we live by Faith in God, and we do all things with the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears” (Hebrews 12:14‭-‬17)

We should desire to be Holy,because 1 Peter 2:9 says,”But all of you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an HOLY nation, an exclusive people; that all of  you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light”. 

•HOLINESS is the Lord Himself. He is the only One Who is worthy to be called “His Holiness ”

•Continue to let the Word of God be the standard for your life. Blessed you are and blessed you will always be and to God be all the glory. Amen!

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE BLESSED 

But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”{Luke 11:28}.

However, Psalms 119:1-11 says,

“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord .  Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.  They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.  Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.  O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!  Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.  I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.  I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.  Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee”.

Deuteronomy puts it this way:

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be  in the country. “Blessed shall  be  the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. “Blessed shall  be your basket and your kneading bowl. “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. “The Lord  will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord , and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.  So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them” {Deuteronomy 28:1‭-‬14}.

LIVING IN GOD’S PRESENCE 

​Living in the Manifested Presence of God.

Psalm 91:1 ,assures us that:

“He that DWELLS (lives) in the SECRET PLACE of the MOST HIGH shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty”. 

+The SECRET PLACE of the Lord MOST HIGH is HIS MANIFESTED PRESENCE. 

+How do we get into, and dwell in the SECRET PLACE of the MOST HIGH?

John 14:23 tells us that,Jesus answered and said: “If a man LOVES me, he will keep my words: and my Father will LOVE him, and WE will come unto him, and make our ABODE (dwell or live) with him”. 

+The DWELLING PLACE, SECRET PLACE or MANIFESTED PRESENCE of the Lord begins with us LOVING Him OBEDIENTLY. 

+To LOVE God OBEDIENTLY is to do all things from our hearts in LOVE, TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS, and FAITH. 

+The SECRET PLACE of the Lord MOST HIGH is HIS MANIFESTED PRESENCE. 

+How do we get into, and dwell in the SECRET PLACE of the MOST HIGH?

Psalm 66:18 informs us that :

If I regard INIQUITY in my heart, the Lord will not hear me,nor you. 

INIQUITY: Sin, evil, wickedness and such like things. 

+Before we get into the DWELLING PLACE, SECRET PLACE, or MANIFESTED PRESENCE of the Lord we must repent from all know sins, and make sure that we are living in Love, Truth, Righteousness, Holiness and Faith. 

+The third thing to practice in order to enter the SECRET PLACE of the Lord MOST HIGH and HIS MANIFESTED PRESENCE is Thanksgiving, Praise and Worship. 

Psalm 100:4 tells us to;

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and BLESS HIS NAME”. 

2 Chronicles 5:13-14 says,

“It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For He is Good; for His mercy endures forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the GLORY of the LORD had filled the house of God”. 

+Let us always give unto the Lord the Thanksgiving, Praise and Worship that will maintain His MANIFESTED PRESENCE in our lives. Hallelujahs to Jesus!!!

+The fourth thing to practice in order to enter and live in the SECRET PLACE and the MANIFESTED PRESENCE of the MOST HIGH is PRAYER. 

In Luke 18:1

Jesus said: That men ought always to pray, and not to faint… Ephesians 6:18 

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…

+The Word of God clearly illustrates that God uses our prayers to Divinely Intervene in our lives and circumstances. Thusly the Presence and Power of God is Manifested for His Works and Glory and also for our Victories.  

“Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” [Psalms 16:9‭-‬11].

+Remember prayers are means by which we enter and dwell in the SECRET PLACE and the MANIFESTED PRESENCE of the MOST HIGH God. Hallelujah!!!

•Continue to let the WORD of God be the standard for our lives. Always LOVING others like Christ Jesus loves us while keeping our faith, trust and confidence in Him. 

•BLESSED you are and BLESSED you will always be and to God be all the GLORY. Amen!

FAITH 

Mark 11:22 

And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have FAITH in God. 

+++Why have FAITH in God?

Because Hebrews 11:6 says But without faith it is impossible to please Him (God)…

+++Your FAITH in God must be UNCONDITIONAL FAITH. This is a FAITH that has it foundation in the WORD of God and God Himself. This FAITH is flat out and all out in God without conditions.

+++Simply put, Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 

6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 

+++This application of FAITH is the Key principle we need to exercise in order to obtain the abundant blessings of God.

-Do not give up your Faith in God is working. Keep on trusting in the Lord. 

•Continue to let the WORD of God be the standard for our lives. Always LOVING others like Christ Jesus loves us while keeping our faith, trust and confidence in Him. 

•BLESSED you are and BLESSED you will always be and to God be all the GLORY. Amen!

SELF DESTRUCTION 

Hosea 4:6 

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge…

Proverb 15:5 

A fool despises (hates) his father’s instruction…

LISTEN

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with  her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with  Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who  is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s”, {I Corinthians 6:15‭-‬20}.

THEREFORE  

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which  is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”, (Romans 12:1‭-‬2).

•God is our Heavenly Father, and the Bible His Holy Word is His instructions to us. 

•When we DO NOT study God’s Word we are indirectly despising, hating and rejecting our Heavenly Father’s instructions. 

•Studying the Word of God is not a suggestion or option. It’s a commandment that we obey out of love for the Lord. 

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours”,(1 Corinthians 3:16‭-‬21).

Jesus said in John 14:15 If all of you love me, keep my commandments, and in Luke 6:46 He also said “why all of you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

•Continue to make God’s Word your daily study. 

+++Blessed you are and blessed you will always be and to God be all the glory. Amen!

THE TREASURE WITHIN 

​NO MATTER WHAT YOU GOING THROUGH. Know this: 

 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 says,

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We  are  hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we  are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be man4ifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God”.

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There  is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all”.(Ephesians 4:1‭-‬6).

In Isaiah 55:11 AMP ,God says  :

…My WORD goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void (without producing any effect or change) but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 

+God’s Word has to do what He said it will do. 

Titus 1:2 God cannot lie. 

Matthew 4:4 Jesus said:

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. 

+God wants us to experience His Word everyday of our lives. 

+We must give the Word of God the Highest Regard and Reverence. God and His Word are ONE. 

+Disregard, Irreverence and lack of faith in God’s Word are the reasons why many do not experience the fulfillment of God’s Word in our lives. 

+Going forward let us give the highest Regard, Reverence, and Honor to God’s Word. AMEN!!!

•Continue to let the WORD of God be the standard for our lives. Always LOVING others like Christ Jesus loves us while keeping our faith, trust and confidence in Him. 

•BLESSED you are and BLESSED you will always be and to God be all the GLORY. Amen!

A HEART  OF  COMPASSION  

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must  do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him”{Colossians 3:12‭-‬17}.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who  are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another”{Galatians 5:22‭-‬26}.