Happy Wednesday: The Lord And Success

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths. (Psalm 3:5-6)

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:5)

Commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts will be established. (Proverbs 16:3)

These scriptures tell us that success is from the Lord. What kind of success? The success that also stores up riches in Heaven. There is a type of success that we can generate through the flesh, through carnal thinking, through the way of the world. 

Sharing all of our plans with God first, however, puts us in a position to experience spiritual growth along with the success experience. To begin any journey with a spiritual mind is life and peace. Trusting God with our plans, desires and goals insures that we will not only advance but will be richly blessed when Jesus comes back. Most importantly, God The Father will be glorified along the way.

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Only By Faith In Christ

The Ten Commandments are a revelation and a guide only. They were not given to man for us to be able to perform flawlessly. They were given as a precursor, a forerunner to the arrival of Jesus Christ into the world. Those Commandments were also introduced into the world to show man that more is needed because the more that we try to perform those Commandments the worse it gets. Without the revelations in the Ten Commandments, none of us could ever see the truth about our condition and need. 

The one thing that all humans have in common, past, present and future, whether they have any faith or not, is that we all age and die off of this earth. No one can stop it. Though I have struggled as a Christian, though I have failed, though I still have times when I'm angry with God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Salvation, is the only theology or doctrine that addresses human death in a way that makes sense to me. I don't mean that it makes sense to my fleshly, mental or psychological understanding. I mean that of all of the world's beliefs, it is the only faith-based, divine belief that makes sense to me. 

Though we can study and learn about the things of God, the Kingdom of God that is given to anyone who wants to receive it is based on faith. This faith is in the revelation that God has given us about his Son. Those who love God through Jesus Christ are never able to make sense of many things in this worldly life. God has presented to us his answer and it is based in faith for as long as we are on this earth. Those who choose to believe in Christ's sacrifice continue daily to choose faith, no matter what is happening or not happening in their lives. Living in faith in The Son Of God can, however, make a difference in our lives. 

Life on this earth can never be perfect but God has a plan that he has asked us to believe in. He wants us to hold to the knowledge until we leave here. Because we do leave here in undeniable death, it ties me to the truth of God's revelation of his Son and all that it implies. God asks us to believe in the salvation of his Son until the end. Whether each of us are on this earth or have died on, there will be an end to all of this horror, though for some it seems unlikely. The spirits of each of us lives forever, with God or without God. Physical death is inevitable. Spiritual death is not. We leave here but we are not gone because the spirit man cannot die. Salvation insures that those who choose to believe will live with God, forever.

In Biblical history, there was a great devastation that happened in the spirit world. It affected every human, past, present and future, and separated our spirits from God. Because it was not our fault and through his love for us, he provided a way for us to choose restoration of our spirits to himself. He made it simple so that anyone who wants it can simply choose to receive it. Anyone can accept and say that he/she believes that Jesus Christ is their only Savior, the Son whom God sent into the world. That's all. 

We don't have to live a certain way. We don't have to do certain things. We don't have to stop doing things or start doing other things. We only need to choose to accept the truth of Salvation through Christ Jesus and mean it in our hearts. The good thing is that not only has God provided a way out of separation from him, he will also help us to accept the truth. He knows the hearts of every man and knows those who would like to believe and accept. He's a good God, the only wise God and the one true God. No one has ever lost out on a chance to accept Jesus as their Savior and never will. He's so very merciful and it is his desire that everyone should be saved.

I Timothy 2:4-7

Let The Old Man Die

Let's be obedient to God to our hurt. To the hurt of our flesh. Jesus was obedient to God to his hurt. What he endured for us was hurtful to the human part of him, as well as to the spiritual, divine part. His flesh shrunk from what he had to do. He came here to do it but he experienced dread, just like we do. 

He was so distressed that he asked his Father three times if it could be done some other way. Like the obedient Son that he is, he ended his supplication with Nevertheless, not my will but thy will be done. 

We are not even being asked to allow our bodies to be abused, scourged and nailed to a cross. We're only being asked to allow our old man to die. Daily.

Ephesians 4:22-24

Romans 6:6-12

II Corinthians 5:17-19

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Our Prayers For Others

When we pray consistently for someone, God will often give us something that he wants us to do for that person. If so, it will be something that is consistent with how he wants to answer our prayer. It may be something that we'd never think of doing for that person. 

It may be something that we are reluctant to do. It may be something that is difficult or it may be fairly easy. It may be something that aligns with what we are already doing in our lives or it may cause us to stretch a little. It may be something that will obviously bless us in our journey, or maybe not obviously. 

When we pray for someone, though we may know some things about them, we don't know the extent of their needs. We don't know what it will take for God to answer our prayers for them and for his will to be done in their lives. Just be prepared to obey the Holy Spirit's surprising request and prompting. When God uses us in his plans for people that we pray for, we can be assured that it will not only bless them but us as well. 

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Jesus' Sacrifice Has Given Us Power

Jesus Christ, The Lamb of God, The Bright And Morning Star, The Resurrection And The Life, was revealed, personified and embodied to:

1. destroy the works of the devil 
2. and to take away our sins.

We should make sure that we are daily recognizing that his pure, shed blood has covered all of our transgressions, past, present and future. We don't need to feel guilty for mistakes, uninformed choices, inherited weaknesses and any other challenges. 

Not only are we covered for all time by Our Savior's sacrifice but God is always with us to help us to manifest a better future and the future is today. Nothing can separate us from his love. 

We should also make sure that we are submitting to God daily so that we can work with the Holy Spirit to destroy the efforts of principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. 

In other words, Jesus' sacrifice has made us able to restrict the activities of all beings who are against the Kingdom of God. We can operate daily on the fact that they have no authority in our lives. We can stand on it until the time when they are completely put away by Jesus.  

I John 3:5,8 

The Weapon Will Not Produce

No weapon formed against us shall prosper doesn't mean that the weapon itself will always be stopped from striking. It means that the purpose and plan of the weapon, as designed by whoever the enemy is, will not produce the evil effect that the enemy intended. This is the heritage for those who love God through Jesus Christ by the power of The Holy Spirit, for those who choose to walk in the spirit and not in the flesh.

Isaiah 54:17

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Ask God Only Once

Yes, it's good to ask Our Father for something only once. After that, we should thank him for it when the desire to ask for it again arises. Don't ask again. We should thank him for what we have already asked for. 

When I ask, I also follow Jesus' example and I say, "Nevertheless, not my will but thy will be done, Father." I am acknowledging that if the answer is not as I expected, I trust that he has planned something better.

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It's All About God The Father

Jesus always pointed to his Father. He never uplifted himself. He only firmly and confidently stated who he is. His words and actions always directed us to God. Our Christian lives are hid in GOD through Christ. It was The Holy Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead, not Jesus himself. It's all about God The Father and his provision to restore us to himself through giving us the sacrifice of his only begotten Son. 

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New Glorified Immortal Bodies

Don't be afraid of the destruction of the mortal body. All of us who have acknowledged and accepted Jesus The Christ as Savior, who love Our Father and who obey The Holy Spirit will live in the Resurrection of Life. 

The second death will have no power over us. We know what to expect, as much as God has chosen to reveal and as much as we can understand. 

It is our spirits that are born again, or reborn, not our corrupted bodies. It doesn't matter what happens to our bodies for we must put on the incorruptible. (I Corinthians 15:53-55) We are getting new, glorified, immortal bodies. 

Rejoice! May the peace of God be with you. 

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The Truth Of The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

This earthly life is confusing, unfair and very hard for many, many Christians. There are many who love God who are still striving to do The Ten Commandments.  The list, however, is only a revelation and a guide. The instructions were not given to man to be able to perform flawlessly. In fact, we can't successfully perform them because they originate in the heart of man which is desperately wicked. The Commandments were given as a precursor, a forerunner to the arrival of Jesus Christ into the world.

Those Commandments were also given to show man that more is needed, because the more that we try to do them the worse it gets. Without The Ten Commandments, man could not see the truth about his condition, the result of what happened to us after Lucifer rebelled against God. Through The Commandments, we can see our need for a profound and extraordinary source of help.

 
The one thing that all humans on this earth have in common, past, present and future, whether they have any faith or not, is that we all age and die off of this earth. No one can stop it. Though I have struggled as a Christian, though I have failed, though I still have times when I'm angry with God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only theology or doctrine that makes sense to me. I don't mean that it makes sense with respect to my fleshly, mental or psychological understanding. I mean that it is the only faith-based, divine belief that makes sense to me of all of the world's religions.

Though we can study and learn and grow in the knowledge of the things of the One True God, the Kingdom of God that is given to anyone who wants to receive it, is solely based on faith, faith in the revelation that God has given us about his Son. Those who love God are never able to make sense of things in this life, in this world. God has presented to us the answer that he has given to us and it is based in faith as long as we are on this earth. Those who choose to believe in Jesus' sacrifice continue daily to choose faith no matter what is happening or not happening in their lives. Living in faith in Jesus Christ, however, makes a difference in my life and in my person today, despite the fact that this earthly life is hard.

Life on this earth will never be perfect but God has a plan that he has asked us to believe in and hold to the knowledge of it until we leave here. For me, the very fact that we do leave here in undeniable death, is the fact that ties me to the truth of God's revelation of his Son and all that it implies. God asks us to believe in the salvation of His Son until the end. And whether I am still on this earth or have died on, there will be an end to all of this horror, though it does not seem like it. The spirit of man lives forever, with God or without God. That's where salvation comes in, because physical death is inevitable. Spiritual death is not. We leave here but we are not gone, because the spirit man cannot die. It came from God.

There was great devastation that happened in the spirit world that affected all of mankind. God, in his love for us, provided a way for us to choose restoration of our spirits to a good life and to his love. He made it simple so that anyone who wants it can simply receive it. Just acknowledge that we need a savior and that Savior is the Son that he sent, Jesus Christ. That's all. We don't have to live a certain way. We don't have to do certain things. We don't have to stop doing things or start doing other things. We only need to accept the truth in our hearts. The good thing is that not only has God provided a way out for us, he will also help us to accept the truth. He knows the hearts of every man and knows those who would like to believe and accept.
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In a nutshell, a big nutshell, this is the knowledge, belief and faith that keeps me everyday and grows and strengthens in me. My prayer is that you are growing and that your faith is increasing in a remarkable way everyday.