2 Samuel 12:7 – “Nathan then said to David, “You are the man!“

The matter of self-deception must be addressed if we are to be victorious in Jesus!  In 2 Samuel 12, we have the after story of David’s tryst with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband.

Nathan, the prophet, brought him a story of abuse.   David became furious and demanded justice for the abuse.  Nathan took his life in his hands and said, “YOU ARE THE MAN!” Where was the self-deception?  David was at ease with his actions until that moment.   We sometimes hear the voices we want to hear.   It is what we want!  It elevates and gratifies us.  Many factors are interlaced, such as pride, self-evaluation, faux piousness, and blindness.

David saw what enticed him: a beautiful naked woman.  He was king, and nobody would refuse his requests.   He was installed by God.   He walked in God’s anointing.  He was well respected.  Self-deception produced an entitlement mentality.  He had the power and ability to do whatever he wanted, and nobody would challenge him.  God did!  David repented, but there was a price to pay.  The child died.

We deceive ourselves by listening to voices that say what we want to hear.   We then twist what we want to hear into being decrees and promises from God.  Deception destroys.  Once it takes root in one area, unless checked, it will spread. 

God never removes choice from the mix.  He did not, even with Jesus.  Jesus chose to obey.   Obedience may mean swallowing our pride and walking away from the hope we created.   But, unless we deal with all deception, we will be destroyed.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Light, and the Life! We need to examine our hearts, and maybe we will say, “LORD, THAT’S ME. FORGIVE ME!”   God wants to set us free.  Beware of deception, and pray that you will not become self-deceived.   Examine what you are pursuing and ask for revelation about and deception.   Confession brings freedom, and I believe God will give you more legitimately.

If we walk in total openness and honesty before Him, He will give us the Kingdom and, in doing that, the desires of our hearts.   Beware deception.   Deceivers can appear good and righteous.  Deception does not wear a warning sign.

Allow the Holy Spirit to give you discernment and the courage to own your sin, give it to Jesus, and become free!

Exodus 15:26 – “IF you will EARNESTLY listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, AND do what is right in His sight, AND give ear to His commandments, AND keep His statutes, I WILL put none of the diseases on you which I put on the Egyptians; FOR I, Yahweh am your healer.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God, my heart cried out for revelation and refreshing.  My heart cried, “More, LORD, MORE!”  I am sensing a nudge in my heart to consider the Covenantal Blessings of Israel and the reality of the declaration of the writer of Hebrews that our Covenant is Better and comprised of Greater Promises.

As I prayed and mused on the world, I was immediately drawn to Exodus 15:26, and my heart exploded.  God promised Divine Health to them IF… The “if” is the problem for us, and it was for them. Paul’s words in Acts 26:20b resonate deeply – “repent and turn to God AND demonstrate it with a changed life!’”  This is not about mindless adherence to a set of human rules. It’s about a profound transformation of the heart, a sincere desire to obey and please God.

Exodus 19:5-6 is another promise from God’s Covenant to them. Remember, we have a Better Covenant containing Better Promises.  This promise is off the charts.   1 Peter 2:9 reveals that our destiny is to spiritually be God’s Royal Priesthood and His Holy Nation. We inherit the promises through salvation, and the Blessing of Abraham becomes ours!

Envision a life of divine health and abundant provision, not as a distant dream but as a present reality.  How do we reach this state?  Is it through physical death?  No, it’s about dying to our selfish desires and being resurrected in Him spiritually.  It’s about transformation and living in complete obedience to Him, with a hopeful expectation of His blessings!

That’s where we tend to hit the potholes of life.   We find it difficult to believe we (you and me) could have such a blessed life.  The Early Church lived in a state of provision that we only dream about.  Why? One key reason was that they believed the promise was theirs and Expected it to be their reality.  We dream of one day!  They lived in a consciousness that today was that day!

If we have a Better Covenant with Better Promises, it is time to press in and receive.  Yes, I’m speaking of a realm of Kingdom Living that few believe is truly possible. But if God does not lie, then it is an obtainable destination. Why Not Now?   Why Not Us?

Have a fantastic day, and keep looking to the hills of God for the promised help.  He will never fail us and never forsake us!   Rejoice and be glad, for your light has come!  

Have a Great Day!

Romans 6:6 – “Could it be any clearer that our former identity is NOW and FOREVER deprived of power? FOR we WERE co-crucified with Him TO dismantle the stronghold of sin within us, SO THAT we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sins power.”

What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. When I look upon His face, the one who saved me by His Grace. He will take me by the hand and lead me through the promised land. What a day, glorious day that will be! That old hymn is ringing in my heart, and as I sang, thought, and considered it, I heard, “Seeing Him does not require you to depart this life. You can SEE Him, truly SEE Him every day here!”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word, I read Romans. Unpacking what I saw and heard would take two lifetimes. Romans 6, one of, if not the most revelatory Chapter in the Bible, opens the floodgates to understanding our NEW LIFE in Jesus.

Sin (by inference), the devil, was our master. It held power over us and motivated us to do and be wrong. When Jesus became our Savior, we DIED. If we truly realized that in Salvation, the first result was DEATH, we could live free without the constant condemnation of weakness.

Romans 6:6 – “Could it be any clearer that our former identity is NOW and FOREVER deprived of power? FOR we WERE co-crucified with Him TO dismantle the stronghold of sin within us, SO THAT we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sins power.”

Romans 6:11 – “…Since (because or as a result) you are NOW joined with Him (Jesus), you MUST CONTINUALLY view yourself as dead and unresponsive to sin’s appeal WHILE living daily for God’s pleasure in union with Jesus, the Anointed One.”

Romans 6:12-13 – “Sin is a dethroned monarch; SO you must no longer give it an opportunity to RULE over your life, controlling how you live and compelling you to obey its desires and cravings. 13 SO THEN REFUSE to answer its call to surrender your body as a tool of wickedness.”

We resist through the power of Grace. Verse 14 reminds us that sin won’t conquer us because God already has! Grace frees us to choose our master (v.16). Dead people don’t respond, and we are dead to sin because of Grace.  Does that mean we are perfect? Not in the flesh, but we are infused into Grace Power that enables us to resist. If we stumble, we have a lifeline of Grace to bring us to freedom.

The key is Romans 8:10 – “NOW Christ lives His life in you!”

In Grace, we are free from the past.   Romans 8:38 gives an astounding revelation. “There is NOTHING in our present or future circumstances that can weaken His Love.” Did you notice something missing? The past!   We need to remember that there is nothing in our past that can weaken God’s love! As far as God is concerned, our past does exist. We have no past if it is under the Blood of Jesus. We need to deal with the present and live our future, but the past has been erased.

WE ARE FREE FROM THE GUILT OF THE PAST!

• We are not perfect, but we are forgiven. Therefore, we make no excuses. 
• We justify nothing of the flesh. 
• We demand it bow to Jesus.  We are graced to be free. 
• We are empowered to live free! 
• We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus. 
• We have the power to live in God’s presence and fullness.

Sin is an unwelcome intruder that Jesus conquered, and we are in Him, so we are more than conquerors! There is no future in the past!  We are free to be free!

Have a fantastic day, and remember that there is Victory in Jesus, and as we fully surrender to Him, we are transformed into His image!   Rejoice today is a great day to be alive!

Leviticus 19:2 – “… You shall be holy, for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.”

As I prayed, read, and meditated on the Word, almost immediately, I read something that challenged my heart: Leviticus 19:2. This was not a suggestion but a command.  I had several questions that I know I will be contemplating for days to come.

• Can we simply decide to be holy?
• What is being holy?
• What does it look like?
• How do we become holy?

I will not attempt to exegete those questions except to say, “GOD Is Holy!”

As I continued reading, I read 1 Corinthians, and these questions began to unfold for me. The beginning of Revelation, in seed form, began to be planted in my consciousness. [Emphasis mine in the following passages.]

1 Corinthians 1:2 – “For you HAVE BEEN made pure, set apart IN the Anointed One, Jesus…”

1 Corinthians 1:4 – “…He HAS GIVEN you such free and open access to His grace THROUGH your union with Jesus, the Messiah.”

1 Corinthians 1:17 – “For I trust in the ALL-SUFFICIENT Cross of Christ alone.”

1 Corinthians 2:30 – “And NOW He IS our God-given wisdom, our virtue, our holiness, and our redemption.” HE IS, and because He is, we are!

1 Corinthians 3:9 – “…you ARE God’s Cultivated Garden, the house He is building.”

1 Corinthians 5 speaks of inappropriate tolerance of sin, calling it superior grace.

1 Corinthians 5:6 – “Boasting over your tolerance of sin is inappropriate. Don’t you understand that even a small compromise with sin permeates the entire fellowship, just as a little leaven permeates a batch of dough?”

God’s heart is always reconciliation and restoration. God hates gossip, backbiting, bitterness, and perversion. God hates sin! God is love and desires that we love with His love. We must never forget that God is loving, merciful, just, and holy.

Romans 11:22 – “So fix your gaze on the simultaneous kindness and strict justice of God.”

If we are to become all He desires and has provided, we must move beyond being dominated by the mindset of the flesh (1 Cor. 3:1-3).

We can manifest the reality that we are and are becoming “God’s Cultivated Garden.”

1 Corinthians 3:22- 23 – “… everything belongs to you (us). 23 AND NOW you are joined to the Messiah, who is joined to God.”

Who we are is not necessarily our current manifestation. In being holy, we experience the process of ridding ourselves of the weights and hindrances of fleshly thinking and living and embracing God’s character. Being holy is not an impossible dream but a place of relationship with Him who is holy.   We are in Him, and as He lives His life through us, we Become!

You are more than you have become!  Become more than you are now manifesting.  He is in you, with you, and through you.  The life you NOW live in the flesh, you live by the faith of the Son of God. Christ in you is your Hope!

Today is your day to embrace the fullness of Who God says you are and allow the Holy Spirit to bring that into reality in your life!   God Bless!

Joshua 24:31 – “And Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who knew all the work of Yahweh which He had done for Israel.”

Judges 2:7 – “And the people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who saw all the great work of Yahweh which He had done for Israel.”

As I read, prayed, pondered, and meditated today, I was reminded of an inescapable truth: a personal relationship with God is required.  The same is revealed and repeated at the close of the Book of Joshua and the beginning of Judges.

In Joshua 24:31 and Judges 2:7, we read that Israel served God as long as Joshua and the elders who had seen God’s works lived. When the eyewitnesses died, faith and faithfulness died, too.  Judges 2:19 tells us that when the judges died, Israel became even more corrupt.  A personal relationship is the key to faithfulness and victory.   

In Mark 13:5, Jesus said, “Be careful that no man deceive you…”   Without a deep, abiding personal relationship with God, we are easy targets for deception. Deception caters to the flesh, the person’s desires, the need for ease, and the absolving of responsibility.   

When we know God personally and intimately, we readily recognize the Real, the imitation, and the counterfeit.   Christianity is not easy Unless we live (Christ in us and in Oneness with Him), abiding in the vine.  Too often, Christians live theoretical lives, not lives of practical application of God’s principles and promises.

We believe the Bible is God’s Word but find it challenging to make it practicable in everyday life.   We believe in salvation, but even that is futuristic.   We live with doubt and uncertainty because we do not know God intimately and personally.  We know about Him, but His Promises are theoretical, futuristic, or for super saints.

If we know Him intimately, we know He Does Not Lie!  We live in union with the impossible being possible All the Time!   We cannot depend on what someone else saw, heard, or experienced.  It is Individual and Personal!

He invites us to an in-depth personal relationship.   Make Him most essential and refuse to doubt.  He is I AM! His life is your life.   Be the one who keeps faith alive for others so they can keep faith alive after you.   Christ is IN us, and we are ONE with Him.  Let us live like He is truthful because He is!

Victory is your hope today!  You are IN Him, and He is IN you, enabling you to live above the Impossible!   Enjoy the victory He has invited you to live in!

Matthew 12:34 – “But you who are known as the Pharisees are rotten to the core like venomous snakes. How can your words be good if you are rotten within? For what has been stored up in your hearts will be heard in the overflow of your words!” 

What a day!  This is the day the Lord has made, and we have a multitude of reasons to rejoice and be glad.  The old song, “Count Your Many Blessings,” is ringing in my heart, and when I come to the part, “Name them one by one,” I realize the impossibility of that challenge.

When you ask how they are, some say, “I’m blessed.”  I applaud that if that is more than a cliché that makes them sound and feel pious.  If it is simply a phrase, they have grown accustomed to saying without thought and meaning, that is different.  Our words have meaning, but the words that get into and come from the heart have power! 

Words from the heart possess a transformative and creative power!  While we are not God, the Living God, the Creator of All Things, when His Words reside in our hearts and flow out in faith, the Power of God supports it with all the might of Heaven. 

Jesus said that we are to abide IN Him, and His words are to abide IN us.  One translation renders the words of Jesus, “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  The overflow, I like that!  What fills our hearts is expressed in our words and actions.  Where our treasure is there, our heart is also.  The heart is the seat of who we are, and what we are is expressed from it. 

I’ve heard people say, “Oops, that slipped out.”  NOPE!  It may not have been what you intended, and you let it slip past your guard, but it was there in the heart and came to the surface in your words. It is crucial to protect our hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to guide our speech, enabling us to speak as God does and act as Jesus did and does. 

• My prayer today is for the LORD to instill in us a pure heart (cleansed in the Blood of Jesus and sanctified with His Grace).
• To renew in us a resolute, fully devoted, 100% surrendered spirit. 
• To teach us to abide in His presence always, walking in the Spirit.
• To fill us daily with His Holy Spirit and guide us to listen to His voice and follow His lead.
• To restore in us the overflowing, unmatched Joy of Salvation and to help us maintain a willing heart, mind, soul, and spirit at all times.

From this state, we can and will instruct sinners in His ways and witness their conversion to Him. From this state, we will reap the Harvest!  We will embody and represent Him!   We seek Him and His Kingdom!  Amen!’

Have a fantastic day, and rejoice in the LORD!