Revelation 5:5 – “Then one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered; thus, he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Hold this in your hearts.  God Is!   His Promises are certain!   He loves us, and He sacrificed His Son for us.   He loves us totally.   You are loved in heaven and on earth.

Revelation 4:1 John saw an opening, portal, or door between this dimension and the dimension of heaven.    Jacob saw it containing a ladder, and Stephen saw it as he awaited stoning.   Many have seen it, so I do not question the existence of a portal or portals into that heavenly dimension.

John was instructed to ascend.   How?   We do not know, but we know that he did.   There, he saw, heard, and interacted with the inhabitants of that realm.   What he saw and heard had a forever impact on him.  God’s presence does that!

In Revelation 5, we read of the scroll that nobody could open.  The Worthy One, as described by the elder with John, was the Mighty Lion of Judah. Then, when John saw Him, he saw a ‘young lamb.’ That reveals the difference in reference points.  John was flesh, a redeemed man, while the elder was of the eternal realm.   John looked forward to Calvary while the elder looked back from Calvary.  The sacrificial lamb becomes the conquering lion.

Revelation 5:9-10, the song of praise, contains a revelatory phrase, veres10 – “You have chosen us to serve our God AND formed us into a kingdom of priests who reign on earth.” The word ‘formed’ indicates a progression.  What begins in new birth culminates in the formation of a kingdom of messengers who have God’s ruling authority on earth.

Let me extract that and acknowledge that this is not the full explanation or interpretation but what the Holy Spirit challenged me with.   The word ‘formed’ means to reign or exercise authority on earth.    Jesus gave us authority over ALL the power of darkness.  Why don’t we use it?  It was not figurative authority but actual, as demonstrated by the disciples.

The lamb has become the lion, and He is “in” us, so it is time to become (formed) the reigning priests on earth.   We put up with things God said we have authority over.  We wait for God to do what He told us to do.

We have Jesus.   We have His authority.    We have the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, let us use our authority and resist the darkness.   No more intimidation, no more hesitation, no more apprehension.   Take Action Now!   We are formed and being formed, and the more we exercise our authority, position, and condition, the more proficient we become in pulling down strongholds.   The time is now!

The Lamb is coming as a Lion, and we are more than Conquerors!

Numbers 14-1-4 – “Then all the community raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. ² And all the Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished in this wilderness! ³ Why has the Lord brought us into this land only to be killed by the sword, that our wives and our children should become plunder? Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

I woke up this morning with heaven on my mind, and that produced overflowing gladness in my heart. Life is for living, and living is for life. We need to seize the day and squeeze every ounce of joy out of it.

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word, I was drawn to the realization that unredeemed human nature is never satisfied. Even among believers, the cravings of the flesh sometimes are stronger than the surrender to God.

In Exodus, we see Israel’s wonderful deliverance, the incredible manifestation of God’s power, patience, and love. Yet human nature kept surfacing and revealing the depravity of the heart.

God would respond to their grumbling with a miracle, and within days, they had forgotten the provision and wanted more. The unregenerate heart is never satisfied. It becomes, “What have you done for me lately.” They kept losing focus, and their confidence in God was pressed to the back of the bus by their desire for more and ease. Difficulties quickly shifted their focus from God and what He had done to what they perceived they lacked.

Numbers 14:4 powerfully reveals this.   When difficulty came, they said, “Let’s choose a leader, and let’s go back to Egypt.”  They preferred bondage, where they knew what to expect, over facing the unknown. They lost sight of God’s love, demonstrated power, and promised. Too often, if it’s difficult, we draw back.

Moses repeatedly had to stand in the gap for rebellious, carnal Israel. The result of his intercession reveals God’s heart. It also illustrates the power and importance of just one person standing in prayer! Imagine if a whole church did that!

If we follow God’s directives implicitly, we receive God’s blessings powerfully.

Difficulties are not signs of being out of God’s will nor signs of being in it. They can be either. Sometimes, they are tests whereby we learn obedience and trust. In Revelation 3:19, Jesus spoke prophetically to and through John to the church at Laodicea and to us – “All those I dearly love I unmask and train (rebuke and discipline). He followed that with an amazing promise that applies to us in verse 20. “Behold (Attention), I’m standing at the door (of the heart), knocking.”

He promises to guard, guide, equip, enable, and empower us to live in the midst of difficulty with a settled confidence that He Is!   It is not an easy path; we should be seeking Him in the midst of trials.   When we are fully united with and to Him, we have no sense of lack, even in times of apparent need. He Is, and because He Is, we are always protected and provided for.

Trials make us strong or wrong.   We always have a choice.  We can trust God and be content or let the flesh cravings make us lament and resent.   But my God shall supply ALL your needs by, in, and through Christ Jesus! 

His provision is already done. We need to provide Him with a receptacle He can fill. When things get tough, the tough step into His presence, resist the flesh and rest in Him. This is temporary. He is eternal! Victory is yours if you are His!

Victory is promised to the faithful who persist and do not give up!

Isaiah 55:11 – “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

As I prayed, read, and meditated in the Word, several things filled my consciousness.  Jesus never got the Father’s directive wrong.  We do.   Our impressions, visions, dreams, or prophecies are not 100% accurate, but His were.

I can hear the protests, “But, Roy, Jesus was perfect, and He is God.”  Yes, He lived perfectly.  Yes, He is God.  However, He lived as fully man. Otherwise, He wouldn’t be our example, nor could His death atone for our sins.

God cannot experience physical death.  Only humans can know that fate. God is spirit, and you can’t kill spirit with physical death.  Jesus lived in constant contact with the Father. He only did what He saw and only said what He heard from the Father.   He is “in” us through the new birth.   

John 15:7 – “If you abide in Me AND My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

Therefore, “if” Jesus is “in” us and living His life “through” us, and He is “in” constant contact with the Father, which means we “are” in constant contact with the Father.   Our problem is that we refuse to die to self and fully surrender to Him. We try to live the Christian life by human effort instead of trusting Him to live His life through us.

If we truly become One with Him, we will experience Oneness with the Father and hear and see clearly.  We do not have to miss it and live lives cluttered with our biases, prejudices, preferences, and desires.

John said in 1 John 2:5-6 that we are intimate with God by walking in the footsteps of Jesus. We can only walk in His footsteps by being “in” Him, and He “in” us.

Christ “in” us living His life “through” us enables us to live as 1 John 4:11, permanently in His presence.   If we live permanently in His presence, we are in constant contact with the Father. That means we Hear and See Him perfectly.

That is attainable, but Only by abiding in Jesus and His Word abiding in us. It is by totally dying to self and receiving His life as our life. It is there; He lives “in” us and “through” us.  My desire and goal is total surrender of Everything of me to receive Everything of Him.

Be encouraged that He Never Fails!   Have a fantastic day!

Jeremiah 12:5 – “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you run with horses?  And if on level land, where you have confidence, they have wearied you, then how will you cross the raging Jordan?”

In my morning devotional time, the Holy Spirit spoke to me succinctly from this text.  I recently came home from church and saw water on the garage floor.  There was not a lot of water, but I knew there had to be a leak.  It was the inline water filter’s plastic bowl leaking.  The same thing happened last year.   The leak became so bad that it filled a 5-gallon can in just over an hour.  I called the well service and turned off my well.   The repair was expensive.

Then, I went inside, and the lights in the main part of my refrigerator were so dim it was dark.  I did all the potential resets to no avail.   My research suggested it might be the control board.  That could lead to the cooling not working, etc.  Per the research, that repair could range from $500-800.

For a moment, I thought, “Why me? Why now?”  Then, I got mad at the thief.  He owes me double to seven times the amount, and I’m filing my case against him in heaven.  As I stewed over the situation, this passage in, Jeremiah came to mind.

I knew God was speaking to me about trust.  I repented of my self-pity; although momentary, it was not acceptable.   That is not trust, confidence, or peace.  I want to always trust Him in all things.  Something that came to my mind during the message Sunday reverberated in my mind – Romans 8:28 – “ALL things work TOGETHER for GOOD to those who love God and are called for His purpose…”  [Emphasis Mine].

I do love Him.  I am called by Him, as are all believers.   All Things are not always good things, but God uses all Things to bring us to His ultimate good and purpose.  That means even our mistakes will be blended into our lives to produce the ultimate good.

Like Joseph said to his brothers, you meant to do me harm, but God used your hate, envy, and jealousy for the ultimate good and the preservation of His people through it.  He did not let the footmen or horses sidetrack him, enabling him to lead them across the overwhelming flood of adversity.

We have a choice.  In All Things, give thanks or, in Some Things, complain.  I chose to rejoice!   I want to have the heart and attitude expressed by Job – “Even if He slays me or lets me be severely tried, I will trust Him, serve Him, and love Him.  He is my hope, help, and God!  Hallelujah.

Don’t be wearied by the footmen or the little foxes; rejoice because God is still God, and you are His!

2 Peter 1:3 – “Everything we could ever need for life and godliness has ALREADY BEEN DEPOSITED in us by His divine power.”   [Emphasis added]

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word, I was overwhelmed with the depth of the reality of what having Christ in us means and looks like. We struggle to be or dismiss why we are not what He declared using human logic and reason.   We say things like, “I’m only human, or I’m not perfect.”    Please hear me, “We are not only human, and we are not perfect, but He is.”

Peter made an incredible revelation in 2 Peter 1:3, and in verse 4, he tells us that through those deposits, we are enabled to enter into a partnership with the divine nature.   So, Christ, “in” us, becomes Christ “through” us.  That enables us to become manifestations of His character, as depicted in the progressive list of qualities in verses 5-7: faith, goodness, understanding, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, mercy, and Agape.

Notice 2 Peter 1:8 – “Since [because] these virtues are ALREADY planted DEEP WITHIN, and you possess them in abundant supply, they will keep you from being inactive or in your pursuit of KNOWING Jesus Christ more intimately. ” [Emphasis added]

In verses 10-11, we find the declaration that we will not stumble, and the kingdom’s gates will open wide for us as God choreographs our triumphant entrance into the eternal kingdom!    It is not trying to produce it.   It is partnering with what is in us because He is “in” us, and He is those things.   It is Him being Himself “in” us.

What does Christ “in” us look like experientially?   It looks like Jesus. It exhibits a settled confidence in God. Jesus was in constant contact with the Father, and if He is “in” us, we are in constant contact with the Father.

The only way we do not manifest Him is revealed in 2 Peter 1:9 – “But if anyone lacks these things, he is blind, constantly closing his eyes to the mysteries of our faith, and forgetting his innocence-for his past sins have been washed away.”

The only way He is not manifested in us is when we willingly choose to be in control rather than partnering with Him and dying to ourselves.   If He is “in” us, He will live “through” us and be Himself “in” us, producing the fruit of righteousness as a natural result of that partnership.

We need to stop trying to be and let Him be what He is, transforming us into His likeness. We are “in” Him, and He is “in” us, so just BE! Relax and let Him be Himself in us.

Have a fantastic day, and live in full consciousness that Christ Jesus is “in” us and lives “through” us!