1 John 3:3 –   “Let every person who has this hope (being transformed into the image, nature, and character of Jesus) in him purify himself EVEN AS He (Jesus) is pure.” 

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word, the little Johns crushed me and elevated me to new heights. 

Notice the directive to walk “Just As” Jesus walked.   Who among us can claim that we are fully doing that?    That can be a crushing thought because we know our frailty and deficiency.    Imagine Loving “Just As” Jesus loves.   Who can claim that?   We are flesh, and human emotions are very much alive in us.   We have doubts, fears, desires, ambitions, and individualized dreams.   How can we claim to be selfless when we are not?   That’s why I say this is a Crushing directive.

Then, in 1 John 3 and 4, we are told how to love.  We are to Love not with words alone but with actions.   Love is far more a demonstration than an expression.   Our actions either validate or deny the expression.

1 John 4 and 5 bring us immeasurable Hope!   If we surrender our hearts to God in true humility, Jesus comes to us, and by the Holy Spirit, is “in” us abiding “in” us.    He enables us to live (empowered and enabled) to live life through Jesus.   If we can receive it, it is to live as He lived and lives.  It is Christ “in” us.

In that union and total commitment, we defeat the sin nature and cooperate with the Holy Spirit to “be” in this world “Just As” Jesus was and is.

We can love without fear and serve without expectation of reciprocation.  We can forgive without nurturing our wounds and building defense walls.

1 John 5:18 is incredible.   “We know that Everyone who is born of God does not sin; For He who is born of God Guards Himself, and the evil one does not come near him.”     What?   James tells us that if we submit to God and resist the devil, the devil has no choice but to leave.

• The key:  Submit 100% to God.  Resist 100% the temptations of the devil.
• Guard every Word and thought, making them subjected to Jesus. 

As we grow in grace and love (mature), sin begins to fade into the background because it has no soil in which to grow.   That is the objective of my heart as I ponder the Word today.

We can be free!  Jesus gave us the way!  Today is a new day and a new beginning for Freedom!

Have a great day in His Love and live Just As!

Jude 1:1-2 – “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to the Gentiles (that’s us) who have been called and are beloved by God the Father and are protected by Jesus Christ: mercy and peace, with love, be multiplied to you.”

I am praying for a mighty breakthrough for each one today.  I am asking for a reversal of the hindrances and a release of divine favor and progress.   I am praying that each one will rise to a new level spiritually and experience and embrace a more powerful presence of God.   I ask that God grant you the realized authority and let it flow out of your heart into your lips and then into your hands.

Today, in my reading and considering the Word of God, Jude 1:1-2 demanded my attention.   “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to the Gentiles (that’s us) who have been called and are beloved by God the Father and are protected by Jesus Christ: mercy and peace, with love, be multiplied to you.”

Several things grabbed my consciousness as I read that.   First, that “All” Scripture is inspired.  All of it!   Holy men of old spoke as they were moved (directed) by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, this declaration is from God, not man.  It has authority, power, hope, and benefit. 

• It was for gentiles who had been called.   Has God called us to Him?  Yes?  Then this is to us.
• It was for those called gentiles who were loved by the Father.  Are we called to God?  Yes?  Then, we are loved by the Father.
• It was to those called gentiles who are loved by the Father who were declared to be protected.

Therefore, “if” we are called to salvation, we are loved by the Father and protected by Jesus!   Think about that.  What a promise – No man can pluck us out of the Father’s hand.  Nothing can separate us from His love.  That is beyond Amazing!

If that is true, and it is, then we are Protected by Jesus!  Ponder that and let it sink in.   What did Jesus do to the devil?  He totally defeated him.  He stripped him of authority and rendered him powerless to those who believe.

• We are “in” Christ, and He is “in” us; therefore, His power is “in” us.
• We live or can live in the place of the conscious presence of Him.
• Mercy, peace, and love are our special gifts to wear as garments daily. 
• We are called.
• We are loved.
• We are protected.

The only way the devil can touch us is “if” we fail to believe the Promises of Jesus and walk from under God’s covering.  As we turn to God, resist the devil, and in that position and condition, we cannot be touched.

I suggest that “if” we are being touched, it might be good to reexamine what we believe and if we have walked from under God’s protective umbrella.   The enemy shouts from without but has no authority within.

We need to develop spiritual eyes to “see” who we are by God’s decree.  We need to believe that decree and embrace it.   No matter how you feel or how worthy or unworthy you think you are, He said it, and it is impossible for God to lie.

Today is your day; claim, believe, and receive it.

Have a victorious day in Jesus!

Isaiah 37:14 – “And Hezekiah received the letters from the hand of the messengers and read them; and Hezekiah went to the house of the LORD and spread them before the LORD.”

I am amazed at myself and others at how often we fail to follow the simple directives of the Holy Spirit.   We have the propensity to try to fix things ourselves.   We will rack our brains for a solution and devise our plans for success.   Tragically, often, they are miserable failures.

Admittedly, that is not always bad, but if we learned from Scripture and the examples of those who did it God’s way, we would be light years ahead, far more victorious, and filled with peace.   It would add years to our lives.

Isaiah 37 gives a simple pattern that we miss.   Hezekiah had received a threatening letter from Sennacherib, King of Assyria.   Hezekiah heard the threats, and his first action was humility and prayer.  He went to the house of the LORD.

God turned the enemy back, but rather than just leaving, they sent threatening letters.   Hezekiah was no fool.  He knew what the Assyrians had done throughout the land.  The threat had weight.

Hezekiah read the letter, and as he did, he had two choices – Fear or Faith.    He could rely on his inadequacy or rely on God’s sufficiency.  Thankfully, he chose to trust God, so he took the problem that the threatening letters represented and spread them out before God.

His expectation was for God to read the threats.  He said, “LORD, this is what we are facing, and we cannot fix it.  Therefore, we are totally in Your hands.  You promised to take care of us and fight for us.”

He stood on the revealed promise of Isaiah 40:8 – “The grass withers, the flower fades; BUT the Word of our God shall stand FOREVER!”

Isaiah 40:31 promised that they could expect renewed strength, with no weariness or fainting. 

Isaiah 43:2 – “When you pass through the sea, I will be with you: and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon you.”

This was Total Protection and is only found in doing things God’s way.   Do not fret; God has never failed yet!  Be like Hezekiah and spread the problem out before the LORD.  Give the Problem to Him!

If there is another action to be done by you, He will let you know!  Otherwise, do what you know, listen for his voice, trust His nudging, and Relax.   God does not fail.

Have a blessed day basking in the sunlight of God’s Love and the provisions of His promises and power!

Mark 10:23-27 – “And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words.  But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God.  For all things are possible with God.”

My focus this morning is on Mark 10 and 11.   In Mark 10, Jesus caused the disciples to be flabbergasted.    Flabbergasted?   About what?  It was His treatise on rich people and salvation. 

He did not say that being rich was not God’s will.  His message was the captivating corruption of trusting wealth rather than God.  It was about seeing Everything as a tool of ministry, not as a source but as a tool. 

The disciples were shocked, possibly thinking Jesus was condemning wealth.  They became even more astonished when Jesus made the oft-quoted declaration in Mark 10:25.  Salvation, under those conditions, did not seem possible.  Jesus said, “Boys, you are right, but you are wrong.  It is impossible for man through man, BUT GOD can do all things.“

In Mark 11, faith and God’s ability to do the impossible surfaced again.  We claim to believe these passages, and maybe we do.  However, true belief is demonstrated, not just expressed verbally.   It acts (experiential faith) rather than declares (theoretical faith).  Faith without works is theory, not faith.

The keys are faith in God, not faith in faith.   We see the demonstration of declaring what we desire to be a realized reality now.   There is to be no doubt in the heart.  None, Nada, Zilch, Zero!  Not even a little.  None! 

Believes “in” his heart could be rendered ‘Expects it to be a Present Reality.’  Most hope it will rather than “expect” it to be.  Few see it as done.   Most hope it will be if they pray enough, confess it enough, and become worthy enough.   Therefore, rather than experiential faith, they have theoretical faith and live in a state of superficial theoretical hope, not faith.

DOUBT DOES NOT EXPECT

Jesus offered an addendum, which is the biggest hindrance to reaching that level of expectation (Mark 11:25-26).  There must be “Forgiveness From the Heart!”

Then, in Mark 12, something valuable arises.  Jesus describes how we are to love God, and this is the key to knowing God, which is the key to experiential, no Doubt, faith.

We are to Love God with the entire heart.  Most of us get that.  We are to Love God with our whole soul and all our strength.  But we miss a connector between the soul and heart – The Mind.  Jesus separated the mind from the Soul and Spirit. 

Let me offer this consideration – The Mind, the cognitive mental ability, is the channel that connects the Soul and Spirit.  We live in a body influenced by the soul.  The mind can take the things of God and order them in a way that makes sense.  It can also open the door for the heart to embrace that truth, and it becomes who we are.  Then, out of the convinced heart, we have Zero Doubt and Expect!

There we become “All,” Jesus says we are, and no mountain can withstand us (literal or spiritual).  We become visible expressions of the Kingdom, manifesting Him and His power.   That is God’s design and desire for you.  I pray for it to be a recognized reality Now!

May this day be powerfully victorious as you walk in God’s Peace and Grace!

Ezekiel 18:31 – “Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?”

The Bible says that God knows those who are His.  In Ezekiel 9 and 11, I saw something that resonated with me.   God marks those who find sin unacceptable, and sinfulness troubles them.   That mark is a sign of ownership.

In Chapter 11, we find that those marked are given a new heart and Spirit, enabling them to walk pure before the Lord.  We keep justifying our flesh when God promises victory over it.  By justifying the flesh, we give it power.  By condemning the flesh, we render it powerless.

Idols in the Heart are hindrances that block our progress.

Ezekiel 18:31 gives an interesting declaration: “Cast away from you…”  Who is doing this?  We are!  “…all the iniquities which you have committed; AND…”  Who is the AND directed to?  Us!  “…make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit…”  We cannot make our Hearts or Spirit new, but our actions open that door.  “…SO THAT you may not die…”   We should take that literally and spiritually.

In Mark 7, Jesus explained the natural and spiritual.   He explained the Heart.  The Heart is the key.  When something gets in the Heart, it shapes life and defines who we have become.

The Heart is like a fruit tree or a spring of water.  If the tree or spring is good, the fruit is good.  If it is bad, it has no redeeming value.  It provides no sustenance.

We speak, think, and act based on the overflow of our Hearts.   It is not Freudian slips; it is revelatory of what is in the Heart.   Therefore, we own it and repent of what needs to be repented so we can open the door to being marked and transformed. 

We do not have to manifest sin and allow the flesh to dominate.   If we do, we are testifying that that is the condition of our Heart.  If Christ is IN Us, is he dominated by the flesh?   Do not excuse the flesh, but seek God and be filled with His Righteousness.    We are not super saints but totally committed followers of Jesus, making us super!

Victory is your heritage from God.  Embrace it!

Have a great day in Jesus, and walk in the fullness of the victory He won at Calvary.