2 Corinthians 1:24 – “Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand.” NKJV

1 Corinthians 7:17-24 – “But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. 18 Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.  20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 21 Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it.  22 For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called.”  NKJV

Most people understand that Freedom is a precious commodity.  It is essential to understand what Freedom is, what False Freedom is, and what it means to be Free from Law and Sin.  Those are incredibly important, but one Freedom must be addressed: “Freedom from Man.” 

When men become spiritual dictators, it creates a hazardous and undesirable condition.   In 1 Corinthians 7, listed above, the apostle Paul lays down a fundamental principle: we should not be subject to people; we should be subject to God.

That makes the setting of this passage beyond essential but critical.  If we fail to grasp the setting, we will arrive at some false conclusions and develop some false interpretations.  As I read and studied this passage, I realized that Paul was battling due to some Corinthians abusing their Freedom in Jesus. 

The Corinthian Church was made up of people who, by and large, had lived in gross sin.  Many had been involved in extreme wickedness and now had Freedom in Jesus.  Galatians 3:28 advises us, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  That is important!  The Corinthian believers knew this truth but were taking it to the extreme.  Simply, they were using their freedom to the point of license.

They took that passage and argued that marriage was abolished in Christ, nationality was erased, those in slavery were no longer to obey their earthly masters, etc.  When we come to Christ, our sex, nationality, ethnicity, and social and economic status do not immediately change, and some things never change.  Salvation affords us the potential to make the most out of every situation. 

Salvation is a spiritual change!  It can and should bring about change in the home, on the job, and in society.  The crucial point is that God does not work from the outside in. He works from the inside out.  He changes us, and that change results in a changed attitude and actions, and that results in changes around us.

Paul offered a foundational principle, “Remain as you are and allow God to make the change.”  As you consider vv. 7, 17, 20, and 24, we understand that we are to learn to make the most of our present condition and situation.  As we allow the changes to come from within, we find that God’s incredible miracle of change comes. 

Remember, we are Free, not Independent!  No believer can be independent of other believers; likewise, no believer should be totally dependent on other believers.  Our dependency is Christ, not man.  No human is to be a dictator in the lives of others.  That is true in politics, economics, marriage, and spiritually.  The slaves were still slaves, but they were Free!  The masters were to be slaves to Christ but still masters.  You and I are free from the dominion and domination of people, but that does not make us independent.  The change in our lives must begin on the inside. 

Paul presented four arguments for us to remain as we are and allow God to make the changes from within.  We can cover them later, but for now, I pray that each of us realizes that we are to obey God rather than man when man’s decrees violate God’s.  We are not islands in life but connected to every other believer, and although we are Free, we are not Independent.

God, bless you richly is my prayer and desire!

Luke 24:36-39 – “Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.”  37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”  NKJV

After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples, and they were terrified when he appeared.  I am not sure we would not have been in the same boat.  We benefit from hindsight while they were living in the reality of the moment.  We can piously look back and say, “Well, I would never have doubted, but had we lived when and where they lived, we probably would have had the same reaction, if not worse.”

Jesus’ question applies to that and any situation in life, “Why are you troubled?  Why do doubts arise in your hearts?”  How many times do we find ourselves “troubled” and our hearts filled with “doubt” and “questions?” Probably much more than we would like to admit publicly! 

There was a time in my life when it would have been hard to admit that I had “doubt” because preachers were supposed to be perfect.  Nobody ever told me that, but that was the perception I developed from listening to my elders and church members in my early days as a Christian.  I cannot tell you how often I have been told, “But you are a preacher, so…”

So?  Because I am a preacher, I cannot have doubts.  Can’t I make mistakes?  Can’t I have wrong thoughts?  Can’t I succumb to the temptations of the flesh in some fashion?  I am not saying “can’t” because it is okay, but just because I am a preacher does not make me immune! 

While I do not doubt that God holds those of us who stand in the Sacred Desk of the Pulpit to a very high standard, I also believe He knows our frailty as human beings.  I wish that people inside and outside the church did.  If so, we would probably have a smaller drop-out rate of those who enter the ministry and then walk away at some point.  Some do so, so wounded and bitter that they lose their faith. 

Likewise, if preachers understood that the man or woman in the pew is human and approached life situations with a little more compassion, at times, we would also see fewer people walking away from the church bitter, disillusioned, and destitute in their faith.

What we need is a revival of SEEING JESUS!  We need to see His “nail-scarred hands” and remember how He got them and what they mean to us individually and collectively. 

• We need to see His “pierced side” where he was wounded as He hung on the Cross and realize that our words can be spears that do great harm in the lives of others. 
• We need to see his “tattered and torn flesh” from the lashes He received for us and realize that Without Him, we would not survive in this world. 
• We need a revival of Seeing Jesus!  We need to see His compassion for the lost, the hurting, the dying, the needy, the discouraged, the disappointed, and the disillusioned.
• We need to see Jesus in the occurrences of life and allow Him to shine through our lives in a much more real and powerful way. 

If we could see Jesus, we would find ourselves facing fewer times of “troubled hearts” and “doubt-filled minds.” We would know that no matter what we face in life – – HE IS THERE! 

So, as you go through this day, may you go in the strength of His Person! 

Blessings abundantly upon your life are my prayer and desire!

2 Timothy 2:11-13 – “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.  12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. 13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” NKJV

Let me explain my title.  We want “half” of this statement, not the whole enchilada.  We want to live with Christ but not die with Him.  We want to reign with Him but not endure or suffer with Him.  We want Him to be faithful even though too often we are unfaithful.  We want to be able to do warfare as a Soldier of Christ but not “endure the hardship” of a good soldier. 

We become so entangled in the affairs of this life that we fit the old song of Tennessee Ernie Ford – “Sixteen Tons.”  We owe our souls to the company store. Through our “entanglement with the affairs of this life,” we have virtually become slaves to the system rather than those who can and will follow Christ anywhere, anytime, under any conditions.  Too often, it is “I owe, I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go.”

Dying with Jesus is not a physical death in the cessation of life as we know it but a dying “spiritually.”  It is the dying to self and the crucifixion of the old nature that we have a problem with.  We do not like it because it is hard and requires commitment and discipline.  It requires humility and often involves self-effacement. 

But, if we “die with Him,” we will “Live with Him!”  We enter the “newness of life” and find access to the Abundant Life He promised.  The end product is well worth the getting there, but too often, we are half-ers and only want the end result without the process or the pain.

Enduring with Jesus is easily one of the most difficult things we will encounter as Christians.  It is hard to endure when retaliating or running for cover would be easier.  Yet, the message is clear: if we “endure,” we will Reign with Him!  We will walk as Overcomers in this life and see the fulfillment of the promise of Scripture that “as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17). 

Enduring is never easy, has never been easy, and will never be easy, but if our eyes focus on the prize of the high calling in Christ, “endurance” is not only a possibility but a probability for the believer!

Too often, we fail to understand that “denying Him” goes far beyond denying that He is the Christ and rejecting our faith.  Remember that Jesus told us that as much as we did “good things” to the least of these, we did them unto Him. 

Our insensitivity to the needs of others, our callousness, our lack of the demonstration of grace, judgmentalism, and self-centeredness are methods through which we “deny Him.”  If we deny Him – He will Deny Us!  He told us that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the Father.  What could be worse?

Too often, we are unfaithful, but He is Always Faithful.  We are unmerciful, but He is Always Merciful.  We are sometimes unloving, but He is Always Loving. We fail, but He does not.

So instead of being a half-er, be one willing to die with Christ, as painful as that may be.  Be one who will endure with Him and suffer hardship as a good soldier when it is required.  Refuse to deny Him in word or deed, and know He will never deny us.  Refuse to be faithless or unfaithful, and rest in His Faithfulness!  He is our Hope!

May God be with you as you go through your day!

Luke 21:19 – “In your patience possess ye your souls.” KJV

I am fully aware of the context of this passage but want to use it to speak to a particular issue that I have been aware of in my life and much of the Christian world – IMPATIENCE!  

Most Christians have been trying to live as Christians with a “Microwave Mentality” for way too long.  We have been spoiled with the instant everything in our lives.  Unlike our parents and grandparents, generations where they had more of a “Farmer Mentality,” we have a “Magician’s Mentality.”  We want it yesterday!

My mother and grandmother cooked most things from scratch, as they called it.  I remember when my mother bought an “instant cake mix” and baked a cake with it rather than from “scratch.”  Then, we were introduced to “instant potatoes” rather than real potatoes that had to be peeled, cooked, and mashed.  Next was “instant coffee,” which did not make it in our house because my dad could not tolerate the thought of not having his coffee brewed or boiled. 

He usually would take a stovetop percolator, remove the insides, leaving just the pot, put his water in, pour in the coffee grounds, and boil the coffee.  That was fine until you reached the bottom of the pot, and your cup would be filled with those pesky coffee grounds.  He did graduate to the more modern coffee makers, such as Mr. Coffee, and that was a significant step for him. 

The Farmer knows that the seed he plants today will not be harvested for weeks or months and has no expectation of waking up the following day and having corn ready to harvest or any other crop.  Today, we expect our food and everything else to be virtually instant.  We do not like to wait! 

I am probably one of the world’s worst about waiting, especially at a restaurant.  I do not like to sit and wait 30 minutes or an hour for a table.  I would rather go somewhere else.  I do not like waiting at the doctor’s office or in the examination room.  I want my computer to operate with blazing speed, and when I go to the ATM, I expect my cash to be instant. 

Unfortunately, that also spills over into our relationship with others and God.  I am virtually never late unless it is beyond my control, and then I do everything I can to notify those waiting for me.  I do not like waiting for someone who habitually arrives late because I consider it inconsiderate and an expression of the lack of value of my time.  I like meetings to begin on time, and I want an immediate answer when I pray.  God works on me on that part quite a lot.

We need to learn the value of a patient spirit.  It will help you eliminate frustration and even enhance your health and well-being.  Amazingly, with my lack of willingness to wait on many things, I love to fish and can sit all day long fishing without getting a bite and be content.  I am patient.  I can hunt the same way.  So, I realize it is a mindset I can change concerning other things I cannot control.  I can learn patience and, in so doing, learn to rest in the confidence that God is in control, and I can trust Him.

If you are an “impatient” person, you need to hear what I am saying today and, as I have been told before, “chill out.”  I know that is not a term used today and dates me.  I remember once being single before my wife and I married. I was out on a date, and the lady with me slapped my shoulders and said – “Roy, relax.”  I had no idea I was tense, but it was so apparent that she did that.  God has done the same thing to me on more than one occasion. 

So, as you go through this day, ask the Holy Spirit to help you to be patient.  In developing patience, you will encounter things that test your patience, and you may not like my advice, but it is worth it to Learn Patience!

May the Lord be with you as you go through your day!

Luke 4:18-19 – “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”   NKJV

The Gospel is called “The Good News” for a reason.  If all I heard about the Gospel was how difficult it is to live a Christian life and the Fiery Judgment of God if we sin or how we go from one struggle to the next in life once we become Christians, I would probably pass. 

Not that those things do not have validity and an element of truth in them, but Jesus did say, “My yoke is easy and My burden light.”  He did say, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  He did say, “That once I have departed, I will send the Comforter (The Holy Spirit) to be your Helper.”  So, even though we face difficult times, it is still GOOD NEWS that He preached, we receive, and are to share with the World!

Notice Jesus’ quote or reading from the Prophet Isaiah concerning the coming Messiah:

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me…

If nothing else were said, that would be enough.  If you have ever experienced the incredibleness of having the Holy Spirit UPON you, then you understand the impact of this statement.  It goes beyond human explanation, and this is one of those things that is genuinely better felt than telt as an old preacher used to say in East Texas.

Because He has ANOINTED ME TO…

The anointing has a purpose, not just to make us feel good or impress people around it.  God has a purpose in granting His anointing, and there is always ministry in view when the anointing comes.

• Anointed to preach “The Gospel to the Poor.”   The Good News to the Poor.  It is not good news to tell the poor that you will always be poor and there is no hope of achieving a better status in life, but God loves you.  Somehow, that would have the same sound as rain on a tin barn and be nothing more than a tinkling cymbal or a sounding brass.  NO!  The Good News is that “in Christ,” you can break free from poverty!  You can break free in every dimension of life.

• Sent to HEAL the Broken Hearted.  The Good News to the Broken Hearted is that this is not your ultimate state.  Your heart can be healed.  Your brokenness can become rejoicing.  Your disappointments can be transformed into reasons for optimism and joy.  That is Good News!

• To PROCLAIM Liberty to the Captives.  The Good News is that you do not have to remain captive or enslaved in any situation or to anything.  The Gospel Message is one of DELIVERANCE and HOPE!  It is not some political hype. It is a reality in Jesus.  Jesus came to set you FREE.  Free from sin, free from bondage, free from hang-ups, free from addictions, and free from attitudes that destroy.  FREEDOM is part of the GOOD NEWS!

• Recovery of sight to the Blind.  That is Good News.  If you are blind, you can see!  Some insist this does not include the natural, but I am not willing to relegate it to the spiritual.  However, I know that even if you do not recover your natural sight, you can gain more sight or insight than most seeing people. Most assuredly, you will achieve SPIRITUAL SIGHT and walk out of your blindness into the Spiritual Freedom and Opportunity world.

• To set at Liberty those who are oppressed.  This is almost a repeat of number three, but it identifies the Good News that if you are under the oppression of the devil, circumstances, finances, health, or whatever, there is HOPE…. That is a message of Good News.

• And finally, to Proclaim the Acceptable Year of the Lord.  Wow!  Today is the day of Salvation.  The Jews had a year of Jubilee in which everything was restored, and here Jesus identifies that in Him we have JUBILEE.  That is Good News!

I sometimes wonder why we fail to focus on these points in our presentation of the Good News of the Gospel.  The term “Good News” carries the image of a lamb skipping and leaping for joy, and that is how our hearts should respond to the Gospel Message!

So, no matter what you face today, know that Jesus came to bring us The Gospel – – GOOD NEWS!  So, rejoice in that Good News and allow it to penetrate your spirit and become such an integral part of your makeup that it oozes out and touches those around you.

May God Bless you richly is my prayer!

Luke 8:22-25 – “Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. 23 But as they sailed, He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” NKJV

We are all probably quite familiar with the account here and marvel at the Power of God in speaking to the storms and having them obey his command. 

Several things come to mind as I read this account.

1. Jesus spoke His desire for their destination – – The other side of the lake.
2. His calm assurance that they would reach that destination resulted in Jesus napping during the journey.
3. A sudden storm appeared, as was common on those waters and in our lives.
4. The disciples were filled with fear and trepidation over the circumstances and what they could see and knew about boats and sailing.
5. They fearfully appealed to Jesus, crying out, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
6. Jesus calmly arose from his nap and rebuked the wind and the waves, and they obeyed, bringing total calm.

At that point, Jesus asked the most penetrating question that could be asked.  He turned to them and asked, “Where is your faith?”  A question that could be approached from several vantage points:

• He could have been asking about the existence of faith on their part.  In that respect, He would have asked, “Why did you need to wake me when you have the power (through faith) to do what I just did?”

• He could have asked “in what” their faith rested or resided.  Where or in what have you placed your faith?  The boat?  Your ability to navigate the stormy seas?  Me?  Where?  That is a question that the Holy Spirit will frequently ask us during life’s struggles, and tragically, sometimes, our faith is everywhere but IN HIM!

As we face life’s storms, the question for us is, “Where Is Our Faith?”  Let us ensure that it is IN JESUS rather than in our ability or anything of the Arm of Flesh but the Hand of God! 

That does not mean God will not allow or direct us to utilize our knowledge, ability, doctors, etc.  It means that our ultimate and foundational confidence and faith is IN HIM!  If our faith is “in Jesus,” no matter what the storms of life may bring, we can face them with the same calm confidence that He exhibited on the boat.

May the God of Peace grant you Peace that passes all understanding and guard your heart and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord in all things.  Blessings as you go through your day!

Philippians 3:12-16 – “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.” NKJV

Many songs come to mind in thinking about the title of this devotional message, and many of them excuse our humanness and justify our sinfulness.  That is not my motivation in presenting this thought but rather the opposite.

Paul fully understood that he Was Not Perfect, but that did not prevent him from striving for the lofty goal.  He was driven by the ambition and desire to fully apprehend and comprehend the Lord’s Christ and walk in that knowledge and condition.  He had an approach that we would do well to consider; far too often, we do not follow this prescription and, thus, many of our difficulties.

• He Acknowledged His Deficiency.

He knew he had not arrived at the glorious state of perfection in Christ.  He knew that he would make mistakes, fail, and possibly hurt others in the process.

• He Had an Objective.

Reaching Spiritual Perfection was his ultimate desire.  He did not just want to accomplish that when he got to heaven but wanted to walk before this world unblemished in Christ, being the absolute best representative and manifestation of Jesus he could be and thereby win many.

• He Has His Thinking Right.

“…this one thing I do….”  What was that one thing?  FORGET those things that are behind or of the past life “before” Christ.  REACH for those things that are to be attained and achieved in Christ.  He PRESSED for the goal of the prize of the “Upward Call of God in Christ Jesus.”  It was always “upward” and “onward” in Christ.  Never stagnation, complacency, or looking back because to Paul and us, the past is history, and we must learn to put the past in God’s Hands of Mercy and move on.

• Then He Walked in What He Learned and Achieved.

He encouraged everyone to walk in the level of light and understanding they possessed.  Do not try to walk in mine; I will not try to walk in yours.  We are individuals.  We should assist each other in sharing our knowledge, experience, and level of light, but NEVER expect others to be EXACTLY LIKE US.  God does not need clones; He desires WARRIORS!

As you go through each day, learn to leave the mistakes, errors, misgivings, shortcomings, failures, and sins in the past.  Give them to the Savior and allow Him through the Holy Spirit to put them under the Blood of Jesus’ Sacrifice. 

Keep pressing on looking to the Author and Finisher of your faith!  Blessings as you go through your day!

Jeremiah 51:15 – “The LORD has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out heaven by his understanding.”

The theme of my heart today is God’s immensity, His deep love, and our responsibility before Him and to ourselves and others.  Sensing our responsibility to God is readily apparent to most.  Sensing or knowing our responsibility to ourselves is visible to many.  But others?  That is a horse of another color. 

We sometimes allow stinkin’ thinkin’ to prevail.  We say things like, “Do you know what they did?  Do you know they are not living, right?  Do you know, they keep making the same irreligious mistakes?  My responsibility to others, what is that?“

We need to see that anything in God requires us to see what Jeremiah declared, God is the Creator with all power and wisdom.  He knows everything. 

Jeremiah 51:36 – “Therefore thus says the LORD Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you; I will dry up the sea of Babylon and make her springs dry.”

God pleads our case, and when retribution is proper, He exacts vengeance – WE DO NOT!  But we sometimes try to, and we pray against them rather than for them!  That is a vast difference. 

We discover in Romans 12-15 that the consistent message is that the strong spiritually care for the spiritually weak. That is taxing and requires more effort, compassion, and patience than most have learned.

If, as Romans 12 declares, I belong to God totally and have a gift or gifts from Him, my purpose is peace and nurture of others.  In Romans 12:18, he says, “If possible. So far as depends on you, be at peace with everyone.”   We protest, “But Lord…”  Romans 13:10 reminds us that love does not do evil against others.  Love for God, which allows us to love ourselves rightly, is translated into loving the unlovable and the loveable.   Hard?  Yes, but commanded by God.   Not manufactured or pretended but an outflow of the love in us.

Romans 14:1 instructs us to accept the one who is weak in faith and not judge them or look down on them. Remember, we were weak and still are in some areas.  We live for, in, and through Christ.  In that respect, we live for others and are our brother’s keepers.

Romans 15:1 – “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weakness of those without strength and not just to please ourselves.”  It is not about us!  Romans 15:7 tells us to accept one another JUST AS Jesus accepted us. 

It is critical to remember that we accept, but we do not endorse or justify evil.  We pray for, love, and provide godly examples rather than spewing forth condemnation and judgment.  We are not God.  We, too, have flaws. 

Romans 16:17-20 is powerful and revelatory.   A professing Christian who causes division and dissension is to be noted.  They cause others to stumble and war against the body’s unity.  We do not embrace or enable evil, BUT we love and pursue peace (God’s peace, not just an absence of conflict).

We are to focus on our responsibility to God, to ourselves and, get that in harmony with God’s Word, and respond to others JUST AS Jesus. Then…  Romans 16:20 – “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”   Peace will come to our house (our homes, businesses, and churches).

• A correct view of God and our purpose is step one.
• A correct view of who we are and how we are to live and think is step two.
• Strengthening the weak, encouraging everyone, and demonstrating the Love of God to everyone is step three.

We should ask the Father to help us to prioritize rightly and relate biblically and godly.  Ask Him to transform us into manifestations and demonstrations of Jesus.   Then, we can declare, “Father, I give myself to You.” 

Today is the day of a new journey that produces God’s Peace and Power.  No weapon can stand, and no stronghold can remain.  We bow to God and set our hearts to be Who He says we are!  

May Heaven’s rich and bountiful blessings flow to and through you today!

Hebrews 11:16 – “Without faith, man cannot please God: for he who comes near to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.”

I feel compelled to declare, “What a Difference a Day Makes!”  Today is a new day with new opportunities, victories, and revelations.  The blessings of God are new every morning, every afternoon, and every evening.  The flow of God’s Love never ceases.  HE IS and IS a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

When I read passages like that in Hebrews 11:6, I often ask, “What about those who do not?”  I do not want to be one who does not diligently seek God.  I do not want to be one who does not believe in the Is-ness of God.  I want to believe, and I do believe!

God IS!  That is a powerful thought that is all-encompassing.  He IS! 

• 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that God IS Faithful. 
• 1 John 1:5 tells us that God is light and there is no darkness in Him. 
• 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God is not slow in keeping His promises and is patient with us. 
• Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God, which is God, is ALIVE. 
• James 1:17 tells us that God is the giver of good gifts.
•  John 4:24 tells us that God is Spirit. 
• Numbers 23:19 tells us that God is not a human being and has no capacity to lie or fail. 
• Psalm 116:5 tells us that God is Gracious and Righteous and full of compassion.
• Psalm 84:11-12 tells us that God is our sun and shield. 
• Job 12:7-10 tells us, “In His hands is the life of every creature.”

GOD IS!  He is with us and has promised never to forsake us.  Tragically, we sometimes envision Him as over there, up there, or out there rather than being here and in us!  We are IN Christ, Christ is IN us, and He Never Ever Changes! 

My prayer today is, “LORD, enlighten our hearts to believe in the presence of God!  Help us to see what You are doing and hear what You are saying.  Help us to have a renewed deposit of awareness of the IS-NESS of God and walk in the confidence, assurance, hope, and power of Your Presence.” 

We do not serve an abstract but THE LIVING GOD!   God is with us All the Time!  He knows everything in our lives, hearts, minds, and hands.  He desires to guide us and has promised to do just that.  He wants to protect us and has promised to do just that.  The Father wants us to have the Kingdom and be anointed and empowered to do the works of Jesus and the greater works He planned. 

Isaiah prophesied about Jesus, and Jesus revealed that the prophecy was about Him.  He has given us the authority and power to operate in His Name.  Therefore, this prophecy also applies to us if He is IN us, and we are One with Him.

We must allow it to become part of our consciousness that The Spirit of the LORD is on me and you, BECAUSE…  Because?  Yes, because He has anointed us to proclaim the Good News to the poor.  He has sent us to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.  He has sent us to bring recovery of sight to the blind.  He has empowered and anointed us to set the oppressed free.  He has anointed us to proclaim the Ultimate and Total Victory of the Cross.

Jesus sent the disciples out with power and authority.  He confirmed that this is for all who believe and will obey.  We are to bring the sick to His healing, the dead to life, the lepers to cleansing, and those possessed and demonized to liberty.

Mark 16:15-18 – “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my Name, they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

WOW!  It is time to believe in the ISNESS of God and, rather than preach and testify of theory, become Doers of the Word.  If God is the same past, present, and future, Why Not Now?  We have a world to win, and the world is not interested in our theories about God; they want to see the Living God Living in Us! 

God Is, God, Does, God Can, and God Will.   We must ask the Father to help us see Him as the LIVING GOD and the Present God.  We need Him to enable us to see ourselves as He sees us, not as the devil says we are, nor as the world says we are, nor even as we think we are, but AS He sees us!   We need Him to clothe us with the Holy Spirit and free us from limited thinking and defeatism. 

Although some live in pessimism, some in optimism, some in what they call realism, and others in fatalism, I challenge you to choose to believe in GOD ISISM.  Our God IS!  Our God Lives!  Our God Reigns!  Our God is THE LIVING GOD!  Shake yourself, put off the old thinking, put on the new view of God, and live as if He is telling the truth because He is!

I pray that your day will be filled with the presence of the Living God and that you will experience His perfect peace!

John 21:15-19 – “So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you ^[f]love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I ^[g]love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” ¹⁶ He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you ^[h]love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I ^[i]love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” ¹⁷ He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you ^[j]love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you ^[k]love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I ^[l]love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep. ¹⁸ Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” ¹⁹ Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He *said to him, “Follow Me!”

I find this account incredibly inspiring and deeply troubling at the same time.  This account in John 21 is exciting and inspirational. Some have suggested that Jesus asking the same question three times was a reminder of Peter’s three denials.  That is possible, but I believe there was a much deeper purpose and one that applies to us today.

Jesus asked, “Do you Agape Me?”  Peter responded with the word Phileo.  Phileo is the brotherly kind of love that may be deep but not the zenith of love.   It leaves room for self and selfishness.

Jesus asked two more times, and I believe He was nudging Peter to see the deficiency in his profession of love and to move to the ultimate love that is unconditional and unshakable – Agape. Peter was filled with himself (like us).  Peter had denied Jesus in an attempt at self-preservation.   Peter was impulsive and reacted to external stimuli.

I believe that Jesus was molding Peter’s thinking to equip him. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  The question is germane: How deeply do we genuinely love the Lord?  Jesus said IF you Agape Me, you WILL keep my commandments.  The measure of our love is revealed in what we do, not what we say.  However, what we say flows out of what is in our hearts. 

When our hearts, words, and deeds align, we know Him fully and manifest Him.  We can live in a way (outwardly) that says we are something.   We can speak with words that suggest we are something.   We can do deeds that seem to indicate we are one thing, but the heart is the key, and God knows the heart.

We must know God; to know God, we must know our hearts.  We can choose Agape or Phileo.  In that choice, the door opens wide to know Him in the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering, and become conformed to and transformed by His death.  We die to ourselves in choosing to live unto Him.

Love is a choice, not just an emotion.   Love grows; it is not a one-time deposit.  Love strives to honor its object.  Love liberates.  Agape sets the heart free because it eliminates the need to protect itself.  It fully surrenders, and in that surrender, it discovers life to the fullest.

The question for each of us is, “Are we alive?”  Do we Agape?  If we see the Cross, we see Agape.  If we believe in the Cross, we receive Agape.  If we receive Agape, we begin to be transformed and become vessels of God’s power.   We become Who He said we are through Agape, the ultimate and unconditional love.

There is no time like the present for us to begin the journey into learning to Agape!  Today is our day to Agape!  Today is our day to close the door on the past and discover the depth, breadth, and height of your purpose and power in God.  Refuse to be less than complete.

May the Lord richly bless you as you move into the realm of Agape and experience God’s Love more powerfully in your life!