Know God Is Real

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

 

Why Should An Intelligent Person Believe In God?

An intelligent person should follow the available evidence with an open mind wherever it takes them.  They should reach their own conclusion about God with sound logic. If you want to know if God is real, or if you want more confidence in your current belief, the following discussion provides several lines of exploration you can and should pursue.

It Matters

The most important decision of your life is whether to believe God is real and worthy of your worship and devotion, or whether to ignore God and focus all your energy on you and your earthly life. If God is real, this decision has major ramifications for you and those around you, both now in this life and for eternity.  And if God is real, and this decision does have major ramifications, and you risk spending eternity in some lake of burning fire if you don’t get with the program, then it would be appropriate to invest some time and energy to explore the evidence, find out what is going on, and align yourself to avoid such a scenario. If God is not real, none of this really matters and the worst you will have done by exploring this is to waste some unimportant time learning about the most popular and pervasive myth ever concocted by mankind. This is called Pascal’s Wager… are you willing to bet an eternity in hell that it is ok to continue not believing in God.

God Hides, You will find Him only if you truly want to find Him.

God hides himself just enough that you must decide to spend some of your precious energy to pursue Him. If He was obvious and standing right in front of us, we would not require faith to believe in Him. The spiritual world operates on faith, and our free will decisions to pursue and believe. If you want to find reasons not to believe you can, and it is your choice, but beware, there just might be some serious consequences.  Once we decide to explore beyond the physical world in front of us and commit to explore the evidence for God with a truly open mind and open heart, He promises you will find Him.  I am highly confident based on my experience, If you truly want to find Him, You will, and I am happy to help.  

Faith should not be blind

The God of the Christian Bible never asks us to have blind faith. He is very clear that He left ample evidence of His handiwork in creation; The heavens reveal His Glory, his fingerprint can be seen in the world all around us, and He has written Himself in our hearts. He boldly claims that no one has an excuse to be ignorant of Him. He expects us to be able to gather up the evidence, figure it out, and make a sound conclusion. 

We should be able to defend our position

He also asks us to be ready and able to defend that decision with convincing logic any time.  Do you believe in God? What is the basis for your belief? What are your top 3 reasons?

The Evolution of Science

One interesting aspect of mankind’s spiritual journey is the evolution of science. The scientific community spent most of the 20th century trying to prove that we do not need a supernatural God to explain how everything works or how we got here in the first place. Over the last 50 years, scientific discoveries have made that much harder to do at almost every level. Open minded researchers can see that the evidence points more and more towards the existence of a supernatural God.  Those researchers who are committed to a materialist world view, who categorically refuse to consider God as a potential hypothesis, remain hopeful for an alternative explanation to emerge even when the odds are astronomically low and going lower with every new discovery. The interesting thing to understand is that this materialist approach is a new thing born within the scientific community. Science was originally founded out of Christian pursuit to better understand God. Based on His promise in the psalms.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1

They expected to learn more about Him by studying his orderly creation. The early scientists were Christians, and the first universities grew out of monasteries. It is fitting that following the science is taking us back to God where it started.

What evidence is available to support a Belief In God, Sometimes Called a God hypothesis?

These are my Top Ten +1 reasons to believe:

  1. The order and design of the universe points to an intelligent source.
  2. Evolution explains adaptation, but it does not explain the explosion of species or how we got here. There is another force at work
  3. Simple Cells are Not so simple. The more we learn, the harder it is to imagine them emerging from a soup of chemicals. None of what happens in a cell is random.
  4. DNA is information telling each aspect of each cell what to do, how to do it, and when. The only known source for information is an intelligent mind. 
  5. Life only comes from life, We have no evidence of life coming from non-life. The chemical building blocks of life are unstable and assembling them into useful structures is not non-random. Life only comes from life.
  6. Every painting has a painter. Everything that has a beginning has a casue outside of it. The big bang happened before space, time and matter, so the cause must be something super powerfull and outside of space, time and mater. 
  7. The Bible is a very remarkable document with powerful wisdom when understood and applied. There is more and more archeological evidence to support the reliability of what has been preserved since it was originally written, and to substantiate the people, places and activities described in its stories.
  8. Jesus was a real person, and the evidence for His crucifixion is remarkable
  9. Superntural experiences such as Nead Death Experiences are more and more well documented and yield very practical insights.  
  10. Personal experience interacting with God, guiding and shaping me along my journey, and working through me to help others
  11. There is an objective morality written on our hearts, an objective morality demands a morality writer.

Lets take each of them in a bit more detail:

1) The order and design of the universe points to an intelligent source.

Everything about the universe is organized and highly tuned to allow life on earth. Astrophysicists have identified dozens and dozens of characteristics of the universe that are critical to life on earth; These include the laws of nature like gravity, the constants of physics like the cosmological constant, and the initial conditions of the big bang like how much energy. In recent years they have learned that these constants and quantities are so precisely tuned that the odds that they came into being randomly are astronomically low. If the universe had more initial mass, it would collapse back into itself. If the physics laws that govern molecules were any different, we would not have developed stable galaxies. If the earth were only slightly closer to the sun we would burn up, if any further away we would freeze. If the mass of the earth were any greater we would be crushed by gravity, if it were less massive we would not have a protective atmosphere.  If Jupiter were not exactly where is, we would have been destroyed by asteroids. These are just a few examples.

Learn more:

Video from J Warner Wallace: (Link)

Video from Dr William Lane Criag Videos – The Fine-Tuning of the Universe (Link)

Video from Stephen Meyer: (Link)

2) Evolution explains adaptation, but not macro evolution

Evolution theory does a wonderful job explaining minor adaptations to environmental conditions. There is no evidence for macro evolution. Darwin’s theory demands incremental changes over time. There is no fossil evidence showing increments of one species gradually becoming another. Instead, the fossil record shows many species emerging very rapidly in explosions of change. The explosion of new species is even more challenging to evolutionists now that we understand how DNA controls animal architecture and cell function, and any new body plans require significant new chunks of DNA to cause the animal to produce the proteins needed ot create the cells for the new features, and then assemble the new cells into tissues and fibers, and then arrange them into structures, then to know how to use the new structures once they arrive. Many species share common characteristics, but rather than evolving randomly over time in a long chain from a common ancestor, these common characteristics could be genetic building blocks used and reused by a creator who intervened with His creation along the way.

Learn more:

Video from Hoover Institute, “Mathematical Challenges to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution” with David Berlinski, David Gelernter, and Stephen Meyer (Link)

Video from Hoover institute ” By Design: Behe, Lennox, and Meyer on the Evidence for a Creator”  (Link)

3) Simple Cells Are Not So simple

Advances in Microbiology now reveal that each cell has a vast array of molecular level machines opertaing to perform the functions encessary to keep it alive, and the cell wall has a multitude of very specific structures and features that allow it to bring in the necessary mix of nutrients and export the necessary wastes so that it can survive and mmultiply. The more we learn about simple cells the harde rit is to imagine that they could emerge randomly from a soup of chemicals. 

Learn more: 

Video from Tomorrow’s World Viewpoint:  Darwin’s Not-So-Simple Cell (Link)

Video from Science Communication Lab – Ron Vale: Molecular Motor Proteins (Link)

Video from  Clockwork: Your Unstoppable Copy Machine｜DNA Replication (Link)

4) DNA is information, and information only comes from an intelligent source.

Each living cell has DNA which is basically a computer program for organizing the entire organism and running all the processes in each cell. DNA in each human cell contains approximately 3 million base pairs which represent approximately 1.5Gig of data. The DNA coding includes instructions for controlling replication and repair of itself. DNA is Information, Information is not generated randomly, it is highly specific and very complicated. information only comes from an intelligent source.

Learn more:

What kind of information is in DNA – Stephen Meyer  (Link)

5) Life only comes from life, life never comes from non-life.

Life propagates, it is never created from non-life. The popular story that life was sparked into existence by lightning striking a primordial soup of chemicals is a myth. The building block chemicals for life are naturally unstable and cannot wait around for lightning, and the complex chemical reactions to build chains of amino acids and other necessary complex molecules cannot be executed randomly in nature, these processes must be guided in a very precise way.

Learn more:

Hoover Institute Interview with James Tour and Stephen Meyer: (Link)

Creation Ministries Interview with Dr Stephen Grocott: (Link)

6) Every Painting Has a Painter.

We know from science and practical experience that everything that has a beginning has a cause from outside of it. This is called the Cosmological Argument. Science discovered in 1929 that the universe is expanding. If we run the clock backwards we know that the universe started in a big bang. The big bag was a tremendous release of pure energy before there was matter, space and time. The universe had a beginning so it must have a cause. The cause must be bigger and more powerful than the entire universe and it must be able to operate outside of matter, space, and time. A creator God is the most logical and elegant solution for that cause, and it happens to be consistent with Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God.

Learn more:

Video From drcraigvideos – The Kalam Cosmological Argument – (Link)

7) The Bible is an Extraordinary Document and A Reliable Source of Wisdom, and History 

The Bible is remarkable in many ways, as the most popular literary work of all time, for the remarkable wisdom it contains, for how well it has been preserved over time, for how acurately it has captured the past, and how well it has predicted the future, and the impact it has had on individuals, nations, and society as a whole.    

Remarkable Literary Work

The bible was created to document the great acts of God over time to redeam and save His people and the world He created. It is the most popular book of all time with over a billion copies published.  It is a collection of 66 different works (Books), inspired by the Holy Spirit and recorded by 40 different authors from various walks of life from kings to soldiers, to prophets and priests. It was compiled over the course of more than 1500 years but has a consistent narrative ark throughout and has a remarkable number of interlinked passages; there are over 63,000 “Hyperlinks” in the bible. The layers of meanings in the bible become more and more significant as you read and re-read them over time. 

Learn More:  

Video from Tim Mackie – Where did the bible come from and why should we care (Link)

Chris Harrison visualization tool for seeing the 64K interlinks (Link)

Jordan Peterson describing how the Bible as the first hyperlinked text (Link), Deeper discussion (Link)

 Video from Mark Ashton at Christ Community Church  – 10 Reasons the bible is extraodinary (Link).

Profound Wisdom

The bible is full of profound wisdom; It is moving, and it has a broad influence on the way we see, think, and act at the individual levle and at the leve of society.  It offers timeless guidance on a wide range of life situations, including morality, relationships, and personal conduct. The biblical teachings have shaped western society with concepts like – we are each individuslly are created in God’s image and are worthy of respect. The bible has several books dedicated specifically to imparting wisdom to those who are willing to learn and apply it: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes.  The other biblical stories often share lessons by example; people following God’s commands and being rewarded or choosing to ignore God, pursue their own agenda and suffer serious consequences. Many of the biblical writings have layers of meaning, The literal story can be informative, but it can also be symbolic of other deeper meanings.  Many of the teachings are done in the form of metaphor and parable, where you must think about the story and figure out how the deeper message applies to your situation, but the deeper meaning is always profound when you figure it out and apply it. The bible reveals God’s nature and purpose.  As you embrace it’s teaching, you can be molded more and more into His image. 

Learn more:

The Bible Project – Wisdom Series Videos (Link),  Intro to Wisdom Literature Podcast (Link). 

The HIGHEST Truth Of Them All | Jordan Peterson Deconstructing The BIBLE (Link)

Well Preserved

The bible is the best preserved piece of anchient literature we have. There are over 5,300 copies of the new testament in the original Greek, and hundreds of manuscripts of the old testament. The original writings were propogated by monks using a meticulous process. Detailed analysis of these documents and scrutiny of the variations that propagated allows us to understand when each variation was introduced and which is the most likely original. None of the variations impact the essential message fo Christ’s virgin birth, sinless life, sacrifice by crucifixion, and resurrection on  the 3rd day. The dead sea scrolls discovered in 1947 provided an even earlier copy of old testiment documents dated to 200 BC, and these further confim we have good traceability to the original writings.

Learn more:

Video form Dan Wallace – How can you trust the New Testament when the original manuscripts are different? (Link)

Interview with Deeper discussion – How Reliable Are Our New Testament Manuscripts? Dr. Daniel Wallace (Link)

Historically Accurate

The bible has proven to be reliable source of ancient historic information and even some scientific wisdom. The bible has been used to guide archeology digs and we now have archeological evidence of hundreds of people, places, and events described in the bible stories. For example Sodom and Gomorrah were real cities destroyed by fire from the heavens, A tribe of folks worshipping the God of the bible (YHWH) were indeed wandering the desert in ancient times, There were competing cultures sacrificing babies at alters that were warned to stop and then destroyed after 400 years of ignoring the warnings, There was a King David, There was a temple and it was destroyed, King Davids descendants were held in captivity in Babylon and then released to return and rebuild, Jesus was a real person, etc.

Predicted The Future

The bible was compiled from individual works written over a span of more than 1500 years. Over that time, there were many predicitons made of future events. There were over 2500 prophesies of future events in the bible, 2000 of them have already come true, the remainder are still in the future. Only God can predict the future, and He has demonstrated that capability.

Learn more: Article from Reasons to believe – Fulfilled Prophesy: Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible (Link) 

Remarkable Impact

The Bible is the best selling book of all time. It’s teachings change individual lives; people from around the world share testimony of being freed from substance abuse, destructive lifestyles, immoral behavior, and undesired behaviors due to following biblical principles and their faith in Jesus Chris.  The bibles teachings have transformed the world: Followers of the bible created science because they believed that it was orderly and studying it would reveal knowledge.Followers of the bible lead the abolition of slavery because the bible teaches that all people are created in God’s image and are worthy of respect., Followers of the bible created the entire western world which is the most prosperous of any society in history. Teachings can be corrupted and mis-used, but when applied correctly the reulsts are amazing.

8) Jesus was a Real Person, and There Is Convincing Evidence for His Resurrection 

The entire Christian religion hinges on three events: Jesus virgin birth, His suffering and innocent death on the cross, and His resurreciton on the 3rd day. Many non-believers question if Jesus was a real person, or if He really died on the cross, or if He was actually resurrected, When you review the evidence, there is a pretty convincing case that He was a real person, he did die on a cross at the hands of the romans, he was buried and then raised from the dead on the 3rd day.

    • The Gospels provide 4 eye-witness acounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection
    • There are several extra-biblical accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and hoards of followers who believe resurrection
    • There were over 500 eyewitnesses willing to suffer for admitting that they had seen the resurrected Jesus.
    • There was no debate at the time, that Jesus tomb was empty on the 3rd day. The critics of Jesus accused the disciples of stealing His body from the sealed and heavily guarded tomb. 
    • The 11 remaining disciples and Jesus’s brother James were so convinced by their encounters with the risen Jesus, they were willing to devote their remainder of their lives to spreading the word, being pursecuted, and enduring torture to the point of death. People do not take lies to the grave if they know the truth.
    • There is a creed written by the early church within weeks or months or a couple years of Jesus death to capture the essence of the Gospal story for those wanting to understand and believe. This creed is captured by Paul in 1st Corinthians 15.

Learn more:

Video From Lee Strobel – The Case for Christianity in 15 min – (Link)

Video From J Warner Wallace – Cold Case Christianity (Link)

Video Interview of J Warner Wallace – A 10 year Update of Cold Case Christianity (Link)

9) Supernatural Experiences Provide Insights

Near Death Experiences provide compelling evidence for Life After Death, God, Heaven, Purpose, and Accountability for your life.  Millions of people have had experiences during trauma where they leave their physical body, travel to heaven, visit with loved ones, meet angels or God, relive part of their lives, gain insights on their purpose, are sent back to continue their life, and come back a changed person. Analysis of these experiences across diverse cultures shows they are not a random phenomenon, God is real, Heaven is real, We are each here on earth temporarily and we are here for a purpose, the goal of our life is to transform so we flow God’s love through us to the rest of creation using our gifts and talents.

Learn more:

My Web Page on Near Death Experiences (Link)

    • My Web Page on The works of Emanuel Swedenborg (Link)

10) Personal Experience – We Each Can Observe God’s Hand In Our Life

If we open our eyes to the spiritual world, and are willing to invest some of our time and energy, we can see how we are being impacted by it, and then if we engage effectively, how we are impacting it. We can see God’s hand in our life (Providence), We can fele a deep sense of purpose for our lives, We can see God answering our prayers, We can even feel his presence if we draw near to Him. If we are willing to yeild our lives to Him, He will lead us on a wonderful adventure (Lead By The Spirit), and when we accept the authority he delegates to us, we can see the power of the Holy Spirit moving through us and impacting peoples lives.

Providence:

God puts us in just the right spot with just the right person to experience something significant that shapes our earthly journey. These events are often related to how you met your spouse, how you chose what school to go to, or how you got a job. When you look at the scenarios you experienced, the probability that all of those aspects happened randomly is close to zero, and once you recognize that such things have happened more than once in your life, it becomes clear that there is a greater force at work.

Sense of Purpose:

We are each programmed with a sense of purpose deep inside. If we are honest with ourselves and reflect on our lives, we know we are here for a reason, we have a purpose, there is a calling on their life. This purpose is different for each person but it is not random.  Our unique calling aligns with a passion deep in our heart and the gifts and talents we have in our earthly body.

Power of Prayers:

Purposeful and fervent prayer aligned with God’s will is very effective. A simple log of prayers and results seen will reveal that God is real and He is answering your prayers. 

Presence:

When we pursue God and draw near to Him in prayer or worship, we can sense His presence inside us – As sense of connection, inflow, and peace appears in our soul. 

Lead By the Spirit:

God wants to help you grow and mature. He is a Father, Counselor, Teacher and Shepherd. God will engage in an intimate conversation with you if you engage Him with all your heart. He will teach you, coach you, and lead you onto the path He has set before you. His path will enable you to bear fruit in this life and bring Him glory. Pretty wonderful 

Power:

When we align with God’s wil and actively engage others with the authority God grants by praying into some situation they face, you can often feel the holy spirit flow with energy to effect the other person. The effect is sometimes immediately visible, and sometimes delayed, but the sensation of the Holy Spirit moving is very real.

Learn more:

How To Hear His Voice – (Link to My Blog Post)

How To Get A Word Of Wisdom to Guide your path – (Link To My Blog Post),  (My Video)

11) There is a transcendent objective morality.

If we evolved as random accidents driven by propagation of our species, we should be motivated to do whatever it takes to elevate ourselves above others for our own survival and propagation. We should be murdering our competition, stealing their resources, and having sex with as many partners as possible to maximize our propagation. Counter to that agenda however, We know in our heart that murder of an innocent person is wrong, theft of others property is wrong, and that rape, incest and adultery is wrong. These are moral absolutes that suggest each of us has some inherent value as individuals which deserve to be respected and protected. This is consistent with bible teaching that we are created in the image of God with value and purpose, and those objective morals are written on our heart.

Learn more: 

Video from DrCraigVideos – Is There Meaning to Life? (Link)

Video from Jordan Peterson – The Lie of Relative Morality (Link)

Video from Jordan Peterson – The Case Against Moral Relativism (Link)

Video from Stand To Reason – Fatal Flaws of Moral Relativism (Link)

That is a summary of my top 10 +1 reasons to believe in God. Hope you find them helpful.  Post a comment if you agree, or if you disagree with anything I have said. I want to tune up these write ups over time. 

Next up: 

What are the arguments against God? And what are the best counters to those arguments. (Link) 

Was Jesus Real

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

What Evidence Do We Have That Jesus Was A Real Person 

The most imporatnt decision in your life will be whether to ccept Jesus as your lord or not. This decision will shape your life and and dictte how you spend etenrity. 

The critical beliefs in Christianity are that:

  • Mankind has fallen from God’s original intention due to sin,
  • God loves us so much He sent His son to rescue us,
  • Jesus came here and lived among us,
  • He suffered and died as an innocent man to pay the price for our sins,
  • He was raised from the dead on the third day and now rules in heaven,
  • Folks who repent and turn from their sinful ways, and believe in Jesus as their lord are transformed in this life and will get to spend eternity with Him in heaven, and
  • Folks who choose to ignore or reject Jesus and remain separated from God in this life will spend eternity separated from Him in one of the hells.

There are many reasons folks choose to reject Jesus. Some claim the bible is only a collection of myths and that Jesus either was a fictional character and never lived.  Some argue that he lived but didn’t die on the cross, or if He did die, he was never raised from the dead.  Contrary to those claims, there is convincing evidence from multiple sources that

  • Jesus was a very real historic person,
  • He died by crucifixion at the hands of the romans, and
  • He appeared alive to many after being buried in a sealed tomb for 3 days.

 I encourage you to review this evidence to become convinced and further deepen your commitment to Jesus in faith.

Jesus WAS a real person

Let’s start with establishing Jesus as a real historic person.  No serious historian doubts that Jesus was a real historic person who lived in Judea during the reins of Pontius Pilot and Tiberius, and that He had followers called Christians who truly believed he was raised from the dead.

Extra Biblical Writing:

Some of the key ancient documentation of Jesus existence from outside the bible are:

  • Flavius Josephus: The Jewish historian and military leader wrote about Jesus in his 20-volume history of the Jewish people, Jewish Antiquities, around 93 AD. This included discussion of Jesus doing surprising deeds and being crucified by Pilot. He mentions that He had a following of believers called Christians. He also writes of Jesus’ brother James who he identified as “the brother of Jesus who is called Christ” being brought before the Sanhedrin as a follower of Christ and being sentenced to death by stoning.
  • Tacitus: The Roman senator and historian wrote about Jesus and His execution by Pontius pilot during Tiberius’s reign in book 15, chapter 44, of his history of the Roman Empire, “Annals of Imperial Rome”, published around 116 AD.
  • Pliny the Younger: The Roman governor wrote to Emperor Trajan in 112 AD seeking guidance on how to proceed regarding putting Christians on trial. In one letter he stated that the early Christians would “sing hymns to Christ as to a god”.

Early Jews:

The ancient Jewish community embraced Jesus as a real person during his life and after his death. He was widely recognized as being an excellent teacher. Their issue was that He claimed to be God but did not fit the image they had of a conquering warrior king who would set them free from the romans. They accused him of being born illegitimately, of doing miracles by using evil magical forces, of making a false claim that He was God, and leading folks astray from the latest doctrines of the Jewish leaders. They disliked what he was doing but never doubted his existence. They believed he lived and was crucified, but that his body was stolen from the grave.

  “Jewish rabbis who did not like Jesus, or his followers, accused him of being a magician and leading people astray, but they never said he didn’t exist.” Lawrence Mykytiuk, associate professor of library science at Purdue University. Did Jesus Exist? Searching for Evidence Beyond the Bible – 2015

Early Christians:

The disciples and others provided eye-witness accounts of Jesus life which are recorded in the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John which were written down within 30-60 years of the events. These are well preserved to this day.

Early Muslims:

The Muslim community has always revered Jesus as a prophet and messenger from God. The Quran mentions Jesus numerous times (Isa in Arabic). It details his life story including his virgin birth to Mary, his prophetic role, and miracles he performed. Muslims consider Jesus to be one of the major prophets sent by God, following the line of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Solomon, David. The twist comes when the Quran says that Jesus avoided crucifixion and was raised directly to heaven. The Quran teaches that God (Allah) is the only true God, Jesus was not God because He was just a prophet. The Quran provided different guidance on who He was and how to deal with him, but it does not question that Jesus was here.

Surah Al-Imran (Chapter 3, Verse 45): “And (remember) when the angels said, ‘O Mary! Verily, Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, held in honor in this world and in the Hereafter, and of those who are near to Allah.

Jesus Died By Crucifixion

Jesus died by crucifixion at the hands of the romans. Several of the ancient documents that document his existence, specifically state that he was crucified.

The medical community has reviewed the process of roman crucifixion and concluded that anyone that undergoes this process will surely have died.

 “Clearly the weight of evidence suggests that Jesus was dead even before the spear was thrust into His side.” Journal of the American Medical Association

Jesus was Raised from the dead

Jesus was observed alive after His burial by various groups. There are 9 eye-witness accounts of the resurrected Jesus, some within, some outside the bible. He appeared to over 500 total witnesses. None of these witnesses received any earthly benefit from claiming they saw him, the only risked persecution, excommunication from their community, punishment, and torture, up to and including death.

Individual accounts of encountering the risen Jesus are provided by Matthew, John, Peter, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the other disciples including Thomas and are recorded in the 4 gospels.

Eyewitness accounts were integrated into a Creed used by the early church. This creed was written very shortly after the resurrection. Paul learned of this creed when He visited Jerusalem 3 years after the resurrection.  Paul included this creed in his first letter to the Corinthians:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve”. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

We have solid evidence that Jesus was real and that He died by crucifixion. It was common at the time, to believe that the tomb is empty 3 days after He was burried. Critics of the resurrection theory suggest the body was stolen, they do not debate that tomb was empty. Well, how else would the tomb become empty with roman guards on it 24/7.

The most compelling evidence for the resurrection is the conviction of the disciples. 12 humble disciples were willing to suffer torture and be put to death for testifying they interacted with Jesus after He was raised in the flesh. This is remarkable and very unlikely if His resurrection was a lie. For example, The Watergate perpetrators were some of the most powerful men in the world and they could not maintain their lie for just 3 months. These 12 men endured great suffering and went to the grave confessing that Jesus was raised from the dead.    

Why would 500 other eyewitnesses be willing to be excommunicated from society and possibly be stoned to death for claiming they saw Jesus resurrected in the flesh if it was a lie.  It wouldn’t happen.  

Would you be willing to give your life for something you believe in? Each veteran does just that. God loves us so much He sent His only begotten son to rescue us, to restore that which was lost through sin. Jesus loves us so much He was willing to bear the burden of our sin on His back to the point of death, trusting in faith the Fathers’ promise to resurrect Him in glory on the third day.  That is some serious faith, that is some serious love.

He is still alive, Just Ask Him

If you still don’t believe, Just ask Him.  Say: “Jesus if you are who the bible says you are, the Lord of the universe, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Redeemer, the Savior, please reveal yourself to me in some meaningful way. I truly want to get to know you.” You must be serious about it though. If you ask with all your heart you will find Him.

Believe!  He is risen. Acknowledge Him, Invite Him, Let Him lead you into the life He intended for you and then enjoy eternity with Him.

If you want to review in more detail, here are a couple links

 

 

Deny Yourself, Pick Up Your Cross Daily, Follow Jesus

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

Deny Yourself, Pick Up Your Cross Daily, Follow Jesus

We are called to Follow Jesus. Jesus is the shephard, we are His flock. We are to hear His voice and follow Him. We are called to follow in His footsteps and walk as He walked.  We are to imitate Him and become like Him. 

Jesus came here in the flesh as the expressed image of the Father. That means HE is Love. We are to imitate Him, and become love.

In order to imitate Him you need to open your eyes and begin to see things from His perspective. You need to look at how He lived His life and understand what He was trying to do.  You then need to figure out how to apply that understanding to your life. As you do this, you will get to “know Him” and He will get to know you.

He provides very direct instructions in how to do this in a robust way: Deny Yourself, Pick up your cross daily, and follow Him.

Deny yourself means to set aside your own self-conscious identity and cut off the selfish agendas that drive us. We need to realize this life is not all about ME and my ego, it is about allowing God to operate through ME to flow His love to others. God’s love is perfected when it flows through us to others. Self-centeredness gets in the way of this flow, it diverts and hords God’s love in ourselves rather than letting it flow through us to others. We need to flow God’s love through us, you can dable in this by finding ways to helping others. This, at least, gets you moving in the right direciton.  

Deny yourself is a critical step to truly becoming love.

Love does not try to draw attention to itself. It does not brag about how good things are going or complain about how bad things are going. It remains focused on how best to serve and help others.

Love does not try to build itself up or parade itself around. It does not seek credit for what it has or what it does. It doesn’t matter what your car looks like, it doesn’t matter how big or fancy your house is. It doesn’t matter if anyone notices when you spend time or money doing something nice. You need to shut down your ego and get it out of the way for God’s love to flow through you to others.

Love does not build itself up by putting others down. We are each God’s children and deserve to be treated with love. He promises to treat you exactly as you have treated others. Don’t build yourself up at the expense of others.  Don’t tear others down just to build yourself up. Find ways to lower yourself and serve others; the last will be the first in His kingdom.

Love is not focused on money or material  things. Love is focused on using our gifts, talents and resources to do good works for other people. Find ways to be nice to people, loving others, helping those in need physically, mentally, and spiritually.  

Love does not worry about what others think or say or do to it. It does not get puffed up when people say nice things, it does not take offense when someone treats it badly. Don’t seek credit for doing good; Don’t let the left hand know what the right hand is doing.

Love is content.  It does not envy what others have or take actions to maliciously pursue or take it.

Picking up your cross challenges you and helps you become Love:

Love is willing to sacrifice and suffer for a good cause. God sent His son even while we were rebelling against Him as sinners. Jesus was willing to suffer and die on the cross for us, even while He was being rejected by the very people He came to save. He not only was willing to suffer for us, He said nothing while it happened and forgave those who did it to them.  God knows exactly what has happened to you and what you think, say, and do to others. He promises rewards in heaven for suffering wrongs in this life without retaliating.  

Love forgives and does not hold grudges. Love sees the best in people. Love sees each of us as God’s children struggling in a fallen world.  Love forgives them of misguided actions and is willing to move forward. You are called to absorb wrongs and forgive 70×7 times. You are even called to love your enemies, pray for them, and bless them. You are to overcome evil with good.

Follow Jesus and love will blossom into faith and bring Him glory:

Love is focused on the hope of eternal things rather than the trials and tribulations of our individual earthly life. Jesus focused on the Fathers work, and He did the Fathers will. Stay focused on God and His purpose for our life. We are here to bring God glory. What can we do to serve Him and bring Him glory in our earthly life and how can our earthly lives help others gain an eternal life with Him.

Love has hope and high expectations for God’s divine purpose and plan, Jesus was willing to pick up his cross and die for us on the promise of resurrection on the third day. We trust in Him and His plan even when things are not going well for us in this life.

Please take seriously the opportunity to deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, and follow Jesus. Imitate Him and become love. Walk as He walked, Become the light as He was in the light.  Become a bright beacon for His kingdom. Stand boldly on judgement day because you have become like Him in this life.

Hope this helps.

 

Life is supposed to be difficult

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Life is supposed to be difficult

 

Life is supposed to be difficult…

John Voight was on his knees stuggling with the serious challenges of life and He heard God tell him “It is suposed to be difficult”

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1169128340790216

This life is designed intentionally to get you to recognize you can not do it yourself, and you need God.
The sooner you come to that ralization and start to work with Him rather than ignore Him or work agaisnt Him, the better off you will be…short term and long term.

You have free will. You have the choice…. but your choice has consequences …both for you and those around you.

Choose wisely my frineds, while you still have the option.

Supportive scriptures

Life is difficult

 “We are all human beings. Our life is short and full of trouble” Job 14:1

We are here on earth temporarily, we are just passing through

“For we are aliens and pilgrims before You, As were all our fathers;
Our days on earth are as a shadow, And without hope.”1 Chronicles 29:15

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul” 1 Peter 2:11

Earthly tribulations are temporary and they help us develop spiritually, which serves a higher purpose

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

The storms are inevitable, they come to the rightious and the unrightious. But the righious will survive having built a foundaiton on solid rock..

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27

God / Jesus does not promise to keep you out of the storms, but He does promise to help you weather them

“I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world”.
John 16:33

God gives you a choice, and the choice has consequences…for you and those close to you.

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them” Deuteronomy 30:19-20

You have a limited time to make your choice.

“So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” Proverbs 27:1

 

 

Have you become love? Here is a test

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Have you become Love?  Here is a self-test!

We are each called to become Love

Becoming love is a really big deal: God is Love, and you are called to get to know Him, imitate Him and become like Him. You are called to Love others and to do all things in love. His love is perfected when it flows through you to others, and it culminates when you can have boldness in the day of judgement because we have become Love in our daily life.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

“Let all that you do be done with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14

“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” 1 John 4:12

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17

What does becoming Love look like?

So how are you doing on becoming love,  you can see the evidence in your own thoughts and actions. The bible is wonderful mirror to judge yourself against. One of the best verses for this is 1 Cor 13. I like leveraging both the NKJV and the NIV versions to gain clarity on this expectations for love.

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NKJV

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV

How am I doing?

Let’s turn this verse into a self test: Read each line and see if you have gaps to address

  1. I am patient
  2. I am kind
  3. I am content with what I have and do not envy
  4. I do not boast or parade myself to be seen by others
  5. I am not proud or puffed up
  6. I am polite and always respectful of others
  7. I do not seek gratification at the expense of others
  8. I do not keep track of the wrongs done against me
  9. I am not easily provoked into anger
  10. I never wish evil on people, not even my enemies
  11. I never manipulate things to control or take advantage of someone
  12. I always seek and celebrate the truth
  13. I always accept my circumstances without complaining
  14. I believe the word of God and His promises for those who align and follow His guidance
  15. I have high expectations and hope for a bright future in this life and the next
  16. I endure whatever life throws at me and persevere knowing He is with me and will see me through.

Why am I not manifesting love in all of these aspects?

We are each born with a sinful nature inherrited from Adam;  We each start life with a focus on ourselves and our earthly situation rather than focusing on God and His higher purposes for us. This focus on ourselves seporates us from God and that has consequences. Rather than being directly connected to the source of all love, our love of self  seporates us from the source of love and we live our lives needing love. This vacuum of love at the deepest lovel drives our thoughts, emotions, and bahaviours in destructive ways. In order to transform and become love, we must first get rid of that self-centered love. We are called to love God with all of our heart. If we love ourselves with some part of our heart, we are not loving Him with all of it. What part of you do you still love more than you love God?  Your earthly body? Your money? Your things?  Your job title? Your reputation? Your social status?  The more you can see things from His perspective, the faster you can be transfomred into Love and see the benefits. This life is temporary and our eternal soul is just passing through on its journey. He paid the price to set your free from your sinful nature and He relesed the holy spirit to empower you to live the full life He intended when He created you.  

What do I do about these gaps?

Which gap is the most significant?  Ask Him to help you prioritize: Which area should I work on first to learn?  Which area will have the biggest impact? 

The first step is to understand the gap. What are you manifesting that is not the desired character of love?

Ask Him to help you understand what is at the root of this gap? What aspect of yourself are you still loving more than you love God?   

Confess your gap… the undesired behaviour and the root of self love that drives it.

Declare your intention to crucify the self-love and to Love God with ALL your heart.

Declare your intention to be transfomred and to manifest the full character of love towards others.

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you complete the transformation of your very nature so you can become like Jesus.

Example prayer addressing a gap of patience:

Lord, you call me to become love and if I am love I will be patient man.  I continue to fall short and have missed the mark. Lord, you have taught me that I must deny myself in order to become love, that as long as I love myself first, I can not fully recieve your love and flow your love to others and truly become love. Help me understand what part of my old self I still love and hold on to. I wish to submit my entire old self to you so I can cut it off and move forward in love. I declare that I will become a patient man with your help and guidance. I claim this promise to become more like You and to bring You glory through my life. I ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN.  

Testimony:

He showed me that my impatience stemmed from a belief I held consciously or sub-consciously that my own agenda was more important than whatever His agenda was for me or those around me. Once I saw that and acknowledged it was true, I repented of putting myself above Him, and putting my agenda above whatever He is working with His. I declared my intention to be patient and respect His higher level plan unfolding even if my plans are disrupted.  I now purposfully ask for His help as I go thorugh my day, to help me build an appropriate plan of action, and to remain calm and collected as things occur knowing everything will work out in His good time. Significant improvement in demonstration of patience overnight, and over a couple of months it was habit.

Hope this helps.

Why are you a Christian?

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Why are You a Christian?  Your “why” makes all the difference.

Why are you a Christian? Your “Why” makes all the difference.

Make sure you have not been sold short on some modern popularized version of Christianity.

Are you pursuing God for your own selfish agenda?
Have you been told to say a sinners prayer just so you can get into heaven someday?

Please dig in and understand what He actually says…so you can get on the right path while there is still time to do it.

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 16:25

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21

He is not looking for our compliance with some superficial religious ritual, He is looking to transform each of us and empower us to live the life He intended when He created us here.

He created us in His image, operating in love and and connected to Him, the source of love.

That was all corrupted when Adam and Eve rebelled and sinned against God in the garden. They became self centered, self conscious and seporated from God. Instead of being a source of love, they started to need love and seek love.

He wants to restore each of us to the original design, to reconnect us to the source of love, to purge the corrupted selfish self and become born again so that we can operate as a source or conduit of love, the way we were intended.  He wants to help us become like Him, to become love in action.  Loving God with all our heart, and flowing His love to others, perfecting His love as we live our lives. He wants us to walk in the light as He is in the light, to seak first the kingdom of God within us, to overcome evil with good. He wants us to bring Him glory with our lives. To shine as a beacon in this dark world. He wants us to live for His great name.

Get alone wiht Him. Ask Him if your heart is in the right place. Listen for His answer. If He doesnt give you a serious warm fuzzy in your heart, a solid conviction that You know Him and He knows you, then repent and ask Him to lead you onto the right path.

Please do this with a sense of urgency while you still can.
Even if you only do this for selfish reasons, do it now. You won’t want to be knocking on the pearly gates and not have Him know you and let you in, it will be too late.

He will call game over at some point and you will have cast your fate.
Just my two cents. Hope you find it helpful.

 

How have you filled the God shaped hole in your heart

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How have you filled the “God Shaped Hole” in your heart?

You have a God Shaped Hole

Deep in our heart, we know there is something more. There is more to life than the visible material world around us, we are part of something bigger. If we are honest with ourselves and reflect, we each yearn to know the answers to three age old questions: Why are we here? How did we get here? And what happens when we die? This yearning for perspective on the bigger picture is by design. God put a “God shaped hole” deep in our heart.

“He has put eternity in their hearts…” Ecclesiastes 3:11

How you choose to fill that God shaped hole in your heart really matters, it matters now and will matter forever.

If you fill it with God, you will connect the dots and find your way into God’s design. If you fill it with something other than God, it will not work out so well for you as you experience the consequences of your choices, and get increasingly intense opportunities to correct your decision.

What you worship becomes your god. You worship something when you decide to devote resources to it: when you decide to spend time and energy on it, when you prioritize other things around it. How do you spend your time? Your money? Your mental focus? What are you “worshiping”? Work? Money? Your body? Your reputation? Pleasures – Sex, drugs, alcohol, food? Power – Position or control? Worshiping anything on this earth as your top priority will get you into trouble.

“Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands….Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them.  Psalm 115: 4-8

Finding the right answers takes a bit of work but it is not hard. You must first decide that you really want to find the right answers.

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

God will not force Himself or His answers upon you. In fact, He purposefully hides Himself. 

“Truly You are God, who hide Yourself.” Isaiah 45:15-19

He does this to protect and respect your free will. If the creator of the universe was standing right in front of you in all His glory, you would be so intimidated you would comply with His intentions. The way He has set up the world, you get to grow as you find your way, you get to make choices, and you get to learn from your mistakes. You build character, develop convictions, maturity, and wisdom. If you were merely intimidated into complying, you would not become the person God intended when He put you here, you would not be prepared for your role in the heavens for eternity.    

He has given you the clues you need to find Him.

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20

“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1

He is knocking, all you need to do is answer.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20

He promises, if you do seek Him with all your heart, you will find him.

“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29

If you pay attention, God never forces you, you must decide for yourself, take the initiative:  You must ask, and it will be given, you decide to seek and you will find, You ask and He answers. You draw near, and He draws near.

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.” Luke 11:9-10

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:8

You are called to love God with ALL your heart, mind and strength.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Mark 12:29-31

“All” is a lot. If you love God with ALL your heart, there is not much room for loving your “self”. In fact you are called to deny “yourself”.

“Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” Luke 9:23

If you get yourself out of the way, then everything can flow from Him and back to Him. Everything you do should connect to God as your top priority. You should be living your life FOR Him, living in a way worthy of what He has done for you, living a life serving His purpose, to give Him glory.

Fill the God shaped hole in your soul with God.  

Prayer:

Heavnely Father, thank you for putting me here in this place and at this time. 

Thank you for putting eternity in my heart,  you have put a “God shaed hole” in my soul. 

Please open the eyes of my understanding so I can see opportunities to do better.

Lord Jesus, I ask you to help me understand what I have filled that hole with?  What am I worshipping other than you?

Lord Jesus, Please reveal yourself to me in profound and meaningful ways so I can make your first in my life. 

I will be transformed as I focus on you, align averything else to serve you and your purpose, and push out everythign that is not compatible.   

I ask this to bring your glory.  In Jesus name, AMEN

 

What Is Your Why?

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What is Your Why?

What is the Why for your life? It matters.

You are called to live a life that brings glory to God

“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

“Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made….” Isaiah 43:7

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20

The way to bring Him glory is to stop living for ourselves and live for HIM.

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Let’s look at why this is a big deal, and see where we are in the process of making it happen.

What you love deep in your heart determines who you really are. It determines how you will experience life; It determines how you perceive and experience this temporary life and it determines where and how you will experience the eternal one that follows.

“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’” 1 Samuel 16:7

You can tell what is in your heart by where your treasures lie, what comes out of your mouth, and what kind of fruit you produce with your actions.

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45

If your treasure is here on earth, your focus is on you and your earthly life: your body (how you look, physical capabilities),  your reputation (how others see you, how they treat you, getting recognition for your effort),  your position in life (education, job title, social status, salary), what you have (money, house, cars, things), and how to pursue pleasure (Alcohol, Drugs, Sex, Thrills, Luxury, Entertainment, Manipulation of others).

If your treasure is in heaven, you focus is on God, His kingdom and your eternity with Him: Getting to know Him, Understanding Him, Seeing from His perspective, Listening to Him, Doing His will. You are to be focused on flowing His love to others through your thoughts, words and actions. Denying your self, making you and your earthly life of less importance than serving God and His children.  Being of service to others rather than serving yourself. Generously reaching out to help those in need. Picking up your cross: sacrificing aspects of your earthly life as necessary to serve God, and forgiving those who sin against you. God promises that every person gets what they deserve in due time. He promises rewards in heaven for those who suffer in this life for His sake. When you are focused on God and His kingdom, you shine as a beacon for Him.

You know in your heart what is right and good. You just need to be honest with yourself.

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Hebrews 8:10

Do a self-test:

What is your why?  What drives you and your day-to-day actions

            Think through your day, your week,  What do you do and why do you do it?

Does each activity just serve you, or does it somehow serve others?

Can you connect each activity to serving God and His kingdom somehow?

Ex: I go to the gym 5x per week.

Why? To Look Good?  if so why?…keep asking why until you get to “to serve God and his children?” or “to serve ME” 

If the anwer is “To Be Healthy”…if so why?  “So I will live longer and not be sick”..that answer so far is all about ME.

Why is it important to you to live longer and not be sick? “So I don’t die young”…That is all about Me.

How about, “So I am not a burden to others as I age”…That is a little better.

How about, “So I am healthy and capable of serving God and others for many years to come.” Now you are on the right track

Or, How about, “So I can be healthy and serve God and others for many years to come, and be a positive influence on the folks at the gym and shine a beacon for the kingdom for anyone I may encounter along the way.  Now that is a worthy why.

Embracing a why like for yur activity will change the very nature of your gym visits…expecially your attitude towards others as you execute.        

Why do you say the things you do? Why do you say them the way you say them?

Are you building yourself up? Are you tearing yourself down?

Are you building someone else up? Are you tearing someone else down?

Are your communications positive and encouraging? Are they critical and condemning?

What fruit are you producing with your life?

Earthly fruit that perishes when you die?

or Fruit that lives on for eternity in someone else’s soul?  

If your treasures are still on earth and not in heaven, and your activities are not focused on serving others, and you are not producing fruit that is eternal, I encourage you to dig a bit into why God did what He did by sending His son in the Gospel message below. 

The Gospel

God is love. His love flows into you in several forms: He provides the raw energy of life, He formed you in your mothers’ womb, and He provides every breath you take. He provides people in your life to show you love and affection. He provides gifts and talents so you can be useful if you choose to nurture them. He provides every opportunity you have ever had to do something wonderful. He gives you free will to choose whether to acknowledge Him and align to His will, or ignore Him and suffer the consequences.

You love only because God loved you first. Every ounce of love in your heart came from God.  The love in your heart is God resident in you. When you pursue selfish agendas, that love reaches a dead end, the flow stops with you. When you get your own agendas out of the way and find a way to flow God’s love through you to someone else, the flow of His love has been perfected.

You are called to love God with all your heart. ALL is ALL, 100%.

“‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” Mark 12:30-31

If you love Him with all your heart, there is no room for loving you and your earthly life. You are to be a vessel for His use. He is the potter, you are the clay. You are to deny your “self”,  crucify the old you, and let Jesus form in you, and let His love flow through you.

“But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

“Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” 2 Timothy 2:21

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

We are at war with God when we are focused on ourselves. God set rules to guide our behavior so that we would not cause harm to each other. God is saddened when we choose to violate His guidance and cause harm to others.  

God knows what is in your heart, and He wants to help us fix it.

“For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.” 1 John 3:20

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5

He sent His son to restore that which was lost,  the image of God. He wants to come into you and help you transform into that image.

“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” Matthew 18:11

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” Colossians 1:15

“Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,” Colossians 3:9-10

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2

Our sins have consequences. He paid the price with His body, He shed innocent blood to forgive us, He bought us with a price. The least we can do is give Him our lives in return.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His stripes you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,” Ephesians 1:7

“Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” 1 Peter 1:18-19

When you embrace Jesus, He will work in your heart.

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

God sent His son to restore us to the original image of God. He paid for our souls with His life.  His intention is to take up residence in each of us and help us transform from self-centered people to folks submitted to Him and focused on flowing love to others. When we do that we bring glory to the Father and His kingdom. That should be your purpose, your why.

We are created to bring God Glory

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Revelation 4:11

“Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:7

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

“For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:20

Focus on receiving God’s love into you through embracing Jesus’ and His work on the cross. God loves you so much He sent His son to suffer and die for you. He did that even while you were working against Him via your own sins; you were acting as an enemy against Him and He still forgives you and even blesses you. He paid the price for you sins. You are righteous, and reconnected with the Father; no longer separated by sin but restored to perfect unity. Your past is erased; The Father sees you as innocent and beyond reproach when He sees you through Jesus blood. Once you repent of your sins and accept Jesus work for you, you are wiped clean, there is no room for guilt, shame, or condemnation. You focus forward.  As you deny your own self, and cast aside self centered agendas, Jesus can work inside you to help you see things differently, to think about things differently, to soften your heart, to shift your priorities from serving yourself, to serving others. This changes the why for your life. You begin to focus on flowing God’s love through you to others.  The changes accumulate and you start to become more and more like Jesus, seeking and doing the Fathers will.  

Take a snapshot of your heart: What portion of your heart is rooted in love of God and His kingdom with intentions to bring Him glory, either upwards to serve God or outwards to serve others/neighbors? What portion Is rooted in love for your own self or for your earthly life?   How close to loving God with ALL your heart are you?  Ask Jesus for help to move closer to 100%.

Prayer:

Lord, help me identify the remaining self-centered loves I still hold in my heart. Help me hate them the way you hate them. Help me to repent of any self-centered agendas and turn to follow you. Help me renew my mind and see things from your perspective. I wish to serve you and perfect your love as it flows through me. Lord, help me shine as a beacon for your kingdom and bring you glory.  I ask this in  Jesus’ name, to bring glory to the Father.

 

Why Should You Believe In Jesus and His Resurrection

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

Why Should You Believe In Jesus and His Resurrection?

The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the most significant events in human history. We measure time based on years before and after His birth. Why should an intelligent perspn believe in Jesus’ and His resurrection? 2000 years later. This post outlines several reasons you should seriously consider as you work through what to believe or reject.

Jesus was a real person, No serious historian doubts it, even His critics. 

Jesus was a real historic person who died by crucifixion at the hands of the Romans. Therre are detailed eyewitness accounts of his life, ministry, death, and resurrection within the bible recoded within 60 years of the events and well preserved since then. These accounts are included in the biblical books of  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

There are several ancient texts outside of the bible whih reference Him by name, His death via crucifixion, and the growing communinty of followers who believed in His ressureciton in the flesh. These extra-biblical acounts include accounts from people who were critics and did not accept Him as The Christ, the Messiah, The Savior. The most prominent extra-biblical accounts include  

No serious historian doubts that He was a real person who died by Crucifixion in the time frame descibed in the bible, and that large groups of people at that time came to believe in His resurrection.

If you want to dig into this, start here: https://www.history.com/…/was-jesus-real-historical…

Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophesies written centuries before.

The old testiment makes over 300 predictions about God sending a savior, some very direct and specific, some more allusory or metaphoric.  Jesus fulfilled them. The more you dig into these, the more amazing they are both individually, as a collection, and as part of an integrated overarching narative. The chances of a single person fulfilling just 30 direct and specific prophesies made before He was born is staggering.  Born from the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jessie, and David, in Bethlehem, called immanuel, Kings bearing gifts, Exile and then return from Egypt, Sinless life, a messenger would preceed Him, He would minister in Galilee, Teach in parables, Enter Jeruselum on a donkey, Rejected by his people, Spit upon, Beaten beyond recognition, Bear our burden, Offer no resistance, Crucified: Nails in hands/feet, Hang on a cross, Die with the wicked, Buried with the rich.  Just fulfilling these specific activities as a human being on a mission would be nearly imposible. Then add fulfillment of prophesy about supernatural enabled Human activity: Born to a virgin, God declares Him Son of God,  Holy Spirit would rest on Him, Blind will see, Deaf will hear, Lame will walk, Dead will rise. When you understand that each of thse predictions was fulfilled, you realize this guy was the real deal, He was seriously connected to God the Father because only God can predict the future, He did just that.  Then the ultimate prophesy fulfilled: Raised from the dead, Ascend to Heaven, Sit at the right hand of the Father, King over all nations. Only God can predict the future, and only Jesus as the Son of God can fulfill all of these prophesies.

I encourge you to review the prophesies and how they were fulfiled.

The are listed in logical groups with hot linked references here: https://www.gotquestions.org/prophecies-of-Jesus.html 

They are arranged in order of thier fulfillment here:   https://christianityfaq.com/how-many-prophecies-did-jesus-fulfill-over-50-examples/

Jesus predicted His own death and resurrection

Jesus was asked repeatedly how people will know He is who he says he is. He told them to whatch what He does. He specifically stated His mission and predicted the activities that would unfold, including being rejected byreligious leaders, being put to death and being resurrected after 3 days.

“And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Mark 8:31

“For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” Mark 9:31

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” Mark 10:33-34

Jesus offers a prophetic promiss to the religious leaders. He connects the dots between His future death and ressurection, and the activities of the old testament character Jonah. He says as Jonah was released from captivity after spending three days in a whale, Jesus would be raised after spending three days in the grave. He also says the folks who listened to Jonah and repented will stand in contast on judgement day to all the folks who reject Jesus and His teachings now.

“Then some of the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we would like to have you do something special for us to see.’ He said to them, ‘The sinful people of this day look for something special to see. There will be nothing special to see but the powerful works of the early preacher Jonah.  Jonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of a big fish. The Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the grave also. The men of the city of Nineveh will stand up with the people of this day on the day men stand before God. Those men will say these people are guilty because the men of Nineveh were sorry for their sins and turned from them when Jonah preached. And see, Someone greater than Jonah is here!” Matthew 12:38-42

There were over 500 eye witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection, many were persecuted and died for what they saw and believed. 

How do I wrap my head around His resurrection in the flesh? Believe the eyewitnesses willing to die for what they saw. Paul describes the witnesses including himself.
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas (Peter), then by the twelve.  After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.  Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-7
Think about these witnesses. 12 humble disciples were willing to suffer torture and be put to death for testifying they interacted with Jesus after He was raised in the flesh; 11 of the disciples were tortured and killed for thier beliefs, and John died on an isolated island having been exiled for His belief. This level of committment is very unlikely if Jesus resurrection was a lie. The watergate perpetrators were some of the most powerful men in the world and they could not maintain their lie for 3 months at the threat of being put in jail, these guys remained committed to their testimony under torture to the point of death. 
Jesus appeared to well over 500 witnesses at various times and places over the 40 days after His resurrection. Many of these folks were still alive when Paul referenced them in His letters. Why would 500 eyewitnesses be willing to be excommunicated from society, persecuted, and possibly stoned to death for claiming they saw Jesus resurrected in the flesh if it was a lie. It wouldn’t happen.

“To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” Acts 1:3

Eyewitness interaction with Jesus after resurrection convinced His own brother, James, that He was “the Christ”

Jesus’ brother James did not fully believe Jesus was the son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, despite witnessing numerous miracles over several years.
“For even His brothers did not believe in Him.”  John 7:5
It was not until he witnessed Jesus risen from the dead that he fully believed.
“Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles” 1 Corinthians 15:7
James was so convinced that he became an apostle/missionary, served as leader in the first Christian church in Jerusalem.  He went on to write one of the letters now included as the book of James in the new testiment.  He suffered persecution and was stoned to death for his belief. None of this would happen if you did not truly believe what you saw. 

First hand interaction with the risen Jesus, converted Saul/Paul from being Jesus’ staunchest enemy to becoming Jesus’ staunches supporter.

Paul was actively working to persecute believers when the risen Jesus appeared to Him on the road to Damascus and radically changed Him. He repented, became a believer and went on to be one of the primary forces spreading the early Church. His writings make up almost half of the new testament.   
“Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” 1 Corinthians 15:8

 

Why did these folks belive? They saw the goodness, and the goodness leads you to repentance.

As a process guy, I learned that the best processes pull value through the steps of a process rather than tru to push things through. If the customer pulls exactly what he wants, exactly the right things come out. If the supplier tries to guess what the customer wants and pushes lots of stuff towards a customer, you end up with lots of stuff at the end of the process and only some of it might be what the customer wants, the rest of it is wrong and causes problems.  It is the same thing with spiritual stuff. Folks who focus on pushing truth at you and demand you comply, only make it harder to ge ton board. If you focus attention on God’s goodness, folks become receptive to talking about the truth involved in creating the goodness. The goodness “pulls” the truth.  So what Goodness did Jesus deliver during His visit here, and why should you be interested in paying attention? 

Jesus is “The Truth”; Evidence that God loves you.

Would you be willing to give your life for something you believe in? Each military veteran does just that. God loves us so much He sent His only begotten son to rescue us from this fallen world, to restore that which was lost through sin. Jesus loves us so much He was willing to sacrifice His earthly life, to bear the burden of our sin on His back to the point of death, trusting in faith the Fathers’ promise to resurrect Him in glory on the third day. That is some serious love, and that is some serious faith.  The eye witnesses believed what they saw and had faith enough to admit what they saw and suffere whatever consequences that entailed. Jesus suffered and died to provide you evidence of God’s love. The least you can do is love Him back. 

Jesus is “The Way”; The only way back to the Father.

You were born with a sinful nature, and you are a sinner.  Sin seporates us from God, we are at war with Him in our mind and heart. The penalty for sin is death, eternity seporated from God.  Jesus paid the price for our sin with His body. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father and His innocent blood is on the mercy seat. When you repent of your sins and accept Jesus as Lord of your life, you instantly become cataloged as one of His followers, a member of His official body of followers, the body of Christ. Jesus is our High Priest in the Holiest of Hollies intercessing with the Father. We are connected as one through His blood. The Father sees you through Jeuss blood as innocent, blameless and beyond reproach. Guilt, Shame and condemnation have no place when you are one with the Father.  This is not something you can earn,  You can not do someting wonderful to offset your sinful nature. This gift of being restored into right relationship with God is only available to those who belief and put thier faith in Jesus.

 

Jesus is “The Life”; His resurrection gives you a direct path to eternal life

Jesus was there in the beginning; All things were created through Him. He came here in the flesh as the expressed image of God so we could see what God is like, and see what kind of life He wants us to live. His prophetic birth as a real human is tangible evidence that God is real and that He loves us. He loves us so much that even though we were working against His agenda as sinners, He sent His son.  Jesus came here to save that which was lost. He took sin and death to the grave, and was resurrected into new life. His resurrection in the flesh is proof that God’s word is the truth, that Jesus was who He said He was. His resurrection paves the way for restoring our purpose in this life and clear expectations for spending eternity with Him when we are done here.
Our sinful nature drags us into thoughts words and acitons that seporate us from God, the source of life. When we repent of our sins and accept Jesus as lord, we are born again into new life. When we are baptized, we wash away our old self, and are raised into new life with Jesus. As we purposfully deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily and follow where Jesus leads us, we are changed. Our hearts are warmed, our minds are renewed, and our lives are transfomred. We strive to please God and actively resist temptation. We find joy in doing the good works set before us. We become willing to sacrifice in this life for promisses in the next. the kingdom of God becomes evident and manifests inside us here and now.  This is only available if you believe, put your faith in Jesus, make Him Lord of our lives, and embrace the Holy Spirit operating inside us.   

Jesus is “The Light”; He was the light of the world, and He handed the torch to you

Jesus lived a model life of love and truth. He loved us so much He was willing to come here as a human baby, then suffer and die to rescue us. He lived a sinless model life. He lived in perfect harmony with God the Father, He denied His own agendas and did only His Fathes will. He focused on serving others, including washing His disciples feet. He had great compassion for those in need, He fed the hungry, healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind. He brought many the good news of the kingdom of God, He encouraged repentance and a return to focus on God as center of your life. He was willing to suffer persecution and abuse in this life, for the promise of eternity with God in heaven. He even forgave those who tortured Him and put Him to death. His life was a light in this dark world,  He want’s you to pick up the torch, follow His model:  Living humbly, Understand God’s agenda and get aligned with His will, Be empowered by the Holy Spirit, Focused on serving others, Suffering in this life for promise in the next one, to the point of death. Become the light.

Jesus was the “Son of Man”

Was He God? Was He Human? Yes and Yes. He was a human being born in the flesh but with a divine nature direct from God. He was the expressed image of God, when you saw Him, you saw God. But He called Himsellf the “Son of Man” to highlight His human aspect.  He came as a human so you could relate to Him. 

He needed to be human and live a human life.  He needed to fulfill the terms of the law given through Moses,  if you sin, you deserve death. He needed to live the sinless life that we could not accomplish, and then shed His innocent blood as a perfect lamb sacrificed for mankind.  

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17

He needed to live a human life in the flesh and live it to the letter of the law, a perfect and innocent life.  He then He had to get the devil to violate the law and kill Him, an innocent man. By this amazing series of actions He god the devil judged guilty, defeated.

 “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,”  Hebrews 2: 14

He took the burden of our sins on His back, He paid the price for our sins to set us free.

  ” who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”1 Peter 2:24

He was born in the flesh as a baby, He was rasied up and grew in stature. He studied the scripture and became wise.  He was baptised as an adult and recieved the Holy Spirit, just as He asks you to do. He humbled himselfe and served others, including washing His dissciples feet, just as He asks you to do. He did good works for those in need, just as He asks you to do. He pursued God’s will rather than His own, Just as He asks you to do.  He was willing to suffer abuse in this earthly life and forgive those who administered it, for the promise of eternity with the Father, just as He asks you to do. He was willing to deny His earthly life to the point of death, on the promise of Glory to the Father, and eternity wiht Him,  Just as He asks you to do. 

Jesus was proof in the flesh of God’s love for us, and His promises ot us. Jesus ressureciton made Him the first born again of many, and you are to be one of the many when you believe in Him.

When Jesus says “Believers will do the works I do and more” it becomes a significant opportunity for you to step up your game as a believer. 

Jesus is “The Resurrection” ; He provides a path to overcome death, and hope we will see our family and friends again after they pass.

Death in the flesh appears to be rather permanent. Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates God’s promise for us to live on with Him after this life. No one who truly follows Him shall ever die. We can have hope to see our departed friends and family again in due time. Goddbye is not goodbye forever, it is godbye from this life, see you soon enough in the next.      

“So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:6-8

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

 

You are dead in your sins, you are at war with God and His agenda for you, you are living for yourself, focused on earthly things and this temporary earthly life. You pursue self-serving short-term agendas rather than positioning yourself for eternity and investing in His kingdom. Focus on yourself separates you from God, and cuts you off from His protection and support. Without a direct connection to God’s love, Your heart grows cold and hardens as you experience life’s challenges. You become so focused on you and your situation that it is difficult to have compassion for others and focus on helping them.

Jesus is the manifestation of God’s promise of eternal life. God is real, God loves us so much he sent his son, Jesus is God in the flesh so you can see Him and relate to Him. Jesus suffered and died to pay the wages of our sin, He denied his earthly body and took sin to the grave. He was raised from the dead to live forever, just as you will be raised from the dead…figuratively and literally.

Belief in Jesus reconnects your soul, your innermost self, to God. Understanding His suffering for you, brings your life into perspective. If He suffered and died for me, then I owe it to Him to pay attention and devote my life to serving Him. If He forgave those who sin against Him, I should be able to forgive those who sin against me. As you purge your sinful nature, it makes room for Him to form in you. It opens the door for you to come into complete union with Him now, and stay with Him for eternity.

Belief in Jesus and the Gospel message, opens your inner mind, it elevates your thinking from the fleshly outward focus on your plight in this world, to the inner/upward spiritual focus of God’s your role in His kingdom. Jesus life, death and ressurection opens the door to renewal of your mind and release into new life. Jesus is the resurrection in you.

If you are seriously pondering all of this and you don’t believe yet, Just Ask Him!

If you still don’t believe, Just ask Him. Say: “Jesus if you are who the bible says you are, the Lord of the universe, the Word made flesh. the Truth, the Way, the Life, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Redeemer, the Savior, please reveal yourself to me in some meaningful way. If you truly gave your life for me, I want to get to know you.”
You must be serious about it though. If you ask with all your heart he will answer, If you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him. If you do not, you will not. It is up to you! He is waiting.
If you remain serious and are still not convinved, let me know, i just might be able to help you.
Believe! He is risen. Acknowledge Him, Invite Him, Let Him lead you into the life He intended for you when He put you here, and then enjoy eternity with Him forever more.
Happy Easter

 

Healing Prayer

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

Prayer for Healing

Prayer:

Heavenly Father we thank you for creating the place, putting us here, and doing all you have done for us. You sent Your Word to teach us and guide us, You sent Your Son who is the Word made flesh, You sent Your Holy Spirit to dwell in us and empower us. You are always with me, and you work all things for the good of those who love you. I love you and I trust you to work all things for good.

We thank you for sending Your Words to guide us and teach us. Your words are truth and we cherish them with our minds and our hearts. We embrace your words; We do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of Your mouth. Just like the rains fall from the sky, You send your words with a purpose and they never return to You void, but always accomplish their assignment. We send them back to You by speaking them with our mouth in faith knowing they are the sword of the spirit and are accomplishing Your will here and now. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and your words bring life so we will speak them.  

Your words teach us about You and Your very nature. You are love. Your love is the energy driving the universe and everything in it. You created us in your image and put us in the garden in harmony with You. Your love is perfected when we dwell in it and it flows through us to others.  Adam and Eve corrupted the perfect image with selfish rebellion and became separated from You and Your love. Instead of being a conduit for your love, they became self-centered and separated and in need of love. We have inherited their sinful nature which impedes the flow of your love into us and through us. You love us so much that while we were still fighting against you as enemies with our sinful nature, You sent Your Son to live and die an earthly life and be born again for us. You sent your son to restore what was lost through Adam.

Jesus, we thank you for that act of service in faith. You are the truth, you are the objective evidence that God truly loves us. You came in the flesh so we could relate to you. You were with God in the heavens but denied yourself and became a humble human servant, even washing your disciples’ feet.  You denied your godly self and called yourself Son of Man, You did not do Your own will, but only the Fathers will. You willingly paid the price for the sins of all of mankind. Despite your good works and sinless life, You received more humiliation and physical torture than any other man, you were beaten beyond recognition, yet you forgave them. You did that to redeem me and create a path for me to follow.

 I confess my sins and my sinful nature. I deny myself and my own agendas and submit to you as Lord of my life. I invite the Holy Spirit to continue convicting me so I can continue to repent and grow as You continue to form in me and transform me and restore the original perfect image of God in me.

Jesus you are truth. You are the Word made flesh. You were with God in the beginning. You were the master craftsman making order out of chaos during creation. Everything was made through You. God spoke this place into existence through You. Now everything is restored through you. You revealed God’s nature. You bore the consequence of our sin on your body. Your innocent blood is on the mercy seat in heaven covering all of my sins. You are the high priest interceding with the Father. No one gets to the Father except through You.  The Father sees me as innocent and pure through your blood.  I am restored into perfect union with the Father through You and Your blood, not by anything I have done, but by your finished work on that cross and your resurrection. The Holy spirit that raised you from the dead now live in me and has power over my mortal flesh.

You told us in Your Word that Your will is healing. You are Jehovah Rapha – The God who heals (Exodus 15:26).  Jesus is the expressed image of God (Colossians 1:15, etc). Jesus did only the Fathers will (John 6:38). Jesus healed all who came to Him in faith. (Luke 4:40, etc) Jesus is unchanging (Hebrews 13:8). If Jesus did God’s will, and Jesus healed all who came to him, then God’s will was healing. If His will was healing back then, and He is unchanging, then His will remains healing today. I believe God’s will is always healing. He has compassion and wants me healed. When we asked Him, He sent His word to personally and said “the Healer”, and “have patience it is coming”. His will is healing, His will is always healing.

Jesus paid the price for my sins; He bore the consequences on His body, and shed His innocent blood as a permanent sacrifice. When I confess and accept Jesus as lord, I am born again into His family, the body of Christ. When the Father sees me, He sees me through Jesus’ blood. My past is erased from the Father’s sight and I am reconnected in perfect union. When I accept Jesus work on the cross my illnesses have no legal right to remain, He paid the price with His stripes. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside me and has the power to heal my mortal flesh. The Father’s will is healing, I speak His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  I speak healing in Jesus name, by His stripes I am healed. I speak your words and return them to you so they will fulfil their purpose. Your words are the truth, and the truth will set me free.  I speak these words in Jesus’ name to bring glory to the Father through the name of the son. AMEN

Selected scripture references:

Word of God has purpose

“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

God’s very nature is healing

Saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer (Jehovah-Rapha).” Exodus 15:26

God always works the best for His children who love Him

 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

God’s word has healing power

“He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.” Psalm 107:20

“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Proverbs 4:20-22

Jesus is God in the flesh, God’s Word come to life

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

“He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:2-3

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

Jesus is the expressed image of God

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 1:15

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” Hebrews 1:3

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4

“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” John 1:18

Jesus reveals the fathers will, He did only the Fathers will

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38

“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. John 5:30

Jesus healed all who came to Him in faith

“Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.” Luke 4:40

“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” Matthew 4:23

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” Acts 10:38

God is unchanging

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

“For I the Lord do not change…” Malachi 3:6

Jesus paid the price for sin

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2

I am healed by His stripes

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes[m] we are healed..” Isaiah 53:5

“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.1 Peter 2:24

The holy spirit dwells in me and will heal my flesh

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [a]through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11

Glorify the Father through the Son

“And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13

 

Love Your Enemies

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

Love Your Enemies? How Can I Do That?

Introduction – A Calling to Love Your Enemies

Most folks get the golden rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do to you”. Most folks also get the second of the great commandments: “Love your neighbors as yourself”.  This principle forms the basis fmany of the rules for civil society:.no murder, stealing, lying, or other abuses agaisnt others. This is pretty easy to understadn and pretty easy to embrace when theings are going well for you and when you view your neighbors as those folks you are working with, or are dependant on, for you success. It gets significantly harder to embrae when certain folks are working against you or doing things to harm you. Are they really my neighbor?  They are my enemy! What they did was wrong! I deserve to see justice! They need to be held accountable for thier actions!! The bible says hate your enemies, an eye for an eye! Well that was what the old testsment said. Jesus changed the game by calling us to “Love your enemies” . wow, that can be tough.  How do you do that? Jeuss showed you how, and it is not an optional calling if you want to spend eternity with Him.   

Jesus really changed the game, His came to earth as a suffering savior to usher God’s kingdom into the earth.  He created a path we can follow to experience the kingdom here on earth. Following that path includes a challenging calling to “love our enemies”.  Understanding this calling helped me better grasp what God was doing when He sent His son, what Jesus was doing with His earthly life, and why we are called to deny ourselves and pick up our cross daily. It connected the dots for me and things make a lot more sense as a result.  This post is my attempt to bring the same revelation to you to help you on your journey with Him.

You are called to love your neighbors AND your enemies.

The Old Testament teaches us to love our neighbors but to stand against our enemies, especially those who actively rebell and hate God. 

“Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.” Psalm 139:19-22

Folks are to be held accountable for thier actions and to repayed for thier adverse actions against others; an eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.

“If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.” Leviticus 24:17-20

Jesus sets the bar much higher now that He gets here.  He uses the sermon on the mount to set expecttions for participation in God’s heavenly kingdom. We need to not only love our neighbors, but truly love our enemies as well. We show this love by willfully suffering whatever wrongs they did against us and not retaliating.  We are to have mercy on them and forgive them rather than administer justice. We are to not only to avoid retaliating but repay their evil deeds with good deeds.  We are also to pray for them. 

  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” Matthew 5:43

Who are your enemies?

There are two groups of folks that could be considered enemies,  the first are those who are actively working to cause you harm. The second are those folks described in the old testament who were rebelling against God, whether they had directly impacted you yet or not. Those impacitng you could include: 

Folks who curse you: Anyone speaking negative things about your past, present, or future. Anyone using words which diminish you, your integrity, your intentions, your contribution, your future potential, or inherent value as one of God’s precious children.

Folks who hate you: Anyone who dislikes you or has hostility against you. Anyone viewing you as an adversary to be disliked, or avoided, or attacked, or defeated. Anyone thinking or willing or taking actions with the intention to do harm to you.

Folks who spitefully use you: Anyone manipulating you or your resources maliciously for their own gain.

Folks who prosecute you: Anyone taking an organized and intentional course of action to adversely impact you.

Loving Friends is easy

Loving friends and neighbors is easy and takes no sacrifice. Loving an enemy, and looking past what they have done to harm you, is much harder.

“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. Luke 6:32-34

How should you show love to enemies?

It helps to define a couple of commonly used terms here:

Justice: We are accountable for our actions. Choices have consequences. Damage must be repaid. We will get exactly what we deserve eventually. 

Mercy: Withholding punishment that someone deserves or has earned.  ex: Placing yourself at the mercy of the court for a lenient sentance..

Grace: Giving someone someting good they have not earned.  Ex: You are saved by grace through faith. It is a gift, not someothing you earn.

Loving enemies is not a trivial challenge because it goes contrary to principles of Justice where folks should be held accountable for their actions. ie: An eye for an eye. Loving enemies requires us to show mercy and not repay them in kind for their harmful actions. Not only that, we are called to flow goodness to them even when their actions did not deserve it. We are to show both mercy, and grace.

“…I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” Luke 6:27-31

Why should we love our enemies?

We should love our enemies because God loved us even while were were acting as enemies ot Him. 

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:10

Why should we be willing to suffer harm, have mercy, and forgive our enemies? 

We should be willing to suffer harm from others in this life because Jesus was willing to suffer harm because of our sins. God had mercy and sent His son, Jesus was full of mercy and forgives us. He suffered for us, the least we can do is suffer for Him. 

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.” Ephesians 2:4-5

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1-2

Jesus offers a heavenly reward

Jesus promises your reward in heaven will be great for your suffering any loss in his name. Having mercy for the acts of your enemies, not retaliating with punishment they deserve and truly forgiving them is the first part. Showing them grace with good works they have not earned, and Offering prayers based on recognizing their inherent value is part of the cross Jesus asks you to pick up. Recognizing God’s mercy and unearned grace towards you, and showing the same for othersthem perfects the flow of God’s love into you and through you.

“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. Mark 6:35-36

“…that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:45-48

Just to be clear, this is not optional nice to have activity. God’s forgiveness of your sin is contingent on your forgiveness of the sins of others.

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15

So how do you go about loving your enemies?

Mentally separate the sinner from the sin.

One key step is to separate the person causing you problems from the activities they are doing. We need to love the sinner and hate the sin. Each human being is created in Gods image and is worthy of love and respect. Each individual person has been put here with a divine purpose. The devil has been very successful at spreading lies and leveraging our self-centered nature to keep us from that purpose. Each individual has to find their way to God and their purpose in this fallen world. Many remain lost, or distracted, or confused, and are not on the right path for the life God intended for them. Some have become blind to God’s existence; some have become deaf to His offers to help them. Some hearts have become hard and do not flow love to others in compassion or good works. Some become self-centered enough to manipulate, use, and abuse people for their own gain. Some become rebellious and pursue self-centered agendas to the point of their own destruction, and they cause great distress of those around them. Our challenge is to recognize the created value of each individual, and pray for them to discover God, recognize His love and positive intentions for them, discover the flaws in their ways and repent, get back on the right track so they can become the wonderful loving person God intended when He put them here.

Deny Yourself and Pick Up Your Cross Daily

One key is to not take their acts against you personally. You are being called to absorb any negative impacts of your enemies’ actions: Let evil words roll off your back, take any physical abuse they dish out, absorb any loss of resources or property and not pursue retribution. This is only possible when you see things from God’s perspective and do what He asks of you: deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, and follow Jesus.

Jesus showed us by example what it means to deny yourself. Jesus was with God in heaven since the beginning and chose to came here and live amongst us as a human. He was the son of God and could easily have demanded broad recognition of that position. But instead, He called himself Son of Man. He did not strut around pounding his chest as He had every right to, He humbled himself as a mere human, submitted himself into service for others, and even washed his disciples’ feet before the ultimate sacrifice of his life for us.  He wants us to be of the same mind set.

“And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:27-28

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-11

At the appointed time, He picked up His cross: He willingly accepted humiliation, physical torture, and physical death to fulfill His calling. He said nothing in response to their attacks, He absorbed all that was being dished out against His earthly being to the point of death, and He forgave those who did it to Him.

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots. Luke 23:34

We are called to follow His model and do the same as we go through our lives. Deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily, and follow Jesus model.

“Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me’”. Luke 9:23

Crucify your old self, Put off the old.

You put your old self-centered self to death with Jesus on the cross, you are raised with Him in resurrection into new life.

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

When you have actually crucified your old “self”, it is much harder for people to harm you. You realize this life is not about you, it is about Christ forming in you and living through you.

Embrace your new identity.

One powerful enabler to accepting sacrifice in your earthly life is to understand and embrace your new identity. When you accept Jesus as your lord and savior, Your earthly life is no longer the center of the universe, God and His eternal kingdom ibecomes the cetner. When you repent of your sins and accept Jesus as lord of your life, you are born again. You become an adopted son of God. You have a new identity. You are not defined by your earthly life, or by what other people think, say, or do to you. Your identity is defined by God. The second you accept Jesus as lord, you step into righteousness through Jesus. You are a member of the body of Christ. The father sees you as holy and beyond reproach. People cannot take that position away from you by thier words or actions. They can not define you, You are defined by Him and His love..

Keep an eternal perspective.

We are eternal souls and are just temporary residents on this earth. Once we accept Jesus, are born again, and become adopted children of God, we knnow we will spend eternity in heaven. Death in this life sends us to heaven. Jesus promises justice for all wrong doing on the earth. We can be confident that folks will be held accountable or whatever malicious stuff they do in this life. We do not have to enforce justice, we can trust that God will. We actually are promised an incentive in heaven if we sacrifice something here for God’s sake. Humans can speak things, and do things to harm us, but they can not adversely impact our soul if we don’t let them.

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

Become the light.

Jesus was the light of the world. When you embrace Him and begin to see things from His perspective, you are in the light. As you transform and let Him form in you, you allow more of His love to flow through you to others, and you become the light. His love is perfected when it flows through you to others.

“He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” 1 John 2:9-11

Prayer:

Heavenly father, Thank you for creating this amazing place and putting me here to experience it.

Lord Jesus, thank you for being willing to come here and die to pay the price for our sin. You denied your Godly self and served us as the Son of Man, You picked up your cross by suffering and dying for us. I am committed to embracing your model and following in your footsteps.

I am committed to love my neighbors as my self, and to even love my enemies. I pray for your help to have mercy when evil is done agaisnt me. Help me love the sinner but hate the sin. Each of your children are precious and worthy of love. You came to save us, even when we were at war with you. I embrace each of my enemies as your precious children in whom you have planted gifts and talents and have high hopes even though they are currently lost. I pray for them. I pray they hear you knocking and let you lead them back into the flock so they can fulfil their purpose here. I pray for you help me continue to deny myself so that I can show mercy, Help me have one mind with you so that I can show mercy and flow grace with good works for those who seek to do me harm. May I pick up my cross so that your love can flow through me uninterrupted and bring you glory. I ask this in Jesus name.

 

Fear Not

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

Do you experience fear? Well, Fear Not! ( a work in progress)

One of the most prominent exhortations or commands from God in the bible is to “Fear Not”. It appears dozens of times with various supporting messages.

Fear is an intense emotional reaction to conscious thoughts that something is likely to happen in the future and casue us significant harm, and we are alone and powerless to avoid it. There are several aspects of fear to understand: We are focused on something in the future that may or may not happen, We are assuming this future event will somehow cause us harm, We are facing it alone,  and We are paralized and helpless to avoid what ever bad thing is going to happen.

God makes it very clear that His followers are not to fear and He addresses the key aspects of fear. 

The future is not worth worrying about

He encourages us to focus on the present and not overly stress about what may or may not ever happen in the future.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34

He removes the sting from death, the ultimate risk to our earthly self 

Everyone starts off with a fear of death, this earthly life will come to an end someday. 160,000 people die each day, many without notice. God gives us the promise of eternity with Him if we believe and put our trust in His son.  Death at that point is no longer dreadful, it may not be something we look forward to, but it looses its’ eternal sting. It becomes just another essential transition on our journey; we were born into this life, born-again into a spiritual life when we accept Jesus, and we will be released into a heavenly life with Jesus when we are done with our body. 

We are not facing life alone

If we love Him with all our heart, He with join us on our journey. God is love and He promises blessings and protection for those who love Him. 

We are to trust Him with everything

We are completely and entirely dependant on Him. We can do nothing without him.  With Him, anything is possible.

We are to partner with Him in our endeavors. Acknowledge Him with thanksgiving, Humbly ask for our needs, Trust that He will provide     

We are to talk to Him, Discuss our intentions, Listen for His input, Follow where He leads. He will protect us from harm and provide what we need.

He works all things for Good

Undesired events are inevitalbe, but He works all tings for the good of those who love him. He makes lemonaid out of lemons. He helps us learn and grow through experiences.  

We do not need to fear other people.

We don’t need to fear what other people can say or do to us.

The worst they can do is kill your earthly body.  Our earthly life is temporary and we have the promise of eternity with Him in heaven,  Not a bad outcome.

When you accept Jesus and His forgiveness in your heart, Guilt, Shame and Condemnation have no place to land. 

When you deny yourself and embrace your new identity as a child of God, you become imune to verbal attack. You know that God sees you as holy and worthy.

We shift from focusing inward, to focusing on flowing love ot others

Fear turns our focus inward; What could happen to ME.  When you deny yourself and focus on Jesus, you must deflate your ego, and you change your purpose. This life is not about me, it is about Jesus working through me for others. It is not about me, my reputation, the position I hold, what i deserve, or the things I have.   

Acknowledging that God loves us, He is right here with us, He is working to help us, He works all things for our ultimate good if we love Him.

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“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:13

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Psalm 118:6

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

“You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.” Deuteronomy 3:22

Fear of God is constructive. You will face your maker on judgement day. You are accountable for your intentional thoughts, words and actions. You have sinned and need a savior. He loves you so much He sent His son. You show your love for Him by complying with His commandments. You repent and recommit to Him when you suffer temptation and fall short.

“Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.’” Exodus 20:20

Fear implies concern for some form of future punishment – Risk of harm to “me”. If I have denied myself and submitted myself to Jesus, nothing can actually harm me. I am defined by His love for me, I am a child of God, an adopted son. This body is just a temporary vessel, Nothing in this life is really mine, My life is not my own, I am just the custodian of things, My role here is to shine for the kingdom, I will join Him in heaven eventually, fear of death has no power over me.   

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” Romans 8:15

“But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,” 1 Peter 3:14

Fear of man or fear of the future will cause problems. You are focused on yourself and what might happen to you. You will start focusing more and more inward on yourself and the risks you face. You will put up strategies to protect yourself from those who could do harm to you, you will isolate yourself and drive wedges against others.  God wants you to focus on the here and now, rather than the what ifs of the future. If you need something to happen now, ask Him and trust Him. If you see a risk in the future, pray for the right things to happen and for wisdom to navigate whatever challenges emerge and trust God to help you through whatever happens.

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” Proverbs 29:25

“Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34

“So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” Hebrews 13:6

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32

Dwell on the good stuff, pray with thanksgiving, and put your trust in Jesus

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. “Philippians 4:6-7

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8

Stay focused on God, What He has already done for us (Put us hear, Gave us gifts, Set His Son, Nurtured us, taught us, lead us),  What he is doing for us right now (Working all things for our eventual good), and what He promises for the future (Strength, Peace, Joy, Hope and a bright future, Eternity with Him in heaven), If we put our trust in Him, we can help us set aside fear.

“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” Psalm 94:19

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Psalm 56:3

“In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” Psalm 56:4

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

“Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4  

“Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.’” Isaiah 35:4

Example Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you creating this place and putting me here. Jesus, thank you for being willing to come here and suffer and die for me. You gave your life ofr me, I hereby give my life to you. 

You suffered and died so that I can have eternal life with you in heaven. I put my trust in you and no longer fear death. 

You promise to work all things for the good of those who love you.  I put my trust in you and no longer fear the future.

You promise to do what I need, If I pray in humility and suplicaiton.  I put my trust in you to fill my needs.

You promise to never leave me or foresake me. I put my trust in you and no longer fear the present.

You promise to teach me and guide if I listen and follow. I put my trust in you to lead me.

You promise to give me strenght and uphold me. I put my trust in you to help me.

You promise to give me peace and joy when i fully embrace you and your holy spirit. I put my trust in you and invite the Holy spirit into me.

You promise to transform me, if I submit myself to you.  I put my trust in you and ask you to mold me.

You promise to perfect your love as it flows through me to others. I trust you to purge all fear as love fills me and flows out ot others.

Lord, help me replace any and all remaining fear with complete trust in you and your promises.

I speak this in Jesus name to give glory to the Father and to shine as a beacon for the kingdom. 

 

Become Like Jesus

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

Don’t Miss the Point, Shed your old self and Become Like Jesus!

Don’t miss the point, the purpose of the Gospel, why Jesus came.

Contrary to popular opinion, Christianity is not all about you getting into heaven someday.  It is about transforming your life so heaven can form in you right here and right now. 

Modern western Christianity has become highly focused on speaking a “prayer of salvation” so if you die tonight you will go to heaven. Unfortunately, if this prayer is only superficial, and not accompanied with true repentance for your sins and a full committment to change and follow Jesus as Lord of your life, those folks will be severaly dissapointed when they knock at the pearly gates and Jesus does not know them and let them in.  The gospel message of repentance and transformaitonal change has become lost as churches seak to attract customers and avoid difficult conversations that might scare them away. This shortcut produces Christians in title only, folks who try to adapt selective Christian principles to thier life when it is convenient;  Christians who are complying with religious rituals but remain self-centered and unchanged; Christians who are pleasant for an hour on Sunday but are misserable the remainder of the week; Shristians that are happy when things are going well for them, but are devasteated and need prayer as soon as they encounter any of life’s inevitable challenges.. If you follow along with this write up, you will avoid this mistake;  You will get to know God and He will help you live the life He intended when he put you here, and He will know you very well when it comes time to knock on those pearly gates. 

Jesus came here to restore what was lost

The gospal message is much deeper and is much more powerful and compelling when you properly understand it. 

Look at the specific words used in Luke 19:10, they are very telling.  It doesn’t say Jesus came to save those who are lost, it says he came to save “That” which was lost. He came so save a thing not a person.  He came to restore the image of God in us, the image that was lost by Adam and Eve’s sin. This is a very big deal. 

“for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”Luke 19:10

Look at how the story line flows regarding the Image of God

Man was originally made in God’s image; Adam and Eve corrupted that image when they sinned in the garden. Each of us is born into Adam’s image, We each need to be born again to change it.  Jesus came here as the expressed image of God. Now that He has released the Holy Spirit, He will form in you if you invite Him and give Him room to work. You must cut off the old you and put the old you to death so that you can be restored into new life through Him. Jesus was the first born of many; you are to be one of the many. Jesus will restore the original image of God in you as He forms in you and lives through you.

In practical terms, God put us here for a purpose, Adam got us side tracked with sin, God sent His son to restore what was lost and to enable us to fulfill that original purpose. If we fully commit to follow Jesus, we will be transformed and be able to live the life He intended whern He put us here.

This is not a superficial prayer, this is not a casual engagement, this is not a limited applicaiton of selected principles if convenient, this is full emersion, this is a comittment to change.

You must shed your old self to make room for Jesus to form in you

The target of transformation is your inner nature, the thing deep down inside that drives you. We are born with a self-conscious and self-centered sinful nature that casues problems for us and those around us.  You can see this nature in little children, no one has to teach them to be needy, to be selfish with thier toys. That is thier inherited nature, thier instinct. That nature drives us to be self-consious; to focus on ME and my situation. It elevates our Ego and pushes self-centered agendas; what can i do to improve my situation, reputation, status, position, power in life. These self-focused emotions, thoughts, and actions are directly opposite of God’s intention for us to love Him with all our heart and to love others as ourselves. Left unchecked, they end up causing all sorts of problems for ourselves and others and are in fact the forcing functions behind all sin. 

Jesus came here to save us from sin, to allow us to move forward from our past, to come into us and change our nature, and empower us to live a better life through Him moving forward.  He lived a human life and forged a path for us to follow. A path where we transform and actually live the life God intended when He put us here.  After His ascension, He released the Holy Spirit so He could come and live inside each of us to teach us and guide us in person. 

We must repent of our sins. We must acknowledge our flaws and the consequences they produce. We must be committed to change; Be comitted to follow Jesus as lord of our lives and to follow His teacings; Be comitted to live a life worthy of the price Jesus paid. 

To make room for Him to live inside us and do His work we must get our old self out of the way.  We are called to:

1) Deny ourselves, (including our self-consicous emotions and our self-centered agendas),

2) Pick up our cross daily (including suffering what ever wrongs we encounter), and

3) Follow Jesus (including his teachings and lived example).   

If we are willing to set aside our old ways and actually follow Him, He will come inside us, teach us and guide us. He will form in us and flow through us. This is how we glorify God with our lives and become a beacon to others for His kingdom.

The idea is to crucify your old self and it’s sinful nature on the cross with Jesus.  If you put off your old self and start over, there is no past to be mired in.  

God actually wants to you become like Jesus

Invite Him to come and live in you; to tske up residence.

Offer yourself as a vessel for His use. Commit to transforming into His image and doing the work He calls you to.

As you listen and follow His lead,  He will form in you.

You will find more and more ways for His love to flow through you. His love is perfected when it flows through you to others. 

You will become more and more like Him.  You will be able to be bold on judgement day becasue you ended up like Him.

You know you have achieved success when you “know Him”.  When bad things happen to you and you respond in love. You are connected with Him in relationship, you see things from His perspective, you isten for His input, you understand His will, you speak His will into place, and He lfows through you to do the works He did. 

Scripture sets very clear expectations on you transforming and becoming like Jesus:

God originally made mankind in His own image, the perfect image of God.

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27

Adam and Eve were changed when they chose to sin in the garden. Thier eyes were opened. They became self-conscious, they realized they were naked, became afraid, hid from God, and began denying responsiblity for thier actions.They had corrupted the perfect image of God. 

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” Genesis 3:7

“Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Genesis 3:9-10

Adam passed on his flawed image to His children.

“…In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God….And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.” Genesis 5:1-3

We inherited Adams sinful nature.  We are born into Adams sinful nature:

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12

Jesus makes the kingdom of God available inside us:

“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, “See here!” or “See there!” For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21

We must be born again to reset our flawed nature and experience the kingdom of God in us:

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” John 3:3

Jesus is the expressed image of God:

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” Colossians 1:15

You are to be conformed to His image:

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29

Deny yourself, crucify your self-centered agendas, and allow Jesus to live in you and through you:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

We are to get to know Him; See things from His perspective, Understand His intentions, Align ourselves, and become more like Him, this releases eternal life in us and through us:

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3

Jesus is to form in you:

Paul said… “My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,” Galatians 4:19

“To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27

We are to become like Him:

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17

You are to become the light of the world. Jeuss was the light of the world while He was here, and now He has handed the ball to you.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5

“…that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,”  Philippians 2:15

“You (those who believe) are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5:14

Speak This Positive Confession

Heavenly Father, thank you for creating me and putting me here.

You created mankind in your image, the perfect image of God.

That image was tarnished by Adam and Eve when they sinned in the Garden.

I inherited that tarnished image, I was a sinner, another child lost in this fallen world.

I was living for ME. My thoughts and emotions were centered on ME.

I was self-conscious and self-centered.

I saw events around me mostly through my own eyes, from my own earthly perspective.

What is MY earthly status? What do I look like? What nice things do I have? How much money do I have? What level of education have I achieved? What Job/Position do I hold? What have I accomplished? What kind of relationships/family have I built? What status do I hold in society? What do others think of me?  Do people love me? How are things going for me?

My ego had a strong voice in my emotions and my actions: What is happening around me? What is happening to me? What does that mean for me? How do I build up my situation? How to I protect my reputation?

Guilt, Shame and Condemnation have had a strong foothold: What have I done? What impact has it had? What do people think? What would other people think if they knew? What does God think?

This focus on self is the opposite of what you intended when you put us here. We are called to love you more than we love ourselves. We are called to love our neighbors more than ourselves.  We are called to forgive our enemies and love them; We are to see all others as your precious children in need of love and support. We are to use our skills and resources to serve you and your kingdom as you lead us. We are to become your agents to spread love.    

Instead of being love in action, I have lived my life in need of love.

God, thank you for loving me so much you sent your son.

Jesus, You came here to rescue me, and to restore what was lost through Adam.

Jesus, You paid the price for my sins with your suffering and death.

You gave Your life for me, I give my life to You. 

I used to live my life for me, I now live my life for You.

Jesus, You are now Lord of my life.

I hereby crucify the old me, I nail my sinful nature to Your cross.

I put my ego and self-conscious emotions to death.

I cancel all self-centered agendas and submit them all to you, Jesus.

I put off my old man and put on the new man, I put on Jesus

Your innocent blood covers my past so I can focus forward.

I am completely forgiven, My past is washed away.

I am born again. An adopted son of God.

I am a new person.

All old things pass away, behold all things are made new through Jesus.

There is no room for guilt, shame, or condemnation in my life. My past is behind me.

I am an official member of your flock, a member of the Body of Christ..

The Father sees me as innocent and Holy through Your precious blood.

I am committed to live a life worthy of the price You paid.

I invite you to come live inside Me, to take up residence.

I present my mind and body as a temple for your Holy Spirit.

I wake every day renewed in your spirit.

I am beginning to see things from your perspective.

As I get to know you, You are coming alive in me, transforming my thoughts and emotions.

You empower me to live the life you intended when you put me here.

With Your help, I will be more and more like You

The kingdom of God is forming in me.

I have a new purpose, I am no longer just trying to survive, I am living to bring you glory

There is no room for negativity in me, I now live in the hope of glory.

You are forming in me; It is no longer me that lives, but You through me.

You are restoring the original image of God in me; I am becoming love.

Your love will be perfected as it flows through me to others.

I offer my arms and legs to do your work on this earth.

I will walk in the light as you walked in the light.

I will be a bright light in this dark world.

I will shine as a beacon for your kingdom.

I will bring the Father glory through the Son.

 

Other Helpful Reference Materials:

Videos of Dan Mohler preaching this message:

Full Sermons – Very Powerful – Worth watching several times until the message sinks in:

“God sent His son to redeam Humanity not get You into heaven someday” Destiny Church Naples–Dec 2022

“Love not your life unto death” July 2018

“Deny Yourself” – May 2015

 “Live Life Transformed” – July 2018

Transforming is simple, It does not have to be a long process – May 2020

Your Goal vs Satans Goal – Dec 2023

Brief versions focused on this key message:

“Jesus said deny yourself and pick up your cross and follow me“ – Dec 2022  – 3 min

“What does it mean To Pick Up Your Cross”Aug 2019 – 6 Min

 “Deny Yourself Then Take Up Your Cross”  Aug 2016– 10 Min

                     

Focus Forward

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

Focus Forward

Are you consumed with problems from your past? Are you overwhelmed with challenges in the present, Are you worried about the future? This little write up might just help you.

I learned several very practical a useful nuggets whle listening to Jack and Carol Webber from UVA Darden School as they taught a course called “Possiblility Thinking”.  One of the key teaching points was about posiitoning your mental framework and it was centered arounf a statement something like this:   

Always respect the past, Be brutaly honest about the present, and Be eternally optimistic about the future.

I have come to appreciate hhow will this aligns with a healthy spiritual ajenda. 

God wants you to move forward from your past. You need to acknowledge your past; You were born a sinner and need a saviour. Once you acknowledge and confess your sins and commit to turn from them, He forgives them so you do not have to dwell in the past and fret about your prior choices, they are behind you.

“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, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

You are called to deny yourself.  To turn from a focus on you and your own earthly interests and agendas, and become focused on your eternal soul and His agendas working through you. You are called to put off the old man, and put on new life through Christ. Once the earthly, flesh oriented, self has been put to death on the cross with Jesus, there is no place for guilt, condemnation or shame to take hold in you. You are free to move forward.

Be honest: Have you denied yourself? Do you worry about your earthly reputation? What people say or think about you? Are you focused on your posessions or how they can help others?  If you have not already done it, Submit yourself to Him, Get the “Old you” out of the way, let Him live through you.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1

He wants you to move forward in partnership with Him. Have Faith and walk with Him.

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Mathiew 6:33-34

Lord, Thank you for coming here and becoming a sacrifice for me. I submit myself to you as Lord of my life.. I was born with a sinful nature, and that has cased problems for myself and others in the past. I put my old sinful self to death on the cross with you and i am raised up with you in new life. Thank you for forgiving my sins so that i can focus forward. Your mercy and grace washes my past so i can focus forward. I am a vessel for your use; I invite you to live in me, to form in me, to flow through me,  to use me in any way you see fit. With your continued help, I will live as a beacon for your kingdom and bring you glory. I ask this in Jeuss’  name. AMEN 

 

God’s Will is Always Healing!

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

God’s Will Is Always Healing!  Believe it!

One of the biggest obstacles in pursuing healing is understanding in your heart if it is God’s will for you to be healed. 

There are several popular lies propagated by the devil to distract and even defeat us from getting healed.

  1. God is mysterious and unknowable; you can not know His will.
  2. God is making you sick to teach you something; it is your job to suffer through what ever comes along.

The truth counters both of these lies: God’s will is always healing. The only question is which path does He want you to follow to achieve the healing.

How do we know God’s will is always healing? Follow this chain of logic and see where it takes you.

God’s wants us to know His will. He may think differently than we do, and His ways may be different than our ways, But He asks us specifically to know and understand His will. He would not ask us to understand His will if it were not possible. He even makes it clear that we are being foolish if we do not understand His will.

“So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:17

“…we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,” Colossians 1:9

How do we understand Gods will? It was revealed through Jesus. 

“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known.” John 1:18

Jesus is the expressed image of God; If you know Jesus you know the Father; If you see Jesus you have seen the Father, He and the Father are one.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 1:15

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” Hebrews 1:3

“If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:7

“…Whoever has seen me has seen the Father…” John 14:9

“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30

Understand God’s will by looking at what Jesus did, He only did the fathers will.

“So Jesus said to them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.’” John 8:28

“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.’” John 5:19

Jesus Healed all who came to Him in faith.

“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” Matthew 4:23

“When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.” Matthew 8:16

“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.” Matthew 9:35

“Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.” Matthew 15:30

“And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.” Luke 6:19

Questions / Clarificaitons:

  1. Did Jesus ever say no to healing anyone? Scripture says He healed ALL who came to Him in Faith.
  2. Did Jesus ever say, I will heal you eventually but you need to learn a lesson first? There are no examples of Jesus postponing healing pending learning.  He healed all who came to Him in faith.

If Jesus healed all who came to Him in faith, and Jesus only did the Father’s will, and God is unchanging, then God’s will is healing all who come to Him in faith.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Believe it is so, and pray it into place in faith.

“Jesus, I believe it is God’s will for me to be healed. Lord, purge any remaining unbelief from my mind and my heart. You are the God who heals, Jesus is your expressed image, an exact copy of your very nature. Jesus, you healed all who came to you in faith. You are unchanging; If Your will was healing back then, Your will is healing now. I believe this in my heart and I confess this in Faith: God’s will is for me to be healed.  I speak your will into place on earth as it is in heaven; I speak healing into place in your name.”

There are many specific paths to healing: Nutrition, Exercise, Physical therapies, Medications, Surgeries, Mind/Heart/Soul Healings, and instantaneous supernatural interventions. God has a specific path for your healing; The key is to ask Him what it is, and then pursue it boldly in faith. See my post about asking for a Word of Wisdom and ask Him about His path for you. <Click Here For Post on Word Of Wisdom>

Let me know if you have questions, Let me know how this helps you.