Become Like Jesus, Become Love!

Posted on February 17, 2023December 2, 2023 by jakirkgasser10439

Become Like Jesus – Become Love!

You have an huge opportunity:

We live in a fallen world where the sin of mankind continues to creates layers and layers of adverse consequence. We are each born with a sinful nature, a tendancy to love ourselves more than we love God or those around us. This inner nature makes us self-conscious, meaning we spend a lot of our time and energy worried about “ME”, what I look like, what I can do, what I have, what others might think about me, how others treat me; It is all about ME. This self-conscious perspective works itself into patterns of thoughts, emotions, intentions and actions over time. These thoughts, emotions, and intentions keep us focused on short term self-centered agendas which are often counter to our own long term success and often come at the expense of others. If you let this flawed inner nature continue to drive your thoughts, emotions and intentions, you will eventually self-distruct. If you try to manage them yourself with discipline and self-control, without addressing the root issue of your flawed inner nature, you will lead an increasingly difficult and frustrating life and never reach your full portential. The God who created you sent His Son here to provide an upgrade path out of this fallen world and your flawwed inner nature. All you need to do is acknowledge the problem and follow Him. He promisses to fix the root issue by replacing your flawed self-centerd inner nature with one rooted in Love. He will then help you undo the self-centered thought and emotion patterns which get in your way and cause problems for others. and replace them with thoughts and emotions rooted in Love. These changes unlock the hidden potential within you; You will become the best possible you. These changes yeild benefits for you and those around you. The benefits can be experienced here and now, and they last for etenrity. Follow this brief discussion and see what salvation can really look like when you embrace it.

Call to action:

You are called to transform. To transform from the You that was born with a self-conscious inner nature. The You that has been shaped by a life time of experiences in this fallen world. You are called to become like Jesus, to submit the old you and let Him form in you. Instead of self-consciousness driving you, you vecome driven by Love; Love of God and Love of others. As you release your own self-centered agendas you start acting selflessly, you become Love in action. When you do this, you become the best possible “You”; the “You” God intended when He crreated you. You will shine in this dark world, You will be a beacon for His kingdom. This transformtion is both possilbe and appropriate.

Why are things so screwed up?

Mankind was created in the image and likeness of God and they experienced peace and harmony with God and paradise in the garden. That all changed when Adam and Eve exercised their free will, listened to lies, and decided they would be better off to eat of the forbidden tree which violated Gods’ one big rule. The self-conscious thoughts about becoming like a god by knowing good and evil started a chain reation. It led to a self-centered action to ignore Gods commandment and eat the forbidden fruit. This corrupted the perfect image of God in them and made them permanently self-conscious and self-centered. They became aware they were naked, became afraid, and started hiding from God. They each deflected accountability for thier aciton by blaming someone else: Eve blamed the serpent, Adam blamed Eve, and then he blamed God. This flawed inner self-conscious and self-centered inner nature has been passed on from generation to generation and has only gotten worse over time. This has resulted in a world where people are focused entirely on themselves. The external consequences are all around us: Violence, Corruption, Immorality, Hate, Divisiveness, Suffering, etc. The inner agendas are evident when you look: Everything is all about “ME”! This effects how people view themselves: What does my body look like? What do others think of me? How can I make myself look better in their eyes? How can I show off what I have? How can I avoid blame? This effects how they view others: What do others have that I don’t? How can I get the things they have? How can I use people to serve my interests? This also effects how they relate to God: “I have accomplished these things..not God through me.” These folks are actually stealing credit from God and there will be consequences. “I will deal with this myself”…you can address some symptoms but you can’t get to the root. He will present increasingly difficult situations to the point where you suffer so much you give up and call out to Him for help. Here is your opportunity to avoid all that suffering and address it now.

Why should I care?

Like it or not, You were born with this flawed inner nature; a tendancy to be self-conscious and to adopt self-centered agendas. This inner nature is a force deep in you and it is shaping your life. It drives your thoughts, your emotions, and your choices. To the extent you let this force run free, you end up operating from a self-conscious perspective, focused on you and optimizing your short term experience. You become distracted from God and His plans for you. You view other people as competition to compare yourself to, or even worse, you view them as resources to be used for your benefit. This creates an endless cycle of distracting emotions and bad decisions as you struggle against lifes’ inevitble challenges. The rules of scociety are establsihed to keep people who are operating with this nature from causing excessive harm to each other.

People who overcome this inner flaw become awakened to the bigger perspective and make longer term decisions, loose the enless distractions and wasted energy, and realize a tremendous joy when they find themselves playing a useful role in a much more important aspect in peoples lives.

You can detect this nature operating in you if you pay attention.

Have you ever heard yourself say any of these things, outloud or even just to yourself?

I deserve more… What is in it for me… How will I ever get credit for doing this?

I’m sick and tired of… I’ll show them… Well they got what they deserved…

I know it is wrong but I can’t stop myself…

Do you feel a tendancy toward any of these emotions:

Pride? Impatience? Anger? Hate?

Envy? Jealousy? Lust?

Fear? Dispair? Desperation?

Guilt? Condemnsation? Shame?

Those are just some of the symptoms produced by the flawwed inner nature you were born with.

The antidote to all of this is to “Become Love”.

God is love. He loves us so much He sent His only begotten son as a human to suffer and die for us.

Jesus is the expressed image of God, He is love in the flesh. Jesus is love in Action. Become like Jesus. Become Love.

We are each called to to follow Jesus, to become like Him. To submit our old self to him and nail it to His cross. To be raised in new life with Him through His ressurection. To invite Him to come live inside us; Let Him teach us and guide us, Let Him form in us. To let Him flow through us.

What does becoming Love look like?

The following is a summary of what love looks like in thoughts, emotions, intentions, and actions

Love is patient; It is calm, It does not act or react in haste.

Love is kind; It is gentle, it appreciates others and seaks to nurture and be useful towards them.

Love is satisfied; It does not envy what others have.

Love is humble; It does not get puffed up and proud.

Love does seek attention; It does not boast or parade itself.

Love behaves properly; It is never rude or offensive.

Love is happy to flow one way; It does not need reciprocation; It does not seek its own.

Love is not provoked; It doen’t react to actions against it; It sees others as children needing Love.

Love thinks no evil; It does not generate evil thoughts, It does not wish evil on others.

Love does not rejoice in iniquity; It avoids causing harm or injustice.

Love rejoices in truth; It enjoys understanding and doing what is right.

Love bears all things; It maintains composure in the face of struggle.

Love believes all things; It embraces God’s love and trusts His promises.

Love hopes all things; It is optimistic and expects the bright future in this life and the next.

Love endures all things; It persists with conviction and overcomes challenges.

You are called to become rooted in Love and exhibit ALL of these desirable characteristics. These are each counter to the thoughts, emotions, intentions and actions driven by the self-centered nature you were born with.

This list of characteristics can serve as a mirror to your current thoughts, emotions, intentions and actions. Are you acting in pure love? Which ones are a particular challenge for you? Does one stand out as the biggest issue? If one does not stand out, Ask the Lord to illuminate one for you so that it comes into clear focus.

Jesus came here to restore your inner nature to the image and likeness of God – which is pure love. When you acknowledge your flaws, and accept Him as the Lord of your life, You open the door for Him to flow into you and start fixing things. When you ask for His help, He sends the Holy Spirit to come in and take up residence inside you. If you truly give Him permission to work, it is transformational. You start seeing things differently. You start to notice some of the things you think, say, or do are not right. You start to care. You start to hear His voice trying to teach you and lead you. You can try to fix these things yourself through discipline and focus. This can impact things on the surface, but it is much more effective to give Him permission to do the necessary work deep inside you and adress the root of the issue.

How do I become Love?

Only Jesus can fix our flawed inner nature:

We ware created in Gods’ image. Adam corrupted the image through sin. Jesus came to restore what was lost through Adam, the image of God in us.

When we accept Jesus, we are born again and get a fresh start. As we deny ourselves and invite jesus to come and form in us, and the image of God is restored. You can try all the self-help do it yourself strategies you want, but only Jesus can actually restore the image of God in you.

Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

There is no down side. The only things He will ask you to give up are the things you were never meant to have in the first place.

We need to transform our mind:

Once our spriit it born again, we then need to rewire the thoughts, emotions, and intentions that were previously established in us. We need to purge the ones rooted in our original sinful nature, and establish desireable ones that flow from Love out of our new natue.

You can try to work on this yourself and you will make some progress through focus and discipline, but at some point you willl realize this runs deep and is beyond your control. What you may not realize is that your potential will be limited by what you can imagine is possible based on your past expeirience, not what God had in mind when He formed you.

The most effective approach is to leverage Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

What can I do move forward and “Become Love”

There are a couple of structured steps to help this process happen quickly and effectively.

Get intimate with Jesus in a quiet place. Sit with Him. Talk with Him. Listen to Him.
Follow this flow and speak your statements outloud directly to Jesus, speaking with intention directly from your heart.
Acknowledge the shortcoming you notice
- “Jesus, I clearly have missed the mark. I was doing xxx (undesired behaviour). By doing xxxx, I was not being love.”
Acknowledge the consequences
- “I can now see that doing xxx causes yyyy, this is a problem, It prevents your love from flowing through me to others”.
State your intention to change
- “I no longer want to do xxxx, I want to love others the way you do, I want to become love, I want your love ot flow through me, I want to be love in action!”
Ask Him to execute the change in your heart.
- “You gave your life for me, I hereby give my life to you,:
- “I nail my old sinful self to your cross. I put my old self to death in your grave”:
- “I am rasied into new life with you and your resurrection”
- “I put off my old self, and put on Jesus”
- “It is no longer me that lives, but You live through me”
- “I invite you to come in and change my heart – help me become love”
- “Transform my thoughts, emotions and actions – help me become love in action for others”
Declare the desired result in faith – trusting that it is happening as you speak
- “The Holy Spirit is in me, leading me, teaching me, helping me”
- “You are working in me; You are the potter, I am the clay”
- “You are helping me see things from your perspective”
- “You are leading me into all truth”
- “You are purifying my heart to love others as you love them”
- “You are crushing my selfish agendas”
- “You are helping me put xxxx (specific focus issue) far behind me”
- “You are helping me become yyyy (desired characteristic): a humble man, a patient man, etc”
- “I look forward to becoming more and more like You”
- “Your love will flow through me to others.”
- “People will get a good look at You when they see me in action.”
Be thankful and give glory to the Father through the Son
- “I thank you for all you have done and what you are doing in me”
- “This is Your amazing work, not anything I have done”
- “You are the vine and I am the branch, I can do nothing without you.”
- “May your work shine through my life”
- “May I be a bright beacon for you and the kingdom.”
- “I speak all of this in Jesus’ name to bring glory to the Father through the Son.”

Go for it. Be committed to becoming love, You will become your best you. Submit your flawed old self and committ your new self to follow Jesus. Invite the Holy Spirit to come in and help you. Be receptive as the Holy Spirit helps you identify issues and opportunities, Yield to Him completely and let Him do His best work in you. Declare the bright future in faith even before it comes to pass. Be thankful for His work in you and make sure God gets all the credit.

Keep after this agenda as you work through the progression of issues that will inevitably peel off, it is well worth the effort!

Supporting Scriptures

God is love

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8

Jesus is the expressed image of God, Jesus is love in the flesh

“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

You are called to imitate Jesus, to be like Jesus, To walk in love

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1

“…‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31

Love is…

“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 13:4-8

Becoming Love involves transforming how you think, speak and act, and aligning with Jesus

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 2:5

“Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.” 1 John 2:6

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15

This involves getting your old self out of the way, and letting Jesus flow through you

“To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life 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

The Holy Spirit is available to all who ask

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13

The Holy Spirit will take up residence in you if you make an appropriate home for Him

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The Holy Spirit will highlight your opportunnities ot improve

“And when He has come (The Holy Spirit), He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” John 16:8

The Holy Spirit will work in your heart and your mind, and even your physical body

“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26

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

As you renew your mind and reorient your thoughts and emotion, you will align your behaviors with God’s intention.

“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 12:2

Shine like a beacon for the kingdom

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

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

Are you being led by the Lord?

Posted on November 29, 2020January 12, 2021 by jakirkgasser10439

Are you being led by the Lord?

Are you on the right path with your life? Are you facing some big decisions ? Are you facing a big challenge in your life: Health?, Finances?, Relationships? Would you like to be working with the Lord to achieve the optimum results, or would you rather go it alone, work against Him, hope you have everything figured out, hope there aren’t many surprises, and hope you aren’t making things worse.

One of our greatest opportunities is to be led by the Lord; He knows all things, He knows why you are here, He knows the best path for you to follow, and He will share it with you if you draw close and ask. It is then up to you to follow where He leads. If you do, He promises blessings; He will provide for you, He will protect you, He will ensure you enjoy the journey and that you bear much fruit along the way.

The following is a discussion of how to be led by the Lord. It starts with a bit on why it is important to let Him lead and some consequences if you don’t, then shares some how-to’s and then a few examples from recent experience.

Put the Lord first, and then His Kingdom

The first and greatest commandment sets a clear expectation that we are to love the Lord first and above all things:

“…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 12:30)

To love Him means to esteem Him, long for Him, promptly obey Him, to give him preference, and to be grateful for what He has done. To Love Him with all our heart means with our inner being, our passion, our drive, our conviction. With all of our soul means with our every breath as an individual human being. With all of our mind means with our thoughts and attention. With all of our strength means with our physical ability, force, power, mental toughness.

The second great commandment is to not put yourself above others:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31)

This combination makes it clear we are to be putting Him and His kingdom at the forefront of our attention and our agenda. They should make you question if the things you are focused on as you live your life are serving Him or others, or if they are entirely focused on you.

Avoid Idolatry

Idolatry occurs when we hold something as more important or a higher priority than God.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7)

When we devote significant attention to something, we are worshiping it; we are positioning it in competition with God. Things that get worshiped include: money, possessions, our physical body, our work, or our reputation.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)

If we continue down a path of focusing our energy on self-centered interests it can lead to some very destructive behaviors. As we pursue that path, we are worshiping ourselves and have put ourselves above God.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves” Philippians 2:3)

“…but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness – wrath and indignation,tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil.”(Romans 2:8)

While not as obvious or blatant, this concept of idolatry also applies to those who do not let the Lord lead them. They are putting all their trust in themselves, their own capabilities, their own thinking, there own ability to get through issues. They are elevating themselves above Him. This is a form of pride.

“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

“Before destruction the heart of a man is haughty, And before honor is humility.” (Proverbs 18:12)

“Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.”(1 Timothy 6:17)

The Lord makes it clear that His providence will make things gradually harder on those who resist Him until he finally breaks their pride.

“But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments,… I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. And your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its produce, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit…” (Leviticus 26:14-30)

Let Him Lead you

God expects us to let Him lead us; He sees the big picture, We have a limited view; We need to put Him first in all things, trust that He has a good plan, and when we do, He will help us set the optimum path to follow.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

He has a better perspective, He knows all things, He sees things we can not see, He has plans that we do not yet see. His approach is better than we could come up with on our own.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

He wants us to connect all we do to God and the Kingdom, pursuing purpose that ultimately benefits others, and always recognizing Him as the enabling source. And when we do, He promises to help us along the way, and promises we will be better off in the long run.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17)

“for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)

“And anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:38-39)

We have Help available

So how do we do that? Can we get some help? The answer is YES, and it is free. As soon as we accept the Lord as our savior, He makes the Holy Spirit available to us. All we have to do is ask.

“Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

“When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”(Ephesians 1:13)

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13

“By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (1 John 4:13)

We have the Holy Spirit available inside us: Ever present, All knowing, All seeing. He will reveal the mysteries of God.

“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him’. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”(1 Corinthians 2:10)

Your spirit can access this knowledge and make use of it

“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:13)

“And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:2)

The holy spirit will help us. It will teach us, guide us and empower us.

Teach us: He will reveal God’s nature to us, help us understand scripture and the key messages.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:26)

“(I pray) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.” (Ephesians 1:17)

Jesus said “He will glorify Me (reveal my greatness), for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14)

Guide us: He will help you recognize the truth when you find it, He will reveal God’s future plans for you if you ask

“…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (John 16:13)

He will help us understand the amazing power we now have inside us; The power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

“(I pray) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:15-22)

The intention is for us to be led by the spirit rather than our natural understanding and risk being prideful or assuming we know the right answers.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)

“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go’.” (Isaiah 48:17)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5)

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way” (Psalm 37:23)

The long term game is to use the Holy spirit inside us to help transform our mind. This is the primary purpose of the Gospel: Living a fully transformed life now and bringing heaven into place on earth. I will elaborate on this later.

“ …put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22)

In the short term, the Holy Spirit can also provide a specific “Word of Wisdom” to help us understand some specifics about our best path for the future. This is a spiritual gift, and it is available for the asking.

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 12:7-8)

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)

A “word of wisdom” is a piece of information given to a believer to help them gain insight and understanding (wisdom) for a specific situation. It is part of a personal conversation with the Lord. What does this scripture mean? What is His will in this situation? What is my best choice between two paths ahead? When a word is received it helps them build faith by knowing they are on the right path, the path the Lord wants them to be on.

A “word of knowledge” is usually a unique piece of information given to one person about the situation of another. This nugget of information can guide the receiver to minister specifically to one individual in a crowd (ex: Someone has a sprained wrist…raise your hand), or it can guide the receiver to minster to a stranger in public ( Hi, What is going on with your ankle, The lord told me it is some sort of sports injury, can i pray for you). This cross pollination of information reveals the power of the Kindgom and can open the door to non-believers, or deepen the fiath of believers.

How does the spirit talk to you?

He can insert thoughts into your brain. When you quiet yourself and enter a calm reflective/meditative state, The Holy spirit will insert positive, constructive, suggestive thoughts in your mind. These will be in stark contrast to the multitudes of loud, obnoxious, demanding, destructive thoughts inserted by devils as you go through the day.

Quiet yourself and ask, “Lord, How can I best help in this situation?” or” Lord, Help me see this situation from your perspective, so that I can be of best service to you?” or “Lord help me understand this specific scripture?” Sometimes the answer will be one word, or a message, or a piece of scripture, or an understanding.

“Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.” (Proverbs 16:3)

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” (Psalm 32:8)

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)

He can engage your feelings. There are a variety of signals you can recognize if you pay attention. When you are working through a series of thoughts trying to make a decision, He can send you a distinct sense of calm or peace as you arrive at the correct one; You will “know in your knower”, that it is right. This is often how you know you have found the right school, or spouse, or job. When you are working through a topic in your mind and you are reading scripture, one verse will stand out or resonate in your mind, it will come to life and become particularly meaningful. You feel it is talking to you. If something is not right, you can feel an unction, or an unsettled feeling knowing something needs to be addressed.

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12)

How do you ask for a Word of Wisdom?

It is a simple process of quieting your mind, picturing the Lord in front of you, asking him a question, and staying quiet until He answers… I highly recommend getting in the habbit of using this process.

Click here for a step by step How-To.

Some examples:

Words of Wisdom have been very helpful to several of my friends as we navigated issues they were struggling with.

One friend was faced with several options for dealing with a severe injury disabling his arm. He had options including complete amputation, nerve reconstruction, muscle transplantation, or hoping for a miracle. We asked God for a word of wisdom to help focus our faith. While he was in the CT scanner the Lord placed the word “The Surgeon” prominently in his thought. At that point he knew in his knower that he was to pursue the surgeon who recommended a path.

Another friend was facing a complex cancer diagnosis where it has spread out to many internal organs. Because of the late detection and extent of spread, the oncologist immediately began chemo. Her options at that point included, continued chemo, extensive surgery, and faith in a miracle. We prayed for a word of wisdom to focus our faith. While in the CT scanner, the Lord planted the words “The Healer” in her thoughts. She immediately knew in her knower that she was to complete the course of chemo she was on to shrink the cancer and that the remaining cancer would be fully cured through faith in Jesus as by his stripes we are healed.

Click here for more examples…

Each of these words helped build faith and guided our path forward. As we build faith, we begin to better embrace God and put our trust in Him.

In conclusion

Allowing the Lord to lead you is powerful. The sooner you invite him to lead, the sooner you can get in sync with His plans. I encourage you to practice and get used to engaging the Holy Spirit in Words of Wisdom. Ask for clarity on specific questions. If you are facing a significant decision ask for a Word of Wisdom to guide your path. Each time you hear His voice and follow His lead in Faith, you better understand Him and strengthen your connection with Him.

Living a life lead by the Lord will make you a powerful force for change for others as you: model a life freed and saved from sin; demonstrate the blessings which flow to a righteous fully redeemed believer; and destroy the works of the devil who has already undergone judgement.

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.(John 16:8)

Let me know how this works for you. Happy to discuss.