Tag: Transformation

What Is Your Why?

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

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.

 

Become Like Jesus, Become Love!

Posted on 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

 

You can’t do it, Only He Can!

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

You want to become your best self? You can’t do it, Only He can!

Opportunity:

I have come to appreciate the power of God to change things inside us. It is amazing to see how dramatically and how quickly He can make changes if we give Him permission and some space to work. He can change what we notice, how we think, what we want, what we do, and how we do it; And He can do it practically overnight. We each have an opportunity to leverage this powerful force in our lives.

We were put on this earth to manifest Gods love. The sinful nature introduced by Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the garden has gotten in the way of that purpose; We all struggle in a fallen world as a result. We are each called to transform from being “Self”-centered to becoming “Love”-centered so that we manifest Gods love to others on this earth. 

Self Improvement Approach:

Some folks try to do this themselves in self-improvement or self-help mode: Try to understand the rules, Apply the rules to our lives when practical, Do our best to control our urges and emotions, and strive to be a good person. This approach can achieve decent results in outward behavior, but it does not address the root issue driving undesired thoughts, motivations, and feelings. This approach is prone to failure, and It can gernerate internal struggles and extreme levels of frustration. It also misses the opportunity for Grace to come in and help make change.

God Powered Approach:

The alternate approach is to submit yourself to God and invite the Holy Spirit to come in and change you. If you give Him permission, He will replace the sinful nature deep in your soul with the loving nature He originally intended. That will remove the driving force for self-centered agendas (thoughts, motives, emotions) that you otherwise will have to continuously fight against.  If you continue to give Him permission, He will work in you to rewire thought patterns and emotions built up around your old sinful nature and help establish improved patterns where you start to see things from His perspective, see His love in action in your life, see the opportunities He presents, find ways to flow His love out to others with your unique gifts and talents, and feel the Joy of being part of His kingdom.

These are very different process with very different results. The “you” that results from your best efforts is limited by your ability to continuously deal with your sinful inner nature. The “you” that results from transformation by God’s grace, is freed from that inner constraint and is limited only by your own imagination of what is possible and your willingness to release yourself to the Holy Spirit.

If you want to expeirence your ultimate God powered transformaiton there are a few things to consider.

1) Free Will: You have free will to decide how you want to proceed with your life. God wll not force anything on you. You have to decide to make a change before He can change it. 

2) Your inner love: God will continue to give you what you love deep in your heart. This sounds great, but you have to understand what you really love. If you still love your self-centered self, He will not take that away from you. If you want to give Him permission to make changes, you must recognize in your mind that you are creating undesired consequences with your current approach and you must become committed in your heart that a change is necessary. It is only after these two steps then you have actually given Him permission to make changes in your life.

3) Grace: Grace is the free flow of blessings from God to those who believe. Grace works through Faith.

4) Faith:  Faith is when you believe and hope for something to happen in the future before you see any of the tangible results. For example, when you agree to mow a lawn for the first time, you are acting in faith that you will get paid when you are done. You are willing to work now and get paid later based on an understanding established up front. You mow the lawn, i’ll give you $20. If you trust the agreement and mow first, you create tension which pulls the pay into your wallet. God works in sort of the same way. The bible makes promises of good things that can flow into you and it describes expectations for you to align yourself to recieve them. If you position yourself properly with God,  claim one more of the promises He makes to believers, believe that it is already happening for you based on proper understanding, and it will flow into you. You must act (think, speak, act) in faith to make space for His grace to flow in.

ex: Father God, You call me to see things from your perspective. You call me to see my enemies as children of God stuggling in this fallen world. I thank you for working this in me so that I can let your love flow through me and shine like a beacon for your kingdom..     

How:

So how do we give God permission to make changes in you, and how do you make space for Grace to move and do its work?

  • Submit yourself to Jesus, Make Him Lord of your life
    1. He has full authority over heaven and on the earth
    2. He came here and paid the price to restore what was lost
    3. He is the way, the truth, and the life
      • He is the ONLY way to the Father
      • The truth WILL set your free
      • Knowing Him IS eternal life
  • Submit your old inner nature to God, condemn it, crucify it.
    1. My sinful nature came from Adam and is rooted in evil
    2. I am no longer interested in self-conscious or self-serving agendas in my life
    3. I hereby crucify my old self with Jesus on the cross
    4. I am putting off the old man, and putting on Jesus
  • Raise yourself in the resurrection with Jesus
    1. I am raised into life with Jesus
    2. I am born again – My spirit is renewed – I am a child of God
    3. Jesus is the first born of many – I am one of the many
    4. The Image of God is restored in me – I am a new man
  • Receive the Holy Spirit
    1. Holy Spirit please come and live in me.
    2. I present my body as a temple worthy of your presence.
    3. Fill me overflowing with your living water.
  • Give Him permission to work in you
    1. I draw near to You – please draw near to me.
    2. I seak you – Please help me get to know You.
    3. Guide me into all truth and righteousness.
    4. Open my eyes to see things from your perspective.
    5. Open my ears so I hear and understand your words.
    6. Transform my mind so I think your thoughts.
    7. Change my heart so I know and do your will.
  • Give Him glory
    1. I am saved by Grace througb Faith; It is not me but you that does this work.
    2. You are the vine, I am the branch; I can do nothing without you
    3. I ask all things in Jesus name, to bring glory to the Father through the son.

I am a work in progress, This is a work in progress, Hope it helps.

 

Second Death ?

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

How do you avoid a second death? 

 

Thought for the day: Dying once is hard enough to deal with, What is the scond death and how do you avoid it?

The bible mentions a second death several times, It is associated with a sinful person spending eternity in Hell, burning with brimstone in the Lake of fire. Brimstone is sulfer and makes nasty sulfuric acid fumes as it burns; It would be best to avoid getting anywhere near such a fire.   

“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelations 21:8)

To understand a second death, lets be clear on the first death; To do that we need to understand our basic nature. We are spiritual souls born into a physical body. The physical body is formed of earthly flesh in the mothers womb and experiences physical death. The soul is formed of spiritual substance in the mothers womb and is released to retern to God after physical death of the body. 

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.” (Psalm 139:13)

“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)

“And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

The soul is eternal and will exist forever.  Once it is released after the death of our physical body, the first death, it will transition to either eternal “life” in heaven or eternal “death” in hell.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
“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)

The concept of spiritual Life and Death is introduced as a tree metaphor thorughout the bible. Eating of the “tree of life” comes from becoming righteous and following Gods commandments. When we Love Him first, and Love others as ourselves, we become fruitful and prosperous in this life and will experience eternal life connected with God in paradise.

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life…” (Proverbs 11:30)
“…To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7)
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.” (Revelation 22:14-15)

Eating of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” is the opposite; Operating on your own self-centered agenda, separate from God and his protections. If you operate in this way, you will gain knowledge of good and evil from first hand experience. Your self-centered sinful ways will lead you on a downward spiral of poor decisions and destructive consequences. Hopefully, at some point, you will reflect and realize this path might not be working out for the best. You have your entire life to discover the Lord as your savior and change your ways. If you choose to leave this earthly life in self-centered sinful mode, you will have missed your chance. Your soul will spend eternity separated from God and His life giving Love and Truth; You will be open to torment from the Devil without the civil laws of society on earth, “burning” in the lake of fire.

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen 2:17)

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” . . . Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46)

Let’s understand how this works; God offers us protection from evil. Sin causes separation from God and His protections

“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:20)

“These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

Sin has consequences, Continued sin leads to death of the soul, or spiritual death

“For the wages of sin is death,…” (Romans 6:23)
“Behold, all souls are mine;…the soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4)
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” (John 3:36)

So how do we avoid spiritual death?

We have two levels in our mind – an inner spiritually oriented mind – and an outer carnal / flesh oriented / emotion driven mind

“I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” (Romans 7:21-23)

The two levels of your mind are in conflict with very different priorities. Our outer / emotional self wants to pursue fleshly desires – ignoring God’s commandments – sin. The inner self (our mind) recognizes God’s love, the law/commandments, and wants to avoid sin and pursue goodness.

“For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.” (Galatians 5:17)

One level of your mind will always be dominant.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5)

Our carnal oriented outer mind is actually at war with God

“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (Romans 8:7)

If we let the outer mind continue on its selfish fleshly agenda it will take us to spiritual death.

“Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” (James 1:15)

We are born with the outer mind dominant which gives us our sinful nature.

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5)
“Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:3)
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans 7:18)

We must turn from evil as sin against God to drive a wedge against the carnal mind.

“…for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13)
“For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32)

When we truly repent of our sins, Jesus gift of forgiveness allows us to move forward without the burden of guilt that buried us under the law, and allow us to prosper in eternal life.

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”(Acts 3:19)
(Are they worse sinners?) ” I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3/5)
“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions” (Colossians 2:13)

We must develop the inner mind with sufficient knowledge and discipline to counter and totally overcome the dominance of the outer mind, and escape the corruption of self-centered agendas in the flesh.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust..” (2 Peter 1:4)
“Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)

The outer mind is so dominant that the only way for the inner mind to actually win this war is to completely submit yourself to Jesus as your lord and savior.

“ O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 8:24-25)
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:7-8)
“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

We become born again with a fresh start and spiritual support system, Say good by to the old man, hello to the new.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.’ (2 Corinthians 5:17)
“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:6-11)

And to use the holy spirit to help you put aside all fleshly agendas that compete.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3)

To become committed to living a life worthy of the price he paid.

“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” (Philippians 1:27)
“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)

Conclusion:

The risk of second death is a really big deal – It is eternity – and it is Hell. As long as we are reunited with God through true repentance for sins and belief in Jesus’ resurrection – the second death has no power over us.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.” (Revelation 2:11)
“Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6)

 

  1. Turn from Evil as Sin against God. Repent of your sins
  2. Accept Jesus as your lord and savior
  3. Actively pursue transformation of your mind to see things from God’s perspective
  4. Listen to the Holy spirit for guidance
  5. Strive to live a life worthy of the price HE paid.

 

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have questions or comments.

 

 

 

 

Put On Jesus

Posted on by jakirkgasser10439

Are you putting on Jesus? (or just pretending to be a Chrisitan?)

 

Do you get up every morning and “put on Jesus”?

“… put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Romans 13:14)
 
Some people pursue Christianity just so they will know the secret password to get into heaven someday. Some people say the sinner’s prayer and then continue on with their sinful life assuming they are all set. Some folks adopt selected Christian rules and rituals where they are convenient and fit into their current life. All those folks are missing the primary expectation of true Christians, to become “Christ-like”; To live your life differently now as an investment for glorious returns to come in heaven. Folks not pursuing transformation in this life will be more than a little disappointed in where and how they end up spending eternity.
 
When we are serious about it and “Put On Jesus” every day, People should be able to see Jesus operating in us and through us:
1) Subordinate your self-centered interest and focus your energy on God and His Kingdom
2) See others as valuable children of God and help them pursue their divine purpose
3) Be a bright light in an otherwise dark world through our consistent behavior and attitude
4) Don’t let sin against you become sin inside you
 
As this starts to happen you will begin to see God’s will being done on earth as it already is in Heaven.

Supporting scripture points:

We are all born as sinners into a fallen world.
“… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
We all face the death penalty for our sins.
“… the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)
Jesus paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross.
“… he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
He purchased our debt, the least we can do is give Him our life, the life he paid 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)
He is merciful and will gladly forgive that debt if we truly repent of our sins and follow Him.
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
In return for following Him, He promises a better life now in this world and even greater glories in heaven.
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you (the choice of) 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 (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)
You are promised eternal life (Salvation) if you confess your sins and genuinely accept Jesus as your Lord.
“…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)
You are saved by God’s grace based through you position in faith (belief and commitment to action), not by any specific things you have done or results of your efforts.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Faith is built by acting on your beliefs; do you just talk about believing, or do you actually walk the talk. If you are not actually living according to Christian beliefs (loving God with all your heart, subordinating your self-centered interests, loving others more than yourself, actively repenting and turning from sin, seeking ways to use your gifts to serve others) your faith is dead.
“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” (James 2:26)
How you live your life really matters. You will be held accountable for every word you speak, and every thing you do.  So make good choices.
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”(Matthew 12:36)
“You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:24)
We as believers are called to use the Holy Spirit inside us to live a life transformed.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind….” (Romans 12:2)
We are part of the body of Christ; We are His arms and legs on earth.
“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27)
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
We are commissioned to continue His work here on earth.
“… As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21)
 
We are asked to “put on” Jesus Christ – embrace Him, be like Him, imitate Him
“… put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Romans 13:14)
“Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked”. (1 John 2:6)

My prayer:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for loving me and never giving up on me. Jesus, I thank you for the work you did for me through the cross; you are the author and finisher of my faith. I am committed to follow you and pick up where you left off. Jesus, I thank you for my water baptism, I went down with you and all my sins, and came up in you washed clean and born again. Lord I thank you for establishing a direct connection with me via your Holy Spirit; He teaches me, guides me, and convicts me as I work to follow you. I thank you for helping me as I transform my mind and begin to see things the way you see them. I thank you for helping me transform my heart by rooting out all the self-centered agendas I got from this fallen world. I am committed to truly loving you with all my heart, and loving others as myself. I ask for your continued help as I strive to imitate you, to cloth myself with you as I get up every day, and become your Love in action for others. Guide me to live my life as a shining light in the darkness, and to act in ways that serve as a beacon for your kingdom, to bring glory to you and to the Father. I ask this in Jesus Holy name. AMEN.