The
bible says a lot about our confession or what comes out of our mouth. What is
in our heart will come out in our words (Luke 6:45). To be born again we need
to believe in Jesus in our heart or spirit man and confess with our mouth: “That
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the Dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom 10:9;
KJV).
The
apostle Paul also taught us that faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom
10:17). In other words, we need to hear the word spoken to build up our faith;
spoken by others and most importantly ourselves.
Faith
isn’t faith without the accompanying confession: “For verily I say unto you,
That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast
into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those
things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark
11:23).
Fear
is the opposite of faith; it is faith in what satan wants to say to us and have
us believe. We really need to watch what we say, what comes out of our mouth,
as it positions us and shows what is in us and also builds up our faith or
produces fear. Don’t be quiet, speak the
word and see your faith grow.
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In
Philippians 3:12-14, Paul wrote: “Not as though I had already attained, either
were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which
also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:
but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark of the prize of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”. Paul did not claim to have made it as
a Christian but he looked forward and pressed in to the things of God that he
might be all God wanted him to be.
Jesus
told us that because he lives is in us, we can be perfect (John 17:23). In Matthew
11:12, the Apostle described the violent taking the Kingdom of God by force. This
describes those who are desperate for God pressing in to him.
What
does this all mean? We can aspire to like Jesus but it will take effort on our
part. Not fleshly effort but effort in the spiritual realm to press in to know
God and be like him. Paul exhorted us to get rid of the old life and habits we walked
in before we were Christians and live the life of holiness that God has for us
(Eph 4:21-24). There
is no room for complacency or coasting in our spiritual walk. If we want to be
all he wants us to be, to have all he has for us and to be used of him we need
to press into God in his word and in prayer and fellowship with him every day. As
we press in the Holy Spirit will move in our lives to change us, bless us and use
us. Try it, the results are Guaranteed.
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book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and
also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to
others.
Sometimes
we can get to thinking that God will bless so and so but not me; why should he
be concerned about me when we think others are so much more holy. Well,
remember that you are his child and that he has no favorites, he doesn’t view anyone
better than another; in other words, he sees us and loves us all the same (John
1:12; Rom 2:11).
“For
as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one
body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or
free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Cor 12:12-13; KJV). In
the body of Christ, the church, there are many people, with different origins and
with different giftings and abilities, but God views us and loves us all the
same.
He
wants all to be saved and none to be lost (1 Tim 2:4) and he teaches us not to
treat one person better than another (James 2:1-4). We should hold our heads up
and never compare ourselves to others; when we do that, we compare our
weaknesses to others strengths.
God
sees each one of us as his work of art, his poem: “For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Eph 2:10). God loves us all just the way we are; O, how he
loves us.
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book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and
also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to
others.
In Nehemiah
8:10 it is written: “the joy of the Lord is our strength” (KJV). Joy is a fruit
of the Spirit in us (Gal 5:22); it will naturally well up in us as we allow God
to inhabit us, as we focus on him and press in to him. It just has to be expressed.
From
the definitions of the words used, the bible talks of its expression in
dancing, spinning, cheering and singing (Hab 3:18; Psalm 30:5), despite our
outward situation (Col 1:11; James 1:2). “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I
will joy in the God of my salvation: (Hab 3;18). “My brethren, count it all joy
when you fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2).
In
Zephaniah 3:17 the picture is of God’s joy over his people expressed in wild
spinning, dancing and singing. Get alone
with him and think on the goodness of God and allow God’s joy to well up in you
and be expressed, it will do you a world of good and strengthen you. “For the joy
of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10).
If
we all allowed God’s joy to well up in us how our corporate praise and worship
at church would change.
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book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and
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others.
“Casting
all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7; KJV). Cast thy
burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the
righteous to be moved” (Ps 55:22). These verses are fairly clear, so why do we
cast and then reclaim our burdens; why do we hang on to them? It’s probably because we need to know the word
more, build up our faith and refuse to allow satan to talk us out of the
freedoms the word brings us (Rom 10:17; John 8:32 and 36).
“Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30).
What
was Jesus teaching us here? We need to learn to not try to labor in our own
strength but to do thing his way. His way is easy and does not come with any cares
or anxiety. Be still before the Lord (Ps 46:10), don’t be anxious (Matt 6:31),
trust him and let him calm the storms (Luke 8:24)!
O
me, O my, the Lord is preaching to me. Lord, your word is so straight forward,
help us to press in to your word.
Please
pass this on. All rights reserved.
Check out our web site ( www.onthewayinlove.com ) for information on our
book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and
also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to
others.