9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
The greatest example of courage is what Jesus Christ modeled for us. To lay down ones life for another. Sacrifice, the denial of self.
1
: an act of offering to a deity something precious; especially: the killing of a victim on an altar
2
: something offered in sacrifice
3
a: destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else
b: something given up or lost <the sacrifices made by parents>
John 10:18
New International Version (NIV)
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
As Jesus talks about His life purpose I realize this is the calling, everything centers here. All of the mysteries of life find its purpose here in one laying down their life for another.
John 12:24
New International Version (NIV)
24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Think about this, when you plant a seed, it actually dies before it produces life. This is the ministry and call of Jesus and from Him to us.
Matthew 10:39
New International Version (NIV)
39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
This apply s to everything, think about when you get discouraged or feel like a failure and you have internal battles in your heart about what is right and what is wrong, and what you should do to change the results of your choices.Those feeling are connected to the flesh by the spirit producing conviction. The spirit knows it ‘s goal and will work on your heart until you submit to the spirit. The flesh desires pride and ownership of our hearts. the flesh wants to be first, the flesh is selfish, self righteous, greedy. The lust of self-will. The path of holiness is found by offering your life to Christ. allowing the spiritual seed of your body to die so that it will find it’s life in Christ. One day our physical bodies will die and if we die in Christ He says the dead seed of our bodies will produce life eternal. The seed of a sinful mans body glorified by God in death.
John 3
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d]
Flesh and spirit do not go together, one must replace the other. The flesh must die for the spirit to live. This is what Jesus modeled. This is why we love and respect Him above anything else. An all powerful King of the universe humbled himself, died to Himself, came to earth as a defenseless baby, so that we would know how wide, how deep His love is for us! Courage, His name is Courage, and I pray this very morning that we together will find courage to walk in love, dieing to ourselves that we might find life!
Proverbs 21:21
New International Version (NIV)
21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love
finds life, prosperity[a] and honor.
May the Lord fill your spirit with truth and your heart with divine love. May He stamp your heart with courage.
Press on! I’m sure you can imagine what I was going through when I wrote this poem. I could actually write a sequel to It this very moment. I want to encourage you and if you haven’t read my post Rainbow Symbolism Of Promise I encourage you to do so. I am going to expand on that post in this post because I believe it was a powerful revelation to our walks with God.
Romans 5
Expanded Bible (EXB)
Right with God
5 [L Therefore,] Since we have been ·made right with God [declared righteous; justified] by our faith, we have[a] peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 ·who through our faith[b] has brought us into that blessing of [L through whom we have access by faith to] God’s grace ·that we now enjoy [L in which we stand/live]. And we ·are happy [rejoice; boast] because of the hope we have ·of sharing [or of experiencing; L of] God’s glory. 3 [L Not only this, but] We also ·have joy [rejoice; boast] ·with our troubles [through suffering/trials/persecution], because we know that ·these troubles [suffering; trials; persecution] produce ·patience [endurance]. 4 And ·patience [endurance] produces [tested and proven] character, and [tested and proven] character produces hope. 5 And this hope will never ·disappoint us [let us down; or put us to shame; dishonor us; C honor and shame were among the most important values in first century culture], because God has ·poured out his love to fill our hearts [or flooded our hearts with his love]. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.
6 [L For] When we were ·unable to help ourselves [L still helpless/weak], at the ·right [or appointed] time, Christ died for ·us sinners [L the ungodly/wicked]. 7 ·Very few people will [or Rarely/Scarcely will anyone] die for a ·righteous [just; pious] person. Although perhaps for a ·good [truly good; noble] person someone might possibly die [C the “righteous” person may be someone who is outwardly religious, while the “good” person is genuinely generous and loving]. 8 But God ·shows [demonstrates; proves] his ·great [L own] love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
9 And since we have now been ·made right with God [declared righteous; justified] by ·the blood of Christ’s death [L his blood], ·we will surely also [L how much more shall we…!] be saved through Christ from ·God’s anger [final punishment; L the wrath]. 10 [L For if] While we were God’s enemies, ·he made us his friends [L we were reconciled to God] through the death of his Son. ·Surely [L How much more…?], ·now that we are his friends [L having been reconciled], he will save us through his Son’s life. 11 And not only that, but now we ·are also very happy [also rejoice/boast] in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we ·are now God’s friends again [have now received reconciliation].
As we go through many trials in our walks especially the testing of our faith which is the trials I am addressing. We must understand we have been set apart for Gods purpose. As I described In my last post Gods presence is upon us like a cloud. In our hearts He is like a consuming fire, glowing metal, a rainbow in the clouds. His spirit is constantly working to burn out our sinful nature making room for His spirit which is the rainbow in the clouds. We are ashes presented to God daily, which He receives and replaces with His beauty. Beauty for ashes! We should have a heart of conviction and if you do, that is His inner work that takes place from reading His word and encountering His truth. His truth becomes the consuming fire within us, casting out self-righteousness and living in conviction. We no longer judge others or try to remove the speck out of the eyes of others instead we remove the plank from our own eyes. If we are not having this experience we should be seeking God deeply for His spirit of truth. When we live in self-righteousness we will think more highly of ourselves and hold strict judgement towards others which places judgement from God on our sin and pushes out the grace God has poured out on us.
So the trails are producing change through pressure that is strengthening us for what is ahead. The longer we resist the change God is calling us to, the longer we will struggle in the current trial if the trial is for the testing of our faith. Sometimes we run from the trial which is only to find us face to face with a similar trial aimed to produce the heart surgery God scheduled. We are called to press on in our trials because they have a purpose producing perseverance. Tested proven character which produces hope and this hope will never disappoint us. Through Christ we are now friends with God. So don’t seem it strange that you are going through theses trials, your brothers and sisters are experiencing the same kind of trials.
The question has come up do I believe God is causing these trials? Trials come by many reasons, some we bring on ourselves. Some are attacks from the enemy satin, some by God for the testing of our faith and some by tragedy, regardless where they come from we have the promise that God will take our weakness and turn it to strength so don’t lose hope or live in hopelessness Christ is with us. God knows your deepest need and He is with you. I am addressing mostly in this post the testing of our faith.
brothers and sisters I am so blessed we can join hands in our trials. Inspire and encourage one another. As Iron sharpens Iron, and one man sharpens another. Bless you In the name of Christ, I pray you are strengthened and moved to press on in hope. May Christ bless your heart!
The rainbow has such a significant symbolic meaning of promise! In my very first blog I shared with you my very first poem called Born Into A Cloud which I wrote three different blogs titled My First Poem giving you my testimony. In My First Poem, One of the lines in the poem I believe the Holy Spirit wrote Is, the rainbow God created you to be, when there seemed to be no hope the clouds are lifted by the winds of salvation. This poem moved me to do a study on the rainbows meaning in the bible which I will share with you now.
Here is the poem
Born into a cloud smothered into darkness
bringing rainfall in abundance
the deep fog keeps you from knowing who you are
Lightning strikes your person a lashing out in pain
the world is blinded by the dark cloud that covers
life hails in destruction leaving no hope or sanity
until a light shines from heaven revealing your true colors
the rainbow God created you to be
when there seemed to be no hope
the clouds are lifted by the winds of salvation
and you are born again by the love and mercy
of the lord Jesus Christ
whom brings forth truth in everlasting life.
Genesis 9 (New International Version)
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth.11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
He set a rainbow in the clouds as a promise to us, He will never flood the earth again. Which means when the storms come we will not be overtaken. The Rainbow is a hand painted piece of art by God displaying His heart and person in the beauty of salvation to those He loves. It Is one of His ways to say, I am Here and I love you!
Ezekiel 1 (Expanded Bible)
25 A voice came from above the ·dome [vault; expanse; or platform] over the heads of the living creatures. When the living creatures stopped, they lowered their wings. 26 Now above the ·dome [vault; expanse; or platform] there was something that looked like a throne. It looked like ·a sapphire gem [or la pis lazuli]. And on the throne high above was a ·shape [form; figure] like a ·human [man]. 27 Then I noticed that from the waist up the shape looked like glowing ·metal [or amber] with fire inside. From the waist down it looked like fire, and a bright light was all around. 28 The surrounding ·glow [radiance; brightness] looked like the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. ·It seemed to look like [L This was the appearance of the likeness of] the glory of the Lord[C his manifest presence]. So when I saw it, I ·bowed [fell] face-down on the ground and heard a voice speaking.
In Ezekiel s vision He sees the presence of God and He described it as glowing metal with fire inside from the waist down it looked like fire, and a bright light was all around. 28 The surrounding ·glow [radiance; brightness] looked like the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day
. looked like the rainbow in the clouds!!!! Even Gods presence is like a rainbow in the clouds. Could it be when we see a rainbow we are actually seeing an image of God. An Image of His promise. Lets look at Moses!
Exodus 24 (Expanded Bible)
Moses Meets with God
15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud [C representing God’s presence] covered it. 16 The glory of the Lord[C representing his manifest presence] ·came down [L settled] on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from inside the cloud. 17 To the ·Israelite s [L sons/T children of Israel] the glory of the Lord looked like a fire burning on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses went into the cloud and went higher up the mountain. He was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
I love this part because when Moses was called up the mountain what was seen was a cloud covering it. At the top of the mountain what the people could see was like a fire, a glowing fire inside the cloud on top of the mountain. Half of the way up the mountain was covered with the cloud, which means half the way up this very high mountain, Moses was without sight. Isn’t that like our walks with God? when we climb the mountain of God, we can’t see where we are going. When we get to the top we see the glory of God. I believe when Moses got to the top of the mountain the Glory of God was just like Ezekiel s vision. He saw what looked like a rainbow in the clouds. A consuming fire that looked like glowing metal.
Revelation 4
Expanded Bible (EXB)
John Sees Heaven
4 After the vision of these things I looked, and [L look; T behold] there before me was an open door in heaven. And the ·same [L first] voice that spoke to me before, that sounded like a trumpet [1:8], said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the ·Spirit [or spirit; C a state of deep spiritual communion with God; 1:10], and [L look; T behold] before me was a throne in heaven, and someone was sitting on it. 3 The One who sat on the throne looked like precious stones, like jasper and carnelian [C a symbol of great beauty, purity and value]. All around the throne was a ·rainbow [or halo] ·the color of [or that looked like] an emerald.
Around the thrown encircling it was a rainbow. You see when you die and are face to face with God what you will see is amazing color of jewels and sapphires and rubies. There will be incredible light and the image you will see of His glory will look like that of a rainbow. I would like to look at another symbol that represents the rainbow and Gods promise of son-ship, Royalty!
Genesis 37 (Expanded Bible)
3 Since Joseph was born when his father Israel [C Jacob’s other name] was old, Israel loved him more than his other sons. He made Joseph a special robe with long sleeves [C traditionally a multicolored robe]. 4 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than he loved them, they hated their brother and could not speak to him ·politely [C civilly; L peacefully].
The robe of many colors. This robe is the same robe in the Prodigal Son that the Master has His servants get to put on him. It represents royalty son-ship. I also believe this is Gods covering, a rainbow covering, meaning promise!
Exodus 28 (Expanded Bible)
28 “·Tell your brother Aaron to come [L Bring near your brother Aaron] to you, along with his sons Nada b, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ·Separate them from the other Israelites to [L …to] serve me as priests. 2 Make holy ·clothes [garments; vestments] for your brother Aaron to give him ·honor [glory] and ·beauty [splendor]. 3 Tell all the ·skilled craftsmen to whom I have given wisdom [L the wise of heart whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom; C wisdom here is a practical knowledge, a skill] to make ·special clothes [garments; vestments] for Aaron—clothes to show that he ·belongs to me [is consecrated/set apart/ holy] so that he may serve me as a priest. 4 These are the clothes they must make: a ·chest covering [breastpiece], a ·holy vest [ephod], an outer robe, a ·woven inner [or checkered] robe, a turban, and a ·cloth belt [sash]. They must make these ·holy [sacred] clothes for your brother Aaron and his sons. Then they may serve me as priests. 5 They must use gold and blue, purple and ·red [scarlet] thread, and fine linen.
The Holy Vest
6 “Use gold and blue, purple and ·red [scarlet] thread, and fine linen to make the ·holy vest [ephod]; ·skilled craftsmen are to make it [skillfully worked]. 7 At each top corner of it there will be a pair of shoulder straps tied together over each shoulder.
8 “·The craftsmen will very carefully weave a belt [L The embroidered waistband] on the ·holy vest that is [L ephod will be] made with the same materials—gold and blue, purple and ·red [scarlet] thread, and fine linen.
9 “Take two onyx stones and write the names of the twelve sons of Israel on them, 10 six on one stone and six on the other. Write the names in order, ·from the oldest son to the youngest [according to the order of their birth]. 11 ·Carve [Engrave] the names of the sons of Israel on these stones in the same way a person ·carves words and designs on a seal [engraves a seal/signet]. Put gold [L filigree] around the stones to hold them on the ·holy vest [ephod]. 12 Then put the two stones on the two straps of the ·holy vest [ephod] as reminders of the twelve sons of Israel. Aaron is to ·wear [bear] their names on his shoulders in the presence of the Lord as reminders of the sons of Israel. 13 Make ·two gold pieces to hold the stones [settings of gold filigree]14 and two chains of pure gold, twisted together like a rope. Attach the chains to the ·two gold pieces that hold the stones [L settings].
This is the clothing for priest of the Kingdom Of God, it continues on if you want to go back and read more. Notice again it is a robe of many colors and full of jewels. Now this is old Testament, today we Christians are all considered to be a Kingdom Of priest and a holy nation. I believe this is our spiritual robe to be worn as a child of royalty and purpose. The anointed of God. This spiritual robe is Gods presence which if you remember it is that of a rainbow in the clouds. His presence is on us like a cloud, a consuming fire of glowing metal, a rainbow in the clouds of this world. We are His rainbows of promise to the lost.
Revelation 1:6
Expanded Bible (EXB)
6 He made us to be a ·kingdom of priests [or kingdom and priests; or kingdom, that is, priests; Ex. 19:6] who serve ·God his Father [L his God and Father]. To ·Jesus Christ [L him] be glory and ·power [dominion] forever and ever! Amen.
May God clothe you in rainbows of blessing and purpose, and full of promise as the children of the living God.
Everyday is a new day, some clearer than others. There are days of a clear focus, full of Gods spirit. Days when you feel you have one foot in heaven. There are days heaven feels a thousand miles away. Days where tears are stored in a bottle and lonely hearts go faint. When hope is differed and questions seem to go unanswered. Trials seem to never end, may it be the wilderness before your public appearance, or the valley of death training the Jedi Knight. We all know what it means to grow in the Lord. Your beginning in Christ found at the end of addiction or addiction found its way in after years of serving. Thinking it is impossible to fall from the strength you have in Christ, only finding yourself beginning again. The hope we have calls us to rise up in every situation leading us all to one place. The foot of the cross worshiping Him. Hill Song is where the river flows. Where we follow the river of God. Where we worship and find ourselves at the foot of Jesus. The place our true lives are found. Where healing and freedom takes place. The place of promise we climb to. The river of truth, living water.
Isaiah 41 (New International Version)
Isaiah 41
New International Version (NIV)
The Helper of Israel
17 “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs. 19 I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together, 20 so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Things are never what they seem. God is in control and always working to lead us into His everlasting peace and joy. Stay strong, follow the river of His presence. Remain in prayer and encourage one another. Be the shoulder to cry on, the smile that strengthens the one in need. Be His hands and feet along the river’s edge. You never know when it will be you in need. Join hands as we follow the river of God.
May your day be full of encouragement. May your heart overflow of His goodness as you walk towards the river of life. God bless you.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
I think it is very important to understand grace and to understand that even with grace we still suffer the consequences to our sin. The grace of God is the most beautiful thing in the world, to the person who encounters it. The bible says he who has been forgiven much loves much. The day I knew I was truly forgiven changed my life forever. The reason I serve Christ today is because of the encounter of love and grace I experienced. Guilt, shame and damnation are very heavy to carry. Imagine carrying the worlds guilt and shame because that is what Christ did. He forgave all who will come to Him, for yesterdays, today’s and tomorrows sin. We have been covered by the blood of the lamb who was slain. So there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Whoever is set free, is free indeed. Grace came at a cost, a tremendous cost. Have you seen Mel Gibson s The Passion Of Christ? I cried through the whole movie like no movie I have ever seen. The movie brought what Christ did home to me. I don’t think I really ever truly took myself that close to the cross. The experience I had with the movie made me feel like I was there. I could imagine being one of His disciples and witnessing what took place. I can also see why these men where willing to give their lives to Christ in the ways they did. It is very important to understand the fullness of what He did and then to bring it home to our hearts. So if all of our sin is taken care of what then?
Slaves to Righteousness
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.
I have told you I like to live my life in Christ by correlations such as spirit, flesh, life, death, forgiveness, damnation, holiness, sinful, blessing and curses. To understand grace is to know in Gods eyes you are clean, forgiven by His blood. When you die you will be perfected and completely holy If you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior. Why then are we still suffering from sin and the consequences that come from it. The answer to that is flesh. In this world we still have flesh to tend with. Christ says walk by the spirit.
Galatians 5:16
New International Version (NIV)
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Everything has an opposite! That is what repentance is, doing the complete opposite. If we walk in sin yet live by grace we will live a very cursed life.
The Offer of Life or Death
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
If you are wondering why You are struggling with curses still in your life, curses grow from your sin. If you continue to plant sin in your life, your harvest will be curses. If you plant holiness in your life your harvest will be blessings. Sowing to your Christian walk is everything. What you plant will be what you will feed off of for the years to come. The good news is, if you are suffering curses, you can plant new seed. You can always change what you are planting and what your future harvest will be. He has done His part, you are covered, now walk with Him by the spirit and plant to the spirit, the seeds of the spirit, which are, read His word, worship, pray and reach out to those in need or those whom God calls you to, like certain ministries.
May the Lord bless you and bless the seeds you are planting or are about to plant! May your day be filled with his spirit that it will guide you to walk in it. 🙂
1 Corinthians 13
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. …
Love is what we were created for. Love is the choice we have been given. Everything in this life was purposed to teach us love. Anyone who rejects love finds its opposite which is hate and evil. Turning from love, is like removing all light and entering into complete darkness. Many who are lost, whose hearts have been stricken, who have lost the knowledge and purity of love by clouds of darkness, through the invasion from one who seeks to plague its truth from our lives. Everywhere you turn you can see the hypnosis plaguing our thoughts, minds, eyes and words, seeking to squeeze love from our lives. The more we become busy, stressed and preoccupied by this life, the more love will be the furthest from our minds. If we allow it, this world will dictate what is in our hearts. If we don’t stop refocus and meditate on truth, the world and its darkness will consume us. Innocent children living in a curse because those intrusted choose darkness over light.
Are we so blinded? Do we lack the courage to lead the way? Is it so hard to choose love and light though we might experience rejection. Are we so easily manipulated and numbed by our hardship? Can we not see the wrong done to us and use it as strength to change the world? Where are the courageous? Where is my lamp? Why isn’t it shining truth? Why am I still falling to the lies? Have we lost where our hope comes from? We need to be praying and turning the tides! If we light our lights together and shine them as we come together, there will be enough light to light the world. Those in darkness would be forced to see. I want to start a revolution in the hearts of Christians. I want to start a fire. If my words are burning in your heart then break out in prayer.
If we as Christians have gifts and yet have not love, we are a lamp covered by its shade. We need to be praying and I would love to see the wall of this blog covered in prayers. I want to see them for your children, your families, your work place, and your personal walks. The Holy spirit wrote this post and it is burning in me as I hope it is in you. Join me in turning up our lamps and surrendering to our King. His love has covered us all. His banner over us is love. let us join hearts together across the world lifting our hearts in praise and love to the Lamb who is worthy. Bring your lamps to this alter, turn them up with the fire of truth and love to our savior, let mercy and truth kiss our lives.
0 Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
13 Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.
May God burn in you today a fresh and glorious lamp shinning fourth His love. The love of the father can be purchased at www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
We as people must drink water and eat daily to stay alive. We must feed our fleshly bodies to keep them strong. Our flesh requires it, if we go a day without water you will instantly feel the effects. Dehydration will begin to set in and you will begin to weaken. It is a routine we have become a custom to, simply because of our need. The body gives many symptoms or cries to get our attention such as stomach grumbling, Our moods can quickly change, Our mouth gets dry and Our bodies sweat. All telling us the need for food and water.
Ok, that takes care of the physical body but what about our spirits? If our physical bodies need bread and water, what about our spiritual bodies? Jesus said unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. What was He saying and why did He say it the way He did? Jesus always spoke in parables. Parables are like poetry, you must go deep to seek what is inside. His reasoning for this is simple, Jesus does not like superficial relationships. Jesus speaks in such a way to separate those who truly desire to know Him from those who only have personal agendas.
If you want to know Jesus, you must open your heart and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Continuing to seek Him as if He is your need for water. Let me explain. People during that time thought He was mad and crazy for saying you needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Lets look further, in the book of Genesis it says in the beginning was the word and the word was God. Meaning the word itself was and is God. The word of God is living. When we read the word of God we are to chew it. Meditate on it and seek its depth. The word of God is spiritual bread. If we do not feed our spirits this bread as our physical bodies will die our spiritual bodies are dead. The reason you can’t hear God, feel God, is your spiritual body is dead and it must be fed.
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’[b]
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’[c]”
Jesus Holy Spirit is the living water we need to drink. As we read his word = eat of His flesh, He gives us living water, His spirit. We drink of His blood = spirit = living water. When He was on the cross and they speared Him through the side His blood was mixed with water, living water.
Let me tell you a story. One day I was in my backyard where I loved to read the word of God. I was studying a book of theology on the subject of the Holy Spirit and the trinity. My patio had three pillars, each had a grapevine growing up them. Two of the vines had connected and became one, the third was reaching for the other but had not yet connected. While I was reading on the spirit, a very nice breeze blew up against me. I looked up and I could see the two vines reaching for each other. In front of my own eyes they connected. Now all three were joined. Here I was reading trying to understand a very complex subject on the trinity and God explains it right before my eyes. The wind, the spirit, that’s how they connect! That is exactly how we connect to God, by His living water the Holy Spirit.
I pray your day is filled with eating His flesh and drinking His blood!
3 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
What is ahead? That is the question. Everything in our lives is about what is ahead. Every morning we wake up we are faced with, what is ahead? Right now as I write it is about what is ahead? The other question is how are we going to walk towards what is ahead? Are we going to walk in the flesh or His spirit? When we find ourselves walking in the flesh what then? What is your life’s purpose? What are you living for? What do you need to accomplish right now, to achieve the purpose of God in your life? These are important questions which I hope are stirring your thoughts.
We must have a goal and decide how we are going to walk towards that goal, so that when we are walking wrong we can quickly change it. If you don’t have a goal, the first thing you need to be doing is praying to God for direction. Once we have direction we need to decide how we are going to walk. Hopefully the direction we are going to walk is by the spirit of God. So that when you find yourself walking in the flesh you can quickly change it by repentance and seeking God.
What does the flesh do to slow us down? It loads you up like someone putting weights on your back or handing you one heavy box after another, then expecting you to get there just as fast as if you weren’t carrying the extra load. What are some of the things we carry that is walking in the flesh? UN-forgiveness, judgement, resentment, anger, hate, envy, pride and arrogance. Those are just some. The more weight we can throw off, the better our lives and walks with God will be. If you are handing the heavy load to someone, stop! Begin to take the load back off of them, OK?
So back to the question, what goal do you have? If you had one, did you just add to it? If you didn’t have one, do you now? You don’t have to deal with them all at once but take on what you can with Gods help. If you are carrying any of those things, it could explain why your life is struggling. I know in my personal life I have been working on a couple of these and everyday I need Gods help. The only way to walk in the spirit is to walk close to God, get into His word, worship Him, and do as He says. This isn’t about anyone else, this is about you. Your husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend have nothing to do with this right now. This is about you and God. How are you and I going to be victorious for God?
How serious do you see this? I am telling you times are coming and if you begin now learning how to walk in the spirit of God, you will have the endurance to accomplish all God puts before you. Once you have the endurance of God you will be able to even carry someone else load.
God be with you and give you a Godly endurance. Bless you and stay blessed. Endurance can be purchased at our store. www.fullofrosesinspirationals.com
FULL OF ROSES INSPIRATIONALS 