God Inside

Meditate daily on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that the Spirit would be in us and that He and the Father would come make their abode—an abiding or dwellng—with us. [John 14:16-23] In other words, the fullness of the Trinity dwells in every reborn believer.

Now, that's not something you hear everyday. Yes, we are told that, when we make a confession of faith in the redemptive work of Jesus, we are 'born again' and Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. But what does that mean, exactly?

Before the Foundation of the World
The Word says we are as Christians are created in the likeness of God, in righteousness and holiness of the truth. [Ephesians 4:24] At the moment we choose the path of salvation, we are crucified, buried and raised up together with Jesus. This is a quantum event, because the Bible calls Jesus the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. [Revelations 13:8 YLT]. Ephesians 1:4 says we are chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. These are quantum truths, showing us that in the spiritual realm there is no time.

Spiritual Hitchhiker
Anyone who's been in church for any length of time has heard that the Holy Spirit lives within us. Unfortunately, He's depicted as some sort of a spiritual hitchhiker—He's in there, but it doesn't really mean anything to us on a daily basis. Yes, we're going to heaven some day, and yes, we have the right to wail and beg for help when we need it—of course, He may or may not do anything. But to most Christians, that's about the extent of it.

When we begin to think about the fullness of the Triune God living within us, that the God who created the universe is, in reality, dwelling within these earthen vessels, we will begin to enter into the fullness of the blessing of the new birth. The same God who went before the Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, who split the Red Sea, is IN US, individually and collectively!

Filled with God
Meditate often on the reality of being one Spirit with the Lord. [1 Corinthians 6:17] Jesus said that we would be capable of doing greater works than He did [John 14:12] and told us to move mountains and trees with our words. But doing these things will be impossible until we begin to understand who we really are—the Body of Christ in the earth.

When life seems to close in, when you are feeling overwhelmed, remember that the Holy Spirit prayed, through Paul, that you be strengthened with power through the Spirit in your inner man, that you be rooted and grounded in love, and that you be filled up to all the fullness of God. [Ephesians 3:14-21] See yourself filled with God, confess it as true for you—God's will be done in earth as it is in Heaven.

[Related posts: Thoughts on the New Birth, Christian Meditation]

Fabulous Finds

Here are a couple of great finds from the Word. May be the seed of future articles, but until then, here's the short version...

The Tower of Babel
This is a fascinating story. While re-reading it, I came upon two wonderful insights.

First, the word translated purpose in Genesis 11:6 [NASB, a version I consider to be one of the most accurate translations] is the Hebrew word Zamam. In the Interlinear Bible, a Hebrew/Greek/English version, the word is imagine...

So. the NASB reads 'The Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language [literally 'one lip' or 'one speech']. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for [literally 'withheld from'] them..."

The Interlinear Bible says "And Jehovah said "Behold, the people is one, and the lip one to all of them, and this they are beginning to do, and now all they have imagined to do will not be restrained from them." This is an exact, word for word translation.

All they have imagined to do will not be restrained or withheld from them. Contemplate those words! The imagining looses whatever is imagined, and it will not be withheld from them! Evidently God Himself could not withhold the object of their imagining...and, by the way, the feat they were imagining was beyond even today's technology! The highest we've gotten is the Sear's Tower or CN Tower...

His only option was to stop their unity, their unified speech and their imagination!

The Blessing or The Curse
This next treasure comes from Deuteronomy 30:15 [NASB], in which God says to Israel "See, I have set before you to day life and prosperity, and death and adversity..."

In the center column of my Bible, there's a reference column--the literal translation for the word prosperity is good...the literal translation for the word adversity is evil.

For those who think God sends adversity and withholds prosperity, this verse shows exactly what He thinks...later in the chapter [v.19] He reiterates "...I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life..."

It is clear from these scriptures that He sees prosperity as good and adversity as evil. Jesus said "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." He also said "He who has seen Me has seen the Father...the words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works...I am in the Father and the Father is in Me..." [John 14:9-11] He clearly draws a line between good and evil, and names the thief as the source of bad things.

Another interesting tidbit...my Bible gives an alternate ending to John 10:10: "...I have come that they may have life, and have abundance."

Quantum Possibilities

Over the last century, Quantum Physics [QP] has really come into it's own. Mystics everywhere are jumping on the bandwagon, claiming a new theology or understanding of the cosmos.

What they don't realize is the Quantum Physics is merely the scientific explanation of the Word. For example, the unity of all things is a tenet of QP—the multiverse [multiple or parallel universes] another. Consider these scriptures:

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was the life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, gory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.' [John 1:1-5,14]

'He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.' [Colossians 1:17]

'For in Him we live, and move, and have our being...' [Acts 17:28]

'...and [He] upholds all things by the word of HIs power.' [Hebrews 1:3]

'For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete...' [Colossians 2:9,10]

'...and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ.' [Ephesians 2:5,6]

'How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion!' [Psalm 84:5]

"I am in the Father and the Father is in Me...If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him." [John 14:12,23]

"Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." [Matthew 6:10]

"For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst [or within you]." [Luke 17:21]

'But you have come to Mount Zion and the the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous mad perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.' [Hebrews 12:22-24]

'But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.' [1 Corinthians 6:17]

Of course, there are hundreds of scriptures which talk about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven—the Jerusalem above. In the New Testament there are many that place us 'in Him' or 'through Him.' In previous posts, we've talked about the unseen realm—the well of Hagar, Isaac's ram, Elisha's army, the transfiguration, etc. Anywhere in the Word where the veil is peeled back for us to see the unseen—these all refer to the realm of the Spirit, or what QP refers to as a parallel universe.

These things are real, not because QP has just discovered them, but because they are the way God created the universe, and QP is just now finding out about them!

Quantum Promises
Understanding that we are one Spirit with the Lord, seated with Him in heavenly places and walking about on the earth, it is clear that we live multidimensionally. Of course, the world itself is in Him [and He is us, individually and collectively]—try to wrap your head around that!

Now it is easier to understand verses like'...all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God' [1 Corinthians 3:22,23] and "All things are possible to him who believes." [Mark 9:23; 10:27] These are quantum verses!

QP states that for each of us there are a multiplicity of universes—a universe where you're married, one where you're not, one where you have kids, one where you don't, etc. The theory is that these universes branch from each decision we make—all things are in mathematical and physical reality possible for us. However, most of us walk around blind to these realities, bound by limiting beliefs ["I can't..." or "That would never happen for me..." etc.]

But the Word says that all things—all paths or universes, if you will—are possible if you believe. If you believe what? If you believe they are possible! When Jesus said this, He was talking to a man who had come for help for his son. He was torn between believing that Jesus could help him and the natural, rational viewpoint—that nothing could be done. [If QP has done anything, it has freed us from the bonds of rationality! One physicist has stated that QP is akin to asking the marital status of the number 5...it isn't that the number 5 is married or not, but that the question makes no sense in any context!]

Jesus made it clear that the universe containing a healthy son was predicated on the father's belief! Think of how many times in the Gospels He said "Your faith has made you well..." When He told us to talk to mountains and trees in faith, He wasn't kidding! He was revealing quantum truths, showing how things really work.

The Tower of Babel
Let's look at the story of the tower of Babel. Men had come together in unity to do a seemingly impossible task—to the rational mind, even with today's technology, it seems an impossible task. But God said "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language [literally 'one lip' or 'one speech']. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for [literally 'withheld from'] them..." [Genesis 11:6] Think about that!

These people were speaking and acting in unity. God, Who is the Author of QP, and founded the universe with it, knew that nothing would be impossible for [or withheld from] them. QP is, in effect, God's MO [modus operandi—how He works], and man, being made in His image, works just like Him!

What's It Have to Do With Me?
Good question. If it is true, scientifically, mathematically and spiritually, that in front of us lie endless paths creating endless universes [some say they are next to one another...yikes, my brain is bending] and if it is in our power to choose any one of the 'all things' then this has everything to do with everything.

Think about salvation...we choose redemption by believing in our hearts and saying with our mouths that God raised Jesus from the dead. [Romans 10:9] We choose our destiny in a moment!

God told Israel "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity [good], and death and adversity [evil]...I call heaven and earth [both planes of existence] to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants..." [Deuteronomy 30:15,19]

So, it would seem, the choices are ours. The power [hand] of life and death truly is in the tongue.

[Related posts: Yad, How Did He Do That]

Decreed

'Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away. [Psalm 148:4-6]

"So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding (in the matter) for which I sent it." [Isaiah 55:11]

When God decrees something, that decree is settled forever. [Psalm 119:89] The Hebrew word for 'settled' is natsab, which means to fix, establish. One interesting alternate meaning is to be stationed or appointed...His word is stationed as a guard, appointed to accomplish what He sent it for.

‘The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.’ [Isaiah 40:8]

Psalm 32:7 says He surrounds us with songs, or shouts, of deliverance!

Keeping those things in mind, look at 2 Corinthians 1:20: 'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes...' Every promises of God is fulfilled in Jesus, and we are His joint heirs! He is the Spirit within us--Paul says we have died, and Christ lives in us! [Romans 6:6, Galatians 2:20]

Filled with God
In Ephesians 3:19, the Holy Spirit, through Paul, prayed that we might be filled up to all the fullness of God! In Colossians 1:11, He prayed that we be strengthened with all power in our inner man! We have this treasure in earthen vessels—how is this possible?

Because God said so—He decreed it! Jesus was God in the earth—the Word [Gr. logos—word, decree]. John 1:1 says 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' God is His word, and the totality of all His words is Jesus.

Guess what? It's you, too! Acts 12:24 says 'And the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.' I like the HNV: 'But the word of God grew and multiplied.' We are the Word multiplied! God has filled us with Himself—we are the embodiment of His decrees. We are His temple on the earth, filled with His glory. We are how the whole earth is filled with His glory [Isaiah 6:3]

Stationed
The decrees of the Father about us are established forever—they are stationed around us. They are stationed within us, within our reborn spirits. They are already true and already accomplished, because He decreed it. He decreed that we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ. By His doing, we are in Christ Jesus, Who became [past tense] to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption...[1 Corinthians 1:30]

Let's look at an example. God declared David to be king of Israel while he was just a boy. It took a while for David to realize that this was, in fact, true...'And David realized that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.' [2 Samuel 5:12]

That wasn't when it became true...it became true the moment God said it. And if you read the whole chapter, David didn't realize [Heb. yada—to know or perceive] that he was really king until after he was anointed by the elders and took the throne! I think it must have been an aha! moment, sort of like 'Oh, right, this is real! I get it now...'

So What?
What does this mean for us? It means everything God has said about Jesus and those who are united with Him in the Spirit—His Body—is already true! God decreed many things about us, and they are established forever, stationed around us, standing firm in the spiritual realm.

So how do we bring it to pass in the natural? We, like Jesus, are full of God. Jesus said that we should do greater works than He did [John 14:12]—He decreed it—so it is established forever, destined to come to pass. Evidence, however, is a little hard to come by. Christians look just as sick, broke, depressed as everyone else—their kids are dying by the numbers, just like the world's. Even during the plagues in Egypt, the Word says 'Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.' [Exodus 9:26]

Their livestock didn’t die, either, and when thick darkness descended over the land, there was light in the dwellings of Israel! [Exodus 9, 10]

Hallelujah!

So where is the disconnect? What is blocking the decreed word of God from coming to pass? David said we are surrounded by songs of deliverance [Psalm 32:7]...encamped around by the Angel of the Lord and rescued. [Psalm 34:7]

Paul said that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. [2 Corinthians 4:7]

I see it as a bottle full of God with the stopper still in it. How do we take the stopper out?

By faith! Everything is done by faith! Faith—believing in your heart and speaking with your mouth—takes hold of that forever settled word and brings it into the natural realm. Doubt, fear, unbelief, rationality—thinking like the world, not understanding how things really work—these keep the stopper firmly in place.

Hebrews 3:19 says of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness 'So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.' Enter what? Enter into the promise of God—the Promised Land.

Faith—Seeing the Unseen
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. [Romans 10:17] The decreed Word of God is the forever settled and established unseen. Immerse yourself in the unseen, seeing who you really are in Christ. Mediate on being one Spirit with the Lord, strengthened with all power in your inner man, doing greater works than Jesus did. See yourself walking in love and power, decreeing in the earth what God has already decreed about you. You are the healed, the rich, protected by angels. The well-being of your children is great and they are taught of the Lord. God is love—you are filled with love! And love never fails...

The Holy Spirit said, through Paul, '...for we walk by faith, not by sight...' [2 Corinthians 5:7] and told us to look at the things which are not seen rather than those that are seen [I Corinthians 4:18]. By faith, Moses left Egypt, 'seeing Him Who is unseen.' [Hebrews 11:27]

In Galatians 3:5, we read ' So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?' Faith is how you move mountains [Mark 11:22-24]. Faith is how you take the stopper out and let God move in the earth.

Jesus prayed "Your will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven." We should pray that, too...that the unseen, already established will of God be done in our lives in the earth. When we begin to meditate on these things, sin, doubt and fear will fall away and we will reign in life.

Walk by faith. It is decreed.

Stolen!

When I consider what Satan has stolen from the church, it makes my blood boil. So many Christians are living defeated lives, wondering why God isn't helping them.

Satan has deceived us into laying down the most powerful weapons available to us, and in doing so has crippled us from our calling to reign in life. When you remove these from the Christian's arsenal, it's no wonder we are defeated.

Praise
"It's not really necessary, just praise God if you feel like it. It's optional."

NO...praise is a powerful weapon. Read Psalms 149 and you'll see that it is one of the weapons used to bind strong enemies!

If you have trouble getting started, get some praise music and sing along. Or, read one the Psalms [145 to 150 in particular] out loud, personalizing it as you go.

Praying in the Spirit
"That's not for today. Only weirdos do it. You can if you want, but it's not necessary."

NO...praying in the Spirit is how we pray when we don't know how. It is how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God. [Romans 8:26,27]

Praying in the Spirit builds us up in our most holy FAITH! [Jude 1:20]

Praying in the Spirit speaks mysteries to God [1 Corinthians 14:2] and edifies us—build up, restore, repair, establish...to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection grace and virtue! [1 Corinthians 14:4]

Sounds good to me! Ask God to be baptized in His Holy Spirit and start praying. If words come that don't sound like your own native language, keep going! It might be slow at first, and you'll have to fight the natural inclination to stop because it seems like you're making it up, but KEEP GOING!

It is His will for you.

Meditation/Imagination/Visualization
"That's not for Christians. That's New Age, Buddhism—you'd better watch out or you'll open yourself up to evil spirits. It's evil."

NO...Joshua 1;8 says 'This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.'

Most of the prophets 'saw' the word from the Law—we are told to look at the unseen. [2 Corinthians 4:18] What would that include? Everything that the Word says is ours—angelic protections, wealth, health, favor, etc.

David talks about meditating on God's Word, His glorious works, etc throughout the Psalms—God called him a 'man after My heart.' [Acts 13:22]

It is one of the primary tools for renewing your mind and transforming your life.

The Word
"You don't have to read the Bible every day. Any inspirational book will do. It's not that important."

NO...Jesus IS the Word [John 1:14] and we are the Word multiplied [Acts 12:24]

The Word is the other weapon mentioned in Psalm 149, and is described in the Ephesians and Revelations as the 'sword of the Spirit.' His word is settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and will not return to Him without accomplishing His desire [Isaiah 55:11].

Jesus said a branch cut off from the vine is dead--when we're cut off from the Word, we're dead, too. [John 15:4-8]

Wealth
"Christians aren't supposed to be wealthy. It's okay to have some things, but watch that you don't have too much. It's not God's will."

NO...read the Bible. If there are more verses on another topic, I don't know what it is. It is absolutely the will of God that His people be blessed in every area, including the financial. All things belong to us already [1 Corinthians 3:22,23], richly to enjoy [1 Timothy 6:17].

Wealth accompanies wisdom [Proverbs 3:16] and Jesus became to us wisdom [1 Corinthians 1:30]. We are not the poor, we are rich, and Satan has stolen our God-given wealth. We have the blessing of Abraham, and Satan is trying to make sure we never find out.

Plus, you're not going to help anyone if you're just barely getting by. The greatest philanthropists in the world are the richest men and women.

Healing/Long Life
"It's not always God's will to heal. He might want you to suffer to teach you something. He might want to take you home early. He might get glory from your sickness. Remember Paul's thorn."

[yikes]

NO...Read the Bible. Jesus already bore our sicknesses and pains, and by His stripes WE WERE HEALED [Isaiah 53:4, 1 Peter 2:24]. We are not the sick, we are the healed and Satan is trying to steal our health!

Proverbs 3:16 says long life is in Wisdom's right hand, and Psalm 91:16 says that He will satisfy us with long life!

Jesus healed everyone who asked—the only people He could not heal were those from His home town, because they didn't believe in Him. And it's clear that it was His desire to heal them—their unbelief stopped His power. [Matthew 13:58]

And Paul's thorn was a messenger of Satan...a demonic being, not a sickness. [2 Corinthians 12:7]

This is another subject on which there are many scriptures. Get out the book and dig. Sick people can't do anything for the Kingdom, either.

Protection
"Well, you never know what's going to happen. The accident may have been God's will. You shouldn't go [fill in the blank] because it's too dangerous. I'm afraid to fly. I'm terrified when my kids are driving at night."

NO...read Psalm 91, Isaiah 54:17, Psalms 23, 32, 34, 68 [ok, go ahead, read them all]. The angel(s) are there, in that unseen realm--see them, and believe. [2 Kings 6:17]

Blessings On Our Children
Well, we don’t know why God took your baby. He may have needed a flower for His garden.

Don’t even get me started. I’m so tired of hearing about children of Christian parents dying young. I have pages and pages of promises for the offspring of the righteous, and none contain any of the BS excuses I hear about God’s will to kill 9 or 17 year olds.

I believe this is one of the greatest deceptions foisted on the church, specifically designed to do the most damage to individuals and to the corporate body as well.

I sat in a packed out memorial service for a 22 year old friend of my son’s and heard the minister say “We don’t know why God let this happen…”

I wanted to scream “Tell the truth! These parents have another son! We all have children! Teach us to protect them with the Word of God!” But I didn’t, being the chicken that I am. And thousands of people went home that day believing that God might want to kill their kids, too.

Understanding
"You can't ever know what God's will is. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard..."

[double yikes]

This is one of my pet peeves. Why is it that only the first part of that verse is quoted, usually at funerals, to justify why we can't understand why God [fill in the tragedy].

READ THE BIBLE!!! 1 Corinthians 2:9 is quoting Isaiah 64...but the very next verse says 'For to us God revealed them through the Spirit...' Verse 12 goes on to say 'Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God...'

1 John 2 says we have an anointing which teaches us all things! Jesus has become to us wisdom from God! [1 Corinthians 1:30]

This deception goes hand in hand with the one about praying in the Spirit and the Word. These are the principle ways to access the mind of Christ, which is ours already [1 Corinthians 2:16]

The answer, by the way, re: why God is [fill in the tragedy] is that He's not..."The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." [John 10:10] These words are in red, by the way...an alternate translation reads "...and have abundance."

More...
There is so much more to be written on this topic. Watch for it...

Encouraging Words

'For it is You Who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.' [Psalm 5:12]

'You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs [shouts] of deliverance.' [Psalm 32:7]

'The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear [revere] Him, and rescues them.' [Psalm 34:7]

"No man will be able to stand before you al the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you." [Joshua 1:5]

'I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears...the righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles...Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all...' [Psalm 34:4,17,19]

'The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; but then who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.' [Psalm 34:10]

'God is to us a God of deliverances; and to God the Lord belong escapes from death.' [Psalm 68:20]

'Your way was in the sea and Your paths in the mighty waters, and Your footprints may not be known.' [Psalm 77:19]

'For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you to guard you in all your ways.' [Psalm 91:9-11]

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with the righteous right hand. Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish." [Isaiah 41:10,11]

'But you will be called the priests of the Lord; you will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, everlasting joy will be theirs.' [Isaiah 61:6,7]

“Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says if going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father Who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgression." [Mark 11:22-25]

'If God is for us, who is against us? He Who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with him freely give us all things? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him Who loved us.' [Romans 8:31,32,37]

"All things are possible to him who believes." [Mark 9:23]

"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me," declares the Lord. [Isaiah 54:17]

'But thanks be to God, Who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.' [2 Corinthians 2:14]

'As He is, so are we in this world…' [I John 4:17]

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” [John 16:33]

'Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.' [Romans 15:13]

'Now the God of Peace, Who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus or Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.' [Hebrews 13:20,21]

'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.' [Galatians 3:13,14]

'…the joy of the Lord is your strength.' [Nehemiah 8:10]

'But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.' [1 Corinthians 6:17]

'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.' [2 Corinthians 1:20]

'Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.' [Ephesians 1:2-4]

'But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.' [Ephesians 2:4-7]

'For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hears through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

‘Now to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.' [Ephesians 3:14-21]

'Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

‘Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if worthy of praise, dwell [ponder] on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.' [Philippians 2:4-8]

'For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. [Colossians 1:9-12

Renew Your Mind

Romans 12:2 tells us 'And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.'

How do we transform any area of our lives that need it? By renewing our minds. Why? So that we can prove that God's will is good, acceptable and perfect. 'For as he thinks within himself, so he is.' [Proverbs 23:7]

How Do I Do It?
The question remains: how do we renew the mind?

Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us 1) to lay aside the old self, 2) be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and 3) put on the new self, '...which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.'

These are conscious, deliberate acts, which we must be capable of, or God wouldn't instruct us to do it. We see it as possible, then make the decision to lay aside that which does not line up with God's perfect will for us or His indwelling of us.

For example, if you have been negative in your approach to life, you must make the conscious effort to lay that aside. Meditate on being one Spirit with the Lord—you died with Christ and were raised up together with Him—you are His joint heir! Put on the new self, the new man—the person of Jesus—to whom all things are possible!

You've Got Help
This may not be easy, particularly at first. Titus 3:5 tells us, however, that it is the Holy Spirit that does the actual renewing—we make the decision to be renewed, to lay aside old thought patterns or beliefs that no longer serve us, and He provides the regeneration, the renewal! He is the Helper—the Greek work Parakletos means summoned, called to one's side, especially called to one's aid...it is usually translated Helper.

Plus, we already have the Mind of Christ [1 Corinthians 2:16] and God's Spirit was given to us that might know the things freely given to us by God [1 Corinthians 2:12]. In the Spirit, we are one with Him, and have His mind. 1 John 2:20, 27 tells that we have an anointing from Him that teaches us all things...meditate on that!

Don't let old thought patterns or deceptions keep you bound. Renew your mind!

It Pleases Him

I was thinking how happy it made me to take my son shopping—we got some great clothes for his trip to Europe. It made me happy to about sending him to Europe to study, about blessing him with nice things that he loves.

And I heard this: “If it pleases you to bless him, don’t you think it pleases Me to bless you? If it makes you happy to shower him with good things, don’t you think it makes Me happy to shower you with good things?”

Now, I have a great relationship with both of my sons. We’ve had our ups and downs, like any parent-child relationship. But I know this: nothing either one of them could do would separate them from my love…and that is exactly what God has said about us [Romans 8:39].

Not Santa Claus...
Unlike Santa Claus, I bless them whether they’re bad or good. I bless them because I love them and it pleases me to do so. They are the recipients of my favor and blessing because of who they are—they are my sons—not because of what they do. I love them.

Two of my favorite memories were when we surprised our boys with their first cars. My heart was so full of joy that I could hardly contain it.

My first son wanted an SUV with all the trappings. We surprised him on Christmas day with a beautiful, second-hand Ford Explorer--he spent the next couple of months adding rims, flowmasters, a premium sound system and a brush guard.

My second wanted a sedan—a flashy sedan. We bought him a used, bright red Mercedes C230. People at his Christian school made comments for years about that car.

The SUV was ok, the Mercedes over the top. Why? A couple of friends told me that their kids were going to work for their first cars, that they would never just give them something like that—they had to earn everything they got.

My response was that I didn’t want my kids driving something they could afford. It made me happy to lavish them with their heart’s desires.

And if I could’ve given them brand new cars, I would’ve done that! They didn’t have to earn it, I GAVE it to them…I LOVED them! And they were teenagers at the time, so you know they weren’t perfect! But it had nothing to do with what they did and everything to do with who they were and who we, their parents were.

Now, I guess if we had thought the gift would kill them—if we had thought they would drink and drive—I guess we would’ve withheld the cars. But it would’ve made us sad to do so—it would’ve grieved us not to be able to bless them.

In fact, it has always grieved us when, for whatever reason, we weren’t able to bless them.

It's Your Father's Will
Jesus said “if you, being evil, know how to…how much more your Father…[Matthew 7:11]

Hebrews 11: 6 ‘And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.’

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” [Luke 12:32]

It is the very nature of love to give. ‘For God so LOVED the world He GAVE His only begotten Son…’ [John 3:16]. He gave to Adam, to Noah, to Abraham/Isaac/Jacob…He gave to David and Solomon, all the way down to Jesus!

And He has given us ‘…all things, richly to enjoy.’ [! Corinthians 3:21,22]

Never doubt His willingness to give us all things. It gives Him great pleasure.

Believe You Receive

Jesus said "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." [Mark 11:24]

How exactly do you do that? By using your God-given gift of imagination...the eyes of your heart!

2 Corinthians 4:18 tells us to look at the unseen, so we must be able to. Since we know that all things already belong to us [1 Corinthians 3:22,23; 1 Timothy 6:17] and all the promises of God are 'yes' in Him [2 Corinthians 1:20] we can have confidence in prayer. We can ask, in faith, believing we receive. See it as already accomplished, feel the joy of answered prayer--Jesus said that the purpose of answered prayer is that our joy might be made full! [John 15:7-11]

See the prayer answered, feel the prayer answered--believe you receive--then speak the prayer answered. Give thanks, out loud, for the spoken word becomes physical reality. [See previous posts, Words Create and Yad]

An excellent book on this topic is Dewey Friedel's Imagine That, which explores the power of the sanctified imagination from a biblical point of view, with a healthy dose of quantum physics and real-world examples. I would recommend it as a must-read.

Already Blessed

What's your inner image? Are you struggling to find the magic key that unlocks God's blessings? Trying to make the mark, to be good enough to actually receive the promises of God now, in the earth? Feeling frustrated, blocked on every side?

What you've got is an inner image problem. One nurtured by erroneous teachings and pervasive cultural thinking, to be sure, but a problem nonetheless.

Let's get back to biblical basics. If you've been born again, you're already forgiven, already delivered, already an overcomer...already blessed.

Made Righteous...Already
We've been made the righteousness of God in Christ [2 Corinthians 5:20]. By His doing we are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption...[1 Corinthians 1:30,31]. Crucified with Him, buried, raised up together with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places [Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:5,6; Colossians 2:12-14].

Do you see yourself as more than a conqueror, called to reign in life, doing the works of Jesus? [Romans 8:37; 5:17; John 14:12]

Picture Him at the tomb of Lazarus...before calling him out of the grave, Jesus said "Father, I thank you that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me...” [John 11:41, 42].

1 John 4:17 says '...as He is, so are we in this world.'

This spiritual state of being one Spirit with the Lord [1 Corinthians 6:17] is an accomplished fact. We are already seated with and in Him in heavenly places. We are already forgiven, for sins past, present and future. Our confession of them cleanses our bodies and minds, but the spirit within is Jesus—always righteous, always perfect, full of grace and glory.

New Covenant
As the Church of God, the Body of Christ in the earth, we need to stop thinking like Old Covenant people. Yes, all of the promises of the Old Covenant are fulfilled for us in Christ, all are 'yes' in Him [2 Corinthians 11:20] but we don't have to earn them anymore. We are redeemed from the curse of the law, because Jesus became that curse for us so that we could receive the blessings of Abraham [Galatians 3:13,14]. The curse of the law was, in essence, what happened to you if you failed to obey the law. The blessings were what you got if you did obey.

Jesus took the curse for us—we get the blessings because we're in Him, the very seed of Abraham! To the Father, we look like Jesus—we've already perfectly fulfilled all the law, and are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ [Ephesians 1:3].

One of the blessings of Abraham was great wealth—in most churches, we're told that it's okay to be comfortable, but God forbid that we aspire to great wealth!

I've got news for you...it's already ours! It's our birthright! Romans 8:32 says 'He Who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?'

Another one of Abraham's blessings was that his descendants [us] would possess the gates of their enemies [Genesis 22:17]. Jesus told his disciples, when they were not even born again, that they had authority over all the works of the devil! But we, the very body of Christ in the earth, live defeated lives, always struggling against unseen foes that we assume are far more powerful than we!

Image Correction
Start to imagine yourself like the Bible says you are. You're like Jesus—in fact, you are Jesus in the earth! Your old, nasty self was crucified with Him, and you've been reborn, one Spirit with the Lord! You are, individually and collectively, the Body of Christ. Called to reign in life! Correct that old inner image and refuse to listen to anything contrary to the Word of God, no matter who or what it is! You are not under the Old Covenant--you are a new creature in Christ! Old things have passed away! [2 Corinthians 5:17]

Instead of wondering 'Can He, will He [fill in the blank] for me?' thank Him for what He's already done! His word is settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and He has decreed you blessed! He has already said 'Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus...' [Romans 8:1] He has already declared you accepted in the Beloved! [Ephesians 1:6] Strengthened with all power in your inner man! [Colossians 1:11]

And when you consider that Jesus said that He and the Father would come and make their abode—their dwelling—in the ones that love Him...the mind reels!

Lies, Lies, Lies

Whenever you hear anything that contradicts the Word of God, it is a lie. Satan, the deceiver, is a liar and the father of lies.

When you start to think, “What will I do, how will I ever get out of this, there’s no way out for me,” know that it is not the mind of Christ, but antichrist.

There are many, many of scriptures promising deliverance and we know that in Christ, all the promises of God are yes [2 Corinthians 1:20]. There are specific promises for every situation—health, wealth, protection, family blessing, peace, joy, etc.

There are also several blanket, or ‘failsafe’ promises, particularly those found in John 14-17—basic ‘Ask whatever you will’ promises to cover anything not specified anywhere else.

Jesus Himself said “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom” [Luke 12:32]. And through Paul, that God ‘…richly supplies us with all things to enjoy’ [1 Timothy 6:17].

It is plain to see that God’s will is blessing—all gifts good and perfect [James 1:17]. Anything to the contrary is not of God, no matter what you’ve been taught in Sunday School.

So when you feel the fear rising, and begin to see all sorts of horrible things happening—don’t let your imagination run wild with thought and pictures of doom and despair. Realize that you’re being lied to.

Understand that the only power Satan has over you is the power to deceive you into doubt and unbelief—unbelief that he knows will result in your failing to receive your blessings from God.

Instead, do what David did. Trust in God and in His word. He will deliver.

What Exactly is a Saint, Anyway?

The word ‘saint’ conjures up many things…pale, sickly looking people with yellow circles behind their heads, an old lady from your church who never missed a service and had that sour, disapproving look…someone who did really great things 300 years ago…what’s a saint?

In the New Testament, we are called saints. We figure it’s a generic term for believer, or Christian, and have never really understood how important a term it is.

The Greek word translated ‘saint’ is hagios—it means most holy thing, a saint. Another translation of the plural term ‘saints’ is holy ones.

Most holy thing? Holy ones? What? Psalms 16:3 calls us majestic ones—the Hebrew word ‘majestic’ is addiyr, also translated great, of kings or nobles.

Yes, it’s true. This is how God sees us…as His most holy, majestic ones.

Ephesians 1:5,6 says ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.’

These verses says a few very important things about how God sees us.

We are important enough to Him to cause Him to bless us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world...Why? So that we would be holy and blameless before Him.

In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself...Why? According to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved…

So remember...you are a holy, majestic saint of God now. Hallelujah!

The Power of Purpose [Take Hold of the Hope Set Before You]

Proverbs 13:12 says ‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick…’ I was praying, feeling very heart sick, because while I know the hope of the gospel, I was not seeing the results I had hoped for in the natural realm.

And I heard “You must take hold of the hope set before you. Look at the unseen—you have seen the truth that, in the Spirit, all things belong to you, richly to enjoy. You have seen the truth that, in the Spirit, all of My promises are yes in Him. And I have showed you the truth about the unseen realm from My word…Hagar’s well, Isaac’s ram, Elisha’s army…you have heard that My angel encamps around those who fear or revere Me. My word is true and established forever in the Spirit. You must take hold of spiritual reality to bring the unseen into manifestation.”

I asked “How do I do that, Lord?”

He replied “You purpose in your heart to take hold of the blessings that belong to you. You purpose in your heart to see the unseen, to walk in My blessing, to walk in the fullness of My Spirit.”