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Showing posts from November, 2020

Blessed More Than I Know

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, (Ephesians 1:3) In Christ, we have been blessed in all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. God blesses me often, and at first, I thought of blessings of earthly prosperity like he would bless my business but I have learned they are spiritual blessings, not earthly in nature. He says to me "you are blessed more than you know." It has been my prayer that God would enlighten the eyes of my heart so that I may comprehend and he does but I still seem to fall short of comprehending it all. And he still continues to bless me with more. Let us just go over some of the ways we are blessed in Him. In Him, we were chosen before the creation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4) In Him, we were predestined for adoption as his own, according to the good pleasure of His will. (Ephesians 1:4) Believing in Him we are marked with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee ...

Knowing Jesus

now, grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ... (2 Peter 3:18) Knowing Jesus is more than just head knowledge like the demons have. And not like those " when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. " (Romans 1:21) We know Jesus as a new creation and that "for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." (Romans 11:36) This is what God purposed in Christ that we know Him and grow into fullness in Him. (Ephesians 1:10, Ephesians 1:23, Ephesians 3:19, Ephesians 4:13, Colossians 1:19, Colossians 2:9, Colossians 2:10)  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him... (2 Peter 1:3)  We grow in the knowledge of Him, adding to our faith other virtues or qualities that represent his character and holiness, so we will be effective in every good work. (2 Peter 1:5-8) We escape the corrup...

The Name of Jesus; Far Above Every Name

far above all leaders and authorities and power and dominion and all names named not only in this age but also the age to come . (Ephesians 1:21) The name of Jesus is far above all names. He is far above in the heavenlies, in which the devil is the prince of the air, the power energizing the sons of disobedience. He is far above all names in this age and the age to come. The name of Jesus is far above every name. Paul prays that the eyes of our hearts be enlightened so that we know what is the surpassing greatness of His power available to believers according to the exercise of his mighty strength which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly realm. (Ephesians 1:18-23) This is where Jesus sits, far above in the heavenlies and we as believers have immeasurable power available to us. Now, I have read this scripture many times and focused on the resurrection power and missed this part, that he is far above in rule and tha...

God is Greater Than My Heart

because if the heart condemns us, seeing that God is greater than the heart, and knows all. (1 John 3:20) The word heart is καρδία ( kardia ) the heart, regarded as the seat of feeling, impulse, affection, desire; the heart, as the seat of the intellect; the heart, as the inner and mental frame; the conscience; the heart, the inner part, middle, center. From the Greek word "kardia" we get the English word Cardia is which refers to heart action or location; the opening of the esophagus into the stomach. In regards to our being, the heart and the stomach are inner related, and so is the mouth, which leads to the stomach. Because of this, we say things like I have "butterflies in my stomach" Today, we refer to it as the innermost of our being. Jesus said it is what comes from the heart that defiles a person. A lying tongue, that coming out of the mouth, comes from the heart. In regards to scripture, what is the heart referring to? And knowing this we see that God is gr...

Show Us Your Glory

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6) What does it mean to have the light of the glory of God in Christ? In Ephesians Paul writes that we are to be the praise of his glory. What does that mean? According to what God purposed in Christ and which the gospel was proclaimed to Abraham beforehand, there is understanding. Paul writes of these blessings in Christ that are from the riches of his grace and his glory. In Christ, we have been blessed with adoption and redemption and forgiveness we've been favored in the beloved, marked with the holy spirit, a spirit of adoption which testifies that we are his children. So Paul writes the gospel speaks of the blessings we have in Christ and he says it is from the infinitely searchable riches of Christ he proclaims the gospel. We receive these blessings from the richest of his glory and we are to be th...

God Working in You

for it is God working in you, both to will and to work on behalf of his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13) Really what must I do to be saved? "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved," (Acts 16:30) In John 6 we read Jesus offered the people living bread that gives eternal life and they asked him what must they do to receive this living bread and Jesus said believing is the work of God. And then when Peter confesses later on Jesus says it was the Spirit of God that granted him this or revealed this to him and that he didn't come to this revelation on his own. Let's look at Ephesians 4 because it's a very interesting scripture that begins with talking about church growth, growing in the knowledge of Jesus but also reveals the state we were in before, darkened in our understanding, and that something miraculous happened. Now, this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened i...

Eternal Perspective

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end . (Ecclesiastes 3:11) "as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18) "For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."(2 Corinthians 5:1) “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you." (John 15:18-19) "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world...

This Is How You Should Pray

Now, Jesus told them a parable, for their benefit that they should pray always and not give up . (Luke 18:1) Jesus tells them the parable of the persistent widow so that they would know it is proper to pray always. There was a judge in a certain city who neither feared God nor really cared about the people either and there was a widow who kept coming before him saying 'vindicate me against my adversary' but he would not until finally, her persistence pays off, the judge saying so she will leave me alone I will vindicate her. (Luke 18:1-8) Jesus tells this parable so that we should know how to pray. Now the Lord said here what the unrighteous judge says? will not God do for His elect who cry out to him day and night...(Luke 18:6) Now, God is not like the unrighteous judge that you have to bother until you get justice. And the parable is directed at praying in general not just for seeking justice, though we should let God vindicate for any offense done to us. But here is the po...

New Life, Moving Forward

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind to lay hold of that in front of me, I press on toward the mark for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus . (Philippians 3:12-14) The Christian life is a new life in Christ that is always moving forward. Think of running a race, your focus is on what is ahead, not on what is behind. For what good does it do to dwell on how you started late or that you stumbled a lap ago? It does absolutely no good, but you forget what lies behind so to lay hold of what is ahead, pressing on toward the mark (the goal, the finish line) to the extent of the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus. Not that I have already obtained this or already reached the goal, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (Philippians 3:12) I am running a race, which takes mental and physical discipline. I press on to reach a goal, to lay hold of something, to make it my o...