For Christ’s Sake

Matthew 18:

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.  He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

I have written in my Bible, next to this passage of scripture: “WARNING: DO NOT HOLD GRUDGES – YOU WON’T MAKE IT TO HEAVEN!”

In the “Vines Complete Expository Dictionary” forgiveness is defined as to release, to completely cancel, remission of the punishment due to sinful conduct, complete removal of the cause of offense.

Forgiveness is a hot topic of debate- how and when  and under what conditions it should be applied. But one thing is for certain. Forgiveness is the single most powerful action that if applied in its purest form can change the world. Forgiveness has the power not only to absolve someone of guilt and punishment, forgiveness can renew lives, tender hardened hearts, rebuild shattered relationships and bring hope back into hopeless situations. Forgiveness sets people free. Not just the people who are guilty, but the ones who carry the hurt and animosity.

However, forgiveness, like any other precious treasures, does not always come easy. Our human heart that has been injured, sometimes severely, does not always just pick up and go on. And depending upon how deep and severe the injury, sometimes a person has to work through the hurt.

Christ offers forgiveness to all, but that forgiveness does have some conditions upon it. The conditions are confession and repentance. (Matt, 18:15-17) Why would Christ expect us to uphold a higher standard than himself? We can have a ready heart to forgive someone for an offense, and even go to that person as Christ admonished us to do, but if they will not own up to their wrong and repent- be sorry for the harm they have done to us, what are we to do with our forgiveness?

I recall that when Christ was on the cross, there were with him two criminals, but only to one of them was forgiven of sins and admission into heaven promised. It was to the contrite thief.  The one who railed on him lost out. Yet Christ did not retaliate. He left the judgement in God’s hands.

But then too, I also recall that as he hung there, completely and humiliatingly naked . . .

as he writhed in suffering and agony while men gaped upon him and mocked at him with no sense of pity or compassion for his very life being unjustly stripped from him, he cried out these words, “FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.”

So the other day as I was struggling with forgiveness for a certain individual who has done much harm to me and has cause me life-long emotional pain and scars, I was praying and asking God to help me with forgiveness within my heart. I think I have this forgiveness thing settled and then the memories come up or the offense is there and the unacknowledged wrongs done to me are still there. My mind then began to turn to this individuals own life and I began to sympathize and feel sorry for this individual; this is the pattern I often turn to in my mind to “help me forgive.” But this time God stopped me. This time God spoke to me and said, “Liz, the only way you can do this is to set your eyes on JESUS! You must LOOK at the CROSS of CHRIST And when you forgive, forgive not because you feel sorry for what the individual has gone through. That is like trying to find a reason that they deserve forgiveness. You don’t need a reason. Forgive for CHRIST’S sake. Look upon HIM who loved YOU and gave HIMSELF for YOU! And for HIS SAKE!  forgive!.”

And suddenly, GRACE! AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, PEACEFUL, WONDERFUL, HEARTFELT, GRACE! Came pouring into my soul and filled me with all the love and forgiveness I could ever need or want or hold and it was not anything from myself. It was all because of CHRIST. The beautiful sacrifice of Calvary. The glorious, victorious, Lord and savior of the world.

Christ taught us to forgive seventy times seven in just one day. Sometimes the offenses can come at us just that many times. Especially when whole groups of people are raised up against you as they were in the case of Christ and Stephen. And sometimes you can be misjudged by the multitudes and nothing you do or say is right in their eyes and seventy times seven times a day thoughts of these misjudgments come to rankle within your heart and pierce your heart like a million knives being stabbed into you. And you wrestle against the tide of bitterness that wants to overwhelm your soul and the enemy is ever watching your every move so he can have occasion to accuse you and say, “AHA!”

And so God says, “turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in his wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.4 After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.  (Hebrews 12:2-3)

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Why Are Ye So Fearful?

“Then he (Jesus) arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm . . . “

Why are ye so fearful,
oh ye of little faith?
Jesus flies upon the winds
and walks upon the seas;
He lifts the broken from the shards,
brings the pompous to their knees.

Why are ye so fearful,
oh ye of little faith?
Jesus passes through the fires,
and tromps on serpents heads;
The meek he strengthens by his power;
The proud he fills with dread.

Why are ye so fearful,
Oh ye of little faith?
Jesus has all power o’er all
and for all of eternity
So do  not fear little flock of God
What man can do to thee.

Written by Elizabeth A Van Cleve

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The Strong Hold’s of Idols

Yesterday as I sat in a doctors office waiting for an appointment, directly across from me stood a two foot, beautiful carved wooden Native American woman. Her eyes seemed to pierce right through my soul and my imagination got the best of me. The artwork so cunningly worked, I had to avert my eyes away and I shifted in my seat, feeling uncomfortable beneath her constant stare. Curiostiy pulled my attention back to her again and these scriptures came to my mind:

“He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. “ (Is. 40)

“Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? .  .  .   He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.  Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.  He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:  And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.  (Is. 44)

I have never been exposed to an idol worshipping religion and so reading these scriptures in the past and thinking about people worshiping carved images has always seemed like such foolishness to me.  But now, as I sat here  in the office under the realistic and intense glare of this artistically crafted wooden woman an understanding came into my heart that had not been there before; And I always praise my Jesus for these precious moments of insight, for the door of understanding is a door of freedom and growth, first for oneself, and then to share with others.

I began to feel the strong hold that such an idol could take on a people who did not know the one and only true God. It has been said that the imagination is the stongest nation and that is why the apostle Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 10: 4 & 5  when he says, “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; “

But even beyond that, another lesson came through to my heart. The Lord spoke to me clearly and said that if a wooden idol could have such a pull and quickly take such a strong hold of fear on the imagination of a vulnerable soul, how much more a man or woman that has life energy flowing out of them. When they stand behind a pulpit, high above the rest of the people and take an “authorative” position, how great an influence does that have on vulnerable souls? Now add to that, a man or woman that shouts, gets angry, pounds on the pulpit or stomps; What an impact!

You see, life is a mystery and the imagination and fear are very powerful. All through history we have untold accounts of brutal genocides all done in the name of “beliefs” or “God’s” or some powerful man that got behind some form of a pulpit and began swaying massive amounts of people. And just like that wooden woman, the people are drawn in, because they are not listening to the true God- the God of love, peace, joy, humbleness, meekness, goodness, mercy, etc… They are unsure of themselves, and unsure of life. This unsurity and insecurity in man leaves him vulnerable to be taken captive by whatever comes along claiming to be the “authority of God.”

One thing I am learning- truth will produce something inside your heart. If you are sinning, it will produce conviction. There may be some fear that you are missing the mark with God. But truth will also produce abundance of mercy. It will pave a beautiful road right to the cross of Christ to have those sins forgiven, removed and cast into the depths of the sea.

Truth will produce love. Truth will produce peace and joy. Truth will set you FREE! Free from the corruption of sin and all its ugly vices. Free from religious forms and rituals. Free to be a child of God and all He created you to be. Free to grow in Christ. Free to have His spirit in your heart teaching you and leading you. Free from all the opinions of men. You now have Christ alone as your head and your advocate.

But if your “faith” is filling you with fears, doubt, confusion, hatred for certain groups of people, if it is drawing you into men causing you to obey voices outside rather than instilling the voice of the Holy Spirit within and helping you to trust and follow that voice, it may very well be you have an earthly idol set up somewhere. It may be a religious system. Religious systems will either cause you to be zealous in a wrong way- usually for their system,  or it will sap you of your spiritual zeal. It may be a pastor- you may be idolizing, worshipping, obeying a pastor or some man that you hold up as a “man of God.” The bible teaches us that in Christ, we are all priests. None of us is above another. Pastors are there for our service and help alone. They are not our rulers nor dictators.  It may be your own life- things you know that God is not pleased with but you are not willing to give up.  God knows and an all loving God can help you understand and conquer it in Christs name.

You see, idols can take an extremely strong hold in our life. I know. I have been battling many of them in my own life, and by the grace of God, He is helping me conquer them. That is how I am getting these lessons- through experience. And let me tell you, “the FEAR of man brings a snare.” Many so called “heathen” people have been mocked and laughed at over their intense fear of wooden idols but so much more do we have to battle the intense fear we ALL have of the fear of men. When we stop bowing before their idols, their systems, their ideas of what thier own imaginations have set up as “God” we will not be liked.

But we can take courage. Because so it was with Jesus. Our Lord Jesus Christ deliberately, carefully, purposefully, openly, broke the rules of the Pharisees! He followed one- the voice within- the Holy Spirit.

“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)

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Into the Love of God

Good Morning!

May “the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.”(2 Thess. 3:5)

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

Hope you have a beautiful day filled with the love of God flowing in and out of you!

Lord bless you!

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If Any Man Sin

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  1 John 2:1

Advocate: one that pleads, defends, maintains, supports, promotes the interest of another;

And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. . .

When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.  (John 8)

And behold, some men carried in a bed with a man which was sick with the palsy: and they looked for a way to lay him before Jesus, but they could not find a way to bring him because of the multitudes, so they went up onto the housetop and lowered him down right in front of Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason within themselves, saying, Who is this which speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them saying, What is this that you are reasoning about in your hearts? Which is easier to say? Your sins are forgiven you or to say, Rise up and walk? But to the intent that you now understand that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins, (and he said unto the sick of palsy,) I say unto you, arise, and pick up your bed and go your house. And immediately he rose up before them, and picked up the bed that he was laying upon and departed to his own house, glorifying God. (Luke 5)

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (James 5:14-15)

And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat to eat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabastar box of perfumed ointment, and stood at Jesus feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with her tears, and to wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Now the Pharisee which had invited him saw it, HE said within himself, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what manner of woman is touching him; for she is a sinner.
And Jesus aswered him saying, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
And he said, “Master, go ahead.”
And Jesus said to him, “There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: One owed him five hundred dollars and the other fifty. But when they had nothing to pay him he gratiously forgave them both their debt. Now you tell me, which of the two will love him the most?”
Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave the most.”
And he said unto him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said unto Simon, “See this woman? I entered into your house and you gave me no water to wash my feet: but she has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
You gave me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with precious oinment.
For this cause I say unto you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
And he said unto her, “Your sins are forgiven…your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

And it happened, while Jesus sat eating in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with him and his disciples.
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, “Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
But when Jesus heard that, he said to them, “They that are whole have no need of a physcian, but rather they that are sick.
But you go and learn what this means, ‘I will have mercy, and not sacrifice:’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matt 9)

And one of the evil doers which were hanged with him, railed on him saying, “if you are the Christ, save yourself and us.”

But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God? Seeing you are in the same comdemnation? And we indeed justly are receving our due reward for our deeds: but this man has done nothing amiss.”
And he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom”
And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Come every soul by sin oppressed
There is mercy with the Lord
And He will surely give you rest
By trusting in His word

For Jesus shed His precious blood
Rich blessings to bestow;
Plunge now into the crimson flood
That washes white as snow.

~J. Stockman

There is no shame to admit when you sin. Jesus paid the price for sin. It is okay to tell him when you feel lost. For Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Christ said, “For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever beleiveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18)

The world is already under condemnation. Christ came not to condemn it but to seek and save those that would be saved. Jesus is our saviour, our friend, our advocate. We need only to go to Him.

“My little children, I write unto you that you sin not, and IF ANY MAN SIN, we have an advocate ~ JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS!”

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Trust In God Alone

Sometimes this takes a long time to really learn. God is very clear in his word that we are not to place our trust in men. We can believe men, when they are bringing forth good fruits in their lives, but our trust needs to be solely in God. When we do that, we will never just blindly follow any man, but will ever look to God first.

We are not in the Old Testament dispensation anymore- we have no high priest that acts as the mouth piece of God in our lives. We have Christ in our hearts, reigning and ruling. He will witness to us what to follow and what to wait on.

There will always be leadership in all walks of life that is to be respected; but we individually are the temple of God- we are priests over our own temple. We will give an account to God for our own lives before God. To set up men as Gods mouth piece over your life is to set up a popish old testament system.

Thank God we can have godly counselors and leaders to guide us, but Christ is ever our head. King David had counselors, but ultimately he made the decision and answered to God alone. The counselors were a safety net about him, but God gave him reasoning and a mind to think and pray and seek and weigh things out.

When Christ’s law is written on our hearts and we allow him to rule our lives, our fruit will be holy. Holiness is simply the absence of sin.

Trust God. Put your trust in Him alone. Ultimately you will be able to trust all situations, for God will be the ruling factor in it all.

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Famous Quotes From Dictators

Sometimes its good to study the tactics of the enemy- his greatest weapon to bring people into bondage is FEAR! But God does not want us to be entangled with the yoke of bondage. He wants us to cast out fear. Fear has torment.  God wants us to be FREE in him. Listen to what Christ said to his disciples:

And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Matthew17: 24-26

Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free. Galatians 4:30-31

Famous Dictator Quotes:
I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator.~Adolf Hitler

“The oppressed peoples can liberate themselves only through struggle. This is a simple and clear truth confirmed by history.” – Kim Il-Sung

“Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man’s self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man.”― Aung San Suu Kyi, Freedom from Fear

“Withholding information is the essence of tyranny. Control of the flow of information is the tool of the dictatorship.” ― Bruce Coville

“Time and time again does the pride of man influence his very own fall. While denying it, one gradually starts to believe that he is the authority, or that he possesses great moral dominion over others, yet it is spiritually unwarranted. By that point he loses steam; in result, he falsely begins trying to prove that unwarranted dominion by seizing the role of a condemner.” ― Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile

“When we’re afraid, we lose all sense of analysis and reflection. Our fear paralyzes us. Besides, fear has always been the driving force behind all dictators’ repression.”
― Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis

“The true essence of a dictatorship is in fact not its regularity but its unpredictability and caprice; those who live under it must never be able to relax, must never be quite sure if they have followed the rules correctly or not.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22: A Memoir

“The lesson we are indebted to Egypt for, our future generations learned that in the face of oppression silence is never golden.”
― Aysha Taryam,

“Dictatorship, by whatever name, is founded on the doctrine that the individual amounts to nothing; that the State is the only one that counts; and that men and women and children were put on earth solely for the purpose of serving the state.”
― Harry S. Truman

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Who Is the Teacher?

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16

We are all teachers. Everyone has something they can teach someone else no matter who you are, what your station is in life or your age. You have something to teach and you have many things to learn. The Lord wanted us to edify one another to come to the fulness of Christ.

God gave us all gifts that we may edify one another.

Christ taught his disciples when they were arguing who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God;

Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:25-28

Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Mark 10: 42-45

The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. Luke 22:25-27

It seems to me that the spirit of the world is to be in a position just above someone else. This spirit can be very subtle, or it can be very blatant. But mark it down when it shows its ugly head, its not from Christ.

Christ made his entrance into this world in a barn with a feeding trough for a bed. His parent were very poor. He was a carpenter by trade and not considered an “educated” man. During his ministry he walked the streets and had not a place to call his own. He died a poor man,  next to common criminals, in the most disgraceful way known to man.

He was the Son of God. He was the Prince of Peace. He lead us by example. He taught the people to love God, to trust God to give all to God.

I am convicted in my soul today, that the reason such confusion abounds in the religious world, is because so many want to be the teacher or the preacher; They  want the show, the pomp, and the reputation. But they do not want to do the one simple thing that God said, search for HIM with ALL their heart.

Everyone is calling, “Listen to me! Listen to me! I have the right answers!”

Or, “Come to my church, hear my pastor, go talk to this man or that man!”

But you know, everyone has something they can teach us, no matter who they are.  But if we want to find God, we must be still and know, God says, “I AM!”

We must get alone with God. We must search for him with all our heart. We must search for HIS mind, HIS heart, HIS spirit. We must put aside our own understanding and allow him to take us to new dimensions.

So many seek for him for awhile and they become “enlightened” and get excited but they begin to follow the source of the enlightenment rather than God himself. They begin to worship the lamp and forget that the lamp is just a vessel that carried a light. What they need is the light that is in that lamp, to illuminate thier own vessel, then the Bible says, “You have no need that any man teach you…” (1John 2:27)

You see, there comes a time that you come to the fullness of Christ yourself. Christ is the light within and there is no need of the moon nor the sun- the old testament nor the new, for Christ himself giveth thee light. (Revelations 21:23)

In God’s true kingdom- the kingdom that is within you, there are no popes, powers and authorities. Christ is our head and we all teach and edify one another. We are all royalty. Believe it. God said it was so!

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Overcoming the Spirit of Fear

I’ve heard tell that some American Indian tribes when they came upon white men, were more apt to destroy them if they sensed the white men were afraid of them. Why? Because they knew that what one fears, one will seek to either control or to destroy. So the white men that showed the most fear would eventually become their biggest threat to survival.

Many religious people are led by a spirit of fear. Their decisions and actions are made from a place of fear and self-preservation.

But the word of God tells us, that when we receive His spirit, it is not a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind. (2Timothy 1:7)

If you are operating from under a spirit of fear, you are fast headed for deception if you are not already there.

The Pharisees ruled the people from a spirit of fear- a fear of being dethroned and put on the same level as a common man if they were not obeyed. They ruled the people with fear. They brought the peoples consciences under the bondage of their own traditions and ideas through a spirit of fear- fear that if they did not obey,  they would be thrown out of the Synagogues and be an outcast in society. They would be disowned by everyone that was dear to them as well, because, their loved ones operated under the same spirit of fear.

Jesus Christ was forced to go “outside the gate” because he would not allow His conscience to be brought into subjection of the religious Pharisees of His time. He knew that he did “always those things that pleased the Father.” He did not have to answer to those who had usurped the authority of God. (John 8:29, Hebrews 13:12)

Therefore, Christ leads the people away from a spirit of fear, and into a spirit of mercy and LOVE. The Bible says:

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18

In order for us to be effective workers in the kingdom of God, we must cast out fear; We must be made “perfect in love.” But that is much easier said than done. As soon as you attempt to seek the Father’s grace, to identify the places in your heart that are being led by fear rather than love, the things you fear will surface, and fear is a nasty spirit to contend with. Fear spirits are well guarded in spirits of bondage and accusations. They will unleash on you their hellish screams that you are going to perish and be lost forever. They will do all that they can to keep you under their lock and key.

But Christ has the remedy for Satan and all his hosts:

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. James 4:7 -8

When God shows you the fear that is ruling your actions, he will show you what to do about it and it will be basically- go into the fear and conquer it. Do exactly what you are so afraid of doing. When we know that God is leading us in a certain direction, no matter how much we fear we must submit to God. Submit to His will and all the while draw nigh to God. And the promise is, the devil will flee from you. Do you know what happens? The devil shows himself to be afraid. He is the one so FULL of fear.

Remember the story of the three Hebrew boys that would not worship the idol the king had commanded them to? With boldness they submitted themselves to God- in the face of being thrown into a fiery furnace. I would say that is facing a HUGE fear.

You see the King began to tremble under their boldness, because immediately he had the fiery furnace turned up and ordered his strongest men to bind them and throw them in. The king showed his fear by his actions. And when he saw them walking around in the death chamber, alive and well and the Son of God with them, he trembled and the devil fled. The king made a new decree- that those who would not show respect to the God of these Hebrew men, would be destroyed. (Daniel 3)

Fear is a devilish spirit that must be conquered. It is something that MUST be overcome. The reason being, there is no fear in love and God is love. If we are going to be a proper representative of God in this world, we need to be able to operate from a spirit of love and trust, not fear and unbelief:

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Revelations 21: 7-8

No man, or human organization on earth has the right to usurp the Spirit and leading of Jesus Christ in your conscience. Do not allow anyone to bring your conscience into the bondage of anything but the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And if it has been brought captive under a spirit of fear, it is time to rise up and do battle. Defeat it in the name of Jesus Christ!

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He Loved Me with a Cross

We cannot learn without pain.

~Aristotle

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;~Hebrews 5:8

Many times we go through severe trials and testings that cause us deep distress. We may ask, “Why?” and, “Will this ever end?” We may grow weary at times of even life itself. It is at those most distressing moments in my walk with the Lord, that my eyes become riveted upon the sufferings of Christ, and I am once again amazed how the very suffering I am experiencing, is just a small sip of what Christ went through for us. And I am reminded:

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 1Peter 2:21-24

Suffering is not easy to go through, otherwise, it would not be suffering. Sometimes we need to be reminded that Christ taught us very plainly:

In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

One of the most difficult forms of suffering a person will ever have to face is persecution from non-believers and even from close relations who may even call themselves a believer. I’ve been meditating on a certain scripture lately in relation to some of the trials I am dealing with:

Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. Luke 6:22-23

Christ told us to “rejoice” when others treat us with disdain because of our stand we take for His names sake. I think he knew how difficult it was going to be in our humanity and so he wanted to drive it home- “Leap for JOY!” When I read this, I feel a little bewildered for I certainly do not feel like leaping for joy, but rather crying for sorrow of heart. Yet, the words are a balm for my sorrow. They encourage me that it is going to be okay, because I am living right. And when I am falsely accused, or called names, I remember that so was Christ. They could not find any fault or reason to keep Christ a prisoner, yet they condemned him to death. Christ went before us and goes before us in all our tribulations. He suffered first. He was accused of having a devil spirit:

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. Matthew 12:24
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? John 8:48

They called him a deceiver:

And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. John 7:12

No matter what good Christ did, or what miracles he performed, they were not pleased. They sought to destroy him:

And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him. Mark 3:1-6

“The herodians” were not even believers in the Jews God.  Herod the Great was responsible for the murder of thousands of little babies in an attempt to destroy Christ in infanthood. And Herod’s son, Herod Antipas, was responsible for beheading John the Babtist. The enemies of Christ will rally anyone they can find to destroy the Spirit of Christ which dwells in His people.

Their motive? They believe deep down inside, that by destroying the people of God, they can still the voice of conviction against their sins. Little do they understand that the seed that dies only multiplies.

In order to destroy Christ they had to lie about him and rally uncouth people to back them up. They had a mob mentality. And they were not content to just put him to death- but they chose the most brutal punishment they had in those days, reserved for the basest of criminals.

A sinner, who is not honest, who has no desire to be free from their sin, will never be a reasonable person to deal with. Unfortunately, these types of sinners many times are cloaked in religious garb. They have a church affiliation, claim to pray and be a child of God- yet the fruit of their lives is not of the Holy Spirit, but rather of the flesh.  They are no different in their living than any other common sinner.  These are they that turn the would-be repentant sinner away from the truth by their hypocritical living, and are filled with unreasonable madness at anyone that would dare to challenge their position before God.

Indeed, the  Lord Jesus Christ had to humble himself to go to the cross. If anyone had a sound defense against the onslaught of ridiculous accusations placed against him, it was Jesus. Yet, he humbled himself.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:3-8

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:1-4

Why did Christ suffer and endure such contradiction of sinners? Why? For their salvation. For my salvation. The truth of the matter is, Jesus Christ loved them, and he loved you and he loved even me,  with a cross.

Christ loved us with a cross- inspite of all He had to endure because of our sins. Cannot I, by the grace of Almighty God, endure the little I must sip of the cup of Christ?  Yes, Aristotle was right when he said, that we cannot learn without pain.

The great lesson of the hour? Love! -Love that transcends the agony of the cross.

The refrain from a popular choir sings:

He loved me with a cross

He loved me with a cross

In answer to the call of life

He loved me with a cross

Though I could not imagine what

Loving me would cost

Jesus went to Calvary

And he loved me with a cross

See the Youtube video: WERE YOU THERE WHEN THEY CRUCIFIED MY LORD

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