Jesus comes to you everyday to welcome you into His presence by knocking on your heart's door. Jesus is a gentleman, He knocks, He does not barge right in, but patiently waits for you to open the door of your heart daily. If you open your heart's door, Jesus will come in and eat with you at your heart's table and share His Truth, His Way, His Life with you. Over the ensuing days, His Life will become your Life. The great exchange happens on God's schedule for each of His chosen children until their life is transformed to reflect Christ life. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20 Do you hear Him calling your name? Are you even listening for His voice? Is the noise in your life drowning out the voice of God? "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30 If you claim to be a follower of Christ and you do not hear Jesus voice calling out your name who desires for you to live your live fully aware of His presence during every 24 hour day, then you need to question yourself: Do I know the living God/Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit?
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Trusting God/Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit is not a one time event, but a daily choice every day of a believers' life. A believer is a person who has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord and their life is characterized by the Way, the Truth, and the Life. A believer's identity is found in Jesus Christ. Identifying with Jesus Christ daily will change the way I live and cause me to rise above adversity. A believer who does not understand their identity in Jesus Christ will live far below their rights and privileges in Christ. It's normal for people to identify with someone or something in life because all people were created with the need to be connected and with the need to belong. In our everyday lives, people may choose to identify with another person, local, state or national organizations, occupation, nationality, or activities like hobbies. But, people were also created with an identity to connect spiritually. "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now life in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the Grace of God, for if Righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Galatians 2:20-21 "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 Nuggets of Truth: The Bible says believers have been crucified, raised with Christ, and seated with Jesus in heavenly places and He resides inside every believer's life through the Holy Spirit. The Life I choose to live in the flesh is lived by my faith in Jesus Christ who loves me and gave His life for me. The great Grace of God exchange happened at the Cross, my life traded for Jesus Christ life to abide in me, the Righteous life of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, many believers are having an identity crisis because they do not know who they are in Christ nor that they are seated with Christ in heaven. Instead of identifying with Christ, people choose to identify with their problems including bankruptcy, debt, divorce, health issues, or legal issues; people may also choose to identify themselves by the things they do including their career/profession, organization meetings, activities, hobbies or other interest that requires them to do something. None of these things are who the person truly is, but the things they do.
A believer who understands their identity in Christ, who they are in Him will undergo a transformation in their thinking, speech, and living. Believers need to talk about themselves the way God does and start believing He will reveal the future to us as we take the next step He reveals for us to take. The believer needs to agree with Jesus: (1) I possess the Mind of Christ 1 Corinthians 2:16 (2) I am a New Creature/New Person 2 Corinthians 5:17 (3) I am Righteous in God 2 Corinthians 5:21 (4) I am healed 1 Peter 2:24 (5) I am rich in Christ 2 Corinthians 8:9 (6) I am adopted Ephesians 1:5 (7) I am free from sin Romans 6:20-22 (8) I possess every spiritual blessing in Christ Ephesians 1:3 (9) I am chosen by Jesus Ephesians 1:4 (10) I am Holy and blameless before Jesus (11) I know God bestows His Grace on me "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters." Genesis 1:1-2. Nuggets of Truth: Simple Truth is that in the beginning God created the heavens and earth. Earth's beginning started without form and void, no form, no contents. Darkness over surface of deep, the Holy Spirit was moving over the surface of the waters. Do you hear the heartbeat of Heaven calling out your name? Do you know the Heartbeat of Heaven knows every person's name that He has ever created and will create, including your name? Why? He is the Creator God whose name is Immanuel, God with us. God/Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit are in total agreement. "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I Am the Door of the sheep.' I am the Door; if anyone enters through Me, he/she will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have eternal life, and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." John 10:7, 9-11. Nuggets of Truth: Jesus is the Door entrance for His Sheep. Sheep are the saved adopted children of God who confess belief in Jesus.The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy people's lives. Jesus came to lay down His life for the sheep and give eternal life and life abundantly on earth and in heaven. Jesus proclaims He is the Good Shepherd. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of my hand." John 10:27-28. Nuggets of Truth: Jesus declares God's adopted children hear Jesus' voice. Since we hear Jesus' voice we follow Him. Jesus gives Eternal Life to God's adopted children who will never perish because our life is safely in God's hand. "For all have sinned and fell short of the glory of God, being justified as a Gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith." Romans 3:23-25a Nuggets of Truth: All people are sinners without exception. Jesus died for every sinful person, but allows each person to accept or reject Him. By accepting Jesus life blood for my sins, His Holy royal blood continually purifies my life from sin as I confess and repent of my sins. I need to claim daily that I am officially redeemed from sin and filled with God's endless supply of grace. Acknowledge God allowed Jesus blood to flow through His crucifixion on the cross and became sin bearer for all sinful people through public display as propitiation or payment of sin. The word pro mean for. Propitiation in Christ blood literally delivers people who accept Jesus sacrifice of his life blood to cover their own sins as payment paid in full to Almighty God. "For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come." 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 Nuggets of Truth: How do you receive people who enter your life and what do they report? Do they report you have turned away from idols and now serve the Living and True God? Yes or No? Are you waiting for the living Jesus to return from heaven and arrive on earth to rescue God's adopted sons and daughters from God's future wrath? Yes or No?
Remember Jesus!
Awoke in the middle of the night with this thought on my mind: “People are ignoring God!” As I ponder this Truth this morning, I choose to apply this Truth to my life and seek not to ignore God in any area of my life. God is calling people to Himself, but people are choosing to ignore God! God issues His call everyday. If you have experienced any kind of wound, specifically emotional wounds by God’s people, choose to not reject the God/Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit who created you. Remember Jesus words: “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.” John 1:11 Nuggets of Truth: Jesus came to His own people, the Jewish people, but the Jewish people did not receive or acknowledge Him! Beloved, if you claim to be an adopted son or daughter of God, then, question yourself if you are ignoring or rejecting God in any area of your life. Every person’s life either reflects or denies God’s presence in their life through their thoughts, words, and actions. People want a “New Religion that justifies their sin.” But God is not interested in religion, but a personal relationship with you. God justifies a person through His Son, Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection that fully paid the sin debt setting all people who accept Jesus free from sin declaring them righteous. “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because He is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world/people hate you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death..” 1 John 3:9-14 "Can two walk together unless they agree, except they be agreed?" Amos 3:3
Question: Can I really walk with God/Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit if I do not agree with what He says in the Living Word, the Bible? God clearly says in His Word that two people must be agreed to walk together and this includes my personal relationship with Him! Question: Are you walking together with God/Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit today? All relationships requires two people and the same is true with a personal relationship with Jesus who desires a personal relationship with each person in the world and desires to be first in their life. "You shall have no other gods before Me." Exodus 20:3 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." John 3:16-17 Living Water!!
Do you know Him?! “But whoever drinks of the Water that I will give Him shall never thirst; but the Water that I will give him will become in him a Well of Water springing up to Eternal Life.” John 4:14 Nuggets of Truth: Jesus fulfills all the thirst in your life through His Living Water! “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” Romans 12:18 Nuggets of Truth: I have discovered it’s impossible to be at peace with another person when Peace/Jesus is not within that person! "He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters." Psalm 23:2 Nuggets of Truth: God/Jesus/Holy Spirit provides green pastures and quiet waters. To know Truth, it is so important for you to have a daily quiet time in the Word of God. Nothing will change until you allow the Truth to penetrate and change your heart. As long as you build your life on a foundation of lies, misconceptions, deceptions, or half-truths, you will never change. But when you face the Truth and respond to the Truth, you will begin to see change in your life. Question: Is God first in your life? Yes or No? The answer is easily determined by who you ask to help you! Do you ask God initially for help before you ask another person for help? This simple Way is allowing God to be first in your life in every area of your life. Now answer the question, who is first in my life! Jesus or myself or who? Every person lives by what they truly believe. Therefore, question yourself about what you believe! Knowing what you believe can only be found by questioning yourself and allowing the Holy Spirit to go on an exploration journey to examine your heart, soul and mind. Choose to make this journey today and live your life by what you believe!
Do your words and actions portray there is a famine of God's Word, Gospel, in your life? Question: Do you know what God's answer would be to your greatest need? Do you even know your greatest need? Would God and you agree on your greatest need? "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory." Philippians 4:19 Nuggets of Truth: God has promised to meet all, not some, but all your needs according to His riches in glory. So are you willing to go to God for your needs or will you seek to fulfill your needs on your own or through taking advantage of another person? Are you willing to come into agreement with God on your greatest need? Every person's greatest need is the gospel whether they admit it or not and ultimately determines their very life. Because with the gospel, Jesus bridged the sin gap between each person and Almighty God. Jesus cried out on the Cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me." Psalm 22:1 God forsook Jesus so the sin debt would be completely paid off and be finished. "When Jesus had received the sour wine," He said, "It is finished." And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit. John 19:30 Nuggets of Truth: Jesus fully finished paying the Sin Debt with His life for each sinful person, the only person, Jesus, fully divine and fully human, born of a virgin as God in the flesh who lived a sinless earthly life and only did exactly what God told Jesus to do! Of the myriad of things God instructed Jesus to do, the culmination of His life happened on the Cross where He became sin and the Father God departed Jesus presence and that's the very reason Jesus was worthy to fulfill His commission from God. Have you accepted Jesus provision for your sinful life? "For all have sinned and fall short of the the glory of God." Romans 3:23 Jesus purpose of dying for all sin is to offer each person the opportunity to accept His death, burial and resurrection truth through the Gift of the Holy Spirit whose work is to keep each person's life in alignment with Almighty God. With a person's words and actions they daily engage in building or destroying their relationship with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit and people. Would Almighty God say you are a builder or a destroyer? The ministry work of Jesus Christ through believers is to continue to undo the works of darkness by their God ordained authority to accept their responsibility to rule over God's creation! Do not be afraid of the darkness because to God there is still light in the darkness because God who is Light is present in the darkness, and there is no absolute darkness with His presence. Ask God to reveal to you if you are engaging in any works of darkness/sin through your words and actions? Yes or No? Yes, confess and repent. No, good you are living according to the Way, the Truth, the Life. Today, reflect back on the first day you knew God without a doubt in your mind. The first day I knew God's presence was August 21, 1963. Why this day in my life would God choose to reveal Himself to me? This night after going to bed and praying to God this simple prayer, "God if you are God Almighty and you can do anything you want, then, why don't you do something about my evil, wicked dad." After praying to God, I went to sleep and awakened in the middle of the night to clean our home. My mom got up and said, "Sherry, why are you cleaning house?" I said, "We are having company tomorrow!" My mom said, "We are not having company, stop cleaning and go to bed." I said, "Oh yes we are having company tomorrow and as soon as I finish cleaning, I will go to bed." Next morning, I awakened to the sound of crying, I knew immediately that my dad had died." I could not cry over my dad dying because I knew in my heart that God had heard the prayer of a little girl and took action. Then, during the 1980's, I read Healing of Damaged Emotions and Making Peace With Your Past. I experienced flashback memories of my childhood. God used those memories to start a healing journey in my heart! This healing journey led to me forgiving my dad and mom and God started reparenting me as His adopted daughter. Thank you, God.
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Sherry
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