Walking With Jesus

The Church and the Gospel

“Since God in His wisdom saw to it that the world would never know Him through human wisdom, He has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:21 NLT)

What comes to mind when you think of “preaching”? The word Paul used above that is translated “preaching” means: “that which is proclaimed by a herald or public crier, a proclamation by heralds of God or Christ.” Remember, originally, especially as new converts were being made and Jewish resistance continued to increase, much of Paul’s and other’s preaching was public or one on one.

Like today’s “street preachers”, they “proclaimed” the Gospel message to whomever would listen, often, as today, at the risk of injury or death. Why would they put their own health and safety at risk to share with others the message of the Cross? Because His message is life or death; heaven or hell! There are literally eternal implications for those who need to hear the Gospel message.

The most compelling reason for anyone to “preach”, to share our faith in Jesus is because the Lord Jesus asks us to share. Paul Washer had it right when he wrote: “Saving fallen humanity through the preaching of the gospel is not just a calculated strategy of God, but His supreme delight.” And please don’t misunderstand, preaching saves no one! However, hearing is the vehicle, as without hearing the Gospel, how can anyone believe? Paul wrote in Romans 10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”

Another misconception when someone hears the term “preaching” is that only “Preachers” preach, but as Paul used the term, he had reference to everyone who was a believer. Every saved person has a responsibility to share their new life, but the sad truth is, even many so-called “preachers” today don’t share the true Gospel of salvation in Christ alone by faith alone. Mark Dever nailed it when he wrote: “A church confused about the gospel is worse than worthless. It is a blocked emergency exit. It’s an elevator to hell.

It can’t be stressed enough that sharing our love for and faith in the Lord Jesus isn’t simply “a nice thing to do,” it’s as critical as throwing a life preserver to a drowning person. People who are lost, unsaved, still trapped in their sin and shame, who have no hope of eternal life in Jesus are destined to a Christless eternity in hell unless and until someone like me or you gets over ourselves and shares the Good News of Christ’s loving sacrifice on their behalf with them.

Who in your spheres of influence is lost? They’re not hard to spot, the tricky part is, sometimes they shield their lostness in a cloak of confidence. When I was in high school one of the most popular boys in the school asked me to give him a ride. He was at least a grade or two ahead of me, so I was almost in awe of the opportunity to be of service to him.

He was friendly, but aloof, went into the store, came out and I dropped him off with the usual courtesies. The next day he drove his parents’ car into the river and drowned himself! What if I’d been able to get over myself and ask him if he was doing okay? What if I’d been less concerned about myself and more concerned as to whether he knew Jesus?

Lord of Heaven’s Armies, please give me/us sensitivity to the needs of those around us. Open our hearts to You and build into us a greater longing to be Your instruments of life to those who are walking in death. Enable us by Your grace, to open our mouths that You might fill them with words of life for those who are perishing. We love You and we want to honor and please You by obeying Your directives to reach those in our spheres of influence to Your honor and their eternal good. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen!”

Blessings, Ed 😊

Loving People Well

By: Stephany Frederick

*Every week Ray Majoran features someone who is using their artistic talents to glorify the Lord, to share a picture and their thoughts. Stephany’s thoughts were just too good not to share. Enjoy. Blessings, Ed 😊

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)

To love people is to give them what is best for them. Over time, I have realized that one of the greatest gifts we can give is the truth. Telling the truth is not always easy. Many people believe that truth should make an individual feel better, but truth should not be centered on ourselves or others—it should be centered on God.

“To love well is to lovingly tell and show others that the greatest treasure in all of reality is our all-satisfying God.” John Piper.

“Loving People Well” taken by Stephany Frederick “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

When I first started serving at Elim, I felt overwhelmed by the circumstances people were living in. I found myself thinking, “How is this even possible? We need to find people different jobs and help them get out of the dump.” But the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit challenged my way of thinking—shaped by what I thought was best for them—and whispered, “I won’t take the people out, but I will bring the church here.”

That moment opened my eyes to see their deepest need. More than anything, they needed the church to tell and show them the all-satisfying love of God. It also taught me something profound: God’s greatest answer to human need is not merely a change in circumstances, but the transforming presence of Christ in the midst of those circumstances. While He certainly cares about physical needs and often provides for them, our deepest need is to know Him and be satisfied in Him.

I believe God can use anyone to fulfill this purpose. He is not limited by our capacity, gifting, personality, or speaking abilities. So do not focus on the immediate results. God’s work may look like a tiny seed hidden beneath the ground today, but one day you may be amazed to see the mighty oak tree that grew from it—whether in this life or in heaven.

So my encouragement to you is this: love well with what you have, knowing that the greatest need is to know more of the God who demonstrated the greatest and most satisfying love through Christ. Let us point people not merely to a better life, but to the One who is Life itself.

Helping Others Live

By: Ron Hutchcraft

*Ron Hutchcraft’s heart for the lost inspires and encourages me to do all within my power to reach everyone I possibly can. Let this article inspire you. Blessings, Ed 😊

I first learned about the United States Life-Saving Service years ago on a family vacation. We got to see a life-saving station that actually has been preserved at a strategic point along the Atlantic coastline. There used to be a lot of them. In some areas, they were like just seven miles apart, you know, along the coast. Each one was staffed by a seven-man crew. I’m going to tell you, these guys were ultimate heroes in every sense of the word! When a ship was in distress near their assigned area, they’d go out into the surf, out into the storm, even a hurricane to try to rescue the people on board. They lived their motto: “You have to go out. You don’t have to come back.” They saved countless lives who otherwise would have been lost.

But it was only recently that I learned how this heroism actually all began. William Newell was a medical doctor, and he was at the New Jersey Shore at a place called Barnegat the day after a ship had gone down during an overnight storm. He was at the beach and the bodies of 13 crewmen washed ashore. He said, “Here I was, a man who spent his life trying to save lives. And here was a situation where I was absolutely powerless to do anything to help them. Something’s got to be done about this.” Something was. A few years later, Dr. Newell was Congressman Newell; in a position to make a difference. So, he led the effort to birth the United States Life-Saving Service. It started with a few life-saving stations in New Jersey, and then it quickly spread all along the Atlantic Coast because of one man’s heart for those who were being lost.

I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Helping Others Live.”

One man looked at lives being lost and he said, “I cannot just let them die.” Jesus is like that. That’s why He went to an awful cross to rescue us from the otherwise inevitable eternal death penalty for our sins. And He’s looking for others who will have a heart like his; a heart that looks at people around you and says, “I can’t just let them die. I’ve got to do something about this.”

One of Jesus’ original rescuers, the Apostle Paul, expressed the heart that Jesus wants to plant in all of us in 2 Corinthians 5, beginning with verse 11. It’s our word for today from the Word of God. He said, “Since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.”

Paul never wanted anyone he knew to have to face the awful judgment of God for their sin. He went on to say, “Christ’s love compels us because we are convinced that one died for all.” If Jesus could die to save them, can’t I at least tell them what He did for them? I can’t just let them die. Where I live, where I work, where I go to school, the groups I’m in – that’s my stretch of beach. I am His life-saving crew for the people there who don’t know Christ.

This isn’t about getting them to change their religion. It’s not about religion at all. It’s about the only One who died for their sins. There are a lot of religions. There’s only one Savior. There’s only one Rescuer. Your mission is to take them by the hand, walk with them up Skull Hill to that cross and say, “This was for you.”

The church you’re in, the ministry you’re in – is it committed as top priority to saving lives on the stretch of beach you’ve been assigned by God, or are you just feeding and comforting the life-saving crew? If your ministry, your church, your Bible study isn’t about rescuing those who will die otherwise, you might need a quick heart exam. Do you have the heart of your Savior? Because He said His reason for coming was to seek and rescue the lost. So you can’t say you’re following Jesus and not be reaching the lost. Because if you follow Him, that’s where He’s going.

An 1883 Life-Saving Service report to Congress displayed a photo of a life-saving crew and it asked this question, “Why would a group of ordinary men risk everything?” The answer explains why you and I must take whatever risks are necessary to help people we know be in heaven with us. Here’s the answer: “That others might live.”

Do You Believe in Prayer? (Part 2)

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5 NLT)

As we’ve discussed in previous articles, the issue isn’t simply salvation from sin, it’s deliverance from death. The issue at stake in whether we choose to follow Jesus is life and death. Paul’s discussion in Romans 7 clearly positions our carnal self in juxtaposition to our born-again redeemed self. Paul writes in Romans 7:14: “So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.”

This is the plight of every unregenerate sinner, of course, but also, unfortunately, plagues many believers who struggle with addictive behaviors even after coming to Christ. That’s why a focus on prayer, near constant conversation with the Lord is so critical. Our minds can only focus on one thing at a time, so, we need to choose carefully what that focus will be.

Yes, of course, we must focus on our work, school, family, and so forth, but my sense is the Lord can be a part of even those things. To believe we must think devoid of any consideration of the Lord’s presence and power is to misunderstand the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit. He is with us whatever we’re doing and can easily be summoned when an evil or wrong thought invades our mind. This issue isn’t CAN we, it’s WILL we?

That’s why Paul was so quick to add in the early verses of chapter 8: “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” Couple that with Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 where he writes: “Never stop praying” and you have the perfect formula for overcoming sin in our life and living in dependence upon the Holy Spirit in every detail of our lives.

Do we always succeed? No, especially not at first, but the longer we prioritize prayer and keep our focus on the Lord regardless of whatever else we’re doing, the easier it becomes. In an article I shared a few weeks ago we looked at what is possible and concluded that virtually everything is impossible for us without the Lord’s intervention. Prayer is simply an avenue of opportunity for us to face the impossibility of our life in Christ without the Spirit’s vital ministry working in and through us.

Believing prayer isn’t making demands of God to get what we want, it’s begging God to give us the will to want what He wants even when it’s hard. Can you begin to imagine anything more difficult than being beaten nearly to death, then tortured, tormented, and hung on a Cross? That’s what Jesus KNEW He was facing as He prayed in the Garden and KNEW He didn’t want to face, but He also KNEW there was no other way for us to find our way back to God.

Regardless of the decisions we face, we can know they’ll never be that severe. We can also know the Father to whom Jesus prayed, is the same Father who hears, equips, and answers our prayers, that’s never in question. What IS in question is this: Do we believe in prayer so completely that we’re willing to entrust EVERY decision, whatever the implication for ourselves, to the ultimate will of the Father just as Jesus did? That kind of belief can only be empowered and enabled by our dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

When we measure our desires by the desires of God, then we’ll know what we really believe about prayer.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Do You Believe in Prayer?

“One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and He prayed to God all night. At daybreak He called together all of His disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.” (Luke 6:12-13a NLT)

Prayer is not an easy process to learn or to maintain. It’s a discipline that must be sought fervently and can only be found in the presence of the Lord. It would be nice if I could tell you I’ve “arrived,” in terms of getting this prayer process down, but I’m a seeker and a learner like many of you. I’m growing in my love for and dependence upon the Lord through prayer, but I have a long way to go.

The context of the above verses is the healing of the man with the deformed hand on the Sabbath and the choosing of His original 12 Apostles. Both were pivotal events in Jesus’ life and ministry because they demanded a clarion call from God and a heart of steel in our Savior to move forward against great opposition.

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

Jesus’ decision to launch a ministry in clear opposition to the Jews was, in their minds, blasphemous, but also dangerous. The Jews had a firm hand on the Jewish people because everything in a faithful Jewish person’s life revolved around the Temple. Not only worship, but sustenance, because to not obey the dictates of the Priests could alienate them from the resources available only through the Temple. It was a very bold decision for a Jew to follow Jesus.

Jesus understood as no one else could, the value of conversation with His heavenly Father. He’d stood with the Father on the days of Creation when the Father channeled His creative power through His Son to create everything that would exist, including me and you. Jesus knew that every detail of His life and ministry was dependent upon the power, authority, and approval of the Father. His heart was to be so in tune with the Father’s will that nothing else really mattered, not even the approval of the established religious leaders who would ultimately demand His life on the cross.

Are we beginning to grasp the vital context of prayer? Prayer isn’t simply our demands of God to get our way; wrongly believing we can treat God like He’s the “Amazon” delivery guy, through whom we order what we want, and He delivers at our beck and call. That’s ludicrous and blasphemous! Prayer is the platform upon which we beg God to show us what He wants, what His will is in any given situation. It literally doesn’t matter what we want, if it runs against the plans of God, it’s not worth having.

As I understand prayer, it’s the means whereby we wean ourselves of the world in order to teach our heart and mind to long more for God’s will than our own. I believe that’s the struggle Paul was describing in Romans 7, especially verse 24 when he wrote: “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” And the very next verse explains what the Lord had taught him, no doubt through prayer: “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.” That’s the dilemma of every person unless and until they turn from death to life, from sin to forgiveness and new life in Christ alone by faith alone.

There’s so much more here. Let’s pick this up in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Money

“Wisdom is even better when you have money. Both are a benefit as you go through life. Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life.” (Ecclesiastes 7:11-12 NLT)

Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:9-10 often surface at any discussion of money when he writes: “but people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”

The love of money or anything else other than Jesus can often lead to traps that block our view of Jesus, but money, in and of itself, is neutral, it’s like holding an empty glass. In much the same way as what we put into the glass determines an outcome, how we use, invest, or waste money can help us or hinder us, not only in our walk with the Lord, but in our life in general.

If we have the money the Lord provides and determine under His authority to use it wisely, realizing it doesn’t belong to us, but to Him, He will not only slow us how to use the money to bless others, He will also bless us for its proper use. On the other hand, if our money owns us, motivates what we do, drives us to get more, frustrates us when we don’t think we have enough, or in any way distracts us from our devotion to the Lord, it becomes an enemy that needs to be defeated.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Pexels.com

It’s ironic that the people without money seem to love it the most because they imagine how their life would be better if they only had more, but the successful, God-honoring stewards of money, have learned the secret of having money without loving it. And here’s the irony, it’s not about how much you have, but how you view what you have.

And here’s another irony the Bible teaches: we can’t outgive God, illustrated in and through the life and ministry of our Savior. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 8:9: “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty He could make you rich.” Yes, I realize this isn’t speaking of monetary wealth, but when the riches of the Lord Jesus are flowing into and out of our life, the Lord will often trust us with monetary wealth.

Though I’ve never made very much money from the standpoint of American standards, based on world standards I’m loaded. As I understand Scripture, money is always and only a means to an end and that end is not simply to provide for ourselves, but for the Body of Christ, His Church. “Yeh, but I never have enough left to give to the Church!” That’s why the Lord instructs us to give our “first fruits,” not our leftovers. We’re to give to God first, not last! “But how is that even possible?” It begins with trust!

The key is living below our means, which is a critical issue few young people learn very quickly. The American dream is to achieve and to acquire and debt is often the shortest route to that goal, or so we think. But debt robs us of our savings ability, thus thwarting the power of letting our money work for us as opposed to always and only working for money.

That same principal apples to how we live our lives for the Lord Jesus. If we’re always and only working in the energy of the flesh as opposed to operating in the energy of the Spirit, we weaken our faith “muscles” by not trusting the Lord to work in and through us. Regardless of how poor we are, we must learn to trust the Lord by giving to Him first, knowing, based on the authority of God’s Word, He will take care of us when we do.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

How to Live in Light of Eternity

By: Rick Warren

*This helpful article by Rick Warren comes from the heart of God and should be taken to heart by each of us. Please read with an ear to the Father’s heart. Blessings, Ed 😊

“For as you know Him better, He will give you, through His great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: He even shares His own glory and His own goodness with us!” (2 Peter 1:3 TLB)

The vast majority of people pay no attention to eternity. They’re living for the here and now, which is a waste. Most of what’s “here and now” isn’t going to matter in five days, much less 50 years—and certainly not for eternity.

If we stretched a rope from California to Tokyo, and that represented all of eternity, your life on earth wouldn’t even register by comparison—not even a millimeter!

So how do you live in light of eternity? You live for God’s glory, because he’s going to share his glory with you in heaven.

The Living Bible paraphrase says in 2 Peter 1:3, “For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us!”

You don’t get to choose what’s going to happen to you the rest of your life. But you do get to choose how you respond.

You can face the future as a cynic, a critic, a pessimist, or a doubter. You can face the future expecting the worst and experiencing the worst. You can face your future being ungracious to other people, and you can live for your own glory.

Or you can face the future with gratitude, generosity, and graciousness . . . and live for God’s glory.

Which one do you think will make you happier? Which one do you think will make you more successful? Which one do you think will bring a smile to God and rewards in heaven?

Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”(ESV).

We were created because God wants a family. He wants to spend eternity with his family. He wants to spend eternity with you and me! Heaven is one of the main reasons you can have joy—God has given us eternal life, and living in heaven with him will be amazing!

Talk It Over

In what ways does God use your time on earth to prepare you for eternity?
How does being grateful and generous make you happier?
When you expect the worst in life, what does that say about what you believe about God?

You can be certain about eternity.
The Bible says you can only get to heaven by trusting in God through his Son, Jesus. You cannot earn your way into heaven: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).

If you’re ready to confess your sins and to trust Jesus with your life now and for eternity, pray this prayer:

“Dear God, you have promised that if I believe in Jesus, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day.

“I confess my sin, and I submit to Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Jesus, I want to follow you and serve you. I humbly commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In your name I pray. Amen.”

If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus.

No Danger of War

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.” (Matthew 13:44 NLT)

Jesus’ illustration of the treasure in a field gives us great insight into what it means to be a follower of Jesus, devoted to His holy Kingdom. Think of this man’s focus. He “sold everything he owned” in order to invest in this one “Treasure.” Think of the implications. NOTHING HE OWNED was worth more than what He’d set his heart on having. How different we think about our possessions…and Jesus!

The adage is often true that we don’t own our possessions, they own us. We’re governed, not only by what we have, but what we still long to have, to possess, failing to understand what we have too often has us. Many reject the idea of committing their life to Jesus because of the commitment it involves, never stopping to consider the “commitment” they’ve already made to the life they’re now living. Commitment isn’t the problem; the focus of our commitment is.

“The Hidden Kingdom” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

Notice the source of this man’s joy was the Treasure he’d “discovered hidden in a field.” What are the implications? As a man wandering aimlessly across a field we stumble through life not really looking for anything, simply passing through life hoping somehow to get to the other side. We give little thought to what’s in the field, where it’s leading, if we have any purpose for being in the field, who we might meet or much of anything else.

Yes, of course, there are those who have high ideals and strong motivation to become something significant. They set a course to become a doctor, lawyer, corporate Executive, builder of an empire to their honor, while others just hope to squeak out an existence, raise a family and have enough to eat. The vast majority of people on planet earth are either seeking to survive or to thrive at someone else’s expense. The goal is self-motivated, self-inspired, self-generated, with self-interests and sometimes something as simple as self-preservation as our main goal.

How shallow our thoughts, attitudes, desires, and aspirations until one day we find the Treasure who is Jesus. He creates in us a new hunger, a hunger we never knew existed, one that takes us out of ourselves and fills us with desire to please Another. Martyn Lloyd-Jones showed great insight when he wrote: “If every man and woman in the world knew what it was to hunger and thirst after righteousness, there would be no danger of war.”

Why? Because wars are fought to take what another has or to prevent someone from taking what’s perceived as ours. The only way to move beyond that is to understand love and what motivates and feeds our need to have and give love. Ray Majoran speaks to this in his moving prayer:

“Lord Jesus, You are the treasure greater than everything this world can offer. Your Kingdom may be hidden from proud eyes, yet it’s worth is beyond measure to those You have opened to see it (Matthew 13:44). We praise You as the King who brings eternal riches into ordinary fields, revealing glory where we often see only dust, distance, and difficulty.

Thank You for the joy that comes when Your Kingdom becomes our true treasure. We confess that our hearts still reach for what fades, trying to build security from possessions, approval, comfort, and control. Please reorder our desires until every lesser treasure finds its proper place beneath the worth of knowing You. Your Word reminds us that the Father is pleased to give His people the Kingdom (Luke 12:32), and that this Kingdom is marked by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

Holy Spirit, train us to live like people who have found what cannot be taken away. Give us wisdom to loosen our grip on what cannot last, courage to obey when surrender feels costly, and joy that shows the surpassing worth of Christ.”

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

God’s Commandments

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever.” (Psalm 16:11 NLT)

These powerful words of David are reminders of what we can cling to in these days of uncertainty. However, we too often read over words like these in the Bible because they have a ring of familiarity, as a result, we can tend to dismiss them. For example, when we read David’s words: “the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever” our mind can quickly go to thoughts of heaven, but to do so is to miss a major point.

The joy of the Lord’s presence doesn’t begin when we get to heaven, it begins the moment we open our heart and mind to Him and invite the powerful presence of His Holy Spirit to take up residence in our life. When our life is owned and governed by the Spirit, God’s Commandments aren’t cumbersome, overbearing, or debilitating, but joyful. We thrive in the context of our obedience to His directives and find true joy in pleasing Him.

Until we learn to know, love, and trust the Lord Jesus, as David did, those words don’t sound liberating, but restrictive; however, when we understand the Author and Creator of our life is the One who is liberating us to become all He created us to become, it takes on a whole new meaning. Matt Chandler understood this when he wrote: “The commands of God are given not to rob me of joy, but lead me into fullness of joy.”

Think of it like this: let’s say a loving father wants to teach his young son how to throw a baseball properly. His son comes to him and says: “Daddy, I stink at baseball. I’ll never learn how to play like you.” To which his father responds: “Son, your goal shouldn’t be to be as good as me, but to be the best the Lord has made you to be. You may one day be far better than me, because I see strong evidence that you have a powerful arm and can one day be a great pitcher, but you just have to be patient with yourself and let me teach you how to properly throw so you don’t hurt your arm.”

The Lord has gifted each of us and empowers us by His Spirit to nurture those gifts to be used to His glory. Just as there are “commandments” in Baseball or in any other sport, there are rules, regulations, and guidelines within Scripture that help to keep us in the boundaries of godly living. They aren’t intended to restrict us or hold us back, but from hurting ourselves or disqualifying ourselves from carrying out God’s holy purposes for our life.

Having lived long enough to see very clearly in my own life the cost of disobedience to the clear commands of God, my greatest regrets aren’t “breaking the rules,” but breaking the heart of my Father. Commandments at their core aren’t about rules, they’re about love. The Lord sets loving boundaries in which He’s asked us to live, not to keep us from having fun or enjoying life, but to keep us from hurting ourselves.

It’s the same reason He asked Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His goal wasn’t to restrict them, but to liberate them to enjoy the perfect environment in which He’d placed them. Their disobedience got them expelled, not God’s restrictive rules. His love always liberates us to be all we’re meant to be, but our disobedience to His clear commands blocks our progress and prevents us from being all He desires us to be. That’s why I no longer desire to have a will of my own, but to always and only do that which is pleasing to my heavenly Father.

My Father’s Commandments are my lifeline to the liberation He’s always intended for me – for US – in Christ alone by faith alone.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Overcomer’s Blessing

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know … His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 1:18-20).

*The 15^th of each month I give you the privilege and opportunity to share in the powerful ministry of Sylvia Gunter. I’ve grown to love the inspired words she shares, and I trust you will also. Blessings, Ed 😊

You are identified with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. You live in the risen and ascended Christ every day because God raised you up with Him. He is your life in all His resurrection power (Philippians 3:10).

Because of what Christ did, you are hidden in God and sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Choose to live from the reality of the finished work of Christ’s resurrection and ascension. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus, and you are seated with Him at the right hand of the Father, established in His authority (Ephesians 2:6). You live in His power and dominion over spiritual forces of darkness. You reign in life through Christ.

Be blessed to understand your true position in Christ. The Spirit of Christ Jesus is present every day in you so that you can live always from your spirit, not allowing the soul or body to take over.

You are a covenant child of God Most High. He is the God of all grace, God of the impossible. You have the privilege of coming into agreement with Him in your spirit, soul, and body. You are intended to live in honor and authority in Jesus’ name. You are on kingdom business. Be blessed to represent your King everywhere you go.

© 2018 Taken from Blessings For Life: Words Of Hope And Healing by Sylvia Gunter and Elizabeth Gunter Powell. Blessings For Life includes a biblical foundation of spirit, soul, and body, blessing the human spirit and 50 blessings for yourself and your family.

An archive of our devotionals is available at on our website.