Month: August 2021

It is a major theme throughout the Word of God that Jesus has already defeated the devil. It says He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.1 John 3:8 Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil from the beginning of His ministry on earth.

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Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it Proverbs 4:23

What does God mean when He says “to guard our hearts with all diligence for out of it flow the issues of life.” It means that the battle for life’s victory resides in our hearts. The enemy attacks our minds which is part of our hearts.

Be on the lookout not to let evil, selfish, or demonic thoughts enter our hearts. If we allow Satan’s lies to become a part of our thinking he will establish strongholds in our hearts which will allow him to run freely through our hearts.

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How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him. Acts 10:38

It is a common misconception that people think that “Christ” is Jesus’ last name but it is not. Here is a technical definition of what the Holy One’s name means “Christ comes from the Greek word χριστός (chrīstós), meaning “anointed one”. The word is derived from the Greek verb χρίω (chrī́ō), meaning “to anoint.” In the Greek Septuagint, Christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Mašíaḥ, messiah), meaning “[one who is] anointed”.

Acts 10:38 says God anointed Jesus of Nazareth which implies that he did have a formal last name but it was not Christ as was said before. The title Christ was given to Jesus to signify that He is/was the anointed one and it also means “the Messiah” and the “ the Anointed One”. 

Jesus is so much more than a good teacher that taught the masses two thousand ago but He was the messiah, the one that came to save Israel and mankind from sin. The title Christ goes back to the Old Testament where God first promised that the Messiah would come to save Israel and deliver them from sin once and for all. 

God also intended to deliver the Israelites from the rules and regulations that the religious leaders of the day had burdened their people with. Jesus came preaching the acceptable year of the Lord that God has sent Jesus to free Israel and eventually all mankind. Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions,  he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him,  and by his wounds, we are healed. 

Ironically, when Jesus did appear to Israel they did not recognize Him as the Messiah, the one who is anointed to be their King, Priest, Prophet, and Messiah. He fulfilled his anointed role by healing people, raising the dead, and setting the captives free. He even set people free who were possessed by evil spirits.

The demonic spirits knew who Jesus was and what his mission was on a limited basis but His own people did not recognize Him. Jesus asked His disciples who are the people saying I am. He was looking for a particular answer. He wanted the people to know that He was the Son of God sent to set men free. On this occasion, He asked the disciples who he was, Peter, one of his apostles,  answered that He was the Son of God the Anointed One. Jesus said Peter was blessed because God revealed this truth to him.   

Most of all Jesus is the Savior of the world which is part of the anointing God poured out on His life. So, we see that Christ is not a secondary name for Jesus. It is a title of great honor for Who He is/was. 

Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed. Romans 9:33

Who laid in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense? God did and who was the stumbling block and the rock of offense? Jesus was after He was resurrected from the dead. People who reject Jesus Christ the risen Savior will reject Him and stumble over him which will cost them a place in heaven for eternity.

A person who rejects Jesus Christ is rejecting His gracious gift of eternal life. He is the beginning of all truth and the way to the promises of God. Jesus is the foundation that the church is built on. Another cause for the foundation”

Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.” Isaiah 28:16

God said the same thing in two different verses so if he is saying that Jesus is the cornerstone that He has laid in Zion both in the Old Testament and New Testament. He gave this promise thousands of years apart so it’s unquestionably important.

He wants us to pay attention to this promise because it is important for us to know what He has given us in Jesus. God says that anyone who believes in Jesus they will not be disappointed or disturbed. It cannot be emphasized enough the importance of not stumbling over Jesus Christ the cornerstone. More verses to bring the point home:

This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very cornerstone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom, they were also appointed.” 1 Peter 2:7-8 

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very cornerstone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom, they were also appointed. 1Peter 2:4-8

If a person stumbles over Jesus Christ and rejects Him as Lord And Savior there will irreversible eternal consequences for that person that they will spend eternity separated from God in hell. Is rejecting the chief cornerstone worth these eternal consequences?

For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.2 Corinthians 6:2

The day of salvation is today and God is calling all to be saved today. If you hear His voice don’t harden your heart but listen to Him and get saved. This is the whole point of the gospel of Jesus Christ is for all humanity to get saved. 

You see you cannot get saved without accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6  Jesus always spoke/speaks the truth and there is no unrighteousness in Him. If He says you cannot get saved by any other source than through Him then you better believe you cannot get saved through any other God but Jesus Christ.

God knew before He ever created man that man would need a savior because man would rebel and sin against Him. This is why He made provision for our great rebellion through Jesus Christ because by sending Jesus to the cross Jesus died for our sins.

Jesus became sin so that we may live and the whole purpose for Jesus dying for us was that God could bring us back to Him so we may live with Him forever. Once we enter God’s salvation, He will take excellent care of us. 

Think about the apostle Paul, who got saved after he was knocked off his horse on the way to Damascus by the glory of Jesus Christ. The results of his getting saved were miraculous to say the least. He went from murdering Christians to loving people the world over traveling extensively to preach Jesus Christ as the author of salvation.

He started many churches where he traveled and he wrote ⅔  of the New Testament. His salvation experience so changed his nature that God changed his name from Saul to Paul. He became a very giving and loving man after he took the nature of Jesus Christ. The love of God shone out of Him everywhere he went to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The point of using Paul as an example is to show that once you get saved your life will improve internally and externally. Don’t be fooled because you will still have troubles and problems in life but now Jesus is with you to solve these issues for you.

The time for salvation will run out for every person on earth so if you hear the good news don’t harden your heart and reject His gracious gift of salvation because the time will come when you will not be able to receive the gift of salvation. God desires that everyone gets saved. The day of salvation is today!

Throughout biblical history, God and His Son Jesus Christ have visited mankind to reveal their nature and plan for mankind. God has never been shy about visiting His children on the earth. There have been times He has allowed His servants to be caught into heaven so they could visit Him and He would reveal His will for man and the earth to them.

You don’t have to be a spiritual giant to have a visitation from God. You just need to have an open spirit and be hungry for God’s presence. He visited His children in many places in the bible. 

These visitations were made so we would know that God loves His children so much that He would visit them personally to communicate His message to them. Don’t be afraid if God visits you because He will prepare you for that visit.

The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,  who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it because the time is near. Revelation 1:1-3

 John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.  On the Lord’s Day, I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

In this case, Jesus visited John to reveal to him the destiny of man and the earth in the last days. Those that know Him as Lord and Savior will end up in heaven and be victorious.

If you study visits from God in the bible you will notice that those people were always prepared to see God. They would be in a spirit or attitude of prayer and they would be in the Spirit. In other words, they would be in the proper heart condition for God to visit them.

Usually, these people put God first in every area of their lives and they love God more than any person or thing on the earth. God knows He can trust them with supernatural visitations.

You don’t have to be a spiritual giant who has been a child of God for 100 years for God to pay you a visit. He is so rich in mercy He will appear to anyone who has a seeking heart and loves to be in His presence.

Another reason for visitations is that God wants to be with His children and reveal His will to them. This is contrary to the theory that says that God created the Universe and wound it up and let it go. Leaving it to its own device and He was never personally involved with it. This theory is known as Deism.

This couldn’t be further from biblical truth because throughout the scriptures God has had close contact in the affairs of men (especially Israel in the Old Testament and individuals in the New Testament and today). He is interested in our lives and our world and He is a personal God who wants to be involved in every detail of our lives. 

In Acts:9 Paul,  who became the great apostle, was knocked off his horse by the power of God. Jesus appeared to him for the purpose of saving him and revealing his future plans for him. So, God appears to lonely hearts who don’t know them so they can get to know Him and have a relationship with Him. 

What a different picture of God than deism pictures of Him. He is so personally involved with us that He will visit us. Letting us know he cares about us and that He is intimately involved or wants to be intimately involved with us. 

Look at  verse Psalm 139: 14:” I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Every person is fearfully and wonderfully made by God and He knows each one of us intimately. But those who are not His children through Jesus Christ. He cannot have an intimate relationship with them.

God will visit His children to fellowship with them and let them know personally He is aware of them and He knows what is going on in their lives. How can He be more personal than that?

There is one more way that is He is very close and intimate with us. Once a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell within them to fellowship with them and reveal God to them. These are some reasons for visitations from God. 

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16

Scripture is inspired by and God-breathed by the Holy Spirit for correcting, rebuking, and training for righteousness; all scripture is revealed by God’s Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot understand the scripture. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth to our minds by the power of God.  

Have you ever read a scripture that you have read many times and all of a sudden it just lights up in your mind and spirit and you glean a new meaning from it? This experience is the Holy Spirit shining God’s truth into your mind and spirit. 

We cannot understand the truth of God’s Word aside from the Holy Spirit revealing it to us. Even in Proverbs (Book in the Old Testament), we need God’s help to really understand what truth He is trying to convey to us. 

But God has a deeper revelation to show us in Proverbs. You see we may be facing a life situation that we need an applicable answer to. We need a solution and we need it now so we think. God will reveal the answer to us at the right time and it will be the right answer we need to solve our problem.

Proverbs gives this admonition: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 

If we approach the scriptures with the notion that we believe God will speak to us through them He will. Fearing God is the beginning of all wisdom because God has all wisdom. He gives it to us liberally according to James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” 

We can trust God to reveal His Word when we ask Him to. But God is so merciful that many times He will reveal scripture to us that we did not ask Him to reveal to us. God wants us to be obedient to every Word He has revealed to us and He has written in the Holy Bible.  

His revealed Word holds every answer we need to succeed in life. It covers all personal, emotional, physical and spiritual issues we face. The author of the book is omniscient and He knows all that there is to know. 

God also reveals mysteries to His servants. Throughout the Old Testament God revealed the condition of Israel to His servants the prophets. He would also reveal to them what was going to happen to Israel.  If Israel obeyed God then He would speak blessings through His servants. If Israel rebelled against God(that happened a lot) then God would reveal the negative circumstances they would face because of their sin. The point is God revealed the nation’s destiny to the Prophets this is another area of revelation.

Here are some revelatory  verses from Daniel:

However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. Daniel 2:28

The king answered Daniel and said, “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries since you have been able to reveal this mystery.” Daniel 2:47

Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel 2:19

“It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him. Daniel 2:22

As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place. Daniel 2:29

“To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You,

For You have made known to us the king’s matter.” Daniel 2:23

But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind. Daniel 2:30

Notice that there is a sequence in these verses of  God showing a mystery to Daniel one of His prophets. The King had a dream that he couldn’t understand so Daniel comes to the King. Daniel asks the king for some time so he can ask God to reveal the mystery to him.

Daniel asked God to show him the mystery He revealed to the King. This is where the revelation comes into play because God by His Spirit had to reveal to Daniel’s mind what the mystery was. 

The king had seen symbols that were supernatural in origin and represented images from a Godly source. God revealed the images to Daniel in a way that He could understand. 

God showed Daniel what was about to take place in the future. God showed the king what his country would go through in the future. Remember James 1:5 said if we ask God for wisdom He would give it to us?

He would give to us liberally and without disciplining us. He gave Daniel the meaning of the dream liberally sharing His wisdom with Daniel. God is the only One Who can reveal these types of spiritual mysteries to us.

As we said before only God’s Spirit can reveal His word to us. It is the Spirit of God that revealed the mysteries of God  to Daniel and the prophets of old. Now, we know a little more about revelation.

Imagine being empowered by God Almighty to witness to His glory and grace throughout the earth. Psalm 96:3 “Declare his glory among the nations,  his marvelous deeds among all peoples. God commands us to go to the ends of the earth and proclaim His glory and His wonders throughout the earth. He wants His church to proclaim His glorious name from one end of the earth to the other. 

Isaiah:53 says who has believed our report implying that God sends his messengers to the ends of the earth. Telling His good report that He sent Jesus to die for all of our sins. But to be empowered to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ they need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit to proclaim His truth with boldness. Acts 1:8 says” But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be ]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

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Jesus is the only answer for life, eternal life, prosperity and health. No one goes to the Father but through Jesus Christ. John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” These are the words of Jesus, the Son of God, and if he says that no one comes to the Father but through Him then no one comes to the Father but through Jesus.  

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Why would you listen to God and not man? There are so many reasons why we should trust God’s unfailing word instead of man’s changing, temporary word. Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades,  but the word of our God will stand forever.” and 1 Peter 1:25 says this “but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.” 

The two scriptures just mentioned give us the best reasons why we should trust and listen to God’s word always. His word endures forever and it was the word preached to us for salvation, prosperity, blessing and wholeness. Our bodies are made whole and kept sound by God’s healing word.  

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