July 2017 "Dearly Beloved" Articles
Dearly Beloved 7/31/17 "No Ifs, Ands, and Buts About It"
No Ifs, Ands, and Buts About It
Dearly beloved, our Father sees us “in Christ” and nothing will ever separate us from this glorious reality.
We have every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies, sonship rights, abilities and privileges associated with this esteemed position. We are citizens of heaven, seated together with Christ. We are God’s habitation and members of His household.
If we will look at things from God’s point of view, we have a much better perspective than the limited earthly viewpoint that our senses register.
If we will allow the light of God’s Word to enlighten our understanding and we believe it we will not faint in our minds. The light affliction we endure today is nothing compared to the glory we will share with Christ.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/30/17 "A New Standard"
A New Standard
Dearly beloved, the Lord Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another.”
He said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you: continue you in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.”
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/29/17 "Real News"
Real News!
Dearly beloved, our salvation is nearer today than when we first believed. The First Century saints lived as though it was imminent. This was the reason they witnessed with such boldness and enthusiasm. This news is news worth hearing; Christ could return for us at any moment!
Philippians 3:20 and 21 AV
For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
I Thessalonians 4:16 and 17 AV
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Dearly Beloved 7/28/17 "What About Today?"
What About Today?
Dearly beloved, the Day of Salvation is coming and the light affliction we endure today is not worth comparing to the “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” that we will share together with Christ as joint-heirs.
Our Father puts the enduring of “our light affliction” for the moment in the proper perspective, does He not? This, “far . . . more . . . exceeding . . . and eternal . . . weight . . . of glory;” will be ours when Christ comes for the Church, which is his body, but, what about today?
We are no longer powerless victims; we are victors, even more than conquerors in Christ!
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/27/17 "What Did He Say?"
What Did He Say?
Dearly beloved, you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power Colossians 2:10 reveals.
The pronoun “him” refers to Christ Jesus the Lord in verse 6. What are we in him? We are “complete” in him. What does this mean?
“Complete” is the Greek word pleroo. It means filled to the full; thus, complete. In Christ Jesus, we are filled with, “every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ”.
Everyone in Christ is blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. Not one member is lacking an iota of what Christ Jesus the Lord achieved. He filled us to complete capacity. If we lacked any one, he could not have used the word “complete”.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/26/17 "Get in Touch with Reality"
Get in Touch with Reality
Dearly beloved, in Christ we are built together for God’s dwelling place by the spirit. Our Father gave us the earnest deposit of His spirit, the sonship spirit, and with it, He sealed us for eternal life. What a way to start the day!
We are no longer far away from Him; we are His habitation. His spirit bears witness in our inner being that we are His children, begotten from above by His spirit. God became our Father the day we were born of His spirit. We have access to Him by the spirit. The spirit from Him that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us now, beloved. That’s power from on high, exceeding great power! Oh, He has shown us such great grace! This is our reality now.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/25/17 "No Disappointed Expectations"
No Disappointed Expectations
Dearly beloved, since we have confessed Jesus as Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead we will be saved. No one who believes on him will be put to shame by disappointed expectations!
Our names are now written in heaven in the Book of Life. Our expectation is for Christ to return to save us and give us eternal life. In Christ, we are the children of God and His heirs. Not only, but our Heavenly Father declares that we are joint-heirs with Christ. He has given us an eternal inheritance in the kingdom of God and in the new heaven and new earth.
When Christ Jesus returns, we will see him face to face, and he will transform us to have glorious bodies like his by the energizing of his power whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself. He will raise the dead in Christ as incorruptible, and transform those yet living to be immortal. The victory over sin and death are only in Christ; he vanquished them.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/24/17 "We Are Goin' Home!"
We Are Goin’ Home!
Dearly beloved, Christ is coming!! Nothing can stop it; nothing can keep him from redeeming those that he purchased with his life.
Be at peace about it, beloved, he sealed you with the promised holy spirit to this end, and it bears witness to your spirit that you are now the children of God. He that began a good work in you will continue to perform it until the day of Christ Jesus!
Since we have confessed Jesus as Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. Our Heavenly Father has given us the spirit of sonship as a down payment and guarantee; He sealed us with it for this purpose. When Christ Jesus our Lord returns for us we will receive the complete reality. We have the Word of the Lord on it!
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/23/17 "What is Christianity?"
What is Christianity?
Dearly beloved, Christianity is what God has done through Christ and it rests upon his accomplishments. Religion, regardless of the brand, is the work of man; it always works to direct the flesh. It always attempts to make the flesh bring forth spiritual fruit, which is impossible. Flesh is flesh and spirit is spirit, and they do not overlap.
Religion consists of the commandments and doctrines of men.
The Lord Jesus said, “Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written ‘This People draws nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, but in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’ He said that they laid aside the commandment of God, and held on to the traditions of men. He said, “Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition.”
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/22/17 "Exceeding Riches of Grace and Glory"
Exceeding Riches of Grace and Glory
Dearly beloved, all of the exceeding riches we have from God were freely given to us by His Divine Favor; by His grace. Since God reveals His will to us by His Word, let’s consider what He says.
"In whom [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" Ephesians 1:7
Our redemption and forgiveness of sins is ours exclusively by “the riches of his grace”. God freely gave it to us in Christ.
"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" Ephesians 2:5Even when we were dead in sin, ungodly, enemies of God, without God, and having no hope, He made us alive together with Christ and saved us by His grace. Why?
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/20/17 "Where Do You Stand?"
Where Do You Stand?
Dearly beloved, in Christ we obtained a new standing before God. We now stand in God’s grace; encircled by His Divine favor. We no longer stand in Adam and his condemnation. In Christ, we stand in God’s Divine favor and we rejoice in hope of receiving the glory of God.
All that we are and all that we hope for is ours in Christ. God set it to our account by the riches of His grace the moment we confessed Jesus as Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead. Now, we stand in the grace of God!
In the Lord Jesus Christ and by his work we have the sure hope of receiving the glory of God. God’s glorious hope is the basis for our rejoicing.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/19/17 "From Calling to Glory"
From Calling to Glory
Dearly beloved, a little preposition tells a big story concerning our oneness with Christ. “Sun” is the Greek word translated “with” and it implies coherence. The two who are with each other are intimately connected. At times, it is translated in various versions as “united with”, “union with” or “together with”.
Jesus Christ became one with us as a human being so that we could become one with him as members of his body. He became as we were so that we could be as he is.
From God’s point of view, when Jesus Christ died, we died with him. When he was buried, we were buried with him. When he received life from the dead, so did we; he became a life-giving spirit. When God raised him from the dead, He raised us with him. When he sat down at the right hand of God, we sat down with him. When he comes for his Church in glory, we will be glorified with him. We are united with Christ in his accomplishments.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/18/17 "Our Times"
Our Times
Dearly beloved, our times are not that different than any since the fall of man. There are variations in evil; that’s the only difference. When people walk away from God’s solutions, they are left to their own devices and broken, failed cisterns that cannot supply their need, not the unlimited supply of God’s abundance.
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight! Isaiah 5:20 and 21
Turn on the news; need I say more. “Did God really say?” That’s been the paramount question from Genesis 3 forward. The One True God holds the only solution to the ubiquitous problems we face individually, nationally, and globally; they are not in left or right politics. He will fulfill every jot and tittle of His Word.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/17/17 "Lost in God's Forgetfulness"
Lost in God’s Forgetfulness
Dearly beloved, God showed Moses His nature. He said that He was merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression and sin. He also told Moses that he had found grace in His sight and that His presence would absolutely go with him and He would give Moses rest.
God has never changed; He is the same for any man who seeks to love Him with his whole heart.
David wrote by revelation, “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thine diseases.” He needed God’s forgiveness as much as we do. He had Uriah killed to cover up his affair with Bathsheba his wife. Yet when God sent Nathan the prophet to confront him over what he had done, he asked God to forgive him. God looked on his heart and forgave him.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/16/17 "God's Bank Ain't Busted Yet"
God's Bank Ain't Busted
Dearly beloved, is it the God’s will for His people to prosper? It sounds like a stupid question, does it not? His will is that we prosper, which means that we are led in a good way; that we are successful in everything, and, He wants us to be in health, even as our soul prospers or is successful. No kind of bondage is God’s will for us.
God does not change; His will does not vary from one day to the next, and He is light, not darkness. If you started in the garden -Paradise- and followed this subject all the way through to the third heaven and earth, you would see that His will concerning prosperity does not change.
Beloved, God rescued us out from the authority of darkness, and He gave us citizenship in the kingdom of His Beloved Son, in whom we have redemption through him.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/14/17 "What Do You Think?"
What Do You Think?
Dearly beloved, since Jesus Christ is our Lord and we believe that God raised him from the dead we are saved, born again, heaven bound, and all hell can’t stop us from going.
This was God’s idea, His plan for salvation, and He sent His Son to accomplish this for us in our stead. We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus! Beloved, we are highly favored and dearly beloved ones by the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
What did He have in mind in doing this? He chose us in Christ as a first fruit unto salvation to the acquisition of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are going to obtain the glory of our Lord, beloved! In the coming ages He will display the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness to us in Christ Jesus. He had eternity in mind when He determined to do this.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/13/17 "Facing Adversity"
Facing Adversity?
How many saints have experienced adversity, dearly beloved of God?
David, for example, had his Goliath and his Saul. Samson his Delila and the Philistines. Noah had the ungodly and a flood. Lot was vexed by the unrighteous of Sodom. Abraham was deceived and used by his father-in-law, and Sarah was infertile until God provided them a child of promise. Moses had his Egyptians and the wilderness of sin. Joseph had his brothers who sold him as a slave.
Oh yes; Job had a host of Satan’s attacks, his servants murdered, his cattle destroyed, his business ruined, his children killed by a great wind when their house collapsed on them, sickness caused by sore boils from the sole of his feet to his crown, and a wife that tempted him to curse God and die; all in an effort by Satan to get him to forsake God. He was overwhelmed by extreme grief.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/12/17 "The Mind of the Lord"
The Mind of the Lord
Dearly beloved, we should not let loose upon the scriptures with our opinions concerning what God revealed to holy men of God by revelation. God's Word came by inspiration of God, not by the will of man. They reveal God's Will; not man's, or a certain group of Christians.
If we don't know, or we are not sure, we should not guess, hypothesize, or make a leap based on our preconceived ideas.
We should study until we know, that we know, that we know...for certain; not guess, or read our opinions into the Word, or to be so arrogant that we think our "revelation" supersedes the doctrinal truths God revealed for our believing by the spirit of truth.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/11/17 "Your God of Deliverance"
Your God of Deliverance!
Dearly beloved, welcome to a new day of walking with the Living God, our Father. The size of our need does not matter; it’s a matter of the vast delivering power of God available to us.
There are no incurable diseases for Him, no pits of depression beyond His reach, no mental prisons that He cannot break through, no financial holes that He can’t fill, no womb He cannot make alive, no heart that the touch of the Master’s hand cannot heal, no soul He cannot save; beloved, there is nothing from which He cannot deliver us. Nothing is too hard for Him; He said so, so don't limit Him!
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/9/17 "Need Your Eyes Checked?"
Need Your Eyes Checked?
Dearly beloved of the Lord; that puts us in a pretty good position, doesn't it? Not only are we dearly beloved, we are highly favored. Just think how special we are in God's eyes for Him to speak of us in terms like these.
If we will look at ourselves through His eyes, our perspective will be quite different from that of worldly folks. They fill their minds with temporal thoughts; just clutter. We are from a different realm; the heavenly realm.
Our citizenship is far, far, far above this world. We are seated together in the heavenlies in Christ. That same God that saved us, gave us citizenship in His homeland.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/9/17 "Could it be Today?"
Could It Be Today?
Well here we are again, dearly beloved, still earth bound; but the Lord could return any moment!
The ungodly say, "Aw, He's nor coming." I think they responded that way in Noah's day, too. How'd that work out? I think they missed the boat, didn't they?
Christ Jesus the Lord is coming! We will see him face to face and be transformed with glorious new bodies like his; oh what a day that will be!
No more sorrow, grief, pain, death; nothing to cry about; only fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.
What will it be like without an adversary to deal with; when we will be ruled by the Lord of lords and King of kings? The goodness and kindness of God will be our standard of living without any taxes! It will be as it was in the garden; very good! He will make all things new again.
Well, until we are snatched up into glory, let's live to the praise of His glorious grace. Let's worship our Heavenly Father in spirit and truth, and live love; the love of God in the renewed mind in action.
Lead people into the Ark that will take them to eternal life.
It will take our Father the ages to come to completely show us the exceeding riches of His grace, with His loving kindness and tender mercies to us in Christ. Rejoice beloved, he is coming! It could be....
Dearly Beloved 7/8/17 "A Pretty Good Day"
A Pretty Good Day
Good morning dearly beloved and highly favored sons of God. Isn't it wonderful to wake up knowing that you are sealed and preserved for eternal life? God even provided us with proof of its certainty. I'd say that makes it a pretty good day, wouldn't you agree?
If you are overwhelmed, stop worrying for a second and put things in the proper perspective. Next say, "Father help me; what do I do?
All the great cargoes of life come over quiet seas. Find the promise of God and stand on it with believing conviction, and it will come to pass. Let go of your problem, don't be distracted by it; let Him deal with it.
Let the Father help. Sufficiency is His idea. Answering prayer is His delight. Deliverance is His business. Love you.
Dearly Beloved 7/7/17 "Why?"
Why?
Dearly beloved, do you know why you believe what you believe? What is your final authority for truth? Is it based on what you learned from a philosopher, or a religious belief you learned from someone, or is it due to what your parents believed, or because of the beliefs of a political party, or is it what God reveals what we are to believe?
People literally hate one another because of their different beliefs. For something that matters this much we ought to be sure that our beliefs are based on truth, and not just an opinion.
God says that His Word is the truth. Jesus Christ not only taught that God's Word is the truth, he proved it.
Would you lay your life down because of the Word of God? He did, and, God raised him from the dead according to His Word.
Dearly Beloved 7/4/17 "Living for Him"
Living for Him
Dearly beloved, the end of the commandment is the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of unfeigned believing; from which some having swerved have turned unto vain discussions.
Sound doctrine is according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to the trust of the Apostle Paul. He was entrusted with the gospel of the grace of God and the mystery concerning Christ. His gospel reveals who we are in Christ.
Beloved, we should be nourished up in the words of believing, and of good doctrine, and exercise ourselves unto godliness. Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. Godliness is that true, vital, spiritual relationship we have with God as our Father via the spirit of sonship we received in the new birth.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/3/17 "Which Government?"
Which Government?
Dearly beloved, no human empire and no civilization has maintained its dominance whether that of Israel under their kings, the Babylonian, the Egyptian, the Medo-Persian, the Roman, or the Greek. Governments come and go as do men.
Governments will never be the solution to our problems because they are led by people whether republic, socialist, communist, dictatorship, whatever. The Lord Jesus lived in Israel when they were under the rule of the Roman Empire. Some governments are less oppressive than others.
I am thankful that I live in a country where the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by us. I am thankful that we are ruled by laws and not by the personal dictates of any particular party. We are privileged to be citizens in a country where freedom is the norm, and where we recognize that all men were created equal, and that our inalienable rights come from God; they are not granted by governments. We should pray for our leaders so that we can live a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 7/2/17 "Independence Now and Forevermore
Independence Now and Forevermore
Happy Independence Day, dearly beloved. The freedoms we embrace today because of our Bill of Rights and Constitution, as wonderful as they are, are not as great as the liberty we have in Christ. We have been freed from spiritual tyranny; the tyranny of the ruler of the darkness of this world.
Our Heavenly Father has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has given us citizenship in the kingdom of His beloved Son; in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
He blotted out the handwritten ordinances that were against us, which were contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. He took them and doubled them closed. He folded the bill we owed, wrote paid in full on it; paid in full by the price he paid, and he nailed it to his cross.
Read more ...