June 2017 "Dearly Beloved" Articles
Dearly Beloved 6/30/17 "The Power of God"
The Power of God
Dearly beloved and highly favored of God, our Heavenly Father has sent us power from on high. We received this power when we received the holy spirit.
Many err today, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God, the same as the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. Jesus made this statement in light of the resurrection from the dead.
“And what is the exceeding greatness of his [God’s] power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly realm,” The resurrection of Jesus from the dead, his ascension, and seating in the heavenlies is the context we find this great power mentioned.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/29/17 "Lovers Wanted"
Lovers Wanted
Dearly beloved, we are the Lord’s freeman, but being free, we are Christ’s servants. We are free because he liberated us from the old man that came under the condemnation of the sin and the death that Adam brought upon us. We are no longer in the flesh, but in the spirit since the spirit of God dwells in us.
Since we are born of the spirit of God, we must now think like it. Now we are sons of God with power, and so we are! We should fill our minds with godly thoughts; thoughts of who we are in Christ. If we renew our minds in this way it will transform us in practice, to the end we will do the will of God in our lives.
Once we are born again of God’s spirit, we renew our minds to believe who we are in Christ, and then we simply live love; love like the Lord Jesus Christ loved.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/28/17 "The Word and The Spirit"
The Word and The Spirit
Dearly beloved, I don’t know of any scripture that says once the spirit is again available, the Scriptures are no longer necessary. Jesus Christ never said that; he said just the opposite.
“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believes on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” John 12: 46-48
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35
These words are clear, are they not? His Word shall judge us in the last day; his words shall not pass away. He never said that once the holy spirit was made available we would no longer need his words.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/27/17 "Where's Your Head?"
Where’s Your Head?
Dearly beloved and highly favored by the Father, and by the Lord Jesus Christ, we are members of the body of Christ, and as members of his body we are one with him, we are joined to Christ as a husband and wife are joined to one another as one flesh; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. This is how our Father illustrates how closely we are untitled with Christ Jesus and what he accomplished. Christ is all and in all of us. Our Father designates our standing before Him in Christ, by and in his accomplishments.
As the human body has many parts, but is one body, so is Christ. We are many members, but in Christ Jesus we are one body. As blood nourishes every member of the human body, the gift of the holy spirit we received in the new birth nourishes the members of the body of Christ.
When we are born again, we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus and we are complete in him, filled with all in all of us. We are as he is, so much so that God reveals it as Christ in you, the hope of glory. We each and every one of us have the spirit of Him that raised Christ from the dead dwelling in us! Now we can walk in this reality.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/25/17 "Eyes That See"
Eyes That See
Dearly beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” I don’t know of any scripture that negates this wonderful truth. God gave us His Word and He gave us His spirit to profit us.
We should rejoice at God’s Word as someone who just struck it rich; as one that finds great spoil. He gave the Apostle Paul the revelation of the mystery of Christ, so that when we read it we can understand it and believe who we are in Christ. Believing comes by hearing the Word of God.
The Word of God is true and faithful, but it only profits us when we mix it with believing.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/24/17 "The Good Pleasure of His Will"
The Good Pleasure of His Will
Dearly beloved, how do we get to the place that we manifest what was born in us at the time of the new birth? How do we get to the place that we walk with the power that is in us as sons of God?
We confessed Jesus as Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead and we were saved, but how do we manifest what we received in the new birth? We must change our thinking so that it agrees with what God did in us.
The new birth does not change your mind for you. You have the same mind you had before you were saved. If we are to change and manifest what we received spiritually in the new birth, we will have to change our thinking; renew it to believe who we are in Christ. God never oversteps our freedom of will. The new birth does not operate not work on cruise control, we must determine to operate what we received by believing.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/24/17 "Crucial Last Words"
Crucial Last Words
Dearly beloved, the Apostle Peter wrote to God’s people soon after the Lord Jesus Christ showed him that his death was close at hand.
II Peter 1:16-19
For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
The apostle said, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy...” Peter personally witnessed the Lord Jesus Christ’s majesty; he was an eye witness of the phenomenal experience on the mountain, and yet he says, “We have a more sure word of prophecy.”
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/23/17 "Did God Really Say?"
Did God Really Say?
It is vital that we take note of the first recorded words out of the serpent’s mouth. He said, “Yea, hath God said . . .?” His first utterance in the Word of God is extremely significant. The serpent questioned the integrity of God’s Word (its truthfulness, accuracy, validity, veracity. reliability) in an effort to deceive Eve to the end that she would reject it and forsake God. The serpent wanted her to believe his lies over the truth of God’s Word.
First, he asked Eve a question, his aim being to undermine God’s Word and cause Eve to doubt it. How did she respond?
Genesis 3:2 and 3 “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
Eve’s first mistake was that she considered the serpent’s question and responded to it. Compare what God told Adam against Eve’s response to the serpent.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/22/17 "Who is The Serpent?"
Who is The Serpent?
Dearly beloved, once we understand the record in Genesis 3, we will have answers that are vital in understanding the world today. The record introduces us to someone for the first time. “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.
Who is this serpent? The record tells us that this serpent was more subtle or crafty than any beast, which is, any created being of the field. Is this created being mentioned anywhere else in God’s Word?
Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 also enlighten us about him.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/21/17 "An Exalted Position"
An Exalted Position
Dearly beloved and highly favored, so very few have ever grasped their exalted position before God in Christ. By the standard of the flesh all us of fall short of the glory of God, but by His wonderful mercy and grace He freely gave us all things with Christ. It is not true because of how we feel about it, it is true because of the good pleasure of our Father''s will and His great love for us.
It would have been indeed wonderful if he had only saved us, but He did much more than that. God became our Father and we became the children of God. Furthermore, He gave every one of us a standing in His family in Christ.
He reveals that we were planted together in the likeness of his death and we will also be in the likeness of his resurrection. He made us alive together with him; He gave us newness of life, spirit life. When he ascended and sat down in the heavenly realm at God’s right hand, we sat down together. When he returns, we will be conformed to be like him; glorified together with him as joint-heirs.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/20/17 "Let's Wrestle"
Let’s Wrestle
Dearly beloved, where do we wrestle with the adversary? The arena is located between our ears; in the mind. That is where we wrestle with his ideas, his lies, his strategies. Ideas are expressed with words.
What do we know about the spiritual fight? We know what God reveals to us in His Word. Our adversary, the devil, wants to deceive the whole world with his lies; this is his strategy.
How do we deal with his endless array of lies? We study to show ourselves approved unto God as workmen who do not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing His Word, the Word of truth.
Once we know the Word of Truth, we change our thinking to line up with God’s way of thinking. If we will become intimately acquainted with the One True God via His Word, we can learn the truth and His will, then the adversary’s lies will stand out like a sore thumb.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/19/17 "True Christianity"
True Christianity
Dearly beloved, when a person loses sight of who they are in Christ, there is nothing of Christianity left that makes any difference; they are only left with religion.
Religion revolves around the flesh and its works. It always involves something other than the work of Christ to gain access to the kingdom of God. The only thing that differs among the religions of the world are the works of the flesh that pertain to that particular religion. Beloved, Christ did the only work that can give a person eternal life.
When someone confesses Jesus as Lord and believes that God raised him from the dead they are saved (read Romans 10:9). Jesus is Lord because God raised him from the dead; that is God's confirmation that he is Lord of all. At the moment you confess and believe this you are born of God’s spirit.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/18/17 "Lost at Sea"
Lost at Sea
Dearly beloved, God is responsible for bringing His Word to pass as He said He would. Our responsibility is to take God at His Word; to believe what He says.
There is power in believing because we are putting our trust and confidence in a Living God that is able and willing to perform His Word. Believing says that God is all-powerful regardless of circumstances.
When we believe God, we are in a very advantageous position; we are standing in the presence of the Living God and He stands with us.
God is faithful to perform His Word in our lives as He promises. To receive His promises, we must believe that God is able and willing to fulfill it.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/17/17 "Want to Stand in the Presence of God?"
Want to Stand in the Presence of God?
Dearly beloved, God’s Word must be the focal point of our believing if we are to receive the delivering power of God in our lives. It is our point of contact with Almighty God. You cannot separate God from His Word. He is as much His Word as your word is a part of you.
If we will believe what God says, all that He says is possible because He stands behind His promises. Believing God at His Word is the key to receiving what He promises.
He told Jeremiah, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?”God is not the problem. There is nothing too hard for Him. He is able to deliver and He says that He is willing to do it if we will believe what He says. He is not a respecter of persons but of believing.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/15/17 "Our Reality of Peace"
Our Reality of Peace
Dearly beloved, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; peace. He is the arbiter of our peace. He made the peace between God and us by means of the cross, and he reconciled us to God in one body.
Through him we have access to God our Father by one spirit. We are no longer strangers to Him or visiting foreigners; beloved, we are fellow citizens with the saints and we are members of God’s household. In Christ, we are built together for God’s dwelling place by the spirit. We have peace with Him, beloved.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/14/17 "Who is a Wise Man?"
Who Is a Wise Man?
Dearly beloved, we are constantly being bombarded with worldly wisdom. It was first introduced by the serpent, who is the devil, when he offered Eve the knowledge of evil, which was supposed to make her wise.
The serpent outright contradicted God’s Word, saying they would not surely die if they ate of tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He intimated that the knowledge of evil would improve on the good that God showed them and when they ate [understood or learned] it that they would be like God. This wisdom is the lie spoken of throughout the Word of God.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/13/17 "Superconquerors or Cowards?"
Superconquerors or Cowards?
Dearly beloved, God is true, and in Christ, all the promises of God are yea and amen unto the glory of God. This is not my opinion; this revelation comes from the mouth of God Himself.
The Lord Jesus Christ accomplished what God promised concerning him and God decisively affirms that in Christ, His promises are “Yes, yes”, not “Yes…sometimes”, not “Well…perhaps”, not “Well…it depends”; in Christ, His promises are “Yes, yes!”. They are “Yea and Amen.” Amen is an affirmation of certainty.
God’s promises were His idea; He thought them through ahead of time. He planned for them. They are expressions of His will and desire. He determined their outcome by the good pleasure of His will. He is the power behind them. His promises are true and they are certain.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/11/17 "Don't Be Fooled"
Don’t Be Fooled
Dearly beloved, just think of all that our Father did to bring us close to Him. He caused us to sit before Him as holy and without blame in Christ. Once we were far off, but now we are near Him thanks to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He made us fellow citizens of the heavenly realm, even of His household. He even made us His habitation by the spirit so that we have access to Him. He placed the seed of His spirit in us in the new birth. He has prepared us to dwell in His presence throughout eternity. That’s pretty close is it not?
Yes, beloved, our Father desires to be close with us. When our feelings contradict this reality, He is not the source. He gave us a standing before Him in Christ as righteous without any sense of sin, guilt, or condemnation. There is one that wants us infected with doubts about God’s love, care, and concern for us, but it is not our Heavenly Father.
If we have any doubt about the certainty of how close we are to the Father, all we have to do is speak in tongues. Our Father says that His spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are His children, His heirs, and joint-heirs with Christ; He will even glorify us together with Christ. How often can we utilize this proof? We can utilize it any time we like. Don’t doubt how close and presently available He is; practice the presence of God in your life.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/10/17 "Our Bill of Rights"
Our Bill of Rights
Dearly beloved of God, as U. S. citizens we have rights; the same is true of our citizenship in the heavenly realm. This is a condensed bill of rights for every citizen of the heavenly realm.
1. As citizens, all the rights, privileges, and spiritual ability we received in Christ Jesus equally apply to every saint without any favoritism, preference, or respect of one saint over another from God our Father. We each and all have a standing before God in Christ Jesus. All these rights are conferred upon us in Christ by the grace of God, not by our works.
2. In Christ Jesus, every believer in him is redeemed by his redemption, stands before God clothed in Christ’s righteousness, in Christ is sanctified from the common lot of humans, in Christ is blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm, in Christ is seated before our Heavenly Father as holy and without blame in the heavenly realm, in Christ is a child of the Father’s love – born of His spirit, and highly favored by Him. We were redeemed in Christ, and forgiven our sins by the riches of His grace. Beloved, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and we are at rest, encircled by His grace. We are complete in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/9/17 "Get Out Your Tape Measure"
Get Out Your Tape Measure
Dearly beloved, God measures differently than we measure things. He measures everything by His Son’s accomplishments.
Too often the emphasis in Christianity is placed on our walks instead of on the work of God’s Son. The purpose of the ages turns on God’s purpose in Christ Jesus our Lord. In the fullness of times administration God will head up all things in Christ in heaven and on earth. Perhaps we should pray that our Father opens our eyes to these realities so we can live unto the praise of his glorious grace.
Maybe we have underestimated the Lord’s statement, “Without me you can do nothing.” With him what is possible? “We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” What do we have that we have not received? We are who we are by the grace of God. If we are to do anything, we first need to know who we are in Christ. Beloved, there is no limit to God’s willingness to show us His Divine favor.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/8/17 "Enabled to Help"
Enabled to Help
Dearly beloved, we are God’s habitation; His spirit indwells us. The spirit of Him that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us. We have the spirit of the Living God dwelling in us. We are the children of God because His spirit is born within us.
We are completely, completely, absolutely complete in Christ Jesus the Lord. Our Father blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus. Who of us is lacking? Not a single one of us is lacking in a single jot or tittle of what Christ accomplished; it is all in all of us. Beloved, what do we have that we did not receive? We are what we are by the grace of God.
The Lord Jesus no longer walks the earth, but we do. Before he died, the Lord told his disciples, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father.”
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/7/17 "What Made the Difference?"
What Made the Difference?
Dearly beloved, who were we to deserve what the Lord Jesus did for us? Were we the ones to which covenant promises were made? No. Was Christ sent to the Gentiles? No. Did our law keeping or good works turn His head our way? No. Did we as Gentiles even have a hope due to covenant promises? No. What made us worthy of all that we received by the grace and mercy of God? Absolutely nothing.
We were dead in sin, ungodly, wrath bound, and enemies of God. We were without anything related to the promises regarding Christ, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope, and without God in the world. We were far, far away from God. Despite our unworthiness, He extended His grace to us.
Our God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is different from any other that is named as a god. He is the God of grace, love, righteousness, forgiveness, hope, light; the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He is Almighty in power and He used it in grace to save us.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/7/17 "Stay Close"
Stay Close
Dearly beloved of God, submit yourselves therefore unto God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. Submit, draw near and resist.
We submit to God by obeying, by believing His Word so that we can practice His will. How could we walk in the complete reality of the new birth if we did not know about it? If we know about it, then we must train ourselves to think and live in this new reality.
We no longer want to be self-willed; we want to submit to God, to His will. We are no longer far away from God; we are His children. Since the Lord Jesus Christ made us near to God we can now walk closely with Him. We want to draw nigh to Him. We want to be near to Him, close with Him, and please Him. Without Him we can do nothing.
The other part of the verse deals with the adversary. Some reject that there is a spiritual adversary; others ignore it, but he is real. He wants to influence what we think, and how we act. He wants us to conform to His ideas and will. Resist him and he must flee.
Our Father only wants to do things that profit us, bless us, benefit us. He works for our good in all things. He wants to our fellowship. He leads us and guides us by His Word and by His spirit. He completely equips us to live a more abundant life and walk with Him.
He is always there for us, beloved, walk close to Him. He wants to be near to us, and He wants us to draw near to Him.
Dearly Beloved 6/5/17 "Who Needs Convincing"
Who Needs Convincing?
Dearly beloved of the Lord Jesus Christ, we now have access to the Father by the gift of His holy spirit because of the Lord’s accomplishments. We have access to the Father, beloved, access!!
What did we do to deserve such a preferred status? Nothing; It was His idea to afford us access, and He made it available to us by the good pleasure of His will. We are truly His highly favored and dearly beloved ones, ever before Him in love.
The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous. The wicked do not have access to Him. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
Some religious people think they can get His attention by their vain repetitions; fools. We don’t get His attention by rote prayers; He calls them vain repetitions.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/5/17 "It's Only the Beginning"
It’s Only the Beginning
Dearly beloved of the Lord, the day of Christ’s return draws closer with every new day; it could even be today. No one knows the day or hour, but when he is manifested, we will be manifested with him in glory! He will transform these humiliated bodies that we inhabit today so that they will have the same form as his glorified body.
If we fall asleep before he comes, he will raise us to life and we will be like him. If we are still living, he will change us so that we are like him. Those yet living will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a summoning shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first, after that, we who are alive and remain will be snatched up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so will we always be with the Lord. This is the hope of our calling; we should comfort and encourage one another with this fantastic truth!
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/3/17 "Who Is He To Us?"
Who Is He to Us?
Dearly beloved, I faintly remember what it was like not to know God. It was a shallow existence; lonely. Don’t get me wrong, my mom took us to Sunday school and church every Sunday, but I did not know the Heavenly Father for myself. I did not know Him firsthand, nor did I know His will, nor how He worked.
“Why me, Lord?” was my regular prayer. I did not understand why things happened as they did. By my junior year in college I was lost and felt so alone, even hopeless.
At that low point in my life someone spoke God’s Word to me, words I’d never heard before. That same hour God confirmed His Word in my life by performing it; He miraculously healed the torn ligaments in my knee. It changed my life. I then knew firsthand that there was a Living God who loved me. The Living God was my Heavenly Father.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 6/1/17 "Framing Our Minds"
Framing Our Minds
Dearly beloved and highly favored by our Father and His wonderful Son Christ Jesus our Lord, you are wonderful!
The more we frame our thinking with God’s Word, the more we will think as He thinks, and the more we will see the results He wants us to see. It was the good pleasure of His will to reveal the spiritual realities we deal with every day.
The One True God allows us the free will to think and believe as we choose. Our reference for truth and believing will determine whether we live like victims or we live like victors. Challenges will come, but they are not our masters.
Read more ...