Lesson - #7 - Part 1

This lesson will be in 4 parts:

Sonship- The revealing of the children of God
Born again- Your new identity as the Beloved
Open your eyes- Light vs darkness
Beholding- How do we live with unveiled faces


Sonship-

I could go on and on and on, believe me about sonship but I won't, at least not for now. LOL I want to first set some facts straight. The basics so to speak about the House of God:

We are citizens of Heaven not of this world. Remind yourself that we are on vacation while we are in this body and here on the earth. Behave yourself, have fun and do every good work that is on your agenda. Don't return home broke, ashamed and with less than what you had when you left. Remember what happens in Heaven is shouted on the rooftops.


We dwell in the Father's house of Peace. Every step and every breath should be in Peace. Peace can only be received. If you are struggling in your faith or in your TTnT (trials, tribulations and temptations) then you have not yet fully received the Peace that surpasses all understanding. It is abundant and free for the taking. In this life if you know where you came from and know where you are going then you will have Peace.

As children we are not responsible for paying the bills. You can not repay God or anyone else for that matter for what He did. He is the Father and we are the children. As children we are not to concern ourselves with what he is doing or the running of the Household. He will handle that as the parent. Yes, we are given our part. Chores for lack of a better word. Responsibilities that contribute to the overall benefit of the Family. Responsibilities that heal wounds, bind the work of the enemy, break the chains, and release the prisoners. We are to eat to our fill and have no lack.

Wherever we are and whatever we are doing we are all witnesses of Christ and of the Father. We don't become a Christian and then choose to witness or not to witness. When you become a Christian you automatically become a witness. Your testimony, as stated in my previous post, is a good one or a bad one but it is one. So the next time someone ask if you witness to people say Yes!

The way we live our lives is a direct reflection of our knowledge of Christ. When Christ said you will know the truth and the truth will set you free, He meant you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. LOL.There is no hidden agenda. He is the Truth and the more you know about Him the more freedom you have in Him. What you do not know will not set you free. That's why we read the Bible, so we can recognize what we did not know, as we go about our day to day. When we bring what we did not know subject unto what we now know freedom reigns in our lives.

God knows who His children are. You share the gospel on every occasion. Everything that you do speaks for or against who Christ says he is. You are not converting people when you share the gospel. God's children are living on this earth whether they know they belong to Him or not. When you share the gospel you are telling them that the Father is here. If they are His they will come. If they are His they will stay. When they come heal their wounds and when they stay teach them all that He has commanded.

Trials, tribulations and temptations are for the purpose of building character and testing your faith. God will not tempt but he will allow temptation. Satan, the enemy has many things that he has planned for you. His goal is to lure you into the darkness, blind you along the way, confuse you, make you sorry you ever listened to what he said, and hope that you do not know enough to cry out to God.

It's a vicious cycle. Since he can not kill you, he will keep you on this endless rollercoaster of temptations so that when Jesus comes you will have nothing to show for your newborn life in Christ.

One of the most asked questions is why does God allow it. In your tribulations and tempations, God always ask, " Have you consider my servant (insert your name)?". Just as Jesus told Peter Satan is asking for you, do not misunderstand the fact that your name is also on his hitlist.

God will allow you to go through what Satan has planned for you, confident that when you return to Him you will be all the more stronger for it. Remember that a test is just to verify how much you have understood in the lesson. The test should come before the knowledge is required. Yes?

The opposite of unbelief is Rest. Those that do not believe cannot enter into God's rest. What should you believe? Believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do!







 

Lesson #6 - Walking by Faith

The cross tells you it is finished.
The empty grave tells you He has risen!
The curtain that was torn tells you a way has been given.
Grace is the door that lets you in and
Faith is the key-- me.

Faith is so many things but let us take a look at just a few of them for now.

First we will look at faith that leads to salvation and once you are saved then the three stages of faith.

Most discussions about faith center around the question of faith vs. works.  Is it faith or works that we should be concerned with? Well, I say both!

We do not serve an either/or God. Our God is an AND God. If we limit our discussion to whether it's faith or works, then our God is only as great as our faith and only as big as what we believe. We ultimately as Christians only do what we believe. However, God is so amazingly more than what we will ever comprehend in this earthen vessel of clay. He has no boundaries.

First things first, you must only be concerned as to whether your faith leads to salvation. Without salvation nothing really matters, does it? Jesus says you are either for me or against me.

Therefore, for or against is your first decision not faith vs. works.

If you chose against, stop here! The remainder of this blog does not apply to you. If you reconsider then great, keep reading.

If you chose for, good choice! Keep reading.

Remember, do not get into conversations in regards to faith without first stopping to ask if you are  talking about the saved or the unsaved person. Remember, if the person is unsaved then faith that leads to salvation is always first. If the person is saved then feel free to discuss the type of faith that the person currently has.

So let's take a look at faith after a person has been born again and clothed in Christ Jesus.

There are three stages of faith after salvation, dead, little and great.

Dead faith is a faith that believes there is a God yet that belief is not allowed to manifest itself neither for the believers benefit nor for anyone else's. It is a faith that does not take possession of the land so to speak. It will not cross over. It often finds itself refusing to give in to the will of God. It insist on living in the old life and strangely enough believes that that is enough. In the parable of the talents it believes that burying the one talent that has been given will do. But as we know the outcome for this type of faith is equivalent to the faith of the unbeliever. Not good.

Little faith believes there is a God but the person who they were and believe themselves to be is so much larger than the new person God has made them to be that they can barely function. Little faithers are in a constant struggle between the good they want to do and the bad they keep on doing. They live a life of Romans 7 moments. In the parable of the sower they find that they are choked out by the cares of this world and their harvest is surely lacking. They are unsure of who God really is and what they are supposed to be doing about it.

Great faith believes there is a God and that in Christ all things are possible. Great faithers have an image of God that is larger than any circumstance. They don't ask why they ask what. What lesson is being taught to me through this circumstance? They run to their bible and look for the example that was given. Their bible is a sword and their faith a shield. Everything that happens good or bad in their lives are held up to their ever increasing knowledge of who God is. They walk by the power of the Spirit and not by their own understanding. What you do not know can not set you free. To keep from stumbling you must increase your knowledge of who God is and have a faith that is unquenchable.

Great faith leads to great works! Your hands are the hands that say I believe that my God lives and your feet are feet that bring peace to a world that is suffering in their own beliefs.
 
To the world it is a strange thing that we believe in a living God. To us it is the other side of normal.
Find what you have been given to do and have a faith that is willing to do it!

Whatever faith you have right now you are witnessing and testifying to what you believe.

Peace












 

Roll Call

The lost, the unsaved and the prodigal.

The unsaved are people who have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Remember that Jesus was given as a gift of God to save you from His wrath that is coming. He accepted the plans of the Father and has completed the work He had been given.

Often times we think in terms of the lost just being people who don't believe in God. But for every one person that openly declares there is no God there are probably 10 that don't care, don't know, don't think that it matters if they know or not, don't think it's possible to know and know but haven't accepted yet. These are the unsaved.

When Jesus said you are either for me or against me then he divided the world into those that believe that he is who he says he is and those that don't.  The question then is not whether or not you believe there is a God but whether or not you believe who He says He is.

Therefore, there are only two types of people in the eyes of God. We commonly refer to them as the believers and the unbelievers.

Now of course to muddy the waters so to speak there is lots of fighting amongst the unsaved because they have been blinded to the fact that they are in the same boat. They are all fighting on the same sinking ship.

The Prodigal is a believer who has demanded his inheritance from the Father. In the bible it says that we have an inheritance. The prodigal has demanded the inheritance before it's appointed time, taken it and squandered it, and then realized that they would be better off as a servant of the Father's house than they are with the pleasures of the world. The Father of course did not consider the son of the house on his return to be a servant.

When the believer returns to God he is still just as much a son as when he decided to leave in the first place. His position in the family is not set by him but by the Father. If you return to the Father he will return to you.

The Lost are believers who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior but then have no idea what to do next. Because they don't know what God's will is in their lives they are stuck in a living hell. They know they can't live the previous life and they don't know what the new life looks like. So they wander in the darkness without the wisdom of God, unlearned, untrained and without joy. ( See Sidebar below).

Because they are not sure how to stay in the light where Jesus is, they are subject to false teachers, lies of Satan, and deception of every kind.

They have a hard time understanding the Bible because they read it like a book instead of like a manual. A manual gives user instructions and can be referred to as much as needed until you reach the desired results.

They have a hard time reading the Bible and often times say things like, "I don't think I can feel God." However, God doesn't need to be felt, He needs to be known.

Great stress and anxiety comes with the lack of knowledge of who God is. So, what shall you do?

If you are unsaved, believe!
If you are a prodigal, come home before the door is shut!
If you are lost, ask for wisdom, and get understanding!

If you don't know where to get started then start by following along with this blog. These messages are meant for you. Share them with someone who needs encouragement.

Sidebar: Joy and happiness are not the same thing. Happiness is temporal and based on circumstances. You might say I'm so happy today and then slam you get into a car accident. That's something that can ruin your happy in a moment. You may be happy one minute and then get bad news the next. Christians often times lead very happy lives but never really find joy.

Joy comes from the peace that the Father has given us. It lives outside of your circumstance.

Peace I leave with you, peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you, do not let your heart be troubled nor be afraid -- John 14:27.

Isn't He lovely? Now that's joy!

Joy is unending and if you have it then it will be with you through every circumstance and every kind of news. Joy is knowing that God is faithful.

It doesn't mean He is faithful to remove all of your bad circumstances, no those are necessary for the testing of your faith, but He is faithful to instruct you through them in love, peace and joy.

Count it all joy when you face trials of various kinds--James 1:2

Jesus - Falling in Love

Hi everyone,

Today I wanted to do a side bar post to explain how I came to fall in love with Jesus. First off, let me warn you that it is impossible  to do this fall in love process, unless you know Him and once you know Him, you will love Him. That is if you belong to Him.

That is one of the most asked questions. How do I know if I belong to Him?

What is a person to do? So how can you tell? You have to understand that Christianity is not about your love of God but about His Love for you.

As you begin to know more and more how much He loves you, then you will find yourself falling in Love with Him. Your love of Him comes from your knowledge of Him. If you don't know Him you cannot possibly fall in love with Him. 

By your old nature (of the flesh) you think that if you, DO love then you will KNOW Jesus. (works)

But your new nature (of the Spirt) is the reverse. If you KNOW Jesus, then you will DO love. (faith)  

We love, we hate, then we love again. We are friends one moment and then can't stand the person the next. We love our parents and we love cake. We love people, we love places, and we love things, all the while using the same word. LOVE.

 I saw on t.v. that the way they train people to know a counterfeit dollar bill is to teach them first what the real dollar bill looks like, feels like etc. Then the fake becomes more obvious.

 The characteristics of the REAL dollar bill has to be known first. Once you KNOW Jesus, His characteristics and His Love,  then you can use that as your standard of Truth.

Everything you say or do must be held up to the knowledge of Him and corrected accordingly.


If you find that something in your life, doesn't measure up (it's counterfeit), whatever it is, to His Love For YOU then it has to go. It has to be cut off.

Knowing Him is the entire transformation process that he wants us to go through. Jesus said, "You will KNOW the truth and the truth will set  you free."

So the truth that you do not KNOW will leave you in bondage. You will be left in bondage to the lies of this world. Period.

LOVING Him will come like any other TRUE love. It will not be necessary for you to even be paying attention. You won't need to ask yourself do I love Him. You will know.

How?

First you have to, have to, have to, KNOW Him.

 The way you KNOW Him is by reading your bible. It is a love letter written just for you, from Him. It is not just a book that Christians read. It is to be read as a letter of LOVE. Preserved over the ages just for YOU.

Read it in sentences, in full chapters, by Books etc. One minute, two minutes, an hour, however much time you have. Read it and read it some more. The fact that reading your bible is a struggle is a lie from the pit of hell.

If you receive a love letter you take it out and read it over and over again. Basking in every word and letting the thoughts of the writer penetrate every part of you. You hold it closely to your chest and scream out with joy, over just the thought of someone loving you that much!

Well then, from this moment forward, you must look at the bible the same way.

While reading you are storing up this knowledge and will use it later to filter your decisions. Be determined that you will filter your actions according to the knowledge of Christ. The more you KNOW,  the more will be filtered. (process of transforming your heart and renewing your mind)

Rest assured that Jesus has every intention of presenting you spotless and blameless before the Father on Judgement Day, if you let Him.


Now  this may not sound like the process of Love. Reading a book; using it to make decisions. How is that Love?

Well, it doesn't actually start there. Let me back up.

First you are drawn by His beauty. He is altogether lovely and He is calling YOU.

No matter how much you want to deny it or how many questions you have regarding it, you know that you hear Him. The Father is calling out to you.

You do not first love Him but He first loves you and calls you out by name.

He speaks to your heart on a direct line. Your brain can't explain it or even put it into words because He speaks directly to the part of your brain that has no capacity for language. Bypassing everything, that up until this time, you have known to be true.

You have met His love. ( you accept) What now?

Then you want to spend more time with Him. (reading your Bible)

Then every waking moment is spent thinking of Him. Talking to him. (praying)

You can't wait to see what He has to say next. (more reading)

In every circumstance good or bad, you start to wonder what is He trying to teach you. (discerning)

You realize very quickly that He is on your side. (Trusting)

Even when circumstances and  people make you question or doubt or feel that you will be made a fool of, you remain perfectly convinced that, He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. (faith)

You will find yourself more and more able to tell the difference between Good and evil and will choose Good. (practice)

If you find you have said something you shouldn't have said or done something that you shouldn't have done. (blown it) You run to Him, accept his Grace and try it again.

The point of practice is to pass the test; to sharpen your reflexes. If you choose Good, you win every time.

So Practice , Practice and Practice some more. (decide)

Grace has been given to you to practice listening to the correction of the Holy Spirit (your helper/your teacher) without feeling condemned.

Be more focused on choosing Good. Stop at that point of decision and choose to do what God has determined is Good.

For God is Good and God is LOVE and so are you!

Trust that the work He starts in you He will complete in you, if you let Him.

The process can seem quite painful if you don't come at it from the right prospective.

 God is a jealous God. He is jealous for you like any parent is for their child. A Good parent will love you, teach you, bless you, protect you, stand up for you, correct you and die for you!

 He will not let you be tested beyond what you are able to bear but your capacity level for testing (what you decide you should or shouldn't have to go through) and His capacity level for testing YOU, will never be the same. Your faith MUST be tested and MUST be found genuine.

If He ALLOWS what I like to call TT&T, Trials, Tribulations, and Temptations, it is not only for the sake of your Life but for the sake of your Testimony.

You stand as a witness to the Trial of the ages. The trial of ALL trials. God is being tried by this world. His Goodness and character and even His very existence are being called to stand trial, as being a LIE. The world is testifying against Him.

You have received a subpoena, a request to Testify.

You are being asked to stand and give a reason for the HOPE within you. Do not prepare with facts and figures. Who does that? If I ask you to prove that you love someone do you begin with facts, figures and dates? No.

You begin by explaining how you would tell them and how you would show them, that they are loved. Well, you have been told (the bible) and  you have been shown (the death of Jesus).


Start with the testament of your very own life. Because we have Overcome (Jeremy Camp) by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of OUR Testimony is His unfailing love for us.

The reason for the HOPE that is in us, does not come from facts and figures but through the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus. His life and his death were God's Witness and His Testimony to you!

That my friends is how you know you have fallen in love. You will have both a love FOR God and the love OF God oozing out of every part of your life.

Everyone you encounter should walk away with a piece of God's love. It is given to you freely and generously to both, be loved and to give love. So receive it and give it freely and generously. For as He is, so are you in this world.

Once you allow His Love to wash over you and cleanse you, you quickly realize that you are a New Creation. The old person has been put to death by LOVE himself.

The New Creation (100% Human and 100% God in you) MUST be in full control of your decisions and your decisions are your life.

Your testimony, in view of the world, your family and your friends will not be able to be disputed!


The only proof you need to bring to the witness stand (the world) is God's love for you and His love for the world Through you. 

The prosecutor will Rest his case. Listen, silence.

Stand and say, "I AM a witness that God is LOVE!" 

Walk it out by faith! Be sure of what you hope for and confident in what you cannot see.


Lastly, go to church. Find a Jesus preaching, bible teaching, LOVE giving church and go.

Get involved. There are no sidelines.

Don't be late to worship. That is no ordinary music playing. It is not the elevator music before the sermon.

It is praise to a Father who has come and rescued us from death itself!


Church is a gathering of the witnesses of God on this earth.  It is a courtroom called to order.


 All Rise.  


Stand in defense of the HOPE that comes from a greater LOVE, such as this.


Sing, praise and worship Him!


Throw up your hands without regard, not because you love Him, but because He is worthy.


It is our Revelation Song. (Kari Jobe)


Be Loved

*******************************************

  *** The underlined words are actual songs that pop into my head while I'm writing to you***

The artist name will be included if I can remember LOL and if I don't please feel free to reply with the information. 

And make sure to listen to the songs that are inspired by a God who hears you. (iTunes)

Lesson #5 - Jesus the Christ

Oh Jesus, oh Jesus how controversial is your name. Jesus the Christ, son of the living God. How wonderful and glorious is your name.

The one thing that separates all religions from Christianity is Jesus. Christians are the only ones who know the heart that Father God has for us because we know Jesus. And if you have the son, you have the father as well.

Because God so loved the world he sent Jesus. He himself said you are either for me or against me. There is no middle of the road. No fence to straddle. He was given as a gift from a father who loves you.

All the controversy that surrounds religion in this world, is over the fact that God said that all of the human race is dead in our sins and trespasses and we don't believe it. You might be saying, "Sorry to break it to you, but I did get up this morning and breath today. So you see I am not dead."

God says that he has not come to save those that are alive; not at all. He says that he has come to save the dead and to give them life which is eternal.

The most common question we ask is, "Is this person or are these people going to hell?" When we ask that question we really are asking, "Will people that are alive be condemned to death if they don't accept Christ as Savior?" Don't answer just yet.

The natural thing to assume is that we are alive and then if we don't accept Christ we will be condemned to death. God is saying the opposite, to Him you are the walking dead and if you don't accept Christ you will stay dead. Christ is the only one who gives eternal life.

 To correctly answer the question we need to ask it another way. Are the walking dead going to hell if they refuse the gift of life, which is Jesus Christ? Now you can answer, yes. In the eyes of God your current state of being, is death. Again, He has declared the human race dead in their sins and trespasses. He has declared that you have fallen short of His glory. Therefore, His wrath is coming on mankind and this earth. The only way to be restored to glory is in Christ Jesus.

 That is something that you cannot change because it wasn't your decision in the first place. You have no power to control what is happening. But God in His mercy has given you one way out and that is Jesus.

Name one other person in the history of the world who says that they died because they loved you. Name one that says they have come to save you. Name one that says that they are the Son of God. Name one who says they came back to life for you and will return for you. Name one that gives love freely and gives peace that the world cannot give. If you were to find your car careening off of the road would you seriously call out to any one other that God himself?

That's why it means so much to everyone. It's easier to say that you don't believe in God until death is staring you in the face. Because, then what is really in your heart matters like it may have never mattered before.

 If Christ has no real purpose then why so much controversy? I don't believe in Santa Claus. I refuse to include him in my celebration of the birth of Christ. Although I might state that as a fact, I don't find myself wanting to argue about it or have debates or discussions over it or even care for that matter whether anyone else doesn't like it. So why so much talk about Christ by those who don't believe?

That being said even Christians are in love with a perfect stranger. Why should you read your Bible? Because he is in it; real and alive and speaking to you. Whispering words of love and comfort, strength and courage. He says that he is the truth itself. Read it and search for him with all of your heart. He is altogether lovely. Full of grace.

Logon  to www.josephprince.com.

I was looking for Jesus, and Pastor Prince was sent. He opens his mouth and the Spirit speaks and gives instruction and I fell in love with my Savior. Pastor Prince has answered the call of God. Use the Words of life to help you grab hold of your newness of life and to help you walk in the Spirit.

                          Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life. Rom 6:4


 So let's take a look at what the Bible has to say about Christ. We will read about his humanity, his priesthood and his deity.

Each passage is a full chapter. If your Bible versus' don't match up then make sure to read the entire chapter.

His humanity 
Rom 5:12-21  Adam Death/Christ Life
Rom 11:33-36 Doxology
Heb 1:1-14 Son of God/Angels
Heb 2:5-18 Jesus Like his brothers

In his humanity he was given as a gift of life. Just as the 1st Adam plunged all of humanity into death by his disobedience so Christ gives the chance of eternal life by his obedience.

Death came through one man to all mankind and that man came through a woman, therefore, in order for God to conquer the power of death for those who believe in Christ, he also had to come through a woman to give life.

He could have done it any way he wanted to, but he chose only one way to satisfy his wrath.  He  stepped down into his own creation and took the sins of mankind (the cup in the garden) and then had those sins fully punished in the body of Christ, instead of us being punished. That's what it means when it's said that Christ takes away the sins of the world.

 God won't be just in punishing the sins of unbelievers if he let's us get away with not having our sins punished. Once our sins had been punished in Christ then God was faithful to remember them no more. That is the only reason we can be forgiven. Our sins have already been tried and punished.

Christ then warns believers to be careful to not fall short of his grace.

                           Looking diligently lest any man fall short of the grace of God...
 Heb 12:15


Don't, after having your sins forgiven turn back to your former way of acts that lead to death.




His Diety
Heb 3:1-6 Jesus greater than Moses
1John 1:1-4 The Word of life
Jude 24-25 Doxology


I love it when the Bible says that

                         Christ was a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.Heb 3:6

Be alert and about your father's business. Avoid all that distracts you and lures you into the darkness. Traps and snares have been set for you in this world, but Christ gives instruction to the humble to escape them all.


His Priesthood
Heb 4:14-5:10 Great High Priest
Heb 7:1-10 Melchizedek
Heb 7 11-28 Jesus like Melchizedek
Heb 8:1-13 New Covenant
Heb 9:1-10 Worship
Heb 9 11-28 Blood of Christ
Heb 10:1-18 Blood of Christ

Have faith in what is being said:

                   For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 
 Heb 4:2


God explains:

For when there is a change in the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. Heb 7:12

New priesthood, new law, new covenant, new life, new you. Be blessed Be loved.