tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72271643603467510202024-02-19T22:54:02.168-08:00God's PromisesTo know God is to be successful in life and living. Jesus died so that we would have an abundant life but we need to know what He offers us.Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-64499376785632643512019-04-16T17:32:00.000-07:002019-04-16T17:32:26.735-07:00Why do we pray?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus... (Heb 3:1a)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Why do we pray? The answer is in this scripture which says we are partakers of the Heavenly Calling. The bible says that God has called us into this calling as priests unto our God. (1 Pet 2:9) What was the calling of the priests in the Old Testament? They were to present offerings to God, worship and to atone for their, and the nation’s, sins as well as pronounce blessings. They were to present the needs of the people to God.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We see this example of this as Hannah was crying out to God for Him to grant her a son and Eli initially thought she was drunk until she explained her brokenness of soul. Eli made this proclamation, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” (1 Sam 1:17). What did Eli do? He stood with her in faith proclaiming God would answer her petition. And we know from this story that God did give her a son, Samuel.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Jesus, sitting at the right hand of the throne of His Father, is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. Notice it says our confession and this is what Jesus is listening too. The bible tells us our High Priest “who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” (Roms 8:34b) Jesus intercedes for us with the confession we make. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">“Consider our Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus”! And what is our confession? Jesus Christ is. Everything He taught and proclaimed as well as the redemptive </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">power of His cross as our High Priest who laid down His life as the perfect sacrifice. Jesus also gave us an answer to this as He taught on prayer to pray “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done” ( Matthew 6:10.)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Whatever our need, if it lines up with the will of God and His Kingdom, we can make it our confession when we pray. This is the most powerful way of praying by declaring and praying God’s word back to Him. Need healing! Pray and claim, “Heavenly Father it is your will for me to be healed for Jesus bared His back for my healing at the whipping post. He paid for my healing with His blood and I declare that by His stripes I am HEALED. Thank you Father for manifesting this healing in my body now.” (Is 53:3, 1 Pet 2:24)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Jesus can intercede for us with this confession. I can hear Him saying, “Father, this son/daughter has declared the truth and is declaring my blood, release angels and the healing now.”</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-3104713178878430962018-10-10T02:30:00.002-07:002018-10-10T02:30:35.444-07:00Sinner or Saint?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">For the “law” of the Spirit of life flowing through the anointing of Jesus has liberated us from the “law” of sin and death. Rom 8:2</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">I have often heard people of God saying, “I am a sinner saved by grace”, which sounds really humbling, but I really want to challenge this thought as I feel it is unscriptural.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">To me it’s all about our identity and living out of that identity. After all, the bible teaches us that what we believe in our hearts about ourselves is what we are. (Prov 23:7)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">When we were saved, we became new creatures in Christ, the old passed away and the new came (2 Cor 5:17). By the Holy Spirit, we now walk in the newness of life, with new God given desires, His law written on our hearts and a new spirit within us. (Eze 11:19)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">To keep confessing that we are sinners focuses us on the law of sin and death and our failures which brings condemnation. It is a bit like AA where participants introduce themselves by saying, “Hi, my name is....and I am an alcoholic.” They never lose their identity as an alcoholic, or indeed in some cases, their struggle against it. Not only this, but when we identify as being a sinner, we are more easily able to condone our sin, because after all, that is who we are. We allow ourselves to let some sins pass by unchecked such as “gossip” in the disguise as need for prayer. Grace does not give us the liberty to sin. Grace empowers us NOT to sin. Our sins should grieve us, especially as we know the absolute horror of sin and that the only way out of sin was the equally horrific death the sinless One, Jesus Christ had to suffer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the </span><span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">body of sin would no</span><span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">(For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) Rom 6: 5-7</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">There is a big difference between a sinner striving not to sin and a saint striving for holiness. A sinner can strive in the flesh not to sin, which is totally hopeless and will hence focus on their failings which brings condemnation and death.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">You will find that the common identity tag given for believers in the New Testament is saint, not sinner. When we focus on having been crucified with Christ and living out of the newness of life having been raised with Him, we can live our life by faith in Christ, walking in holiness.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Through our union with Him, we have experienced circumcision of heart. All the guilt and power of sin has been cut away and is now extinct because of what Christ, the Anointed One, accomplished for us. (Col 2:11)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">We no longer wilfully want to sin. We have a circumcised heart with new desires to please our Father and the power of sin has been given a death blow. So why would we want to confess that we are still sinners?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">We have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, so there is an aspect of us having to do something, but that something is, being dependent upon the empowering grace of the Holy Spirit and having faith in the finished work of the cross.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die again; death no longer has mastery over him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">So you too, consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, and do not present your members to sin as instruments to be used for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments to be used for righteousness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace. </span><span style="font-family: 'Avenir-HeavyOblique'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">(Rom 6: 6-14)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">This scriptures I’ve used do not sound like we are still sinners saved by grace but in fact are telling us that we are no longer enslaved by sin and that sin no longer has dominion over us. Our focus should be the life we now share with Christ, fully alive to Him and His desires, dead to sin and it’s trappings. Our new identity is that of saints who are empowered by the Holy Spirit, and by God’s Grace, walk in holiness being directed, taught and sanctified by the Comforter, God’s Spirit of Grace who indwells us.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">This does not mean that we will no longer sin. We will. But we no longer want to sin and our hearts will be very responsive to the conviction of the Holy Spirit when we do transgress God’s Law and grieve the Holy Spirit.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">In these instances, we need to be quick to repent. Sin should grieve us. This should be the new attitude we have toward it as we seek to walk in holiness.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Maybe the saying should be changed to, “I was a sinner BUT I have been saved by grace and I am now a saint led by grace”. It may not sound as humbling but I think it is closer to truth and focuses us on the new identity we have where we can live from a heavenly perspective as children of the Most High and Holy God. </span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-30947338450114186802018-09-22T20:01:00.000-07:002018-09-22T20:01:20.165-07:00A Divine Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">God has a vision. He has always had it, right from eternity. Everything He has ever done and is still doing is for the cause of that vision. He sent Jesus, His only Son, as a fulfilment of the vision He has always held in His heart.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">God’s vision is, and always has been, children made after the image of His Son.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Those foreknown of God, </span><span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">“He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Rom 8:29</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I guess to say God has a vision may not be entirely biblical as He sees the end from the beginning and everything in between. But to say God had a plan doesn’t seem to encapsulate the amazing and outstanding, blow your mind away effect for me. The fact that God </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline;">saw</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> me and you even before we came into being and knew us intimately is beyond my understanding. Yet He did and still does and is present in our past, present and future altogether. To know that God held us in His heart and mind even before the world was created is such a intimate, altogether mind boggling understanding.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">God, the Creator of the universe and beyond, pursued us even when we didn’t want pursuing and in the fulfilment of His time revealed Jesus to our weary hearts. He truly is the Father of Love! And what incredible love, that He gave up His most loved Son for you and me.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Right from the beginning of our time, God’s intention and purpose for humankind was expressed in these unforgettable words:-</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">“Let Us make man in our image” (Gen 1:26)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Us! The whole Godhead was in perfect unity about what they were to do in spite of knowing the ramifications of the rebellious choice mankind would choose. And how far from that image did we wander as we got ensconced in a world of rebellion and sin against the Godhead. We got lost in the trappings of Tinsel Town and the pursuit of riches and success, and in doing so, lost the Father, ourselves and our families. We strive for fulfilment and acceptance yet never realised that these needs can only be met through the unconditional love of a Heavenly Father who gave so much for us.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Through the prophet Isaiah, God laments that the children He chose did not recognise His care for them, so far they travelled the road of forgetting their identity and purpose and tried to find fulfilment in false gods. Although this scripture speaks of the Israelites, His chosen people, it still holds merit for all humanity today through the cross of Jesus Christ. God gives a picture of the state of those who give no credence to an Almighty God who created them. This still rings so true today, in a society who is doing its best to remove God from the picture in order to choose their own path and “truth”, modern idols of man’s pride.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Why do you insist on being battered? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Why do you continue to rebel? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Your head has a massive wound, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">your whole body is weak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">From the soles of your feet to your head, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">there is no spot that is unharmed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">There are only bruises, cuts, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">and open wounds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">They have not been cleansed or bandaged, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">nor have they been treated with olive oil. (Isa 1:5-6)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">You can heard the cry of God’s heart pleading for us to come back to Him and be healed. Knowing this in advance, one could almost wonder why God would create a people who would reject Him and His Christ. The simple answer is that love needs expression and God wanted a family to set His affection on and who would willingly respond from their hearts.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">When we have children of our own, we too have dreams for their future, and do everything in our power to lead them and hope that they would be happy and successful as their life unfurls before us. Parents are heartbroken when they see their progeny destroy their future through wrong choices. How much more our Heavenly Father who even desires things over and beyond even the things we long for but can’t express.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The gospel message is all about a divine romance. God created us so He could lavish His love upon us. He want to give us dignity and purpose as He gave us dominion over the earth, to bring His Heavenly Kingdom on to this earth realm. God showed how much He wanted this relationship with us by walking with Adam and Eve everyday in the garden. Unfortunately, the relationship was destroyed when Adam and Eve disobeyed, and sin and death entered, and this has been humankind’s problem ever since. And with our sins against God and each other, we are wracked with guilt and pain.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The divine romance kicked in, and as agreed, Jesus came. He showed us love and obedience as He walked this earth, putting right all things for those He touched. That love led Him to the cross and, in His death and resurrection, He open the way back to Father. Through the cross alone, and the blood Jesus shed, we are forgiven every time we repent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">“The plan was that He would give himself as an offering for sin so that He would see life come from it - life, life and more life. And God’s plan would deeply prosper through Him. Out of that terrible travail of soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad He did it. Through what He experienced, my Righteous One, my Servant, will make many “righteous ones” as He Himself carries all their sins.” (Is 53:11 MSG</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Accepting Christ and what He did for us on the cross and allowing Him to live His Life through us truly makes us children of God birthed in the growing image of the One our allegiance leads us to worship and obey.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-47559813663292077452018-08-25T23:48:00.003-07:002018-08-25T23:48:52.088-07:00Rejection vs the Love of God<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">But I want you to I understand Christ is the source of every human alive. 1 Cor 11:3a</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Life can make us so needy. Rejection can make us search our life long for acceptance and love, and, outside of Christ, many look to others to fulfil this God given desire. Regretfully, it seems to become a downward spiral of continuous searching as we discover that the temporary satisfaction we may receive wears off quickly and we begin to play the blame game. “He/she just didn’t make me happy”, we protest.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The pressure we put upon one another to fulfil what only Christ can, can be enormous, and no one can carry the burden of being someone’s source of all happiness, fulfilment and love. Often couples who have felt the sting of rejection can fall into this trap of co-dependency for each other and find it impossible to support each other’s full emotional needs. And indeed, no human can. This is because we cannot give away what we don’t have. The kind of unconditional, selfless love and full acceptance the human heart needs can only come from God our Creator, who is Love, and who is the Source of that love.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">‘We </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">love</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> because </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">he first loved us</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">’ (1 John 4:19). </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">There is an answer for our love starved hearts; yet many will seek all other avenues first to find the secret of belonging and acceptance only to still have that deep down nagging ache of being empty. The answer, simply, is God our Father through Jesus Christ the Son. As one of the Hillsong song’s go:-</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Christ my all in all</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">The joy of my salvation </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">And this hope will never fail</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Heaven is my home</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">This doesn’t mean, of course, that we don’t need any human on earth. In fact, God commands that we love Him and others, but if we are looking to have our emotional and spiritual needs met through people, we will be disappointed. When we live co-dependant on others, we give them place that God should occupy and thereby move into idolatry.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Christ is our source of everything, and the Cross becomes our salvation fulfilling all that our human hearts need. God said, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you, I have called you by name”. (Is 43:1) God also promised that no matter what life throws at us, He will be with us through it all. Our sins and hurts drove us from God our Heavenly Father, yet in His great love for us, He purchased us with the precious blood of His Son. This is because He wanted to love us, adopt us into His family (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and have us enjoy eternity with Him.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The Cross of Christ is our place of exchange. Our sins are forgiven and His Righteousness given to us as a gift. To know we can be forgiven of all sin and have all guilt removed will bring a lightness to our weary souls. To know that we now have full and open access to His throne of grace where we find His full acceptance and adoption as His child will bring joy and peace. He truly is the Source of our full satisfaction.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Rejection cannot hold us bound when we truly have the revelation that we are unconditionally loved by the Creator. We know from scripture that God knew us before the foundation of the world, where His Lamb was already slain for us. We proceeded from His heart and our times are in His hands. He carefully planned a blueprint for our lives, and a calling and then uniquely gave us the looks, personality and giftings to suit that calling. He placed us in “such a time as this” to effectively bring His Kingdom to earth as we are led by His Spirit. He delighted in the day He brought us forth from the womb and He delights in every aspect of our growth and healing. He particular loves it when we gain the victory over the damage in our souls that our own rebellion or the sins of others that have been perpetuated against us in this fallen world. With this victory, that we gain through His grace and mercy, we become His warriors to lead others into victory. This happens when we come to Him for healing and allow His processing of our hurts to come to light and deal with them. Often it requires us to forgive ourselves and others. And so the enemy of our soul is dealt a death blow.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">If rejection plagues you, meditate on God’s love for you. Be defined by what His truth says and not by the negative things that have been said or the circumstances in your life. Find His acceptance and love and allow it to absorb your very being. Think about this; a Heavenly Father who would sacrifice His Son to bring you into a relationship with Him. Think about how Jesus willingly laid down His life so that you could find abundant life in Him. This is true love as Jesus Himself testified,</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">“Greater Love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (Jn 15:13)</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-30224668663346256662018-07-04T14:05:00.000-07:002018-07-04T14:05:01.404-07:00The small multiplied<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">16 But he replied, “They don’t need to go. You give them something to eat.”</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">17 They said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">19 Then he instructed the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">21 Not counting women and children, there were about five thousand men who ate. Matt 14:15-21</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">This is a very familiar scene for us with the 5000 listening to the words of Jesus in an isolated place. They are camped around God in a sense and don’t realise that they are going to be invaded by a Kingdom reality of provision because of a gift of a small meal</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">The scene takes me back to the children of Israel in the wilderness, also camped around God with a real physical and also a spiritual need. They complain to Moses that he had brought then out to a forsaken place where they had nothing to eat. God sends them manna from heaven to feed their physical need, yet His heart, yearned for them to worship Him and Him alone, listen, trust and obey Him.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Here thousands of years later, the people are still hungry and Jesus, the Bread of Heaven, the Creator of all things, is standing before them teaching. His compassion rises with the grumbling stomachs of men, women and children. He asks His disciples to feed them and throws them into a bit of a panic. They look around and find a boy willing to give up His small meal, and with doubt in their hearts the bring this offering to Jesus. Jesus thanks our Father for it, begins to break it and pass it to His disciples to hand out to the crowd, and the multiplied bread and fish satisfy everyone with the leftovers of 12 baskets. Significant I think, as it should have reminded them of the 12 tribes of Israel and how God is their Provider.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus could have fed the crowd by creating manna from heaven just like He did in the Old Testament scene. He is Sovereign - yet He doesn’t. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">I tell you the solemn truth, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father. Jn 14:12</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">I realised afresh that Jesus invites us, His own, to be a Kingdom solution to an earthly need. He calls us to be co-workers with Him in building and establishing His Kingdom to come on earth. When we give, whether of time or finances, we will see His Kingdom expand on earth and His goodness released. It has to start with our willingness, even as this amazing miracle had to start with a young boy offering his small meal to Jesus. What we give to God, with purity of heart and correct motives, to see Him glorified and His Kingdom come and to meet the need He puts in front of us, we become that Kingdom solution.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">I believe that the command to tithe and bring offerings sets our hearts on an eternal Kingdom and eternal souls but also breaks off of us the attachments of the temporal realm, especially finances.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Whatever God asks us to give for His purpose on earth will ultimately bring blessing to those we are ministering to, and glory and overflowing thanksgiving to Him. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: underline;">God is never into our loss but always our gain.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;"> This is because “of the </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: underline;">increase</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;"> of His government there shall be no end”. God is into multiplication not subtraction. And every time we obey, His Kingdom increases in our hearts and we are less and less likely to listen to the voices of fear and lack.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">God’s Kingdom vision for His church is that, in our generosity, we have wider and wider influence into our community to meet real needs and touch hearts with our obedience, and our giving supports that vision as his co-workers. It also helps us to become more like Jesus who came to serve and not be served. It builds our trust in Him when we see that He still meets our needs and will also bring the increase in our harvest.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-58432594673468014152018-06-07T00:54:00.000-07:002018-06-07T00:54:25.283-07:00Trust in His perfect love <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">God is love! Those who are living in love are living in God, and God lives through them. By living in God, love has been brought to full expression in us so that we may fearlessly face the day of judgement, because all that Jesus now is, so are we in the world. Love never brings fear, for fear is always related to punishment. But love’s perfection drives out the fear of punishment far from our hearts. 1 Jn 4 16-18 (Passion)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Love casts out fear, so if we fear, we could say that we haven’t fully experienced His love for us in the particular area of fear. If God asks us to give something and we are fearful of lack in our lives, we will experience fear and will argue with ourselves and God about what He has asked of us. Sometimes trembling in fear, we do obey and give, but not without an internal argument and other times, we may find we reason ourselves out of giving, or give less than what God has asked. This clearly shows that we don’t trust in our Father’s love, or nature. Time and time again God has promised to bless those who give. He has also promised that there is no lack for those who belong to the Shepherd. He has proclaimed that He will supply all our needs and everyone of these promises He will deliver on as He cannot lie.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Fear has it’s own torment or punishment such as worry, anxiety, unrest or even sleepless nights. This is why we really need to know and experience God’s love. We need to know, really know in our hearts that God loves us each personally and, as a Father, desires the best for our lives.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">When questioned about bad behaviour, children will often lie or blame, for fear of punishment, particularly if they are being questioned by someone they don’t know too well. They may not lie when questioned by their parents because of their relationship and understanding of how much they are loved. We also need to have this deep relationship and understanding of how much our Heavenly Father loves us.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We need never to fear lack. God’s Kingdom is one of increase and His blessings always brings the multiplication.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">When we focus on loss, which was exactly what Eve did in the garden, fear can bring an atmosphere that prevents us from seeing clearly and we can be prone to lies. Eve didn’t see all that God gave her but focused on the one tree she couldn’t touch. She was deceived into believing God was withholding from her. She doubted His Love. God had given her good reason not to partake of the tree, for her and Adam’s rebellion would bring death, but she doubted His love, wisdom in His instruction and disobeyed.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We need to believe that our Heavenly Father always know best for us and that He is never into our loss but always into our gain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">For I command you today, love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, and to keep His commands, decrees and law, then you will live and increase.. Deut 30:16</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The more we submit our fears to the Lord, repent and be healed, the more our hearts will be able to receive the increase of His Kingdom come and its subsequent peace. Our King, Jesus dwells in us, and His reign needs to be more and more evident in our character and walk with Him. His voice needs to speak louder than the fear in our soul.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: 11pt;">The highest honour we can give God is our total trust in Him. When we trust in His Love, His nature and goodness, it allows us to be fully obedient, without having to battle fear, which brings its own torment.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">When we haven’t experienced the fullness of God’s love, we won’t be able to approach Him freely without the fear of not being accepted into His presence. Or, if we sin, we will hide from Him for fear of punishment instead of running to Him to ask for forgiveness and help.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We need to know, experience and trust in His perfect love for us. Mediate on His love. That the Father of Heaven, would give His one and only precious Son for us is astounding.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">So we have His word to rely on as our truth but we really need to have an ongoing, vibrant relationship with the Father, growing in His love and grace. After all, if He has freely given up Jesus for us, how will He not, as He has promised, give us all good things.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-55392772645404291602018-05-01T03:10:00.000-07:002018-05-01T03:10:08.439-07:00Of Infinite Value <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">What is the value of your soul to God? Could your worth be defined by an amount of money? God doesn’t abandon or forget even the small sparrow He has made. How then could He forget or abandon you? What about the seemingly minor issues of your life? Do they matter to God? Of course they do? So you never need to worry for you are more valuable to God then anything else in this world. Luke 12:6-7 (Passion)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Oh how we need to mediate on the truths of God’s word and gain a true and right perspective of the infinite worth of our soul in God’s eyes. So many I know, are trapped in the vicious cycle of rejection from past situations and can’t seem to move beyond the rejection of man to the glorious truth of our value to a wonderful, loving Heavenly Father.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">What is the value of your soul to God? (pause - think about it deeply). Ask the question of yourself? How you truthfully answer this from the bottom of your heart will show you how deep rejection issues are in your life. If you cannot truthfully say that you are the most important person to God, I would implore you to mediate on the scripture for this blog. When we grasp our infinite value to God, we can be healed of past rejection, and the understanding can set you free to have a deeply, intimate love for Father who will never reject His own.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Could your worth be defined by an amount of money? I sincerely hope that your answer to this is a very definitive NO. Let’s look at what it cost God to redeem (purchase you) to open up the way to a deep relationship with Him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">For you know that your lives were ransomed once and for all from the empty and futile way of life handed down from generation to generation. It was not a ransom payment of silver and gold, which eventually perishes, but by the precious blood of Christ - who like a spotless, unblemished lamb was sacrificed for us. 1 Peter 18-19 (Passion)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">There was nothing in this world, even through created by God and owned by Him, that could purchase the salvation of your soul. Everything we so highly prize on earth was insufficient in God’s eyes and God had to bankrupt heaven to give His one and only Son, so whoever believes on Him shall be saved. Heaven’s treasure, the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only truly precious “possession” was chosen and predestined before the foundation of the earth, to come in the fullness of God’s timing to die for you and me.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">How amazing, the King of the universe would give up His life because of His love for us. When we have revelation about how precious we are, how can we not worship and praise the One who saved us through the shedding of His blood? And when we understand how extremely priceless, Jesus is to the Father, how can we not be truly humbled by such a sacrificial love? And another incredible truth from the Word of God, is found written by Peter, “</span><span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">As believers you know His great worth - indeed, His preciousness is imparted to you.” 1 Peter 2:7 (Passion)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;">WOW! As equally as God deemed His Son as the most precious One in His life, so those of us who believe have that preciousness imparted to us. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">This is how our Heavenly Father sees us as precious in His sight. Yet we rather consider and think on how we see ourselves or how others may have seen us.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Lay a hold </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">of these truths and let these minister to the wounds and hurts you maybe carrying from your past. You have been chosen and called. Your life was paid for by the blood of Christ and everything He did on that cross was for your benefit. Walk in the freedom of this truth and rest and trust in His love.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">What about the seemingly minor issues of your life? Do they matter to God? Of course they do?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">For God has proved His love by giving us His greatest treasure, the gift of His Son. And since God freely offered Him up as the sacrifice for us all, He certainly won’t withhold from us anything else He has to give. Romans 1: 32 (Passion)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Could God have done more? NO! He gave all for us and He is aware of your every need and every healing you need. And He is willing to still give, touch, love, bless, reassure and heal His children today.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We can trust our Heavenly Father who never leaves us or abandons us. He gave His all, so important were our very souls to Him. Don’t let the pass hold you back from walking in the love, peace and rest of how precious you are to God.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-24173365599215754582018-04-09T23:19:00.000-07:002018-04-09T23:19:01.881-07:00From wilderness to promise<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">One of the most illustrative pictures of salvation is the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. Like us, before we met Christ, they were in bondage to slave drivers and life was hard. Their cries were heard by God and He sent a deliverer, one of their own, Moses, to lead them out of Egypt into the Promised land. Before this could happen, the blood of lambs had to be painted on the door frames of their houses to protect them from the angel of death in the last plague in Egypt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Because God's children are human beings--made of flesh and blood--the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Heb 2:14</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Moses was a type of Christ, a deliverer, one of their own, and Christ too, became like a man to deliver us from Egypt, a representation of sin and bondage. The bible lets us that there is NO remission of sin without the shedding of blood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Heb 9:22</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> All of us have fallen short of the glory of God (Roms 3:23), and there came a day, so troubled and bound by our own mess, we harkened to the voice of the Lord, surrendered our life to Jesus, fully accepting the gift of salvation that He purchased for us on the cross by the shedding of His blood, and came out of Egypt. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline;">At that very moment, potential to walk into the inheritance of our promised land and gain it, was born in our hearts.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">But, like the Israelites, we find ourselves in the wilderness, bewildered by the emotions and trials that come up. We can learn something about the wilderness experience from the Israelites. The joy they experienced on the other side of the Red Sea was ecstatic and the same happens when we finally surrender our lives to Christ and meet Him in a sense for the first time. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The thing is, we all have a past and sometimes we allow the past to keep us trapped in it, and unable to move ahead, until, with the help of the Holy Spirit, memories and unresolved hurts that begin to come up are dealt with and healed through the restorative power of the cross. It takes surrender and a desire to move beyond our present pain into the glorious inheritance God has for us.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">How we deal with our past, can be the catalyst to keep us there or move us forward. God had brought the Israelites into freedom, but the 400 years of being in bondage held them captive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. Num 14:27</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Grumbling and complaining kept the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline;">while the promised land awaited their arriva</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">l. It is interesting to note that God saw complaining as evil and against Him. He had delivered them and expected that they would trust Him as their provider and provision. It was in this period of time, that they saw the mighty miracles of God as they camped around His presence, but this stiff necked people found it hard to trust in God, their slavery mindset kept them focused on the circumstances instead of God’s Glory and God’s Mighty Hand.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline;">For every problem they encountered in the wilderness, God had provision for them</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">, bread from heaven, (Jn 6:48) water from the rock, (1 Cor 10:4) all a picture of Jesus, our provision, for the hunger and thirst of our broken hearts. Yet they tried to do things their own way, instead of trusting in God and complained instead of worshipping God. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline;">God is never manipulated by our complaining or emotional blackmail, He is only moved by our faith in Him.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">God lived with them in the wilderness, camping with them and leading them, showing His faithfulness to a faithless people who were chosen by Him to show His glory. He wanted a people to know Him but they wanted to only know His acts and not His ways.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">This is one of the keys to freedom. Knowing God and experiencing His love, mercy and faithfulness. God is our inheritance (Ps 16:5) and ultimately our final inheritance will be heaven with Him for eternity, but we have an inheritance right now on earth in and through Jesus Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'HelveticaNeue-BoldItalic'; font-kerning: none; font-size: 11.00pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The LORD your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you. Deut 7:28</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">This has been a challenging verse for me to understand but I was mediating on it and was thinking about suburbia and correlated this to the “spiritual” wilderness experience. God had a promised land awaiting His people and the actualisation of their inheritance and the rest they would finally experience in the land of milk and honey was a reality as soon as they crossed the Red Sea. But, to get the slavery mindset out of them, God had to let them experience battles, little by little to get them ready for larger battles. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Just as humans begin building a suburb and the animals that live there have to find another place to live, I saw this as the battles that we face in conquering our “wild animals” so that little by little, Christ (who is our inheritance) can inhabit us more and more as He builds His Kingdom principles into our lives. How we surrender to His healing for the past “wild animals” that can haunt us will be how quickly we become strong in faith, reliant upon Him and submit to the sanctifying process and presence in our lives to become mature Christians. And what does it take? A renewed mind.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Someone said, </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: underline;">God is obligated to fulfil His promises but not obligated to fulfil our potential.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> This is so true because we have a part to play in the renewal of our minds, so that more and more, we begin to see things with the mind of Christ. Our potential to be all God wants us to be, and to do, is there as soon as we are saved but we need to grow into it as revelation, healing and a renewal of our minds takes place. Seeing circumstances and even our past hurts through the mind of Christ, and seeing His provision and promises for every one, will bring the peace that surpasses all understanding and healing.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We have to bank the Word of God in our hearts, so that we are able to make withdrawal in the time of need. His word will bring comfort, strength, faith and rest. We will not be conformed to the world as we renew our minds, but His Kingdom ways, will begin to be firmly established in our conduct, passion and praise for Him. It all starts with, listening to the voice of the Lord, and being humble and willing to change, as we begin to recognise His voice in the love letter, His word He has given to us. It is growing in and understanding that we are who He says we are, and He is who is says He is, and He is faithful to reward those who diligently seek Him. </span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-15606451277175637582018-03-17T22:20:00.003-07:002018-03-17T22:20:59.543-07:00Fruitful in the land of suffering <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Jesus warned us that in the world we would endure suffering, yet He has overcome the world. (Jn 16:33) No one has probably suffered like Jesus did in Gethsemane and on the cross, yet he endured all for the joy of our salvation which was the fruit of His suffering. (Heb 12:2) He was intimately acquainted with our griefs and sorrows talking them for us on the cross. (Is 53:4) The God of the universe, Creator or all, suffered for a people to be redeemed by His blood, and the eternal fruit of His suffering will be ongoing even to the Day when He winds all things up to dwell with His people on a new heaven and new earth. It was this fruit that kept Him stayed on the path of suffering and obedience for his momentary affliction could not be compared the the Glory that was and still is to come (as the Apostle Paul so adequately proclaimed. 2Cor 4:7.) Jesus had an eternal perspective and not a temporal one as He endured the most horrific suffering at the hands of those he came to save.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">This in no way negates the pain of the suffering. Jesus’ sweat was like drops of blood so excruciating was the suffering He knew He had to endure for our freedom (Lk 22:34), but His focus and trust was in Father whom He knew wouldn’t leave His body to rot in the grave (Ps 16:10) and the promise that “after He has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.” (Is 53:11). It does help to know that no suffering is wasted and that God will always bring out eternal fruit from the things which we have suffered if we do not remain trapped in the pain and memory of it.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Many blame God in their times of suffering, or for past suffering and they can harden their hearts towards Him. There are only two responses to suffering. We can run to God or run away from Him when we lay blame at His feet.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We have many examples of people who endured suffering in the bible, and yet rose from the ashes of their pain, enduring and standing firm in their quiet trust in God. When we look at Joseph’s life and recognise the unfairness of his treatment, we can see that Joseph could have succumbed to bitterness and railed at God for the rejection and unfair treatment of his brothers as well as Potiphar when wrongly accused. He was thrown into goal and forgotten for a time before he was promoted to second most influential man in Egypt. Joseph had just cause to complain for all that life had dished up to him. As a teen, God had given him amazing dreams, but he could have tossed this all aside and become bitter and twisted in an “unfair” world. Had this been Joseph’s response to his suffering, his family would never have been saved from famine and the whole of history would have been changed. So what kept Joseph focused throughout his ordeal. A simple phrase that is repeated throughout his story - “the Lord was with him.” Joseph knew that His suffering was for a great purpose. “But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God...” (Ex 45: 7-8)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">This is what suffering is all about. When we endure and are healed, we then have authority to take others through to deliverance and healing. However, we can remain in the unfairness of it all and have an excuse to maintain our right to self pity and strengthen our focus in a victim mentality. We have a choice, the pain of coming to the Lord and being healed or the continual pain of being in bondage never to receive healing and go round the mountain again and again, like a worn out record, wearing ourselves into depression and sorrow.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Let me ask a question. Was it fair for Jesus to go to the cross for our sin? It doesn’t bear thinking about if He hadn’t set his face like flint to endure, we would all still be lost in our sin and condemned to an eternal hell. But God was rich in mercy and gave His only Son to die on a cross for us, The benefits of the cross that come to us through His suffering and obedience are astounding. The fruit of His obedience has opened a new way for our reconciliation to Father and a new covenant with better promises including healing for spirit, soul and body.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Joseph too, in the land of his suffering, saw the fruit of the salvation of his family and the people of Egypt. He didn’t blame God but recognised that throughout his ordeal God was with him and the end result was the favour and positioning of God to make a real difference in the land.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Life happens and we can remain stuck in the past, or like Joseph, forgive and recognise a higher calling and that God will never forsake us because He has a greater plan. He will weave our suffering into His large plan to exact vengeance on the enemy of our soul and give a double recompense for what we have endured. Put away the past and look forward in expectation to see His mighty hand move in and through you to right that which was wrong and advance His Kingdom.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-19519026977173144822018-02-17T19:21:00.000-08:002018-02-17T19:21:24.496-08:00Intimate plans of a Godly nature<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> Jer 29:11</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">God has a personal plan for each one of us. It’s a blueprint that He mapped out before the creation of the world in His intimate knowledge of each one of us. His plan takes into account the gifts and talents that He has endowed us with, and walking in them will bring us the greatest fulfilment and success in life, and ultimately Glory to Him. And it is all about community. God has given talents to us so that areas of need in community are filled and His goodness is perpetuated as we work “as unto the Lord” (Col 3:23) in areas that our particular talent is required.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">God declared this hope to His exiled people who were carried away into captivity under Nebuchadnezzar and lived in a society that held none of their beliefs. In the midst of their discomfort and discouragement, He delivers hope for their future. Even in their predicament, God gives them instructions to enjoy life, to build, to marry, to have children and to pray for the prosperity of the cities they dwelt in, until the day He delivered them into freedom. He even told them how long they would be in captivity, a full 70 years, each decade for their disobedience to His Law, but knowing the time of deliverance would full them with hopeful vision for their and their children’s future.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Was this God’s original plan for His people? No. He had warned them through His prophets that unless they obeyed Him, they would go into captivity. So even though the perfect plan of God’s for the nation was diverted, He still was interested in bringing them hope and an expectation of a good future. Please get this, even though His people worshipped other “gods”, were disobedient to Him and did not heed His prophets who spoke His word to them, God was still concerned for their welfare and outcome and in turning their situation around for good. Oftentimes it is in the hard places of life that we begin to seek God and draw near to Him. This appears to be the cycle we see from the history of God’s people, revival through to apostasy and back to revival, yet God never gave His people up, but delivered hope and restoration, right up to the time of Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">So I believe that God has an individualised plan for each person, city, country and church but one of the ways we can divert the plan that God has for us is through the words of our mouth.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">From the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach is satisfied, </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">with the product of his lips is he satisfied.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">Death and life are in the power of the tongue, </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">and those who love its use will eat its fruit.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> Prov 18: 20-21</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We can self-prophesy our future by the words of our mouth. God’s word is creative and full of power to bless, and we can choose to speak what He says or we can curse ourselves by the negative words we speak. These negative words also affect our emotions. The Strong’s Concordance gives definition to the word “belly” or stomach in the translation used above as the seat of mental faculties. If we stubbornly believe what the world says about us, or the negative words that have been spoken to us, and do not renew our minds with the truth God has spoken, we will suffer rejection, depression, condemnation and a host of negative emotions. Sons and daughters of God, please think about this very carefully. Jesus has warned us that by our words we will be justified or condemned. We either agree with God or agree with the devil, and the principle here is, we obviously get what God says, or, if in agreement with satan, we open ourselves up to allow his will to be done in our lives. The devil is only happy to oblige us with what we confess and believe. Remember, you will have what you say. We cannot break God’s eternal laws. God is not mocked, what a man sows he will reap. We will either sow blessing or cursing with the very words we speak. Words have creative power, and being made in the image of our Father who created everything we see by His words, our words also have power to create the environment around us.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">“For who makes you different from everyone else?</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> (The obvious answer is God) </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">What do you have that you did not receive?</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> (Again the answer is God) </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">And if you did receive it, what makes you boast as if you did not?” </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">1Cor 4:7</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I believe that pride can also divert God’s plan for our lives. If we stubbornly reject the truth of God’s word, our hearts cannot connect with Him on deeper levels, and God will resist us. That’s a scary thought. Humility accepts God’s word with meekness, recognising His amazing Grace poured out on us through the cross of Christ. All good and perfect gifts come to us from our Father in Heaven and recognising this helps us to release those giftings in the world as co-labourers with Jesus. We are humbled when we see the gifting of the Holy Spirit operating through us to bring help, truth and healing to those God connects us with. There is nothing like recognising the anointing upon you for a purpose of God’s plan to come into effect in a given moment of time. You know that it was the Holy Spirit working because you know that the situation was way beyond your ability, and you can give God the glory and rejoice in His goodness.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">God has a good plan for you. Believe it and work with Him sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Pray for Him to teach you to be led by Him and to obey with all your heart. His plan for you will involve bringing blessing and establishing the King’s domain on earth. This is why, right from creation, God declared “be fruitful and multiply.”</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-30265858902158745672017-11-08T14:42:00.001-08:002017-11-08T14:42:47.633-08:00What is God's heart in suffering <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more……</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, God's dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away." </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">He who sits on the throne said, </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">"Behold, I am making all things new."</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;"> He said, </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">"Write, for these words of God are faithful and true."</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;"> Rev 21:1-5</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">We often hear people say, “if your God is so loving, why did this happen; why is there such evil in the world; why did my child die; why did my dad have to suffer cancer; why was I abused; why, why, why.” These kind of questions can be really hard for us to answer, especially in the raw emotion of someone's real pain and hurt. No one, at that moment of deep suffering and loss, wants our pat answers to the problems of sin in the world. So often, blame is put at God’s feet for the atrocities that happen in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">I know that God too weeps over the state of this world, (Jn 11:35/Lk 19:41) because it is so far from His heart of love for those whom He created. Our world of chaos and suffering is so far from His original intent of,</span><span style="color: red; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">(Gen 1:26)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">So let's look at God's image, to see what He intended for humankind to be. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;"> (Gen 1:31)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">I want you to grasp this concept. Behold, it was VERY GOOD! As Jesus taught us,</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;"> “Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. A good tree can't produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit.” </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">(Matt 7:17-18)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">God is ultimately </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-BookOblique; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;">GOOD</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">. There is no darkness in Him, (James 1:17) no evil. Good cannot produce evil, nor can evil produce good. We could say, light overcomes darkness. A beautiful example of this declaration that God is good, came from Jesus in His conversation with the rich, young ruler.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">As he was going out into the way, one ran to him, knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except one-God. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder,' 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not give false testimony,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honour your father and mother</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">.” (Lk 18: 18-20)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">These commandments show God's ultimate “golden rule” “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Luke 6:31) love in action towards each other. And His love toward us too.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus is the image of God. (Col 1:15) He came to show us the Father's heart and is a visual aid in the ministry of God's goodness to humankind. And Jesus said, “</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">(Jn 10:10)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">So we see another principle at work here, EVIL. We see Jesus, GOOD, and the thief, Destruction of all kinds. And we see the Father's heart to right that which is wrong, through Jesus, to bring abundant life in restoration and healing.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">This brings me back to the first scripture in this blog, God's intention is to bring everything back to His original plan: “</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">.” Back to, “</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">and, behold, it was very good</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">.”</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">How is God going to accomplish this? “</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Behold, I am making all things new.</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">” What a hope we have, for God Himself will dwell with us physically and in us and through us. He will give mankind “new hearts” (Ezekiel 36:26) after His own and without the influence of the evil. The “thief” will no longer be able to have his evil sway on human hearts, for the dominion and overcoming spirit of the goodness of God's heart and His love will rule in our hearts instead.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Talking of dominion, it was always God's desire that we would rule over “flesh” (i.e. birds, fish, every living thing). (Gen 1:28) This dominion was not in a negative form, but as stewards of God's grace for goodness to reign and flourish. I would also like to suggest that He intended us to rule over our own “flesh” and bring our fleshly desires under subjection in love and consideration of others first. Tongue in cheek, I think Jesus called this “dying to self” by taking up our cross to follow Him. Even as Jesus was willing to submit to the Father's plan for the salvation and die for us on that Cross for all of us who had gone astray from God's original plan.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">"</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and cut them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Jer 2:13</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">When we forsake God, we also forsake His design and purpose in us as we begin to live for no one but our own selfish desires and self preservation. The spring of living water of the goodness, life and love of God that He intended to flow through us to sustain the life and order which He created for us to enjoy, to have fulfilment and to be successful, no longer flows. Metaphorically we become dry, lifeless and struggling in a dog eat dog society. Goodness for others and the world flies out of the window. We can no longer offer His life to others when we are not flowing and living in the water Christ offers to all who want to drink of Him. (Jn 4:4; 7:37)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">When the good God gives us new hearts with a new spirit, (Ezekiel 36:26) touched and wholly filled with His love, His nature and desires, and new glorified bodies, the result will be “no mourning, no crying, no pain anymore.” </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Faith, love and hope, these three abide, but the greatest of these is love</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;"> (1 Cor 13:13) and the fruit thereof:- </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Love is patient and is kind; love doesn't envy. Love doesn't brag, is not proud, doesn't behave itself inappropriately, doesn't seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">(1 Cor 13: 4-8) </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">This can only be accomplished in us through the Spirit of the Living God, the Holy Spirit. Evil is overcome by God's goodness, even in men's hearts.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">So back to my original thought of what to offer those suffering and disillusioned with life. Do what God would do LISTEN and offer comfort. Pray for them that the God of comfort would come in and heal the hurt. Pray for the goodness of God to overwhelm them in the midst of their suffering. Pray for hope, that God would restore it back to them, and where you can, help them in practical ways too by doing an act of service in love. Show them you care. Wipe away every tear. Bring God's goodness into an otherwise evil moment.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-86776054114784498362017-11-07T03:15:00.000-08:002017-11-07T03:15:50.567-08:00Identification with Christ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">I was mediating on salvation brought for us through Jesus Christ and all the benefits that He purchased for us. The bible teaches us that at one time, when we didn't know Jesus, we were far from God but the blood of Jesus had now brought us near. Eph 2:13</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">I realise afresh that it is all about identification. Think about this....how could God, the Eternal Spirit and Creator of the universe feel what we feel, unless He experienced first hand the limitations of the flesh in which our spirit resides? And so the </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">. (Jn 1:14)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, Rom 8:3</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus, fully God and fully man, and of whom the Word teaches that all things, seen and unseen, were created through Him, (Jn 1:3) came as one of His own. He suffered pain, for He took up our pain and sickness (Isa 53:4) on the Cross and felt the whip across His back, and the driving force of the hammer on the nails. He knew hunger and thirst. (Lk 4:2) He experienced the seasons. His flesh also cried out in exhaustion (Matt 8:24) and despair. (Matt 26:36) He looked on His creation through human eyes and experienced the wonder of a sunset. He tasted the bitter anguish of rejection and was vilified by those who hated Him. Even members of His own family hated Him and He suffered the brunt of their sarcasm. (Jn 7:3-8) He was misunderstood and disbelieved by many. He rejoiced and He cried. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">The thing is, Jesus fully identified with us. He experienced the full limitation of flesh and hence He know us in the flesh and in the spirit. And, His compassion for us is heightened because of His experience.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">We can only have true compassion for someone when we have walked the same road. Even then, we can never know anyone fully because we are all individuals and experienced things to different levels. But our experience, being similar, can bring an understanding that creates empathy to anyone travelling the same valley. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">He died for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who for their sakes died and rose again. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more. 2 Cor 5: 15-16</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">The bible teaches us that when we are born again, our spirit is made alive or quickened when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us. We therefore can identify with Jesus as a son/daughter of God. We identify with Him through the Spirit, for the spirit confirms to our heart that we are indeed, children of God. We also can identify with Jesus by understanding that the Father is also pleased with us as His adopted children and joint heirs with His Son. The Apostle Paul also talks about us identifying with Jesus in His sufferings. This is because, as Jesus warned, the world first hated Him and will also hate us too. This is becoming much more evident in today's political correct agenda that denigrates Christians for choosing to believe in the Word of God as our final authority on things pertain to matters of life.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Yet for all of this, Jesus has the answer and the comfort for us. He is able to keep us and heal us and shower us with more of His love. If you have never experienced Christ’s love and peace, He invites you to ask, as the Word says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-16335787267557778062017-11-02T14:39:00.001-07:002017-11-02T14:39:31.280-07:00True Repentance, True love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">“If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">but you are unwilling. Is 30:15</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Repentance heals the breach in relationships. You have probably experienced this breach after having a “strong disagreement” with a close friend, family member or spouse. You can feel the wedge of dis-ease between you. The cold shoulder of pride and hurt hangs like an icicle in a heart once warmed by mutual respect and love. The togetherness and enjoyment of the relationship becomes a one focus division, “it's all about me and how you hurt me” moments that destroys intimacy. The frosty words, chill the atmosphere in a bleak cold freeze until someone warms it with a genuine heartfelt sorrow for forgiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Humility and true love are the fruit of repentance; being humble enough to say I've been wrong, loving enough to be grieved over what we have done, knowing we have hurt another and done something not pleasing to God. Recognising that sin pulls us away from God and destroys our intimacy, should make us desire to run to God and ask for His forgiveness. Only then can His Grace touch the wounds and heal the broken intimacy. God's position in our relationship never changes regardless of what we do. He always loves us, but our relationship with Him does because in our pride we do not like to admit we have hurt someone or failed in any way. We are full of “buts” and “ifs” to deflect the blame from us on to others. “If you hadn't of….” “I’m sorry but you…..”</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">We can try to “hide” as Adam and Eve did, but the guilt we feel cannot be erased until we say, “Father I'm so sorry, please forgive me.” As John the Baptist said to the religious leaders of the day, who were so stuck in their pride and arrogance and held to their man made tradition over the word:-</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Therefore bring forth fruit worthy of repentance! Matt 3:8</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">True repentance will bring change because it comes from a heart that truly loves and does not want to repeat the offence. It helps us loathe sin, which is destructive, and true repentance helps us to lean on the power of the Holy Spirit; to fully surrender; to desire the fruit of holiness; to be more like Jesus. We call out for Grace because God's Grace is sufficient and all empowering.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">When we “hide” sin in darkness, we give it power. God still sees. We cannot “hide” anything from an all seeing, all knowing Creator, but in trying to “hide”, the destructive emotions of sin rule. Guilt, shame, condemnation, discouragement, despair, self hatred and loathing rage in the darkness of sin. God does not want this for us. He wants to run to Him and bring the sin into the light of His Presence, for as soon as we confess it, we can receive His cleansing power and forgiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">If we say that we haven't sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 Jn 1:9-10</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">The blood of Jesus makes us white as snow (Ps 53:7) and, as long as we believe we are forgiven, destructive emotions no longer have a hook on which to hang. The Grace of God is amazing for those of us in Christ as scripture teaches there is no condemnation to those in Christ who walk after the Spirit. (Rom 8:1) </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">When conviction comes from the Holy Spirit to repent, do so quickly, and with all your heart. Remember He wants us to be children who walk in the light (1Jn1:5) and repentance is a part of the process.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? Rom 2:4</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Remember, God always wants our relationship with Him to be deeply and personally intimate, and He is jealous in His amazing kindness, to restore us to Himself. He does not want us hindered and bound by sin, but wants us to walk in honesty and transparency before Him. This is freedom. Trust in His kindness and love toward you and bring everything to Him. No more hiding sin in the closet and His Grace will heal, restore and strengthen you.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-49172832481660251532017-10-06T00:46:00.000-07:002017-10-06T00:46:49.778-07:00Our life - His Story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">This is not a new concept but one that is so good - this life we live is a part of His Story. Before the creation, we were a part of His plan and His purposes to bring His Goodness to others. Many of us didn't realise that we were born for a greater plan and purpose with Christ being the centre and so we walked out our own path. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Often times our story was difficult and hurt, rejection and disappointment lead us to ask the big questions of life. Why am I here, what is life about? We were searching, looking for fulfilment that seemed evasive. We were like a kid’s escaped balloon, floating in a immense blue, no end in sight, lonely, moved and shaped by an unseen wind, our feet to never land on something solid.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. Job 10:1</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">It is in these moments of life's wandering in the “wings” of our own messed up lives, that God writes us into His Story and onto the “stage” of His unfolding plan. The Holy Spirit who had been working on our hearts for such a long time, catches our attention. He beckons us to come into the spotlight of the Son, centre stage, where the bright lights reveal the truth of Christ and darkness flees. Our focus is now on the lover of our soul and no longer on self, the villain of our story. This villain has been the idol of our life and has driven a hard bargain, grinding us into all kinds of fear, self gratification and self preservation.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">In the light of His blood, bathed by His Love, we entered into the story of LIFE. Worn down, battered and bruised from writing our own lines, we now enter into the Story of His Life. His love song burst into our hearts, halting the never ending cycle of disappointments, complaining and looking for acceptance from others.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">For he chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world, that we may be holy and unblemished in his sight in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will – to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. Eph 1: 4-6</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">And what a love song! Together with the Saviour, we begin a dance, scene by scene, but more often line by line, as we learn who we are and what His plan is for us. Trust, learnt in His Leading arms, growing in confidence, we surrender into the Saviour’s leading role, and give ourselves more and more into His loving purpose. He breathes the truth into our souls as the Songwriter caresses the love words deep into our reviving hearts. Personal lines of love and acceptance soften the hardened heart and tears of healing begin to flow; our sins gently washed away by His blood and His own tears.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">We become the supporting role of a large plan, already laid out. We just have to learn the script, believe His love for us and live it out.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; .. they will place their hands on the sick and they will be well.” Mark 16: 17,18</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">Because of who Jesus is to us, we become more like Him and, as we introduce Him to others, His everlasting arms draws them into His story too.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Heavy; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold;">and underneath you are his eternal arms. Deut 33:28</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">There is only one leading role and only one like our Saviour, Lord and King, Jesus. Only one who gives life to the full having surrendered His life to give it to us. There's only One who loves us so fully, He elevates from our despondency into a heavenly realm of existence as His Kingdom becomes alive in us. His loves pours down on us enabling us to love others, forgive others and build them up. No fear, we walk as children of peace, bring healing and LIFE to others as the villain of self no longer keeps the control.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: Avenir-Book; font-size: 12pt;">God, our Heavenly Father works All things together for good. This is the main theme in His play as we live and move and have our being in Jesus.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-78238873556715708732017-09-10T04:13:00.000-07:002017-09-10T04:13:33.071-07:00Healing in the Instead of<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">The grace and mercy of God is beyond our understanding. A straying humanity is never beyond His restoration. The promises in Isaiah 61 are phenomenal in the Creator God’s loving manifesto towards those broken and in despair who recognise their spiritual poverty and deep need of Him.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus came to reverse the curse that was basically caused by Adam and Eve going their own way and throwing all humanity into the destructive patterns of sin and death. (Gen 4 17-19) Jesus opened His ministry with a 400 year prophecy concerning His redemptive plan to those, who of their own accord, had pierced their souls with the devastating effects of rebellion against Him who loved them so much.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus came to preach the Good news to those oppressed by His eternal enemy, satan, and to bind up the broken hearts ravished by the lies and deception of the kingdom of darkness by appealing to the sins of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“Do not love the world</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"> (i.e. the philosophies that oppose God) </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” I Jn 2:15-17</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus came to free the prisoners held in the dark captivity of inherent sins and bound to repeating the same mistakes as their ancestors. Hence He brought about the favour of the LORD to those who accept His invitation to have Him come in and “sup” with them (i.e. have a relationship with Him) (Rev 3:20), and to bring His Light to the hurting places in their souls; to comfort them with eternal salvation as by the Spirit, they are born again. (Jn 3:5-8)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Jn 8:12</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus began declaring, “</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"> (Matt 4:17) and He began to pour out upon the people the fullness of the favour of the Kingdom only hinted at in the Old Testament but had now become a visual aid in His ministry and work during His days on earth.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Thankfully it didn’t end there, for the same manifesto prophesied over the Messiah’s life before He came, is the same manifesto over the Sons and Daughters of God as Jesus promised:-</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works then these he will do, because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Jn 14: 12-14</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">And there is more…. The passage in Isaiah goes on to give us amazing promises of full restoration in a series of “instead ofs” that come with the comfort of the LORD. What grace! We who caused our own discomfort and pain in the ever spiralling downward pull into darkness, receive comfort and restoration in at least a double measure. Both those taken captive by sin and those a victim of sin against them receive this restoration:-</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Beauty instead of ashes;</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Oil of joy instead of mourning;</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">instead of confusion, rejoicing in their portion;</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">and, they shall possess double;</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Everlasting joy shall be theirs. Is 61: 3-7</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">This restoration from the loving hand of the Father through the Spirit leads to three results. Our ministry to the LORD is birthed out of the overcoming victory of being set free by the LORD and secondly His favour and restoration will be clearly witnessed by others.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“That they may be called trees of righteousness,</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” Is 61:3b</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">And thirdly, this becomes, “And the day of vengeance of our God” (Is 61:2b). The enemy of our soul, the one who comes only to “kill, steal and destroy” (Jn 10:10) has no more authority in the area of our lives he originally kept us captive and where freedom has been secured by our Saviour’s work on the cross. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“if the Son set you free you will be free indeed.” Jn 8:36</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Joy indeed flows and more joy when we are able to help someone who has been taken captive in the same area with the comfort that we received from the LORD. We now have the authority in this area to take others into freedom. We never take vengeance on people, for our fight is not with </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Eph 6:12 </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">The vengeance of the LORD is against satan and his hordes.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">This “instead of” principle can be the spirit of prophecy over all areas of our Christian walk and is also a part of growing to become more like Jesus. Whatever negative emotion holds you captive, the “instead of” principle will return the opposite quality of the Kingdom in a two-fold blessing. We go from victim to victory, overcoming in the power of the Spirit and become a conqueror to help others.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">If you are anxious all the time, this obviously, is not a Kingdom of Light emotion. The “instead of” clearly is </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"> (and) </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:7</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"> There is a “work” you have to do though – BELIEVE God’s promise is for you, surrender the anxiety and walk in His peace. We need to renew our minds. In this passage of scripture regarding anxiety, the Apostle Paul gives us some keys to walk in this freedom. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Surrender the anxiety.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Adopt an attitude of thanks giving.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Mediate on </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-family: TimesNewRomanPS-ItalicMT; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">“whatever things are true…noble…just…pure…lovely…of good report…virtue…praiseworthy” Phil 4:8</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Think of the joy set before you. Your overcoming victory will take someone else to freedom and you will have exacted your vengeance upon the spirit of anxiety who held you captive in the first place.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">All of us will have strongholds in some areas, but we can hold to and believe in the “instead of” God wants to lavish upon us to facilitate healing and freedom in our lives. Hallelujah!</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-1308721630593676312017-07-24T05:09:00.000-07:002017-07-24T05:09:19.349-07:00Promises from Eternity <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">In the beginning, GOD! I love to camp at this point and meditate, because this was the real start of my life. God is the beginning of all things. When I looked for life, apart from the SOURCE of LIFE, Jesus, I didn't have real life, I was just existing. It's when I came to that beginning with Jesus, that exact moment light dawned on me, I realised I needed Him as my Saviour and Lord, I repented, changed my mind and way for His. This for me was the beginning of the Real Truth, the Real Way and the Real Life. Everything up to this point was just a shadow. But my beginning really took shape before I was born, before God began time ticking..</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus, the Word teaches us, “was slain before the foundation of the world”. God's word and promises for us were in “seed” form until “the fullness of time” (Gal 4:4) when Jesus stepped down from eternity into the timeline of humanity. All the “seed” promises we have in the Word were watered by the blood of the Lamb, and ALL find their fruition or harvest in the Sons and Daughters of Salvation.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">The Holy Trinity were intentional in showing their goodness toward rebellious and broken humanity BEFORE they even created the world, and before Adam and Eve sinned. They were intentional in provision before any of it was needed and created. Their love and kindness was to manifest toward us in stark contrast to the kingdom of darkness, that seeks to kill, steal and destroy. (Jn 10:10) Jesus Christ took up that cross to secure all those promises made in eternity for you and me which is why He could declare, “it is finished”. Jn 19:25</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Before our experience with the LIVING CHRIST, we were under the curse and influenced by the kingdom of darkness until LIGHT burst into our hearts. The veil of darkness was lifted and truth came flooding in. Now, in and through the cross, all those “seed” promises have become the “yes and amen” in Him. (2 Cor 1:20)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Salvation and healing for our souls and bodies was already in “seed” form in eternity and now through Jesus, the fullness of the promise is ours in the finished work of the cross. We can receive salvation and that healing by faith now in this time.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">The promises of God can be received by our proclamation of the truth. We don't have to pray and ask because it is already done, hence the use of the past tense in the above scripture. We just need to proclaim and decree, I am healed by His stripes and then thank God until the manifestation of the promise is fully formed. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">The manifestation of every promise that was set down in eternity and found it culmination in the cross of Christ, brings glory to God, glory to His word and glory to His very nature.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-81771145288573418402017-06-15T20:21:00.000-07:002017-06-15T20:21:33.866-07:00Spiritual Fruit equals Spiritual Warfare<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph 6:10-11</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">We talk about spiritual warfare and we know that our weapons are spiritual not physical because the fight is not with flesh and blood but against the kingdom of darkness. We need weapons of the Kingdom of Light to dispel and defeat darkness.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">A friend confided that she was struggling with panic attacks because of a pending doctor's verdict for her dad because the situation looked bad. We were in church worshipping and after a few minutes I turned to her and said, "Your peace in this circumstance is more powerful then your fear. In fact, your peace at this moment is your spiritual warfare." I realised when I said it, that the enemy comes only to kill, steal and destroy. Her peace and joy was what was at stake in this trial. It is powerful when, during trials, we can keep peace and joy at the forefront for the enemy has no hook with which to get us riled up, frustrated and fearful.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Do we think, in a trial, that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are having an emergency management conference in Heaven, brainstorming and declaring, "Oops this caught us off guard, what can we do here?" What an absurd picture! Yet our emotional reaction to trials shows that we really don't trust God has the answer and we frustrate ourselves trying to work it out. Just think, when you maintain God's perfect peace during trials, you are really sending a message to the devil that you know God is Sovereign and you really trust He has it all in hand.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The fruit of the spirit is part of our spiritual warfare. Love triumphs over hate. Joy over mourning. Peace over anxiety and fear. Patience over impatience. Kindness over meanness. Goodness over evil. Faith over doubt. Gentleness over violence. Self control over passions and emotions.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold;">But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. If we live by the Spirit, let's also walk by the Spirit. Gal 5:22-25</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The thing is God always has a promise and provision for any trial. If you are sick, Jesus wants to be your healer. His promise is, "By His stripes you were healed" (1Pet 2:24) and His provision is healing manifest in your body. Maybe you don't know how you are going to pay a bill. His promise is that you will not lack (Matt 6:33-35) and He is the one who provides.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-56308097850625339232017-05-26T02:06:00.000-07:002017-05-26T02:06:01.659-07:00He gave thanks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">"The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this is remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." 1 Cor 11: 23-26</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">On the night you were betrayed you still gave thanks. You broke the bread knowing the significance of what it meant- that some hours later you would be inspected as the Passover Lamb, condemned and crucified. Yet you gave thanks! You were to go through the biggest trial of your life, so overwhelming that you sweat drops of blood, and yet you gave thanks! You gave thanks to God for being my offering, my sacrifice and my substitute to receive my punishment and judgement.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">You lifted up the cup in that hour and you gave thanks. That cup represented your life's blood being poured out, the whipping you would receive for my healing; the crown of thorns: your pierced hands and feet and the water and blood that poured out from your side- and yet you gave thanks!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">For the joy set before you, you endured the cross, and that joy was souls, the whosoever, those who believe. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">When you were in agony in the garden, were you thinking of another garden where you saw Adam and Eve distrust the goodness of God at the serpent's lie and so disobey and partake of what God clearly said not to, and throw all humanity into the ravages of sin and death? In the garden of your agony and greatest temptation, you trusted in the good will and promises of the Father, and so clung to His will.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come – it is written of me in the scroll of the book – to do your will, O God.’ When he says above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you did not desire nor did you take delight in them” (which are offered according to the law),</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">“My servant will acquit many, </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">for he carried their sins. Is 53: 10-11</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">And because you stuck to God's will and endured all you had to for our sake you brought us salvation, healing, forgiveness and life. Your blood still cries out Father forgive them they know not what they do. It is an eternal reminder of the work you did Calvary for us and we give thanks.</span></div>
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Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-30162010027829656032017-03-24T00:24:00.000-07:002017-03-24T00:24:25.425-07:00Identity IN Christ alone<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"To understand who God really is, you can begin by looking at yourself, since you are made in God's image."<br />
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I quote an author who has sold millions of books and really would like to comment on what he has said. It is true that in the creation account the bible clearly states that God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our own likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over all the creatures that move over the earth." Gen 1:26<br />
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Mankind's first state was to portray God's image but that all changed the moment Adam and Eve sinned and, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we are told a few chapters later, "when Adam had lived 130 years he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image." Gen 5:3<br />
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The world changed and man's state changed from intimate fellowship with God in the garden of Eden to "so then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned." Rom 5:12.<br />
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We became a fallen people. So the question I obviously have is, can we still see God by looking at ourselves? The word is very clear and quite derogatory about the state of fallen man. The only way to change our state is by being born again and given a new heart and nature in the process.<br />
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"The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only EVIL all the time." Gen 6:5<br />
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This Old Testament scripture does not sound to me that we can look at ourselves to see God who is Holy, Righteous and Truth. But to be a little more convincing, let us look at how Jesus saw us, even though He didn't come to condemn but to save us.<br />
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"If you, then, though you are EVIL, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matt 7:11 and "For from within, out of the human heart, come EVIL ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, envy, slander, pride, and folly. All these EVILS come from within and defile a person." Mark 7: 21-23<br />
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I may have laboured the point here, but it is so important to see how far from and unlike God we are and how desperately we needed His solution, salvation through faith in the cross of Christ. None of the character traits mentioned by Jesus in the above scripture can I reconcile with God. It looks pretty grim on behalf of men and women. This is why the gospel of Salvation is such good news. The depravity of mankind is clearly seen in the amazing grace, yet horrific sacrificial death Jesus had to endure on that cross to save us and reconcile us back to the Father. It shows His incredible unconditional love for us that he would come and suffer even when we were at enmity with him. Rom 5:10<br />
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God our Father has an eternal good plan for each and every individual on earth but that plan can only unfold when we appropriate it through the cross of Christ. God is eternally good. Salvation was His good plan from before the foundation of the world and it cost Him everything "who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of God the Father." Gal 1:4<br />
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We get to have a new identity when appropriated through the cross.<br />
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"So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away - look, what is new has come." 2 Cor 5:17<br />
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"For you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light." Eph 5:8<br />
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"See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called God's children - and indeed we are! For this reason the world does not know us." 1 Jn 3:1<br />
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Our new identity can only be found IN Christ "who knew no sin but became sin, so that we might have the righteousness of God." 2 Cor 5:21<br />
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We appropriate Christ's righteousness, not by any good work, but purely through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. All our identity is found in Him and Him alone. Such is Grace and such is the gift of God to us through Jesus. </div>
Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-76099826861000834292017-03-18T03:30:00.000-07:002017-03-18T03:30:10.136-07:00Overcoming Power<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Jn 16:33 NKJV<br />
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It doesn't matter what translation or version of the bible I read, this verse just doesn't go away. Jesus warned us that in this world we will have trouble, tribulations, trials, sorrows or difficulties. BUT He gave us a promise of comfort - He has OVERCOME!<br />
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It is amazing how people who are angry with God, or are atheists, always seem to challenge our faith on this - why is there so much suffering in the world if God is real and loving? And yet, there are thousands of those who have also overcome adversity by their faith in Jesus Christ and with the help of the Holy Spirit. He truly overcome the world and we find everything we need in Him.<br />
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Suffering, when I look around, seems to caused by, dare I say it, people. Imagine if everyone took to heart the basic commandment of God - love God and love others. If the world revolved around this, where would a starving child be? Where would a struggling mum because her man walked out on her and the children be? Where would divorce be? Where would abuse be? Where would a drunken, angry man be or a drug induced daughter be? The most obvious answer would be that these scenarios wouldn't exist. If "self" didn't come into the equation and we lived to prefer and better others and look to their welfare before our own, this world would be a drastically different place.<br />
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You may be asking, all and well but how did Jesus overcome the world? He does it by changing the human heart. "And I will give you a new heart and I will give you new and right desires and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love. And I will put my spirit within you so that you will obey my laws and do whatever I command." Ez 36: 26-27<br />
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We too, have the power to overcome temptation and sin because of the Spirit of Christ who lives in us, challenges us to do good. When you are in a situation where you want to explode in anger and frustration, the Holy Spirit can, at that point, challenge you to maintain and overcome with peace. Or when you feel the urge to gossip, rather overcome by blessing them instead. When hurt comes along and you want to hold a grudge and unforgiveness, the Holy Spirit can enable you to forgive and let go.<br />
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When natural disasters or evil happens, God speaks to individuals to reach out with compassion and ease the situation by whatever means available. God raises up people to start feeding programs, hospitals, orphanages etc and they give up their time and resources and some even their lives to be a blessing and give aid.<br />
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Maybe I'm to simplistic in my understanding, but when I see good happen around me, I know the overcoming power of Jesus Christ is on display.</div>
Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-74480730430237152932017-02-18T23:24:00.000-08:002017-02-18T23:24:42.242-08:00The Work of the Cross<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"I must work the works of Him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Jn 9:4-5<br />
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There is a growing ground swell around the world of believers who are out in the market place seeing the sick healed. They have had a revelation of the work of the cross and of the person of Jesus Christ, and have taken on His commission and go, in His authority, to carry on His works.<br />
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In the above passage of scripture, Jesus gives sight to a man born blind for the glory of God. He called this miracle a work. From scripture, we see the works Jesus did according to His own manifesto:<br />
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"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."<br />
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This was the heart of the Father and the blueprint for the work of our Saviour. His work always was the result of His Father's desire and heart toward us and of who He is - LOVE! Just think on this fact. The father's love for us, made provision for our salvation and for any and every circumstance through the Cross of His Son. That is the eternal work of the cross.<br />
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What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who didn't spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things? Rom 8:31-32<br />
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Jesus, the Word of God, come in the flesh, the light of the world, introduced us to the realm of the supernatural motivated by love and compassion in dramatic healings, deliverance and salvation.<br />
The work of the cross, forged in earth time, but eternally powerful has the only ability to save, heal and deliver mankind's souls and affect our physical world too. Christ's spilt blood eternally cries out its covenant of provision for the forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with Father, totally healing body, soul and spirit, and in fact for every need we have. The answer is found in the work of the cross. Not only that, The Cross has given us status as Kingdom people, who carry the same manifesto as Christ on earth, to bring the Kingdom to earth as He did, through the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells us.<br />
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The work of the Kingdom never ends for we have a King who is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Heb 13:8. Motivated by His love for the world, His desire is still to do His work through those who have a revelation of the Cross which was His greatest work for us and the greatest example of His love. His blood eternally cries out its covenant of the healing and saving provision Christ paid for on that tree. Receive that healing power and freely give what we have been given as we bring the Kingdom to earth.</div>
Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-24482673686681324262017-02-07T02:51:00.001-08:002017-02-07T02:51:26.622-08:00Enabling Grace<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"The word became flesh and lived among us. We saw His glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14<br />
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"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound." Jesus was recognised as "one full of grace and truth" by the apostle John, whose gospel portrays the divinity of the One and only Son of God. I find that fascinating and how true when we consider Jesus knew the truth, as He is the Truth, that He would come into the world and to His own, but they would not recognise Him or accept Him. His grace and love for us was more powerful than the rejection He would suffer from us.<br />
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The Creator of the world, stepped down out of eternity to grace mankind with the light of His presence, to be rejected and to die for those He came for.<br />
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I think of encounters with this God-man full of grace and truth, such as the woman at the well. Jesus fully knew, by the Holy Spirit, the life she lived and how she was in de facto with her 6th man, but that didn't stop His grace reaching her and healing her hurts. His grace covered over her sins. He elevated her to an increased spiritual realm, where she became the bearer of Good News to those in her village who rejected her because of her lifestyle. His grace and love seeks to save those who are lost; those who are sincerely seeking something better.<br />
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Thirsty, guilt-laden hearts can find comfort in His grace when they recognise the truth of who He is, the Holy One from God, and, who they are, sinners, who have missed the mark of Holiness yet who are saved by grace.<br />
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His grace enables us to live better, make better choices, to accept ourselves where we are and to grow up into the full stature of Christ. An encounter with His grace humbles the human heart. The truth that God Himself, our Lord and Saviour, could come and take our sins and punishment on the cross, so that, in believing, we can have the power given to us to become sons and daughters of God Most High.<br />
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Every heavenly gift comes to us because of His grace toward us and the cross. It's at the foot of the cross where heavy hearts and burdens are laid down at His feet as grace pours down even as His blood did to bring forgiveness and freedom. It's at the cross where we are spiritually awakened to the depth of our depravity in comparison to His holiness and purity. Yet it is the place to receive the grace He freely offers to be cleansed and pure. Oh the cleansing power of His blood; there's none like it!</div>
Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-48861618959874996242017-02-06T12:39:00.002-08:002017-02-06T12:42:42.045-08:00The Rich Young Ruler<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Behold, one came to him and said, "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?"<br />
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We humans seem to love to have a check list that we can tick off to see if we're on the right track and going to heaven. Even Jesus gave this young man a list from the 10 Commandments which he should be keeping. At this time, the Israelites were still under the Law of Moses as Jesus was not yet crucified and the Holy Spirit not yet given.<br />
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The thing is, under the law of grace, we don't do anything to gain eternal life. Christ has done it all. We just need to accept the gracious gift of the cross. After Christ died, we were no longer under Law, the requirements of which were fully satisfied with the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection. Jesus sent the Helper and now we live not by the Law but by our submission and obedience to the Holy Spirit. We no longer need the check list of the Law, which Paul said leads us into bondage.<br />
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"But now rather you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, why do you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental principles, to which you desire to be in bondage all over again?"<br />
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This does not mean that we throw out the 10 Commandments, as the wages for sin is still death, and for which Jesus fully paid, but we now achieve them by the help and power of the Helper and not by our own strength. The word is very clear that Jesus became our sin so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him. When we do falter, we have forgiveness in the cross when we repent.<br />
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There is nothing we can do to gain eternal life, except believe.<br />
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"For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed - a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as is is written: "The righteous will live by faith." Rom 1:17<br />
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The main message Jesus wanted to get across to this young man was about intimacy. "Come follow me." This is what Jesus wanted, fellowship with him. However, the young man had affluence and riches that kept a tight hold on his soul. It is interesting to note that Jesus did not quote the first four commandments in his conversation with the young man. These deal with man's relationship with God, the awareness of who He is and our response that comes out that awareness.<br />
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If this rich, young ruler had recognised Jesus as the Son of God, Messiah, instead of just "good teacher", would have his decision been different? He walked away from the One who is Eternal Life in favour of the riches that tied him to the temporal realm. He had his faith and trust in his riches and not in the Son of God. Yet, in having an intimacy with the Lord Jesus, he would have found that Jesus would have been more than enough in giving him sufficiency of soul.<br />
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This story is in stark contrast to those in the early church who had this intimate relationship with their Lord and Saviour.<br />
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"All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need." Acts 2:44<br />
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I wonder, if facing the same predicament as the rich, young ruler, would I do the same? With all my heart I hope not.</div>
Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-66558710679963948212016-08-08T01:25:00.003-07:002016-08-08T01:25:36.084-07:00God is Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"<i>love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (1 Cor 13: 7-8)</i><br />
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The love passage of 1 Corinthians is very challenging in that it clearly can show the motive of our hearts. Love is the universal language because God is love (1 Jn 4:8) and He is the Creator of all things, which have been created by and through His love. Love is the essence of God and all things created, especially mankind made in His image show His loving thoughts and touch. But we have, because of sin and self, a love deficit in areas of our hearts. Experiences of rejection in life teach us to withdraw and build walls, which ultimately keep us from love and loving. This passage clearly shows us what love is and the lack of it, or indeed its fullness, in our hearts and even in the world. We just need to look at all the crime in the world to see that people do not walk in love for others.<br />
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Anything that we do, even if it is good, that is done without love being the motive, profits nothing. Everything God does is motivated by His love for us and we are to be imitators of Him. Ultimately it is the experience of God's perfect love that will cast out fear (1 Jn 4:18) and open our hearts more to Him and others.<br />
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There is a vulnerability in love. Jesus loved all and kept His heart open, even to those who rejected Him and sought His death. This is why He could pray, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing", (Luke 23:34) even as He watched them divide and gamble for His clothes at the foot of the cross. Love bears no grudge but is full in its forgiveness, which is why the act of forgiveness, even in extreme hurt, is so powerful and releasing. That is why movies such as "The Railway Man" touch us to the core of our being, when we see the act of forgiveness so powerfully portrayed as a Japanese POW meets and forgives his torturer.<br />
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Love pulls at the strings of our heart. There is a deep desire in us to experience true love (not just romantic love) but to be deeply and unconditionally loved and appreciated by family and friends. Even the heart withdrawn, at its core, desires this love as much as it fears it. A preacher known as "The Ambassador of Love" once said we need to ask God to heal and fill those areas in us that are uncomfortable with love. Only God can heal these areas in our hearts and so fill them with His love and light that they can become vulnerable and fully open before Him, healed and overflowing towards others. His love is safe and a refuge for the weary and love-starved heart.<br />
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Jesus fully knew the love of His Father and the total acceptance of His God and Father even before He began His ministry and He powerfully walked in the same love for humankind. We too can know the Father's love for us through Jesus Christ. We just need to mediate on the cross to know how much He loved us with a perfect, sacrificial love.<br />
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One of Apostle Paul's prayers for the church was, "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Eph 3:17-18)<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7227164360346751020.post-18658184967790838882016-08-08T01:25:00.001-07:002016-08-08T01:25:14.574-07:00God is Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"<i>love...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." (1 Cor 13: 7-8)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
The love passage of 1 Corinthians is very challenging in that it clearly can show the motive of our hearts. Love is the universal language because God is love (1 Jn 4:8) and He is the Creator of all things, which have been created by and through His love. Love is the essence of God and all things created, especially mankind made in His image show His loving thoughts and touch. But we have, because of sin and self, a love deficit in areas of our hearts. Experiences of rejection in life teach us to withdraw and build walls, which ultimately keep us from love and loving. This passage clearly shows us what love is and the lack of it, or indeed its fullness, in our hearts and even in the world. We just need to look at all the crime in the world to see that people do not walk in love for others.<br />
<br />
Anything that we do, even if it is good, that is done without love being the motive, profits nothing. Everything God does is motivated by His love for us and we are to be imitators of Him. Ultimately it is the experience of God's perfect love that will cast out fear (1 Jn 4:18) and open our hearts more to Him and others.<br />
<br />
There is a vulnerability in love. Jesus loved all and kept His heart open, even to those who rejected Him and sought His death. This is why He could pray, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing", (Luke 23:34) even as He watched them divide and gamble for His clothes at the foot of the cross. Love bears no grudge but is full in its forgiveness, which is why the act of forgiveness, even in extreme hurt, is so powerful and releasing. That is why movies such as "The Railway Man" touch us to the core of our being, when we see the act of forgiveness so powerfully portrayed as a Japanese POW meets and forgives his torturer.<br />
<br />
Love pulls at the strings of our heart. There is a deep desire in us to experience true love (not just romantic love) but to be deeply and unconditionally loved and appreciated by family and friends. Even the heart withdrawn, at its core, desires this love as much as it fears it. A preacher known as "The Ambassador of Love" once said we need to ask God to heal and fill those areas in us that are uncomfortable with love. Only God can heal these areas in our hearts and so fill them with His love and light that they can become vulnerable and fully open before Him, healed and overflowing towards others. His love is safe and a refuge for the weary and love-starved heart.<br />
<br />
Jesus fully knew the love of His Father and the total acceptance of His God and Father even before He began His ministry and He powerfully walked in the same love for humankind. We too can know the Father's love for us through Jesus Christ. We just need to mediate on the cross to know how much He loved us with a perfect, sacrificial love.<br />
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One of Apostle Paul's prayers for the church was, "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Eph 3:17-18)<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
Eileen Fesukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05706365333866075659noreply@blogger.com0