Regeneration of the Holy Spirit

by Michael Bradley

n the article we have titled, “Sealed With the Holy Spirit,” I gave you the specific verses from the Bible that show us that not only do we receive the Holy Spirit at the exact moment of our conversions to the Lord, but that we are also sealed with His actual presence on the inside of us.
This divine seal now becomes a very powerful, spiritual bond between God and us, and we are now sealed for all of eternity as a result of receiving the Holy Spirit on the inside of our human spirits.
However, in addition to receiving the Holy Spirit and actually being sealed with His presence, one other incredible thing will occur at the exact moment of our conversions to the Lord – and that one other incredible thing is that we will be “regenerated” by the Holy Spirit.
Here is the verse that will specifically tell us that we will be regenerated by the Holy Spirit at the exact moment of our conversions to the Lord:

“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)

Notice two very important things in this verse:
First, this regeneration is being directly tied to us getting saved in the Lord. The words, “but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, “ are definitely telling us that we are saved by God’s grace and mercy and that when He does save us – He is saving us “through” the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
Second, this regeneration is done directly by the Holy Spirit Himself. The words “regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” are telling us that this regeneration is being done directly by the Holy Spirit Himself.
As I explained to you in my article on “Sealed With the Holy Spirit,” when the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us at the moment of our conversions to the Lord, He comes to live and take up residence in our human spirits. The Bible says that we have three parts to our being – body, soul, and spirit. The Holy Spirit will move in and take up residence in our human spirit. As a result, our bodies have now become His actual temple.
What this means is that our human spirit is what will actually be regenerated at the moment of our conversions to the Lord – not our souls or our bodies.
As you will see in some of the definitions I will list below, once our human spirits are regenerated by the Holy Spirit at the moment of our conversions to the Lord, several incredible things will immediately happen. But before I get into the actual specifics as to exactly what will happen in this regeneration, here are some of the basic definitions of what this regeneration of the Holy Spirit is all about from some of the different Bible Dictionaries and Commentaries:

• Spiritually reborn
• Spiritual rebirth producing a new beginning
• A spiritual rebirth, being renewed, reformed or reconstituted
• Renewed or restored after a decline to a low condition
• New birth, the begetting of new life
• Renewal of moral and spiritual nature
• The rebirth of the human spirit to a restored relationship with God
• Renewed to life and salvation by faith in God
• An act of God through the Holy Spirit resulting in an inner, personal resurrection from sin to a new life in Jesus Christ
• The radical spiritual change in which God brings an individual from a condition of spiritual defeat and death to a renewed condition of holiness and life

All of the above definitions perfectly describe what happens in this regeneration with the Holy Spirit. To think that the Lord will literally allow His Holy Spirit to enter into our human spirits at the exact moment of our conversions to Him so that we can have His divine life and power start to flow and operate through us for ministry and sanctification – is enough to knock you right off the couch when you really stop and think about what is really in this regenerative work by the Holy Spirit.
So you can really grasp how powerful and wonderful of a thing it really is to literally be fully regenerated by the Spirit of God, I will break down all of the incredible blessings and benefits under the captions below. It is one thing to know that you have been saved by the blood that Jesus has personally shed for you – but it is quite another thing to fully realize and understand exactly what we have as a result of this new spiritual rebirth in the Lord.

Study these benefits and blessings very carefully if you really want to know who you really are in your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without question, our personal salvation and regeneration in the Lord is absolutely the greatest and most profound and powerful thing that can happen to any human being this side of heaven. There is absolutely nothing greater than to be truly born again into the kingdom of God.

1. Regeneration is Instantaneous Through the Holy Spirit

The first thing you need to know about your regeneration in the Lord is that it is an instantaneous event. It is not something that has to be worked out over the course of time. It is a one time event and it is perfectly completed at the time that it is done by the Holy Spirit.
Regeneration occurs immediately at the time that you receive the Holy Spirit into your human spirit. In other words, it occurs at the exact moment of your personal salvation and conversion to the Lord. It is not a progressive process like our sanctification in the Lord is.
Not only is our personal salvation in the Lord a direct free gift, but so is our personal regeneration in Him. It’s a full package deal. In our personal salvation is our personal regeneration in the Lord. There is nothing that we have to do on our end to earn it or achieve it. It’s all given to us as a direct free gift from God the minute we are willing to admit that we are sinners in need of a personal Savior to save us from our sins.

2. Only Our Human Spirits Are Regenerated At Salvation

The Bible says that we have three distinct parts to our beings – body, soul, and spirit. As explained above, the Holy Spirit initially only comes to live and dwell in our human spirits – not in our souls or our bodies. What this means is that only our human spirit is immediately regenerated at our conversion with the Lord.
The body is obviously not regenerated as it is still subject to the aging and death process as a result of the Adamic curse that is still in full operation on this earth. Our physical bodies will eventually be giving out and dying on us. Our soul is who we really are. It is our total personality. It is our mind, will, and emotions. However, our souls are not regenerated at this new birth.
The Bible tells us that we have to enter into a sanctification process where God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will start to mold, shape, and transform us into the express image of His Son Jesus Christ. This sanctification in the Lord is a progressive and ongoing process. It is not something that is instantaneously received at our conversions like our regeneration in the Holy Spirit is.

Bottom line – only our human spirits are immediately regenerated as soon as we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.
Our human spirits are immediately regenerated because the Holy Spirit has now moved in and has taken up full residence in them. As a result of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power now residing in our human spirits, our spirits are immediately and instantaneously regenerated with a new, divine, spiritual life.

3. We Are Now Born Again Into the Kingdom of God

As a result of accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior and receiving the Holy Spirit into our human spirits – the Bible tells us that we have now been “born again.”
Here is the verse that will give us this incredible revelation:

“… I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God … unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3,5)

Notice that being born again is referring direct to being born of the Holy Spirit Himself. In other words, if you do not have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you, then you are not truly born again in the Lord.

It is only when the Holy Spirit comes and enters into your human spirit are you truly born again – and the only way to be able to get the Holy Spirit to enter into your human spirit is to be willing to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. There is no other way into the kingdom of God. We either come through Jesus and the blood that He has personally shed for all of us on the cross or we do not come through at all.

As a result of being truly born again, our spiritual relationship with the Lord has now been fully restored.
When Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden, not only were they banished from this most incredible environment, but they also lost their direct spiritual connection and relationship that they so perfectly had with the Lord. Their spiritual relationship with the Lord was completely severed and broken the minute they sinned by eating the fruit off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In other words, Adam and Eve suffered a direct spiritual death as a result of their one transgression against the Lord.
However, as a result of Jesus coming down to our earth in the flesh to die on a cross for all of our sins, we now get our spiritual relationship fully restored back with both God the Father and Jesus Christ if we are willing to accept Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross. This is why the word “again” comes after the word “born.”
Being born “again” means that we are getting something back that we had originally lost – and that specific something is our spiritual relationship with the Lord. As a result of accepting Jesus as our personal Savior, we get to receive the Holy Spirit. And as a result of receiving the Holy Spirit on the inside of our human spirits, we now get our spiritual relationship once more fully restored back with the Lord. This thus is a spiritual rebirth.
Without the Holy Spirit living and operating on the inside of us, we would all still be spiritually dead, spiritually dead in all of our sins and trespasses against the Lord. This is why it is so vitally important that all Christians know exactly what it means to be born again.

5. Our Human Spirits Are Fully Resurrected

As a result of what happened in the story of Adam and Eve, every single human being that is born into this world is born into this world in sin and iniquity. We are all born into this world with a fallen and sinful nature and no amount of good and holy works, no matter how many good works we may do, and no matter how holy and good those works may be, will ever be good enough to get us back into the good graces of our Lord and Savior.
As a result of being born into this world without the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us – our human spirits are now born “dead” into this world. In other words, we have no God-life anywhere in our beings. Our human spirits are born completely dead into this world as a result of the first sin of Adam and Eve.
Here is the verse that will show us that we are all spiritually “dead” in our sins and trespasses as a result of being born into this world in a fallen, unsaved, and corrupt state.

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world …” (Ephesians 2:1)

Once we are willing to accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, then the Holy Spirit will come and enter into our human spirits. And once the Holy Spirit comes and enters into our human spirits – then our human spirits are fully resurrected once again! We now have God’s divine spiritual life running through our spirits.
Just stop and think for a moment of what kind of spiritual reality we are dealing with. We are born into this world with completely dead spirits. As a result of being born into this world with completely dead spirits, we have no lifeline back to the Lord, and no chance to be able to enter into heaven once we die and depart from this life.
But once we are willing to accept Jesus as our personal Savior, all of this completely changes within a matter of seconds. Here is what will happen the minute we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior:

• We are immediately born again
• We immediately receive the Holy Spirit into our spirits
• Our dead spirits are immediately resurrected and regenerated 
• We immediately get to go into heaven after we die and cross over

Just as Jesus Himself fully resurrected on the third day from His crucifixion, so too are our human spirits fully resurrected the minute we get saved in the Lord. In other words, our human spirits are going from maximum death to maximum life in just a matter of seconds after we are saved! Any unbeliever can thus transition from total death to total life in the snap of a finger if he is willing to take the big step of admitting that he is a fallen sinner in need of a personal Savior to save himself from his sins.

6. All Of Our Sins Will Be Fully Forgiven

As a result of accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, all of our sins – both past, present, and future sins will be totally and fully forgiven.
The Bible tells us that at the exact moment of our conversions to the Lord that:

• Our sins will be fully forgiven
• Our sins will be fully blotted out
• Our sins will be fully washed away
• Our slates will be fully wiped clean
• Our sins will no longer be remembered by the Lord
• God will remove our transgressions from Him as far as the east is from the west

All of your sins will be totally and completely forgiven by the Lord if you are willing to admit that you are a sinner, that you need a personal Savior to save you from your sins, and are willing to confess out all the wrong and sinful things that you have ever done in your life in an appropriate sinner’s prayer to the Lord.

What this means is that there is no more baggage, no more weights, no more anchors, no more guilt, and no more burdens that you have to be carrying around on you.
The blood that Jesus has personally shed for you on the cross has now set you totally and completely free from all of your sinful and guilt-ridden past – no matter how bad your past may have been, and no matter what kinds of vile, bad, and heinous sins you may have committed in your past.

With the exception of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, there is no sin that is too vile or too heinous that the Lord cannot fully forgive you for if you are willing to accept the full pardon that He is willing to offer you through His death on the cross. As a result, you are now fully free to start living again in your present and your future with whatever the Lord will have in store for you from here on in.

7. We Now Have the Power of the Holy Spirit For Ministry and Sanctification

As a result of immediately receiving the Holy Spirit at our conversions to the Lord – we now have His divine power available to us to help us in the sanctification process that the Lord wants to start with each and everyone of us – and we now have His divine power available to us to help us be very good and very successful at whatever God will be calling us to do for Him in this life.
In other words, God’s divine power is immediately available to all of us for service, ministry, and sanctification if we are willing to fully yield and surrender ourselves to Him and the call that He wants to place on each one of our lives.

So not only do we get our dead spirits fully resurrected and regenerated, our lifelines and spiritual relationship fully restored back to the Lord, all of our sins fully forgiven, and full entrance into heaven after we die and cross over – but to top it all off, we now get to have the power of the Holy Spirit Himself flowing and operating through us so that we can become everything that the Lord is calling us to become in Him (sanctification), and accomplish everything that He is calling us to accomplish for Him in this life (ministry).

So not only does God want to get us into heaven when we die and cross over, but He also wants to start the real show with us right down here on this earth.
We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to have God start the sanctification process to make us into a better and more holy people. We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to be able to start to go to work for the Lord in whatever He will be calling us to do for Him in this life. It can all start right now – right where you are standing at with the Lord.

8. We Have Now Become New Creations – All Things Are Now Brand New

I will now leave you with one whopper power verse that will put the icing on this entire cake. This next verse will now tell us as a result of all of the above benefits and blessings – that we have now become “new creations” in Christ, that all “old things” have now “passed away,” and that everything has now become brand “new.”
Once you really meditate and chew on all of the above benefits and blessings – you will see that God the Father is now giving each person that will accept His Son as their personal Savior a completely brand new fresh start with their lives.
God is telling us that not only is all of our past and all of the bad things of our past fully behind us – but that we have now been made into brand “new creations” in Him. The reason God the Father can state that we are now new creations in Him is because we now have the Holy Spirit and His divine power living and operating on the inside of us to transform us into those new creations.
Before we had received the Holy Spirit, we did not have God’s supernatural power operating in us to transform and sanctify us. Due to the fallen sin nature that we have all been born into this world with, we do not have the natural power or ability within our own beings to change ourselves for the better. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit operating on the inside of us can we change and transform into the true sanctified saints that God is calling all of us to become in Him.
As a result of this divine power now residing in us in the Person of the Holy Spirit – we now have the power, the ability, and the means not to only change ourselves for the better, but we now have the power, the ability, and the means to change our whole lives for the better. Not only can the Holy Spirit help you with your inner life, but He can also help you with your outer life as well.
Once you get saved, and then fully surrender your entire life over to the Lord so that He can fully guide you into His divine destiny for your life, you will then be given a brand new and different life from the old life that you had been living in. Once you enter into God’s perfect plan and destiny for your life, you will then find out what you were really created to be in this life.
As a result of this brand new life and brand new direction that God will now be giving you – all things will now become brand new as this next verse will tell you. Here is the verse that is giving us this powerful piece of revelation:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Notice that you have to be “in Christ” before you can be given this brand new life. And the only way to be “in Christ” is to become a born-again believer. Unbelievers are not in Christ and as a result, they are all living in dead and fruitless lives.

Conclusion

As a result of this new rebirth and regeneration in the Lord, we now have a new restored relationship with the Lord.
With the Holy Spirit now residing in our human spirits, we now have God’s divine life, power, and abilities flowing and operating through us to help us to:

• Overcome different types of temptations
• Pull out of any sins that we may have fallen into
• The power to defeat Satan and all of his demons
• The power to be able to be truly sanctified in the Lord
• The power to be able to fully serve the Lord in whatever He will be calling us to do for Him in this life

I believe that many Christians are totally unaware of all of the above benefits and blessings. As a result of not fully realizing who they really are in Christ, and exactly what they have immediately available to them as a result of the Holy Spirit now living on the inside of them, many Christians are living defeated, joyless, and unproductive lives in the Lord.
There is no true spiritual growth occurring in their lives – and as a result of not truly abiding and growing in the Lord, demons and the rest of the world just keep beating down on them and keep driving them further down into their defeated and depressed worlds.
Before they know it, they start to lose all desire to even want to try anymore. Life is just too much of a hassle, and they would just prefer to throw in the towel and spend the rest of their earthly lives doing and accomplishing absolutely nothing for the Lord.

If you really step back and objectively look at the big picture, each Christian only has one of two roads they can take in this life.
We can either choose to believe that we really are brand new creations in Christ, that God the Father has a perfect plan and destiny set up for each one of our lives – and that God, through the power of the Holy Spirit operating on the inside of us, can give us the grace, power, ability, and means to perfectly complete and fulfill that divine destiny.
Or we can choose not to believe and realize who we really are in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – and choose to live this life only seeking after own ways, our own interests, and our own desires – thereby completely ignoring God and the call that He wants to personally place on each one of our lives.

You thus only have the fully surrendered Christian who is walking and operating in God’s perfect will for his life – or the carnal, fleshly, and worldly Christian who is only living this life for themselves and for whatever they can get out of this life while they still can.
The choice is now yours as to which road you will choose to travel on in this life. All God can do is show you through His Word exactly what we have available to us, and exactly what He is wanting from each one of us. The Lord has made all of His divine life, power, opportunity, and destiny available to each and every born-again believer who will fully surrender their entire lives over to Him.
It simply does not get any better than this – even in the fallen, cursed, and depraved world in which we all still live in.

Remember – you are now a true, born-again child of the Most High God. You don’t have to settle for mediocrity or second best in your personal life. You can now enter into God’s personal best for your life, and it can immediately start right where you are standing at right now – no matter what your age – and no matter how bad, how bloody, or how sinful your personal past may have been.

"I Will Never Forget You..."

But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me."

(The Lord speaking) "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet...I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me."-Isaiah 49:14-16

You may think God is unconcerned with you or has forgotten about you. But, God is clear about how He feels about us (John 3:16). In this particular part of Scripture, He compares His love and compassion on Zion, with that of a mother nursing her child. For those of us who have children, we can identify with this very strongly. Imagine, could you ever forget about the child you made and that you care for and nourish and love? The bond is too strong and it will always be with us forever. Now, think about God's comparison to how we feel and amplify that a gazillion times! God's love and compassion are far more pure than ours. It goes beyond unconditional. That kind of love is beautifully overwhelming!

I also love the way He says, " I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands." When you don't have a piece of paper, and you want to remember something, what do you usually do? That's right; you write it on the palm of your hand, so that you do not forget. God wanted to make a very strong point to Zion, that He could never forget them. It is the same with us.

God has not forgotten about you. You are never too far for Him to reach you. All you have to do, is make an about face, and turn to Him. Tell Him your anguish and pour out your heart to Him. Humble yourself, and admit that you are helpless and hopeless and need His Salvation. You may think it is pathetic or a "site to see" but God thinks that clothing yourself in brokenness in humility, in this way, is the most beautiful thing you could put on and He readily will receive you with open arms. God hates your sin, NOT you. And when you make that decision to seek His way and abandon it all, He will help you and He will embrace you as His own. He is a wonderful, loving, merciful, gracious Father, who will never leave you nor forsake you. He sent Jesus on your behalf, so that you may go to Him freely, and have a relationship and fellowship with Him and so that He may heal you and change you from the inside out. This is the God I love and serve. HE is truly awesome. ♥

Feeding His Lambs/Sheep

Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-2

Before I surrendered my life to the Lord, a friend of mine had a vision about me. It frightened him, because he said that every time he dreams, it comes true. I don't think this young man, understood the gift God had given him, in fact I know he didn't because he wasn't living for the Lord, yet God used him to send me this message. This was the dream:

He said to me, "I dreamed you were standing on the sand of the shore, holding a loaf of bread and you were eating from it. In front of you, in the sea, there were many people who appeared to be drowning, but the waters were only up to their necks. They were crying out in despair. The waters were dark and murky. But, then the part that scared me, was when you began to walk over to the water and go in to it. You began breaking off pieces of this bread, and sharing it with those people. The water didn't overwhelm you. I couldn't understand why you were in there with them and how by giving them bread could even help them. I was afraid for you, by being in those dark, despairing waters, even though you seemed fine."

What my friend didn't understand, I didn't fully understand at the time either. It wasn't until about 6 or 7 months later, after I had a radical change in my life and relationship with God, and began reading His Word for hours a day, that I fully understood its meaning.

Christ is the "Bread of Life." Bread symbolizes life. It is the nourishment that sustains life. Jesus said in John 6:35,  And Jesus said unto them, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger ; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst "

Bread also represents the physical body of Christ. At the Last Supper Jesus broke bread, gave it to his disciples and said, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." Luke 22:19

Jesus is also "The Word of God", that became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1-5, 14).

In the dream, I took the bread, broke it, consumed it, and then shared it with those who were in great despair, drowning in the waters of their sin. Christ is within me and His Word I have partaken in. I am to feed His sheep, His lambs just as He told Peter in John 21:15-17. The waters did not overwhelm me, because God promised they wouldn't:

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle on you."-Isaiah 43:2

I was there to bring His message to the sick and suffering in spirit. A few years ago, I prayed a prayer alone to God, that I wanted to reach people on a large scale, as many as possible with His message. Not long after, at a church I'd been attending, someone spoke a word to me saying that, God was going to use me, to reach people on a large scale, a very important purpose.

The dream, my prayer, and the spoken word of confirmation, speak to me that, God has called me to a higher purpose in Him and I cannot begin to accomplish such a weighty task, without His training, refining, preparation, holiness and power. This is a huge responsibility. A lot is at stake. I am humbled and cannot even begin to grasp how in the world this is going to transpire. But I trust in God alone, for His timing and His purpose to go forth and bear much fruit.

My conviction this morning, in reading the above scripture in Ecclesiastes, is that there isn't a whole lot of time, to bring His message to the lost. You never know what the day may bring or what disaster may befall any part of the world. I've wasted so much precious time on my own selfishness and selfish desires. I don't know how I am going to be used to minister, but I know that the clock is ticking and the enemy wants me to waste as much time as possible, because souls are at stake. I am valuable through Christ to do His work to His glory and am a huge threat to the kingdom of darkness. It is time to stop all of my selfish thinking and pursuit of my own desires apart from God's. He knows my desires, He knows my needs and He will provide. I have to seek Him first and His righteousness:

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto."-Matthew 6:33

Being self-consumed for so long has wreaked havoc on my life and delayed my blessings and purpose in Him. There is a world that is hurting and is desperate for an encounter with Jesus Christ. And how will they know, lest someone tell them? Have Your way God. I am ready to do Thy will. Help me to help others, to reach and teach them of Your love and sacrifice and the hope they are desperately seeking, is found only in You.

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"-Romans 10:14

Our Highest Feat

I literally just came up with this analogy, as God brought it to my memory, as I had just watched that program about climbing Mt. Everest yesterday evening. He is too cool :o).

When enthusiastic climbers venture to conquer Mt. Everest at its summit, they know the challenge that awaits them. They come prepared with all kinds of gear, food, and other provisions. However, when they get to a certain point of elevation, they have to begin to let some things go. Thousands of articles of clothing and supplies have been found throughout the years, on and around the mountain cliffs.

The air becomes thinner as they gain altitude, requiring the need of more oxygen. Many of the things they carry with them, must be disposed of so that they may maintain their energy, and preserve the most precious thing they need: oxygen, their life source, to succeed and reach their goal; the summit; the top of the mountain.

We as believers, should be just as vigilant and enthusiastic, if not more, about our goal-the upward call. Paul likened it to running a race and throwing off the sin that hinders us:

"Why seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."-Hebrews 12:1

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."-1 Corinthians 9:24

Paul's motivation was the "prize" of receiving the crown of life, and eternity with his Lord and Savior. That was Paul's "summit" that he looked forward to; his hope, that kept him running the race, even when he sometimes did not "feel like it."

I imagine it to be extremely uncomfortable, scary, cold, dangerous and exhausting to climb Mt. Everest, especially all the way to the top! People have to sacrifice their comforts, to even have the slightest chance of reaching it. It doesn't mean they don't want the things they left behind, but instead they know that there is something greater...much greater that awaits them...at the top...at the finish line, and they will do whatever it takes to make sure nothing gets in their way. They are focused on the end result and not on the immediate desire. For if they had focused on their immediate desires, they would have only gotten so far...never reaching their highest potential.

Seeking Christ the entire way in this life promises no immediate comforts. The things the Lord asks us to leave behind as we "elevate" in Him, taking us to new levels, are things that no longer benefit us, but actually are things that "hinder" us. Christ is the very air we breathe. He is our "oxygen" that we need to breathe in deep at every moment, at every level that we climb. We should do nothing to compromise our "Life-line" in our walk/climb. It will be tempting beyond a shadow of a doubt, in fact, expect the closer you get to that goal, for the temptations to intensify. But as long as you've got your eyes fixed on the "prize" and are breathing Him in deep, those things you will not have to think twice about disposing of, for they will appear to be a burden to you, rather than a necessity. God will be faithful to show this to you. He by the power of His Spirit working within you, will cause you to know the difference.

There are two things that Joyce Meyer has said that go well with this,

"A new level, a new devil" and "Your attitude will determine your altitude in life."

The greatest thing you could ever obtain is eternal life in heaven with the living God. Your greatest mission in life, should be to seek Him, to know Him and all that He has for you, in this life, and the next; to please Him above yourself and to show His love to everyone He brings into your life. This is our "mountain" to climb. This is our "conquest". The final destination is our heavenly home. God's Salvation is the "Summit," the guarantee that all who believe in Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, will have eternal life with Him. Let us so passionately pursue Him, in all our desires. The journey was never promised to be easy...but He does promise it will be worth it. ♥

Treasures of the Heart

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

 Matthew 6:21

In a world full of blingin' possessions
An insatiable lust for perfection
A lack of love, guidance and direction
They can't see that their hearts are infected-Denise Jubb



If you faced Jesus right now, today, and He looking into your heart, would tell you what you treasure most, what would it be that He sees?

It is so sad to know that many people are so focused on the temporal trappings of this world. And most reject the One Treasure that trumps them all, Jesus Christ. For they think that by accepting Him, they will have to part with the things their hearts long after. They see what they will have to give up, and not at all instead, what they will gain. They see a limitless Savior, as a limiting dictator. And even the more heart wrenching, they have believed this lie, that will rob them of anything truly valuable in this life and the next. Their hearts are hardened, refusing to see and believe the Truth that came to set them free from the bondage of evil. They think that because it is all they have ever known, it is all there ever will be. How sad, to only see a piece of a much more grandiose picture. To be content in their discontent, in their constant longing for something more. If only they'd look up and call on the One who has called to them, they would no longer want, but be satisfied. Most people only want to be religious and do not want the work that comes with the relationship. They say, "I will do anything for the Lord...but I won't do that." Some will think they are appeasing God just by showing up in church on Sunday. No matter what sacrifice you bring to God, whether it's your tithing, or your time, God above all wants your obedience.

God wants the complete surrender of our will and our lives to Him. This lifelong commitment is not for the faint of heart. It is not for those who wish to mix and match other idols of the heart, alongside of their walk with God. God won't accept that, and He will not give His glory over to anyone or anything else. If you are in you are in for the long-haul, the rest of your days. When Christ mentions for us to pick up our crosses and follow Him, He was talking about the sacrifice that would be involved. It's uncomfortable at times and it requires us to die to ourselves daily.

Being a Christian can be very difficult. It doesn't mean we have an easy life after we accept Christ; that's just the very beginning. It is a long, narrow, road that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14). It means we have to walk carefully and wisely. It means we need to pay attention and be alert as to not fall over the edge. We are in a world full of darkness.Without the Light leading the way, we will stumble and fall. It indeed is not the path of least resistance, but, it is a path, the only path that brings rewards greater than our minds could ever possibly conceive, in this life and the next. Not one sacrifice goes unnoticed to the King of kings. He is watching us.

God gave of His only Son, for us, in our place, because He loved us so much, even though we are corrupt and evil in our ways. He did this so that we could spend eternity with Him and so that His Spirit could live within us, giving us the power to change. This is a Gift...the Gift of Salvation...by grace alone, which one cannot ever earn. This is the most valuable possession one could ever withhold; faith in the Christ, who has redeemed us by His blood, a requirement for all sin. If God be the Treasure of our souls, our hearts, i.e. our affections and desires will be placed on things above. Let us seek His face today and always, to truly experience and know this abundant life that He has promised to those who believe in Him and love Him. Amen.

In the story of the the "Rich Young Ruler" (Mark 10:17-27), Christ challenges a rich young man in the one area of his heart which held the most loyalty and desire...

Now as He (Jesus) was going out on the road, one (the rich young man) came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”

And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

Jesus knew this man's heart. He challenged this man to leave behind that which was closest to his heart, the "#1 spot", to make room for the Lord. This is a requirement in order to really follow Christ, to really be a disciple and to faithfully serve the Cause. Unfortunately, this man walked away with great sadness, because he was not willing to give up the one thing he valued most, that Jesus asked him to release, that stood in the Lord's place of worship in his heart; his possessions and wealth. For if he had, he would've inherited eternal life and an amazing abundant life here on earth.

What the Lord moves on our hearts to leave behind, to desert, to come away from, in order to effectively follow Him, He will restore in a much better form; double for our trouble. Since God would never withhold anything "good" from us that love Him (Psalm 84:11), then we can trust that whatever we need to let go of is not beneficial for us. God knows best. He sees all and knows all. He knows that whatever we stand on or depend on more than Him, will not be able to hold us and protect us.

Now is this scripture telling us to sell all our possessions? No, not necessarily. In this man's case, it was of course wealth and possessions. In someone elses case, it could be something quite different.

You can't make your job your strength, your home your strength, your boyfriend/girlfriend-husband/wife your strength, your money your strength, your children your strength, because IN A DAY it/they all can be gone. It happened to Job. But make God your strength, for He is eternal and He is able to hold you up and restore to you everything that has been lost. He is the only One able to make you whole and keep you whole and in His perfect peace.

So we must challenge ourselves and exam ourselves today, and ask the question, what is taking the place of God in my life/heart? Be prepared for God to answer you and convict your heart out of His love for you, on what that may be. It won't be easy. It will be a sacrifice. But it will be one that will reap blessings, favor, and rewards. He will give you what you need to overcome, if you truly wish to change. Christ is the Gift, the Treasure that keeps on giving. God bless.

Love of the World vs The Love of God

      Matthew 16:26-For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

 
You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.-James 4:4

Do not love the world, neither the things that are in it, for whoever loves the world does not have the love of The Father in him.-1 John 2:15

You may be thinking, "Didn't the Bible say, 'For God so LOVED the world!?'" Yes, the Word does say that and yes it is true. He gave His Son, Jesus Christ for us. But what the 2 scriptures above are saying, is that the "love of the world" is the love for anything temporal that surpasses your love and loyalty for God, a.k.a. "idols of the heart," and/or "false gods." This is in the forms of money, sex, people, popularity, and anything else that is birthed from these things. Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness with the "love of the world" but not in the way John 3:16 explains it...

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. He said to Jesus, "I will give you all these things if you will bow down and worship me!"-Matthew 4:8-9

Jesus knew He was being tempted with the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. He knew it was a deception and its end would be destruction, not just for Him but  for all of us for eternity. He knew it was a temptation to "worship" someone (Satan) and something other than God Himself, and Jesus knew just how to answer the devil in scripture:

Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"Matthew 4:10

If we are more concerned with the favor of the world, getting man's approval, or maybe even in your Christian faith standing in the "gray" area, not standing firm in your belief as to not to "offend" anyone, you are against God. His people stand out from the rest. We don't "blend" in any "gray" areas. That sometimes means having to endure persecution from non-believers for our faith. It will happen, but God gives us what we need to endure it and stand our ground. We should be living out of our love and gratitude for God, for His gift of grace and living to please Him alone. We are not perfect, but believers strive for perfection, through Christ who is able to make us strong when we are weak.

"And He said unto me, 'My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Most gladly therefore will I rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."-2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.-Philippians 4:13

A life lived for Christ gains far more riches and glory than a life lived for the world could ever bring. In one day, you could lose it all and you can't take it with you. Store up your treasures in heaven, live for the Lord and receive the crown of life.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust does corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:-Matthew 6:19

People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.-1 Timothy 6:9-10

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."-Hebrews 13:5

Firm Foundation

We know that the foundation of anything we build upon is vital to its survival. The foundation of our faith is no differnet. It affects all aspects of our lives, including our relationship with God nad others. The foundation of our life is anything that you "build your world around." It's the theme and adhesive behind everything you think, say and do. We should be doing an inspection or as I like to say, intropsection, to be sure our foundation is secure and strong.

Christ knew the importance of the foundation of faith and used a parable to convey that importance.

Therefore, anyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew, and beat against  that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.-Matthew 7:24-25

We have to be hearers and doers of what we learn from His Word, in order that we can stand firm in our faith, no matter what storms or swift winds of circumstance come our way. This is what the Bible tells us to do, the consequences in our lives can be castastrophic:

But be doers of the word and not hearers only; deceiving yourselves.-James 1:22

But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.-Matthew 7:26-27

The Word of God should be the Blueprint for our lives and Christ the Solid Foundation on which we stand. He is our reliable, safe-haven. When we put our faith into practice through humility and obedience, we can be sure we will be heading the right way on the path that leads to righteousness.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.-Proverbs 3:5-6

The meek (humble) will he guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way.-Psalm 25:9

Let's face it, life comes at us at warped speed. It is unpredictable at best, and has its seasons of change. Unshakeable faith is faith that has been shaken. We have to experience difficulties in life to build our spiritual muscles, being strengthened in areas in which we are weak, so that we can mature in Christ. Our testimonies that are the most effective for the kingdom are the ones in which we have endured the hardships and storms, which ultimately revealed  the glory of God. How would we know how strong our foundation is if it has never been tested?

Anything we begin, be it relationships, romantic or platonic, business ventures, financial decisions, and ministry, should be handled with prayer, submission and obedience to God's will. Everything we do should kine up with the Word of God. If it doesn't, then it's a good indication you've gone off of the path and have taken a detour. Anything apart from God is an unwise, fruitless attempt to build upon that which will not endure the tempest storms of life. What foundation does your life rest upon?

"Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it."-Psalm 127:1

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by Him."-Colossians 3:17

"And whatever you do, do it heartily unto the Lord, and not to men."-Colossians 3:23

"Therefore, whether you ear ordrink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."-1 Corinthians 10:31