Devotion: The Purpose Of Life

So many, both believers and non-believers want to know the purpose of life, especially “the purpose for their individual life.”  However, with so much controversy surrounding the topic, many are confused as to the true purpose of life.  As for us, we are constantly searching, constantly redefining the purpose of life, especially here at this ministry.   And while we understand the basics, we continually search for that deeper purpose, that ultimate meaning and understanding that can only be found in the revelation knowledge that the Holy Spirit shares with us as we continue to seek God’s will.

“Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten.  No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began.  But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord.  That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.  No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.  And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom.  Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.  But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit.  It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.  Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.  For, ‘Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?  Who knows enough to teach him?’  But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ” (I Corinthians 2:6-16 NLT).

The kind of wisdom spoken of here is not the kind of wisdom that the world uses or the kind of wisdom that the sages and the men of discernment use, but the kind of wisdom that comes directly from God, through God’s word.  This wisdom spoken of here, tells “those that have an ear to hear” of the things of God, his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began.  So, if you want to know “the purpose of life,” ask the Holy Spirit to reveal “the purpose” to you.  Keep in mind the Spirit searches out everything and shows “those that have an ear to hear,” God’s deep secrets.  Once revealed, you have to follow God’s instructions if you are to become all that God had planned for you to become.

Today’s inspirational message is but another thought in the endless array on “The Purpose Of Life.”  We pray that this message will add to your understanding as well as be a blessing to you.  If blessed by it, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: You Are Rich Because Of What Jesus Did

Most people do not understand the complete significance of Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary.  Most everyone knows that his death redeemed us and brought many freedoms from “the curse of the law” (Galatians 3:13), but they do not understand that it also brought us so much more.  Because of what Jesus did, his sacrifice at Calvary, we now have the right “to become a child of God” (John 1:12-13), “whereby we cry Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15).  Because of what Jesus did, we now have the right “to share in the blessing of Abraham, receiving the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14).  Because of what Jesus did, we now have the right “to the inheritance of the new covenant, a better covenant, built with better promises (Hebrews 8:6-13), a divine inheritance to the best in life, deserving all the Father has to offer (Romans 8:14-17), which includes the right to good health, wealth, and total life prosperity” (III John 1:2).  Because of what Jesus did, we now have been given back “the original authority (dominion) that God gave to Adam” (Matthew 28:18) but was lost (Luke 4:6), given away when he ate of the fruit in the garden (Genesis 3:6-7).  Because of what Jesus did, we now have the right “to life, a more abundant life” (John 10:10), lacking nothing (Philippians 4:19).

God has “made us alive together with Christ, for by grace we are saved; and raised us up together, making us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6) and has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).  And while you may have the right to good health, wealth, and total life prosperity because we “be in Christ” (II Corinthians 5:17), there be a thief, an adversary if you will, that is come to kill your good health, steal your wealth, and to destroy your total life prosperity (John 10:10).  He, this thief, this adversary, “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking those that he may devour” (I Peter 5:8).  And because many do not understand the complete significance of Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary, they either have not claimed what belongs to them because they do not know they have this inheritance or have allowed the thief to steal everything from them.  Keep this thought in mind, that a thief can only steal from you, if you have something of value in the first place to steal.  A thief is not interested in stealing from someone who has absolutely nothing to steal.  What would be the point in being a thief if there is nothing to steal from anyone.

Motivated by what they see happening in the world, most people walk by sight and not by faith, which is contrary to how we are supposed to walk (II Corinthians 5:7).  This has given place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27) and allowed him to steal their divine inheritance, kill off their authority (dominion) or divine rights, and completely stop them from prospering in this life at all.  Jesus says he “is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), but we need to seek those things that were lost so that we may fully understand the significance of what Jesus accomplished through his sacrifice at Calvary.

Hopefully today’s inspirational message will get you started in the right direction, revealing that “you are rich because of what Jesus did.”  As always, we pray that this message will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: Pay Your Teachers

Do you financially support those who minister to your spiritual needs?  So many of us will gladly give money to those things that entertain us, to those things that feed our flesh, and to those things, whatever they may be, that we deem worthy of financial support, but we are cautious, sometimes even reluctant about giving money to those who feed our spirit.  Yes, we realize there are some who claim to be “ministers of righteousneous” (II Corinthians 11:12-15), whose sole purpose is to deceive us, but should they deter us from supporting those who are truly of the kingdom of God?  Scripture tells us, “not to believe every spirit but to put each one to the test to see if they are from God” (I John 4:1-6) which has been designed to help us identify those with “the spirit of Antichrist.”

So, do not allow your fear of being deceived prevent you from supporting those working in the kingdom of God, who actually feed the spiritual needs of the world.  Test each of those spirits, just as the scriptures instruct you to and invest your money wisely into the kingdom and support those who feed us spiritually.  The return on that investment will pay amazing dividends in the long run.

We pray that this inspirational message will give you a new perspective on “supporting those who spiritually feed you.”  We also pray that the message will bless you, inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: You Are Not Under The Law

Is “The Law,” those so-called “rules of conduct” given to the Israelites back in the days of the Old Testament for us today?  This is one of the more highly debated questions in many religious circles today; however, we wanted to share a few things that we have discovered during the course of our studies.  Under the old covenant, the laws, written on stone tablets and conveyed to the Israelites through Moses, were given to regulate almost every aspect of life (Exodus 24:12).

He cancels the first system in favor of a far better one.  Under this new plan we have been forgiven and made clean by Christ’s dying for us once and for all.  Under the old agreement the priests stood before the altar day after day offering sacrifices that could never take away our sins.  But Christ gave himself to God for our sins as one sacrifice for all time and then sat down in the place of highest honor at God’s right hand, waiting for his enemies to be laid under his feet.  For by that one offering he made forever perfect in the sight of God all those whom he is making holy.  And the Holy Spirit testifies that this is so, for he has said, “This is the agreement I will make with the people of Israel, though they broke their first agreement: I will write my laws into their minds so that they will always know my will, and I will put my laws in their hearts so that they will want to obey them.”  And then he adds, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds” (Hebrews 10:9-17 TLB).

Unlike the days of the old covenant, where the laws were written on stone tablets and passed along by Moses, under this new covenant, we have those same laws written into our minds and placed in our hearts, so that those “rules of conduct,” originally given to the Israelites are now written into our very being.  However, there is one major difference between the old and the new covenant that everyone involved in the great debate needs to consider.  Under this new covenant, we actually have a High Priest, Jesus Christ, who offered himself as the sacrifice for the penalty of sin and of death for all time, redeeming those who would accept the free gift of salvation, from the condemning curse of the law (Galatians 3:10-14), but he did not free us from “the rules of conduct” themselves.

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come—it isn’t to cancel the laws of Moses and the warnings of the prophets.  No, I came to fulfill them and to make them all come true.  With all the earnestness I have I say: Every law in the Book will continue until its purpose is achieved.  And so if anyone breaks the least commandment and teaches others to, he shall be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven.  But those who teach God’s laws and obey them shall be great in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:17-19 TLB).

While we may not have the laws on stone tablets any longer, that does not mean they are still not in effect; they just appear to be in effect from the inside of us.  We pray that today’s inspirational message will abundantly bless you, greatly inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings. - KW

Devotion: Gift Or Purchase?

Normally when someone dies, they usually leave behind something called  “a last will and testament.”  This is a legal declaration for the purpose of giving final instructions as to how a person’s estate is to be managed and instructions for the distribution of any properties or inheritances.  Scripture tells us that Jesus is the mediator of a new testament, a new agreement that by means of death, his death, a payment was given as atonement for the offences committed under the first agreement, rescuing those, who answer the call, from the penalties for all sins committed while under that old system, that those who answer might receive the eternal inheritance which had been promised to us (Hebrews 9:15).  Therefore, Christ being offered once, through death, to bear the sins of many, will bring salvation to those who have answered the call and who are eagerly and patiently waiting for him to return (Hebrews 9:28).

Now we have a new agreement that brought to light a righteousness from God that depends on faith in Jesus Christ.  A righteousness where God will accept us, acquit us, and declare us not guilty, if we accept Jesus Christ as our savior and redeemer.  A righteousness that has been extended to all who accept, where it does not matter who we are or what we have done.  A righteousness that justified us freely by the grace of God through the redemption that Jesus Christ purchased, whereby God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we just place our trust in Jesus Christ to remove our sins.  A righteousness, that by the kindness of God, freely removes all our sins and all we have to do is accept the free gift (Romans 3:21-24).

As always, we pray that this inspirational message will be a blessing to you as well as informative.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: I Am Wrong

Most of you have heard that old cliché, “Pride comes before the fall.”  According to scripture, “Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18 TLB).  Pride by itself is not a bad thing.  We should be proud to be in the service of the Lord, but when our pride is combined with haughtiness, with arrogance, with conceit, with self-importance, then we end up heading in the wrong direction.  We find in scripture that, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4).  To not seek after God, or to not have God in our thoughts is definitely not the path we should be following.  But again, this is not to say that we should not be proud of who we are, as children of the most High God, or proud to be in his service.

We also see in scripture, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).  Do not overestimate yourself by thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but in the same token, do not underestimate yourself by thinking lesser of yourself than you ought to.  We should “think highly” of ourselves but to do so soberly, thoughtfully, and/or seriously, even as God, who is not a respecter of person (Romans 2:11), thinks of us, (Ephesians 4:24), which is free of arrogance, conceit, and self-importance.  The righteousness of God should be cause enough for us to conduct ourselves appropriately and in humility without any haughtiness.

We pray that this inspirational message will be a blessing to you as well as informative.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: The Bible Gives You Instructions For Victory

Most of us have a bible or two in our possession that we open from time to time to read, to study, to find encouragement, to be inspired or for various other reasons; too numerous to list here.  In fact, the scriptures tell us that the whole Bible “was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right.  It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone” (II Timothy 3:16-17).  Basically, it is our instruction manual and our source for all things God.  The problem for many is that we do not understand the Bible, much less fully know its purpose.  The misunderstandings surrounding this book have only led to many heated debates, which have only served to confuse those who try to gain some type of understanding from the one source that is supposed to instruct us.

First, we need to understand that the Bible is a mystery book with many secrets, hidden in plain sight just waiting to be found.  As one person put it, “The Bible is a coded book, written as a kind of jigsaw puzzle creating a series of smaller pictures within an overall picture that only becomes clear in meaning when one properly pieces together all passages on a subject.”  It is only when we find the keys that we are able to unlock the mysteries or put together the puzzle pieces that allow us to understand the word of God that is contained in the Bible.  Next, we need to trust that God has given instructions, that when followed, will allow us to find those keys that will help with our understanding of those divine revelations from God.  God has told us to seek wisdom and know-how (Proverbs 4:5-7), to listen carefully to his words and to pay close attention to what is being said (Proverbs 4:20-22), to meditate on them day and night (Joshua 1:8), and to study and to rightly divide the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15) as part of the things we need to do.

Finally, we need to open our mind and open our heart so that we may see and hear the truths that God is trying to reveal to us through his Spirit.  We may have to do a little work in order to find truth and understanding, like stepping outside of or climbing over the walls of traditionalism or denominationalism that have kept many in bondage.  In doing so, we can remove any confusion, enabling us to grasp the meaning of all of the things of God.  It has been said, “A closed mind can only grow within the limits of its enclosure; an open mind grows with endless possibilities.”  The Bible is our instruction manual for victory, but you have to use it as an instruction manual.  You also have to open your mind to the endless possibilities contained within its cover.

We forever pray that this inspirational messages will abundantly bless you, greatly inform you, and that you will be the better for having read it.  If blessed by this message please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW