Devotion: God Has Reconciled Your Spirit

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17).

If any man be in Christ, that is, when a man comes into a basic union with the risen Lord, he is a new creation.  Old things, the old life are passed away at that moment of salvation:  all things that are, at the moment of salvation, become new.  What are the old things that are passed away and what are the all things that are become new?

So, if you be in Christ, then you be a new creature or creation.  This is not talking about anything physical becoming new but a new creation in the spirit.  When you are renewed or made brand new, you are new in the spirit not new in body.  If you were bald before being reborn, you will be bald after being reborn.  The same applies to being overweight, if you were overweight before, you will be overweight afterwards.  God has changed your spirit and only deals with the spirit part of your threefold nature.  He does not deal with your soul or your body.

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:23).

In the epistle, Paul makes mention of our whole spirit and soul and body.  Paul has described man as a tri-partite being, made up of three individual parts.  Basically, you are a spirit being, which has a soul, that lives in a body or a house.  As you look at the creation of man, you can see these three parts coming together to make man, but that is a discussion for another day. “God is a spirit” (John 4:24) and so are you.  Once you were spiritually dead (alienated and separated from God and sin conscience), but when you are reborn you are reconciled to God.  It is like having a radio where you are unable to tune into the WGOD frequency.  But when you are born again, your radio will then have the ability to tune into the WGOD frequency.  You have the same old radio with a new ability much like having the same old body but a new inner self.

When you are born again, your spirit is instantly renewed but your body is the same old sinful creature and it will continue to do whatever you allow it to do.  You have to deal with your body.  Your mind and body wants to live in sin but you can make them both to follow the spirit inside of you, which is your spirit.

“Do not let sin control the way you live do not give in to sinful desires.  Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin.  Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life.  So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.  Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law.  Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Romans 6:12-14 NLT).

Therefore, do not allow your body to dictate to you what it will do.  Do not let sin rule in your body any longer; do not obey the old sinful desires that once controlled you.  Your body has an evil nature, wanting to do the same self-fulfilling, sinful things it has always done and it will continue to do whatever you allow it to do.  Do not allow your body to dictate to you what it will do.  You must die to self, crucifying your sinful nature that is on the inside of you.  You must put to death each and every one of those desires that are contrary to the word and the will of God (Mark 7:21-23).

“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.  For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10-12).

God has not given us the punishment that we deserve for our sins.  Neither has he rewarded us for our wrongdoings or our iniquities.  Just as the heaven is high above the earth, so is the greatness of his mercy towards those who reverence and worship him.  And as far as the east is from the west, so has he removed our sins far away from us.  But nothing here states that he has removed our ability to or our capacity for sin.  You see, God has wiped our slate clean, forgiving us for all of the self-fulfilling, sinful evil natured things that we had done in our lifetimes, but he did not remove the residue of the nature that has held us captive for so long.  Remember, God only deals with your spirit and does not deal with your soul or body.  You have to deal with those two.

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

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: God Loves You

Real love is not your love for God, but his love for you.  The following is taken from chapter four of the first epistle of John.

“Dear friends, let us practice loving each other, for love comes from God and those who are loving and kind show that they are the children of God, and that they are getting to know him better.  But if a person isn’t loving and kind, it shows that he doesn’t know God—for God is love.  God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into this wicked world to bring to us eternal life through his death.  In this act we see what real love is: it is not our love for God but his love for us when he sent his Son to satisfy God’s anger against our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us as much as that, we surely ought to love each other too.  For though we have never yet seen God, when we love each other God lives in us, and his love within us grows ever stronger.  And he has put his own Holy Spirit into our hearts as a proof to us that we are living with him and he with us.  And furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now tell all the world that God sent his Son to be their Savior.  Anyone who believes and says that Jesus is the Son of God has God living in him, and he is living with God.

We know how much God loves us because we have felt his love and because we believe him when he tells us that he loves us dearly.  God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.  And as we live with Christ, our love grows more perfect and complete; so we will not be ashamed and embarrassed at the day of judgment, but can face him with confidence and joy because he loves us and we love him too.

We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; his perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what he might do to us.  If we are afraid, it is for fear of what he might do to us and shows that we are not fully convinced that he really loves us.  So you see, our love for him comes as a result of his loving us first.

If anyone says ‘I love God,’ but keeps on hating his brother, he is a liar; for if he doesn’t love his brother who is right there in front of him, how can he love God whom he has never seen?  And God himself has said that one must love not only God but his brother too” (I John 4:7-21 TLB).

“God loves every one of us so much, he sent his only begotten son, so that through him, all who believes in the son will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16-17).

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

Enjoy your blessings. - KW

Devotion: What Does God Want From Me?

In the immortal words of Jesus Christ, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8).”  The Bible never attempts to prove the existence of God.  The Bible does however; reveal to us that God was in existence from the very beginning, before anything was brought forth (Genesis 1:1).

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God (Psalm 90:2).”

From the onset, we see that God was in the beginning, with what appears to be no discernible beginning and no discernible end.  According to the psalmist, he is from “everlasting to everlasting, he is without beginning or end, and he is eternal, for he is God.”  The Bible does not reveal how God came to be.  Many have pondered this question throughout the ages and the best anyone has ever been able to do is theorize.  The simplest answer to the question as to where God came from is, he didn’t because he always was.  But now, can you accept this as the answer?

We know for some, just accepting that “God always was” is not an answer, especially one that you are willing to accept.  We understand because, in the past, we pondered that very same question as to where did God come from.  However, for us, when we explored the possibilities, all we got were endless questions.  No matter what answer we explored, there was always another “where-did-come-from” question that came up.  Our desire to find a satisfactory answer was a never-ending process that led us to questioning the very existence of God.  That became a very dangerous road for us, since we have always believed in God’s existence.  At that point, proving his beginnings became less and less important for us.  Then we read a passage in the book of Hebrews that gave us a different perspective on the whole existence thing.

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

It basically told us that when we come to God we must first believe that he exists.  In addition, it went on to say that we also must believe that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  Then we got to thinking about the reward, what could it possibly be?  We discovered that the reward is God himself.  The more we hunted for, looked for, and sought after God, the more God revealed himself to us.  But there was something that made this search for God different from the times we had searched before.  In the past, in the archives of our consciousness, resided that one endless question, “Where did God come from.”  We finally resolved that issue, by deleting that question from our archives and accepting the answer that “God always was.”  As we stated earlier, the passage in the book of Hebrews gave us that different perspective on the whole existence thing.  We had seen where the passage told us that when we come to God we must first believe that he exists.  And we had seen where the passage told us we must believe that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.  But here is the revelation on what we did not see before, which helped us to delete that endless question.  Apart from the conviction that God exists and is the creator of all things, it is impossible for us to be all that God wants us to be.  “For without faith (the conviction) it is impossible to please him.”

Apart from the conviction that God exists and is the creator of all things, it is impossible for us to be all that God wants us to be.  And we want to be all that God wants us to be, so we now accept that answer to the endless question.  God is from “everlasting to everlasting, he is without beginning or end, and he is eternal, for he is God and he always was.”  And since we chose to come to God, then we have already come to terms with his existence, meaning we already believe that he is.  Otherwise, what would be the point of trying to come to terms with something that we absolutely do not believe in or believe exists.

As always, we pray that our 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: Was God A Bad Guy?

Remember our study on “The Characteristics of God, his nature, his character, and his personality.”  Remember we described God as being a “god of integrity.”  If you recall, we mentioned “there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts” (II Chronicles 19:7), “God changes not” (Malachi 3:6), and “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18) as three traits that God had chosen to be part of “his nature, his character, and his personality.”  For us, these three traits are “the standard of measure” by which all interpretations of scripture, as they pertain to the “nature, character, and personality” of God, are compared.

There appears to be many misconceptions about the God that so many claim to serve.  One of the biggest misconceptions is the belief that the God of the Old Testament is much different from the God of the New Testament.  It appears that the God of the Old Testament is portrayed as “a God of wrath.”  In stark contrast, the God of the New Testament is portrayed as “a God of love.”  Is it possible that God is one way in the Old Testament and completely another way in the New Testament?  Many have even stated that as you read through the events of the Bible and the relationships God had with people, God is progressively revealing himself to man.  That appears to be great for man today, but what about all those back in the beginning.  Did he leave them short in their understanding of who he was?  Did he not impress upon them how he operates?

Can it be true that God has progressively revealed himself to man over time?  Is it possible that God left “any” of our prior ancestors short in their understanding of who he is?  Do you really think that God did not impress upon those before us, how he operates?  If this be the case, then God himself has given us an advantage over those who came before us.  More importantly, God has shortchanged those who were back in the beginning by not giving them the same opportunity as us.  And though it may not appear to be so, our “standard of measure” dictates that God had to reveal himself to those before us in similar or like fashion.  If not, then he showed partiality or a preference to one over another, which totally contradicts what we see in our “standard of measure.”  The one thing that we have learned, things are not always as they appear to be when it comes to the things and workings of God.

In order for the man to understand what God wants of him, God has to reveal himself to man.  In saying that, God had to reveal himself to the first man and then to all men following the first.  He could not progressively introduce himself as time went by and not show partiality to those in a future time.  This is important because once we know who God is, from the beginning, then we will forever know who God is, because God says, “For I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6).  This means that whatever God did in the beginning is the same thing that God is doing today, for he is unchanged.  If God changes one thing, even in the slightest, that he did from the very beginning, then he lied because he did in fact change.  And according to scripture, “there is absolutely no injustice, immorality, unrighteousness, or wrong doings with God” (II Chronicles 19:7).  And we find in scripture that God “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), for “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18).  We trust that you can see from this brief commentary how our “standard of measure” works.

We pray that our commentary 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: Resist The Devil By Faith

Who is this wicked one we call Satan?  The scriptures do not reveal much detail about this entity even though there is a lot of speculation pertaining to him and his existence.  There is no time period that explains exactly when he came into existence.  According to scripture, there are no indications as to when, if any, a revolt happened or when the fall occurred.  The Bible is somewhat vague about how he became known as Satan and his origins.  The lack of verifiable facts has not stopped the speculation about his existence or lack thereof.

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9).

Lucifer was originally created as one of God’s highest angels.  Satan, who possesses all angelic attributes, is believed to have led some of the angels in a rebellion.  Many describe the devil as the originator and chef practitioner of sin (I John 3:8), as that wicked one (I John 5:18), as a thief and a destroyer (John 10:10), as a deceiver (Revelation 12:9), as a murderer and liar (John 8:44), and as the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10).  Many believe his craftiness and deceitful nature was first depicted during the fall of mankind in Genesis 3:1-13, and in fact he can masquerade as an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14), as he deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:19).  Many believe that he is in opposition to all things of God by counterfeiting the works of God and destroying all that is good.  The phrase “deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9) is a definitive statement, that is a statement of summary, which summarizes his actions in the earth realm.  During every free moment in the earth realm, his only purpose supposedly has been to deceive the world.

To “deceive” is to tell a “lie.”  He is accused of being the father of lies and the father of deceit.  The stories go on to say that if he can plant a lie, get you to accept it, then get you to act upon it, he can gain control of your mind in the battle for your soul.  Supposedly he wants you to think on things that are not true, keeping you confused, so that you will not know God’s will for your life.  An unmaintained, undisciplined thought-life occurs from the deceptions brought on by him.  His main goal is to cause you not to maintain your thought-life.  He is out to deceive you so that he might gain access to your soul through your mind.  Some say he is not a creator and has used the same tactics as he did during his first encounter with mankind.  Some claim he uses the same methods today that he used in that encounter with Eve in the garden.  Why would he change his methods of operation since they worked so well for him in the past against them that were pure in heart and mind?  They had no thoughts that were not pure to confuse their minds and no bad genes passed down for past generations to deal with like you do, but he used temptation to defeat them.  What he used to defeat them then, is what he will use to defeat you today.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8).

Be sober (meaning clear minded) and be vigilant (meaning watchful) because your great enemy walks around like a hungry, roaring lion looking for some victim to devour.  Walks around like a hungry, roaring lion meaning he walks around roaring like a hungry lion, but he is not a lion.  Because he is the father of lies, he wants you to believe that he is a lion waiting to devour you.  He continuously travels through the earth realm, going back and forth in the earth, and walking up and down in it (Job 1:7), seeking souls to devour.  To seek whom he may devour means he has to seek those who are willing to play into his hands.  He does not have the right to devour anyone unless his or her action allows him to do that.  He must have your permission to devour you.  If you are looking for something or someone, it means that you do not have it or have not found them yet; therefore, he has no control over you unless you let him find you.

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).

He has had many years to study human nature, but this does not mean we should be ignorant to his ways either (II Corinthians 2:11).  While you have been given authority over the power of the enemy, to resist him by faith, you should never underestimate him.  He just may prove not to be who you have been led to believe he is.

We forever pray that this 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: Endure Hardship

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (I Corinthians 10:13 NIV).

Too many so-called believers still have pieces of their old sinful nature still living within them.  While many have been able to put to death many aspects of their sinful natures, many choose to keep souvenirs, clinging to particular portions of their old life.  While there are varying amounts being kept, these tokens only serve as reminders of a life gone by, a life that was completely ruled by a sinful nature.  The problem with keeping these souvenirs, these tokens alive, it gives opportunity for temptation to do its thing.

“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14-15).

Every man is tempted, but he is tempted by his own passions and by his own desires.  His own lust serves as the bait for the temptation.  Once the trap is baited, it is man’s lower nature, his fleshly desires that draws him away and entices him.  Then once the temptation goes from the confines of man’s mind and he acts upon it, he then gives birth to sin.  Once sin is born, it grows up, matures, and then brings with it, death.

“But remember this—the wrong desires that come into your life aren’t anything new and different.  Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you.  And no temptation is irresistible.  You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says.  He will show you how to escape temptation’s power so that you can bear up patiently against it” (I Corinthians 10:11-13 TLB).

While the old cliché says, “God never gives you more than you can bear,” we actually see that God will not allow you to be tempted beyond your capability to “stand up against the temptation, if you choose.”  But you have to be willing to find the way of escape and not allow that old sinful nature and the temptation to give birth to sin.  It is then, when you find that way of escape, that you will be able to endure and “stand up against it.”  Remember, God will provide a way out, a way to escape, but you have to look for it and be willing to use it.

We pray that today’s inspirational message will be a blessing to you and we pray that you will share them with others so that they may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: An Ugly Tree

It was the first man, Adam who came from the earth, who “was made a living soul” (I Corinthians 15:45).  Scripture tells us “Adam was the figure or the type of him who was to come” (Romans 5:14).  It was Jesus who was first made in the likeness of earthy man, fashioned as the first.  Then upon his resurrection, “he was made a quickening or life-giving spirit” (I Corinthians 15:45).  We know that first came the natural man and then came the spiritual man.  And as we have bore the image of the earthly man, we now have the opportunity to bear the image of the heavenly man.  We now have the opportunity to put on a spiritual body that comes directly from God.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30).

We are fully aware that all things work together for the good to those who have love for God.  It is those who have this love for God that have come to him and it is them that he has declared not guilty, and filled with the goodness of Jesus Christ.  He has given them right standing and given them his glory.  For God knew before the beginning, pre-destined, if you will, that those who would come to him would bear the likeness of the only begotten son of God, that he, Jesus Christ might be the firstborn among many brothers.

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming” (I Corinthians 15:19-23).  “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Galatians 3:13).

If our hope in Jesus rest solely in this present life, then we have completely missed the boat.  Jesus Christ has risen from the dead to become the firstfruits of them who have died or slept.  He is the firstfruits of the first resurrection.  This be the resurrection from the dead that came to all men because of what Jesus himself did.  It is in this life, this resurrected life, that we are to rest our hope.  We know that everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, being members of his sinful race, and wherever there is sin, death results.  And because all who are in Christ are related to Christ, then all will rise again because Christ redeemed us when he hung on that “ugly tree”

We forever pray that this 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