Do you know you are bought with a price?

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me

Our lives belong to Christ once we accept Him as our Savior. Yet we live as if that doesn't matter at all. We don't act like we have a king. We don't live as if we have a real Heavenly Father.  We treat God as a genie in a lamp, rubbing at that lamp in prayer hoping to get the genie to grant our wishes. We don't treat God as our true Heavenly Father. A Father interested in our ETERNITY, not our temporal life except as it pertains to our eternal life.  Our earthly fathers are supposed to take care of our temporal needs, they are supposed to guide us as we grow to maturity. They are supposed to be examples to us as we take on the role of Fathers. Our Heavenly Father is our eternal Father.  Yet we barely acknowledge Him at all let alone as a Heavenly Father.  We are crucified with Christ when we accept Him as our Savior.  Yet His crucifixion took His earthly life leaving Him with a risen body ascended to the Father returned to earth, touched by disciples and ultimately taking His place beside the Father in Heaven.  We are figuratively crucified with Christ and yet we live on, the crucifixion   is our death to self and life to Christ therefore we can say that Christ lives in us.  We live on in our flesh bodies,  we do so by FAITH in the Son of God, who LOVES us and DIED for us.

Do we realize that we are BOUGHT with a price?

1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

We are NOT our own and yet we don't act as if we've been bought. We act as if we are our own.  We live as if the world revolves around us and NOT around Christ.  Our every action is not made with Christ in mind, and why not? WHY NOT! Because we are sleeping Laodiceans who don't realize our wretched, poor, blind and naked state!  We think we are RICH in Christ, we think we SEE, we think we are CLOTHED with the righteousness of Christ but the truth is we are so caught up in our SELVES we don't live for Christ at all! We play act! We pretend! We put on the guise! We are fools, stupid, stupid fools, the lot of us!

GOD FORGIVE US! FORGIVE US GOD FOR OUR WRETCHED STATE!

Save us, Father! Save us from ourselves!  We would buy of You gold tried in fire! We would buy of You eye salve! We would buy of You Your righteousness!

Rev. 3:18

Bless us, Father, bless us!   In the name of Your holy  Son, Jesus Christ our LORD, our Savior!

Amen!

His thoughts Perish

When we die.

Psa 146:4  His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

This is truth.

Psa_6:5  For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Psa_88:11  Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave?

Ecc_9:10  Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

This is ALL truth.

Yet, people don't believe. They've concocted fairy tales that suit their desires. They've manufactured lies and call them truth.  And now they call the truth - lies.

Why say these words-

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do- do it with they might.    Why? Because…   THERE is NO work, nor device, nor KNOWLEDGE, nor wisdom in the grave.

If this is true, then why do people believe that their dead loved ones have all their knowledge, all their wisdom intact after they die? Why do people believe they even have THOUGHTS after death? These words say otherwise- when our last breath is spent then our THOUGHTS end, they perish. There is NO thinking after we die. 

The comfort people take in believing their loved ones are living on in a better place, is a lie. What harm is there is believing a lie? Who is the father of lies? Satan is.

Joh_8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

So what harm is there in believing lies? You are believing in Satan then, not God.

God's truth about death is that it is a sleep.  Thoughts perish. Work is over. Knowledge ceases. Praising God is no longer possible.  Why is it so horrible to believe this is the truth about death?  Sleep isn't a horrific thing at all. But being able to watch your loved ones on earth suffer through their lives, that would be horrifying not pleasant at all. Why would ANYONE believe that their loved one is watching over them helping them, knowing they are in pain? Why would that be a GOOD thing for the loved one?  Why would it be good for all our ancestors from all time to be gathered together just spending their heavenly time watching their descendants suffer life? Where is the joy? Where is the comfort?  We talk about our loved ones being happy to see those who passed before them, how they're spending time with them all happy. So I ask again, why would they all be happy knowing they are no longer among their loved ones left behind to suffer without their being there to help them? Any help they can give as supposed spirits obviously isn't very significant because the suffering does not stop.  The lie is a horrific one, and it has deceived millions.

There have been deaths in my family lately, and among friends and endlessly people talk of their loved ones being in heaven with Jesus and all happy now, and this gives them comfort. The lie comforts them somehow. They're happy their passed loved one is no longer suffering yet by their own logic they are still suffering if they are knowing that they are now watching their earthly loved ones suffer their loss. How silly would it be to believe their loved one in heaven is happy while watching them suffer.  Yet, to believe the truth, that death is a sleep that is TRULY knowing our loved ones are no longer suffering. This is the TRUTH, this is the comfort we have! The true comfort!  Our loved one NO longer suffers! This is less selfish than believing they live on and know our constant pain and suffering.

Please, Father, please help us BELIEVE Your truth! 

In the name of our Savior Jesus Christ our Lord!  Please help us, save us, keep us, love us, forgive us! Know us!

Amen.

Spirit

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God

Led by the Spirit of God.

Who among us doesn't long for such leading?  Our vivid imaginations, coupled with today's special effects on movies and such can have us easily longing for a manifestation of the Spirit of God, and His actual leading of us. I say that and yet I feel instantly chastised. Why? Because imagination and special effects cause what I'm saying to become fictional rather than non-fictional and the Spirit of God is definitely NOT fiction!  We cannot see the Spirit of God, we have no way of detecting the presence of the Spirit of God in any tangible manner. Yet we MUST believe He exists and believe that He can LEAD us, that we can RECEIVE Him, and KNOW that the Spirit of God is witness with OUR spirit that we ARE God's children!  This is TRUTH!  We are adopted by God the Father through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and the Spirit bears witness to this TRUTH. 

We are sons and daughters of God! Truly sons and daughters! He is our HEAVENLY FATHER.

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Our infirmities.  Boy do we have infirmities!

Strong's meaning of Infirmity - From 'G772; feebleness (of body or mind); by implication malady; moral frailty: - disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness.'

The Spirit HELPS our infirmities!  The infirmities of our flesh, of our mental faculties, keep us from being ABLE to pray as we should. We our powerless to even realize what we ought to be praying for. We might think we should pray one way, but that way in our infirmity ridden selves isn't truly what we need to be praying for.  The SPIRIT that is in us, the same SPIRIT that facilitated OUR adoption, will go yet another step and make INTERCESSION for us.

We NEED the SPIRIT of GOD!

Gal 4:6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

PRAISE GOD!

Jud 1:20  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost

We MUST pray in the Spirit!  We must be led by the Spirit! We have to have the Spirit in our lives in a VERY REAL way, not in some fictitious manner.  He is a REALITY. He was promised to us. He will intercede for us in our prayers! He will lead us if we let Him.

We have to ascent to the Lord's leading. We have to ask for the Lord to lead us. We have to be willing to walk as He directs us. We can't afford to ignore the leading of the Spirit. Will He draw us a map, make us a detailed itinerary? No and no. What we are given is God's Holy Word and we are expected to study daily, studying to show ourselves approved unto God. 2Ti_2:15 We are expected to pray daily. Dan_6:10, Matt_6:11.

We must have the Spirit!

John 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Born of the Spirit!

Adopted by God through the Spirit!

Praying, the Spirit interceding!

TRUTH!

Please, Father, we would be born of the Spirit, we would have the Spirit lead us! We would have the Spirit intercede for us with You in ways that are impossible for us to do. All by the mercy and grace, the love of Your only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior.

Amen.

We must live in the Spirit

Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

A habitation of God- through the Spirit- this is US.

Unless we are a living with the Spirit, we cannot be inhabited by God. The Spirit has to be REAL in us. A REAL entity in us. We must belong to GOD. We must CHOOSE God to live in us. Without the Holy Spirit being in us we have Satan's spirit in us. 

Please, Lord, let us have the Holy Spirit in us so You may dwell in us and we may be Yours.

Zec 12:10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

The Spirit of grace and of supplications.  We need this Spirit, we NEED the Holy Spirit. We need GRACE and we need the supplication of the Spirit.

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

We must LIVE in the Spirit- and the Spirit in us will lead us in the way everlasting.  We cannot mortify the deeds of the body alone, we MUST have the Spirit because it is THROUGH the Spirit we can mortify the flesh deeds.

A conscious real desire for the SPIRIT.  This is a necessity. The Spirit is a REALITY and as a REALITY we have believe beyond doubt.

More tomorrow by the will, the grace, the mercy, the love of my God, my Savior. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

AMEN.

Praying in the Spirit- no other way.

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

Praying always with all prayer? What?

How else do you pray if not with prayer?

I think the key here is the fact we MUST pray our prayers IN THE SPIRIT.

You CAN pray without the Spirit, yes?

If all prayer was automatically prayed in the Spirit we wouldn't need to be told to pray in the Spirit.

So how do we pray in the Spirit?

Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Zec 12:10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Gal 4:6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Jud 1:20  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost

If we are God's we will have the Spirit and if we have the Spirit we will pray in the Spirit.

The Spirit should be IN us always, as we are to pray always, is this truth? YES, very much so.

More on this tomorrow by the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

IN HIS LOVE ALWAYS.

Amen!

For this is the will of God

Give thanks.

1Th 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

We need more than a single day to give thanks, don't we? It's not easy to always give thanks though, is it? 

Imagine these words being heard by a follower of Christ in the early days after it was newly written. That follower of Christ on the very next day after hearing those words is captured and thrown in a prison, beaten, and sentenced to die.  Do you imagine them recalling those words and giving thanks in their circumstances? In agony of mind, body and possibly spirit this follower of Christ could give thanks.  Why? Because they believe what has happened to them is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning them.

I say the words, 'God's will be done', often.  I say them and yes, I mean them.  Do I truly think it's God's will when things happen in my life that bring me heartache and pain? I do. And by that I mean, that some how, some way this will be true--

Rom_8:28  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.

I have to believe this is truth. If this is truth then it is God's will that the pain and the heartache, the agony that I might endure is all for a purpose beyond my comprehension. I do NOT have to understand anything at all in order for me to believe. So many people try to use their lack of understanding to blame God for so much. They cry out they don't understand and the doubt their belief in God's word, God's truth, the love of God. They stop believing that the horrors of their lives could possibly some how work for good. The good, the only true good is the goodness of Christ in eternity. All other goodness that we think we should be experiencing, earthly good things, is a lie fed to us by Satan. Satan would have us believe we are entitled to good here and now, but we are not.  Ask any person who has been born into the third world countries, a slave, a victim abused from the youngest of age and grown up in daily suffering beyond anything we can begin to imagine.  Ask that person who has known nothing of earthly goodness if they believe they are entitled to good here and now.  We are promised eternal good in CHRIST, no more.

Can we give thanks? Yes, we can. Should we give thanks? Yes, we should. Even when it seems like we have nothing at all to be thankful for, nothing.

By the grace of God, I have much to be thankful for.  I have a lot of good things in my life here and now, I've been incredibly blessed in so many, many ways. I can't praise and thank God enough for all He has done for me.  It is my prayer that the future holds eternity in Christ, the only TRUE goodness in every possible way, for me. That all things- good and bad- in my life work together for good in Jesus Christ my Savior, my God. Please, Father, help me to give thanks in all things, in all ways, for all time.  All by YOUR LOVE, YOUR MERCY, YOUR GRACE, YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS!

Amen.

The closer I would be the further away I seem

Evil for evil.

This is something we do all the time, isn't it? You hurt me, I hurt you. Or, you hurt me and I wanna hurt you.  Evil for evil. And the evil only multiplies, it is fed and continuously growing. Evil is an invisible creature with it's invisible tentacles wrapped tightly around each one of us. We pray to be kept from evil, but that doesn't mean evil won't stop trying to kill us spiritually every second of our lives.  God alone can keep us from evil, and it's to Him we need to constantly turn. Evil for evil.

We are NOT to combat evil with evil. In fact we are told the following-

1Th 5:15  See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

A Christ follower is to NEVER render evil for evil unto anyone!

A Christ follower is to EVER follow that which is GOOD among ALL.

That 'all men' includes EVERYONE WITHOUT EXCEPTION.  And if all men includes everyone then that means all men includes the evildoers.  We are to render GOOD, we are to FOLLOW  good to even the evildoers.  NOT render evil for evil.

The next time someone irritates you about anything how are you going to react, with our gut which is being squeeze by the invisible evil forces urging us to render evil for evil? That instant gut reaction is to do just that, get irritated back.

Right now, unfortunately, I'm struggling, I'm in the fires of spiritual affliction. I'm KNOWING to do good and not doing it, I'm rendering evil for evil all the time and it's driving me crazy! I don't want to be this way, I hate this evil in me. I need prayers, many prayers..

Please, Father, please keep me from evil! Bless me, help me, I am so incredibly helpless without You. Forgive me! Cleanse me! Fix me! Make me YOURS.

In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior!