Tag: Love for Jesus

Playing dead… cowardice

Playing dead in life is cowardice. Staying awake in everything you do is brave. Those who are stuck in a lifestyle of playing dead have no idea about the difference between the two ways. Jesus became human to awaken us so that we never need to play dead again.

Drive your roots deep into the truth in Christ, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

In Christ, you are a blessing!

Live worthy of the Lord

I’ve been doing some intense personal work lately. Over the past few years, I have been introduced to the Enneagram. It has been a great discovery. I am a Type 9 with a Self-preservation instinct. Basically, an Adaptive Peacemaker whose instinct is survival, physical safety, material security, wellbeing, and comfort.

God knew what he was doing when he created me. He was intentional and I first existed in God’s mind before I was even conceived. (Psalm 139)
I’ve been working on paying attention to my feelings of anger, dissatisfaction, and frustration. My go-to behavior in life has been to numb out to those feelings as quickly as possible. But, with the Holy Spirit’s help, I am learning more about what I actually believe in my heart and allowing the word of Christ to reform me.

There is a calling in the Bible that has for a long time pursued me. It is to “…live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…” (Colossians 1:10)
This morning I was pressing in on the challenge of stoking my desire to live a life worthy of Jesus’ name. The jarring and fearsome truth is that because I have entrusted my life by faith in him, the Spirit of God now lives in me as spiritual fire. I don’t actually provide the fire.

My job is to fan it into flame. So, for me, my daily work has to include going to the desire that dwells in me because of Jesus. Honestly, if I hadn’t started this habit a few decades ago, I would still be numb and asleep to the furnace room of God’s desire deep in me. I realize now more than ever my need to shoulder my responsibility to do whatever it takes to craft a life worthy of the Lord.

Don’t hear me wrong, it is totally in submission and profound partnership with Christ who lives in me. But, there is no other human that is going to do my personal work for me. You and I are here, alive in this era, to go today to our plot of land in our Father’s vineyard and work it on earth for the glory of heaven. And, it begins in our hearts.

God sees you as worth every effort because of the One in you.

In Christ, you are a blessing!

You are Worth Restoring

Have you considered why God pursues us? He is making all things new… restoring everything. You are worth restoring. In Christ, you are eternal and ultimately unstoppable. Nothing can separate you from his love. You are a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit… designed to host God’s presence. You have a problem, however. Your heart lies to you. It is easily distracted. Whenever the immensity of living on earth as in heaven feels too big or the cost seems too much, you distractyourself. Your distraction may even seem innocent, but it is a roadblock designed to avoid the challenge of the glory of Christ in you. Don’t lose heart, though. This is a new season for you. King Jesus is incomparably persistent in pursuing us… his Eternal Love and Companion. We are his Body, the fullness of him who is our Head. So, it is time for you to renew your trust in how the Father sees you. If you will daily surrender your heart to him, that same heart that is prone to telling you lies, the Spirit of Truth will speak messages to you that can only come from heaven. And hearing him will keep changing you from glory to ever-increasing glory. He is faithful and you can rest in his promises. You may never understand why God pursues you. But, you can, by faith, experience the incomparable journey of restoration. He has chosen you as worthy of knowing him.

In Christ, you are a blessing!

Are you shading your light?

The Holy Spirit has been reminding me that I have the ability to either let my light shine before others or hinder it. We all tend to act like we don’t really have much to say about whether or not the light of the world will break out from within us to the world. But, that is not what Jesus has said. 

This morning, I was reading Matthew 5:14-16. A mentor of mine recently suggested to me that I imagine Jesus sending me a note in order to encourage me. They asked, “What might he say to you?” 

As I wrote in my journal, I realized that I should share it with you too. Let it encourage you as you start into your week. Read it as a message from King Jesus to you. 

My joy is to shine with you and through you… as you. I am not playing games with your life, identity, or your well-being. Your place of security is always in life-union with me… “I in you and you in me”. You will feel much better in every way if you will forget about being safe as the world defines it. And embrace security as heaven sees it. 

When you allow your light (actually my light in you and for you) to shine in front of everyone all of the time, my security will overwhelm and empower you. 

The religious spirit tells you that you are offending me when you don’t hold back and instead let your blazing light fully shine. You have been deceived for too long that you are kept safe by shading your light. If you would only rest in knowing that I love you and I love shining with you and as you. The unique way we shine together is so fun for me. I do see your struggle to trust me. But, I won’t coddle you and let you stay shaded in your fears. I will keep insisting that you let your light shine. You were designed to let your light shine because your light is my presence in you. 

So here is my invitation… Make this day a fresh start. Own your ability to open up in my name and “let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” 

You are a blessing! 

Say yes again

Dwelling on the open door of reconciliation that stands open forever because of God… Jesus came as the voice of God from heaven to earth. God has spoken clearly to us through the Son. And as he speaks, the invitation is always to receive reconciliation with him and with each other. The wild, captivating beauty of His Bride radiates with reconciling love. The power of our unity in Jesus is unprecedented. There is never a day or even a moment when heaven is not open for you and me to receive (eat and drink) eternal life in Him on earth as it is in heaven. Take a minute where you are and say yes again.

You are a blessing!

The Prophetic is Anchored in Love

A few days ago, I posted this prayer online, “Father, keep changing my heart with the love you have for Jesus so that your voice fills my voice and your words fill my mouth.” It was inspired by the prayer of Jesus in John 17:20-26. For the past decade, the Holy Spirit has taken me into deep connection with God through my surrender in agreement with his prayer.

Jesus is praying for the love that our Father has for him to be in us. Over the years, this prayer has become an anchor for my life. Recently, a “prayer warrior” friend of mine gave me an anchor pendant that now hangs on my desk lamp. She explained to me that she asked the Lord to show her someone she could bless with this gift as a sign that they are an anchor for others. I was so honored that she was led to give it to me.

The credit for any anchoring dynamic to my life goes to Jesus’ intercession for me and the fact that I have been invited into his relationship with the Father. My ability to bring glory to God in any way comes from being rooted by his grace into their unity. Any fruit that is prophetic in any way comes from being driven deep into the love shared by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The prophetic, for me, is perceiving, receiving, and sharing the living word of the Lord. It comes from revelation… God reveals his truth to those whose spiritual perception has been opened to see and hear. As powerful and life-altering as the prophetic is, it is contained and fueled by love.

But, it has not been human love that has unlocked and empowered the prophetic for me. It hasn’t been a type of love that I could figure out or strategize or attain. It is a gift that I had to ask for and wait for according to God’s response.

In his faithful way, the Father has changed my heart by giving me his love for Jesus, the Son. It has become a deep desire of my heart to move in the type of prophetic that shakes the world around me through a relationship with God… one person at a time… starting with me and with you.

Will you join me in ongoing prayer for the Lord to keep changing our hearts with his love?

You are a blessing!

Surrendering The Engine of Desire

We understand what love is because Jesus laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16) Experiencing eternal life comes only by knowing God. The overwhelming gospel is that God has invited us into the closest of all intimate relationships with him through faith in Jesus.

Being prophetic or growing in the prophetic is all about going deeper with Jesus and allowing him to go deeper with you. There is a beautiful moment where we see Jesus and the disciples during what is known as the Last Supper. It is the moment when Jesus reminds them of the nearness of the Spirit.

In John 14:16-17, Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit will be with us and in us. Receiving and declaring the living word of the Lord is where I come alive. The Lord has taught me over many decades that I will find him only when I seek him with my whole heart.

At the central part of me is my core engine of desire. Something bigger than life is activated when by the grace of God, that engine of desire is surrendered to intimacy with the Holy Spirit.

I do love receiving and sharing messages from God. I do love the prophetic. But, my true passion as God’s child is being close enough with Jesus that we are able to hear each other’s voice.

Hearing our Shepherd’s voice and following Him is more precious to us than what he says and where he is going. The point of being prophetic is experiencing the One who will never leave us and will empowers us to stay with him.

You are a blessing!

The Veil is Lifted

What happens in your inner territory when all you have left to go on is your agreement with God? The Spirit loves to lead you to that place because God’s joy over that territory is all that truly matters. You in Christ and Christ in you… life-union with Jesus… receive his joy over you.

I believe we are in a season right now when unprecedented demonstrations of God’s kingdom are breaking out into the open on earth. If we will continue to humble ourselves, He will lift us up in his way and his time.

The following message rose up in me today and I want to encourage you with it… The Veil is Removed: The compassionate works of the Holy Spirit are overflowing with glory. There is nothing as amazing as God’s glory. The veil is removed because of Jesus. He removes whatever hinders our seeing and hearing as well as our speaking and revealing his glory in us, around us, and through us. (A word from the Lord this morning as I was meditating on 2 Cor 3:12-18)

You are a blessing!

Trying Harder is Toxic to the Prophetic

The Holy Spirit is training me to live in full acceptance as a son in the family of God. I did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading me back into the fear of never being good enough. (Romans 8:10-17 TPT)

God longs for us to give ourselves to an intimate relationship with him. In Christ he transforms us into his friends and lovers. In order to move forward in receiving and declaring the living word of the Lord, we need to anticipate more amazement over who Jesus is in us.

Religious duty is not amazing! Nurturing an attitude of religious duty, of trying harder in my life is toxic to my growth in the prophetic. It is time for the Church (remember that the church is people) to come clean about our friendship with religious duty.

To be prophetic requires an ever-increasing fire of friendship with Jesus. Friendship with religion (trying hard to please God) is NOT friendship with Jesus. The first gift God gives us on our journey in the prophetic is friendship with him from the inside-out.

How would your life be different if you surrendered to his promise to never leave you or forsake you? What if never leaving you includes those times when you have sinned and/or deeply disappointed yourself as part of his family? Are you ready for a deeper surrender to his never-failing friendship with you? Talk to him about it.

You are a blessing!

Grace is not about my deficiency

Grace is not about making up for my deficiency. It is about the overwhelming goodness of God. In Christ, God completely shattered the intimidating forces of this world.

Grace goes before me in Christ preparing moments of display, signs, and wonders that show his glory. It is true that I have lived half a century with Jesus. And it is also true that I am still discovering how much the Father loves us. He loves the Son. When we receive his gift of adoption, we come into Jesus. Because we are in him, their love flows from within us out to the world.

The Holy Spirit constantly remains with us and in us because of grace. It’s not us! It is the goodness of God. Our grateful hearts explode with relief, peace, joy and the greatness of living any and every moment on earth as it is in heaven.

Because of Jesus, you are a blessing!